Volkswagen: 1969 vw autostick, screw down, vacuum control

Question
my beetle works great in all other gears perfect but when i put in reverse it kills the motor a mechanic told me it is a vacum adjustment but how do you do it

Answer

Autostick_control Tom,
 The mechanic may be correct about the vacuum control valve adjustment, but I believe if this were the problem there would be hard shifting/stalling in all gears.

I think the problem may be the shifter switch.  I would take the shifter apart and clean/inspect the contacts.  When re-assembling the shifter, you can adjust the sensitivity of the contact by how far you screw down the shift sleeve screw before tightening the set screw below it.

If this does not fix the problem and you still think the control valve is engaging too slow, adjust it by turning it counter clockwise by 1/4 to 1/2 turn, then test reverse shifting again.

- Rick