Sorry to hear about the loss of your father. One of the toughest blows anybody could possibly face in life.
I know zip about carbs but there are lots of gurus on this list who can help with that, plus probably some good books available too. What kind of carbs are they? Webers, Dellortos or ???
Starter problems are unfortunately very common in 914s. The starters were somewhat "wimpy" to begin with, plus they are getting pretty old now. Believe it or not, the first thing to try is the good old "BFH trick", i.e. tap on it with a hammer, wrench handle etc. Sometimes this is enough to whack it back into action.
Even if that works, odds are that the starter is on its way out. You may need to fork over the bucks for a rebuilt unit. Try to get a real Bosch rebuild -- they are supposedly much better quality than the aftermarket rebuilt units. Installation is a piece of cake, just a couple of nuts/bolts, basically.
Another thing to check -- which has also happened to me -- is that it could actually be the electrical portion of your ignition switch, not the starter. The ignition switch has a plastic housing that cracks easily, and you get an intermittent connection for a while (clicks, sometimes starts, sometimes doesn't), then it will just totally die. This is also a pretty easy and cheap procedure, but a little more involved than the starter. There is a tech article here on the Pelican site that covers this task.
Keep us posted.
Cheers,
------------------
Chris C.
73 914 2.0
70 911E Targa
campbell.chris@gte.net
[This message has been edited by campbellcj (edited 08-10-2001).]