How can I tell what engine I have?

[Avery]

Hello All:

I have a 1970 914. When I purchased the car, I was told that the car ran in class Bi. I've been AXing in this class this year assuming that was the correct class to run in. I looked at the rules last night and noticed that all 1.7 914 run in class A (My 1970 914 shold have a 1.7). Maybe my engine was upgraded but I can't tell. Is there an easy visual way to determine my engine type (1.7, 1.8, 2.0)?

thanks

Felmir

[Conrad W Peden]

1.7 has D-jet injection

1.8 has L-jet injection (but I've seen a 2.0 upgrade with L-jet)

2.0 you can tell by the angle of the spark plugs. 1.7 L they point almost straight up 2.0L they point out the side

Another way is to look at the engine code

Most of the info you need to tell the diff is here:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/How_to_buy_a_914.htm

or here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/914tech_specs.htm

I'm sure others will ring in too...

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Locally, the 1.7 and 1.8 914s are in one class. So it doesn't matter which of those two you have; the only one in a different class is the 2.0 .

Check the cylinder heads. If you have spark plugs that exit the engine tin on the vertical side part, and if your intake pipes only have three studs holding them onto the heads, you have 2.0 heads and (most likely) a 2.0 motor. If your spark plugs exit the engine tin on the top horizontal part, and you have four studs holding the intake pipes onto the heads, then you have a 1.7 or 1.8, most likely.

What part of the area are you located in? I'm in the South Bay, Sunnyvale to be specific. (Yeah, Pelican is in SoCal--I telecommute!)

--DD

[Avery]

Dave: I live in Menlo Park. I 've been attending the Golden Gate Region AX events. When I purchased the 914, the lady who owned it raced in Bi class. Bi, per the rules, is for the 2.0 liter motors. Based on the input from you and Conrad, I determined the motor to be a 1.7. So...I've been racing in the wrong class. I'm wondering if the motor has been modified such that she was bumped to the Bi class? It runs strong and my times have been competitive in Bi.

If your in the neighborhood, drop me a line. I can show off my RSR replicar project. I'm building up a 3.6 motor for it and getting ready to paint it in a few weeks.

Felmir
650-329-9799

[jkeyzer]

There isn't really much to stop someone putting 2.0 guts in a 1.7.

[Conrad W Peden]

Also, I memory serves me right, 2.0L bus heads have 4 studs like 1.7's

Hell, the possibilities are endless... good luck

[Tom Perso]

I have a 1.7L that will beat the pants off of ANY 2.0L out there.

Point is, if you read the engine code, I do have a 1.7L, but you can't tell that it's running 96's and a 78.4mm crank.

There's a number of combinations it can be, there is no way to tell other than pulling the heads and seeing what you've got.

Later,
Tom