Engine Work, winter running...
 

I have two questions, first, what is a good general guide for tuning up your engine? I know that I need to adjust the valves, but what else, what could I reasonably do that would improve the performance? Also what little things should I know about that could effect performance? i.e. I think my head temp sensor is bad...

Second, what is the lowest temp that anybody has subjected there 914 to? I go to school in Fairbanks AK and my car lives in Juneau. The winter temps get down to -60 F and stay there for a month or two, would my 914 survive? I know there is one in town, but I don't know if it goes out in the winter..

Thanks
-MrBob

Those temps bring back memories of my Navy tours in upstate NY where it could get to 20 below for a week or two. I remember the VW folks used to cover all the air inlets to the engine so it would hear up a little faster and everybody used to use oil heaters, etc. The big problem we had was with the transmissions as when they would get that cold you couldn't shift them and as delicate as a 914 tranny/shift mechanism is I would really worry about it. If the car is left inside and heated, not to bad then, but I think I would use the next few months to do rust prevention, tune up, etc and wait till the spring comes?

You should buy the Haynes repair manual if you don't already own it.

First, check that your valves are properly adjusted and check that all of your vacuum lines are connected properly. There are vacuum hose diagrams on Pelican's site. If your car has the d-jet fuel injection system you can download the file djettest.pdf (you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file) from my web site
http://persweb.direct.ca/aschwenk/earlyefi.htm

to check your system. Check that your spark plugs, rotor, distributor cap and wires are in good shape and then set the dwell, timing, idle speed and CO together. (You will need an exhaust gas analyzer to check and adjust the CO). The Haynes manual will explain how to make these adjustments.

Alpine