help

[chris1.7]

can anyone predict how fast my 1972 914 will go. It has a 1.7 and a single 2-barrel carb. Since I didn't know anything about 914's i thought the carb was original. I was wrong and have heard it will not work the greatest. Can I actually expect alot out of this car or will it be for show since I have the only 914 I've ever seen up close.

[oredith]

the bad news is that the 1.7 was always a wimp.. that's not to say it can't be tweaked to go fast, but the money you'd have to spend on it would be much better spent on a 2.0.. in my opinion..

BUT.. you really should enjoy the 914 for what it does best.. corner.. and that doesn't take too much power.. take the car out to an auto-x.. you'll be pleasantly surprised when you pull very similar (and often times, faster) times than the higher powered 911's..

just my 0.02

Jeff

[SteveStromberg]

There is nothing wrong with a 1.7. I built a 1.7 for Wayne Hoffs 914-6 GT Replica With
9.0 comp and a 284x Norris ,40 Dells.The car hauls ass, when the Tach hits 3k it pegs to redline in an instant.Just snaps your head back.I didnt Dyno it but I did run it against a stock 74 2.0 FI and the 1.7 was quicker.Steve

[rfoulds]

Chris,

you will find much division among 914er's as to what intake is best. And lots of conflicting advice. Almost all 914-4's came stock with Fuel Injection. Whether or not that is best, depends on what you want the car to do.
My last 914 had the 2.0 with dual Delorto carbs. Geez it had power! Amazing acceleration. When I stepped on it, I could hear those carbs just open wide and throw fuel down. But, that amount of fuel also washes the cylinders, and pretty soon, you have an engine that burns oil and loses compression quickly. Less carb would have struck a balance on that car.
My daily driver 914 has the 1.8 with FI. This engine has the lowest power of all 914 engines. But, it is extremely reliable, and compared to many small cars, it is quick. It definitely corners like a racer.
Anyway, the single carb on your 1.7 may not be stock, but that doesn't make it bad. Depending on the size, you may be pouring a lot of fuel in there, or starving it. You will find that most guys build racers with the dual carbs, for various reasons, but single carb setups, even on 1.7's can lay down power too. Its just that there are a lot of variables.
Now, if you really want to go fast, spend your time and money building a 2.0 engine, while you drive the car with the 1.7 in it. But, be sure that is what you want - speed at all costs.

IF you are never going to go on a track, keep the 1.7, keep it tuned well, make sure its healthy, and have the carb set up by a good shop. It will serve you well.



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Randy Foulds
Salinas, CA
http://www.pelicanparts.com/gallery/rfoulds

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Generally the single carb setups on Type IV motors are regarded as inferior. The fuel does not atomize that well and tends to be distributed unevenly. This can be helped by heating the intake air, as VW did with the Type Is with single carbs. There is some part off of an early-80s GM product (if I recall) that will heat up the carb base (it may be a spacer or a manifold proper) using an electrical heating element. This supposedly will help out the single-carb setup. I do not recall exactly what it is or what it came out of, though.

The duals don't have as many problems as the single setup, because they're right over the intake ports. They get heated up by the heads, and they have less manifolding for the fuel to drop out of suspension against. They're usually thought of as being better.

I prefer the stock FI for a stock motor.

--DD

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Pelican Parts 914 Tech Support

A few pics of my car: http://www.pelicanparts.com/gallery/Dave_Darling

[Will98D]

FYI: That carb spacer plate with the heater in it can be found on the 1985 S-10 pickup with the 2.8 liter V6, for whatever it's worth. I hated that engine's induction system... TBFI was the best thing that ever happened to it.