Pelican Parts Forums - Need help getting more power from my 912E

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Need help getting more power from my 912E

Im a nooB here and posted over in the 911 forum thinking I had a 76 911S...turns out I have a 912E that is down on power. The dude who sold it to me put these carbs on it which supposedly make more power but it really bogs down when I stomp on it. Wheres a good "how to" on tuning these carbs?

Here's a picture of my 912E...ya I know it has Playa rims (my username is a joke on that) but I like the look. The snobs (actually some were nice and helpful) over at the 911 board already slammed it so go over there if thats your game:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/470653-noob-here-question-about.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1240527529.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1240527887.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1240588650.jpg

Thanks for any help.

Playa,
Hit the 912 board also. Some of the "snobs" on the 911 board are sorry they were so hard on you.

Welcome to Aircooled Technology!Jake Raby's Porsche 912E, (pictured above) equipped with a 2056cc MassIVe Type 4

check out this site
http://www.aircooledtechnology.com/Home_Page.htm

Ok, so playa don't worry about those guys in the other forums, you need to hang out here.

Don't fret too much about the HP numbers, I vintage race a 912 with about 180 HP with a 1720 cc 356 engine, I beat all the 2 & 2.2 liter 911s in my group and i consider myself an average driver at best. If you save and spend your $$ wisely you can big bore the type 4 you have and get 150 to 200 hp for 5 to 6k.

I would consider what you add or take off that car in terms of weight (that's what some of the 911 snobs were talking about when they slammed your wheels), when you are dealing with under 200 hp, weight is your biggest enemy and handling upgrades are your friend. You'll want to keep your car as light as possible, and it will be a very fun car to toss around.

Check the floor and trunk pans for rust, keep turning your wrenches and hang in there, this will be very eye opening experience for you. The type 4 engine is very easy to work on, and there is a ton of info and knowlege out there to make it go faster.

Good Luck!!

Playa,

For the sake of some sanity on this and the 912 boards (http://www.912bbs.org) will you please post a picture of your VIN's (driver's door, windshield and trunk area- passenger side behind spare tire and in front of gas tank). Also, post a picture of your engine serial number (on fan housing in front of distributor). It should start with 406...

If you truly have VIN #3, then you may have a very rare 912E. It may be worth a lot more (even in its modified state) than a '76 vintage 911S. Only S/N's #11 and up to 2099 are believed to have been shipped by the Porsche factory. The first 10 cars may have been used as test cars or photo cars or factory demos, etc.

Thanks,

Fran

76, 912E #1 was out on the East Coast of the US about 15 years ago. It had originally been owned by a "friend of the factory" (possibly a former factory employee?). A young guy bought it in the early 90s, and brought it straight to his mechanic. The mechanic took it for a test drive, and wrapped it around a telephone pole (or something equivalent). We were all quite sorry to read about that.

Playa, you need to figure out your budget first. You also need to decide how far down you're willing to tear the motor--or if you're only looking for "bolt ons". Then what you want to use the motor for (wheel to wheel racing, autoX, street driving only, etc.), and then if you want to do the work yourself or send the bits and a check off to someone. Then you can start thinking about what sort of power you can get within those constraints...

Raby's done a lot of research on these engines. He knows an awful lot about how to put together a combination. That research does not come cheap, so expect to pay top dollar if you get an engine from him.

(BTW, you should do searches on any shop you are considering using. There are a few people out there who have left a pattern of unhappy customers in their wake... There are others who do good work, but have a personality that some people can't deal with.)

I can't tell what kind of carbs are on there. Look around on the carb body for a manufacturer name and/or logo. The popular ones seem to be Weber, Dell'Orto, or Solex. The Dells seem to have the best reputation but can be hard to find. Some Solexes are supposed be good, and some not so much. The Webers are pretty standard. We carry a book on Weber tuning, and CB Performance carries one or two as well. If you do have the Webers, they're worth looking through.

For power, getting the carbs in tune and properly synch'ed will very definitely help. A good exhaust will help as well, and a distributor without any slop will too. And that's about it for bolt-ons, unless you consider the large amounts of fabrication in a turbo setup to be "bolt on".

If you're tearing into the motor, the heads are one of the keys to making power. Len Hoffman (http://www.haminc.biz) does lots of 914/912E/VW Type IV heads and knows lots of ways to get power out of them. Displacement increases, compression ratio increases, more aggressive cams, and all of that are possible and have been done here and there.

--DD

#9126000003 or not?

Again, not trying to force you to do anything but, a photo of your VIN plate would go along way in validated your story here. You may have the last laugh as your car may be the 2nd oldest 912E, or if #2 is dead and gone, THE oldest 912E still around. A simple photo should prove that.

Playa, the reason 911 guys are down on the wheels is not what they look like but the weight. Those are chrome-plated steel wheels, and if you understand the meaning of "unsprung weight"--which is what those wheels are--you too would want to 86 'em.

Playa, I know they gave you a hard way to go on the other board and said you got ripped off, but what you paid isn't bad for a good 912E.

Yes, but a lot of us were concerned by what Playa noted as "a little bit of rust," in areas that are typically the tip of the iceberg in terms of what's under the paint. And the quick, new, white paint is a bad sign. Whether it's "a good 912E" or not is a question.

The rims are 18s and cost almost 1200 bills (I have the reciept) so I doubt they are steel Pepboyz rims probably alloys. Ill have to take them off and see how heavy they are.

The paint aint that new and wasnt to hide rust...the dude that sold it to me painted it white when he bought it 3 years ago cause he like that color better then black which it was painted when he bought it...black got really hot in the NC summers in addition. The car is solid all around I spent a few hours poking around in the areas people told me to look. Other than those few bubbles NO RUST!

To find out what you have and diagnose your issues..you should post distributor # and do a leakdown test and post numbers of your results..looks like a 009 distributor [junk] too short a curve and is the engine working properly internally

looking at the pictures, you need to replace the air filters. figure out where the fuel filter is located and r&r that. as dave stated, you will have to determine exactly what type of carbs are on your car and how they are configured. venturi size, and jetting. when you say "bogs down when i stomp on it", at what rpm are you at and what gear are you in? if you are expecting to be pinned back in the seat 'when you stomp on it' you're expecting more than your car is going to provide.

k