Won't start

[Chriskillion]

My father left his 914 that has been sitting for 20+ years and I'm trying to start her again she has the 1.8. I've replaced the whole fuel system and right now she acts like she wants to start but she backfires and sputters alot is there a basic setting to start from with the fuel mix screws and timing and dwell?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

How's the ignition system? Getting a decent spark? Is the spark happening at roughly TDC? (Google up "ignition static timing" for how to check that.)

Does your car have the original L-Jetronic fuel injection system? Has it been converted to dual carbs (or even, ugh, a single carb)?

Does the car have compression on all four cylinders? Does the starter cranking sound even, or is there a dead spot in the pattern of sound?

--DD

[Chriskillion]

Yes she does have spark and I am getting closer but how do you set the dwell and timing without her running.. I don't know about the compression my father told me he parked her running so I just wanted to change the fuel system and give her a tune up but she is very finicky.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

For dwell without the car running, you just set the points gap. A matchbook cover, IIRC, will do in place of the proper gap of 0.016".

For timing without the car running, you use "static timing". You loosen the distributor (there's a clamp under it that has a long nut you can loosen) and set the engine rotation at the TDC mark. Connect a test light on the points wire, unplugging it from the condensor. Hook the other lead of the test light to power. Twist the distributor until the light is just coming on and going off with tiny little movements, which means the circuit is opening/closing right there at TDC. That gets you close enough for the car to start.

Which fuel system you have is important if you're talking about messing with the fuel system. Stock fuel injection or carburetor conversion?

When you crank the starter, is the pattern of the sound pretty even, or is there a "dead spot" in it?

Lots of cars "ran when parked"--some of them even did run when parked--but that doesn't necessarily mean they're mechanically good now.

--DD

[mgphoto]

It sounds like the distributor is 180* out, if the dizzy was removed it could have been flipped during install.