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Posted by: jporsche914 Jun 19 2004, 01:27 PM

My fuel injection is getting old and i was wondering is there a company that makes an aftermarket fuel injection kit for a 1972 1.7L at a resonable price. The only reason i am going with aftermarket is it is hard to find rebuilt peices for the stock systems. Does anybody know where i can get oem fuel injection parts. Does anybody know where they sale a complete wirering harness. Any suggestion will help.
Thanks alot

Posted by: Rog914 Jun 19 2004, 04:54 PM

There's a replacement FI system in the works right now. Hopefully by late summer or early fall. Looks like it's going to work on 1700cc to 2270cc or more. And be a very good upgrade for our old outdated FI system. Here's his website.

http://home.mindspring.com/~dave.c/kitcarlson/

You should hear some good news about this system within a month right here on this BBS.

Ralph

74 2.0

Posted by: Ray Warren Jun 19 2004, 05:20 PM

Or if you want something already tried and tested.
http://www.sdsefi.com/index.html

Posted by: Jeroen Jun 19 2004, 07:28 PM

you can do a search on "megasquirt" and you'll find that quite a few members are either working on it or have one running

for the wiring harness, check the "parts and resources" forum. Jeff Bowlsby (who is a member here) makes very nice ones

HTH,

Jeroen

Posted by: Mark Henry Jun 19 2004, 07:37 PM

The SDS system is good, but like ALL after-market systems it's not just a simple bolt on.

The Kit Carlson system will be the only bolt on system made for the stock T4 FI system. You will still have to weld in an O2 bung, but the drop in dizzy will be the big plus.

If you do the hipo thing with dual TB's, etc, your back into almost any system, IMO

This is just some of the other systems out there:

http://www.emi.cc/

http://www.haltech.com.au/

http://www.motec.com/

http://www.fuelairspark.com/

http://www.mrgasket.com/dfitop.html

Posted by: TimT Jun 19 2004, 07:43 PM

Shameless plug for my friend. He is the only authorized Haltech dealer in NY

Posted by: dmenche914 Jun 20 2004, 01:12 AM

if you are running a stock, or close to stock motor, save your money, and time, and repair the existing FI. My experience is with D-jet, and i found it to be very reliable once the wiring /ground issues are taken care of. I am sure there are those that also have good things to say about the L-jet.

As mentioned, there is a member that sells replacement wire harnesses. i have been succsesful rebuilding my own harnesses, and a friend of mine built his own from stratch (for very little money) spare connectors can be obtained from simular era VW FI cars such as squarebacks, or busses. Injectors are still avaliable, as are the head temp sensor.

what componets do you need to replace? I am sure someone on this list might be able to help you obtain them,, at a resonable price. (true some new parts are very expensive, but used can be cheap.)

The original systems have worked very well, and a stock engine will not really benifit from any aftermarket system. Now of course if you love to tinker as a hobby, go for it. But if you want a reliable system for little money, and minimal work i'd tend to stick with stock.

let the list know specifically what you need, and what problems you are having, we are here to help out. you might be able to buy what you need form someone that has modified their engine (ie bigger displacement) and hence went to carbs, or aftermarket FI, there are plenty of people that have parted rusty 914's, so they might have stock componets for sale. i can not think of an aftermarket system that is any cheaper than a stock system, ecspecailly if you buy some stuff used.


So let us know what you need.





best of luck

dave

Posted by: Dominic Jun 20 2004, 07:12 AM

I agree with the last post....If you are just running a stock motor stick with the stock parts.
(save your $$ and buy a good header)

If you are building a Performance Engine and have lots of $$$ to spend then you might look into an Aftermarket set up with a programmable engine management system. I have done lots of research and bought all of the parts to assemble a nice Dual TB system and it's in the range of $1800 - $2000 and up for the good stuff.

Later,
Dominic

Posted by: Mark Henry Jun 20 2004, 08:13 AM

to a point....

It depends what you want to do. The stock FI systems (D and L-jet) work real good and problems can be worked out. I hear of many people scraping a perfectly good system for some minor issues all the time. If I was keeping the engine stock I would repair the stock FI.



Again, I agree to a point...but sometimes the repair can be half (or more) as much as an aftermarket system. Time wise I know of people who have spent major time trying to get their stock system to work proper, most succeed but some have failed.

My 914 was brought to my shop by the PO, it had been in storage for over 10yrs and he wanted to get it running. After changing all the fluids, filter, cleaning the tank and etc. it would not fire up. I didn't have time to mess with it (and it was before this BBS) so I took it to a local 914 shop, $800 later it ran great. With this BBS I may have got it going for $500. This is when I found out it was for sale and bought it.
I quickly found out that my 914 1.8 L-jet was way too anaemic for my tastes. I didn't want carb's (BTDT on my bugs) and knew that I'd be bumping up the cam, etc so I bought my SDS system.

Aftermarket FI is not for everyone, you must have a basic understanding of engines, mechanical, electrical, computers, etc. or you may never have the desired result. If you’re the type that barely knows how to check your oil level, then stay away from aftermarket FI. Get a good shop to fix your stock FI and be happy with it.

If your a gearhead and want to fiddle then aftermarket FI rocks.

Take your time, do the research, do the math, check out your options and above all be honest with your expectations and budget for your 914.

What ever you decide you will find help on this board.

Posted by: lmcchesney Jun 20 2004, 07:21 PM

jporsche914, it's all been said. What you have not said, is what problems you are having and what you want to achieve.
Because the FI system seems complex, many treat it as a black box and if something goes wrong, replace it with a new FI system. But as has been said, nothing is going to provide you with a direct exchange and you will have problems with the new system as well.
David Hunt, a member on the board has a working megasquirt system and I believe seems happy. Possibily reading Brad Anders information on the D-jet will help get you started. Another source of an overview of the D-jet is Kjell Nelin paper which can be found on http://www.914fan.net/ in the Tech article section. I found this to be a very understandable discription, especally if you can have the engine and FI there to see how the parts work together. Jeff Bowsley will provide a new wiring harness, but unless yours is cut up or burned, it is pretty stright forward to remove the harness and the ECU, then check the continuity/resistance of the leads/wires. Emery paper, and new connectors do wonders.
But most importantly, there are members of the board who have had just about any problem the D-jet can cause and are very willling to help. You just need to decide. Oh yeah, if you are thinking one of the local mechanics can fix the problems, unless you live in Stugart, most of us have had worse results.
L. McC

Posted by: anthony Jun 20 2004, 08:29 PM

I find fuel injection parts cheap all the time. I recently scored almost everything from a '75 2L for $30 including throttle body, injectors, and MPS. You have to go to swap meets and hunt around and grab the stuff people just dying to get out of their garage.

That said, I got my car running great by changing all the vacuum hoses, disassembling and lubing my distributor, installing a new TPS, and installing Pertronix electronic ignition module.

As previously said, checking ground points and making sure there are no vacuum leaks goes along way to restoring drivability.

Brad's site was mentioned earlier but the url wasn't given. Here it is:

http://members.rennlist.com/pbanders/

Learn to test each suspect component you have. It doesn't cost anything!

Posted by: jporsche914 Jun 21 2004, 10:49 AM

I would like to have my 914 FI to be more reliable and i thought an aftermarket unit would help that. I am planning on keeping the engine mostely stock (headers, ignition, Intake). I just wanted a reliable platform for an everyday driver. With FI parts being harder and harder to find expessially for the 1972 1.7L engine i just wanted another option when rebuilding my engine.

Posted by: Jake Raby Jun 21 2004, 11:00 AM

Next week Kit and I will be perfecting his EFI system on a customers 2563cc TIV engine...

I have not been happy with ANY aftermarket EFI system to date, they require too many odd components, and when they break- theyare broke with little support from anyone...

The KitCarlson system is amazing, and so simple!

Posted by: Mark Henry Jun 21 2004, 11:30 AM

Jake did you ever try the SDS system?

I know for sure they service what they sell, one guy that I know of sent back his unit, turned out not to be the systems fault. Still they upgraded the chip from a EM2 to a EM3 and sent it back to him for free! (shipping only) SDS turned it around within a week.

They now charge something like $30+ shipping if there's nothing wrong with the system.

I got my system 5 days after I ordered it.

But your right about the crank-fire trigger for my "F" system, it was a PITA making it up.

Posted by: Ray Warren Jun 21 2004, 06:41 PM

How close is this thing to being available.
1 month?
6 months?
1 year?

Posted by: 3liter914-6 Jun 22 2004, 07:11 AM

SDS is a bunch of no-BSing around good guys. Fast shipping and excellent technical support, you talk to the people that designed and built the thing. The F is a bit of a work to initially implement, but all the systems seem pretty complete, no hunting around for the right sensor, they're all in the box.

Posted by: Mark Henry Jun 22 2004, 08:02 AM

Yep, I should be clear, you only have to make the trigger mount, the trigger itself is part of the kit. The crank trigger mounting is a PITA only because of the T4 fan shroud/pulley arrangement.

On an upright fan arrangement, or any engine with a "normal" crank pulley, mounting the trigger is not as big of an issue.