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Posted by: surfdogskier Oct 15 2019, 09:08 AM

Looking for those out there that have Weber 34 ICT carbs on their ride, particularly on a 1.7. What do you think of them? Are you happy with them? Do you wish you upgraded to 40's?

Posted by: bbrock Oct 15 2019, 09:58 AM

I ran them on a VW bus and for a short time on a 1.7 L 914. I liked them okay. They were a huge improvement over the single progressive carbs they replaced. I never tried to dial in the carbs so I doubt they were performing at their best. I pretty much just bolted them on and ran with them because I didn't know any better at the time. I also had the terrible 009 distributors on both engines so has that off idle hesitation they are famous for. Other than the distributor lag, I thought they were a decent (and at the time very cheap) replacement for a failing FI. That was 30+ years ago.

Posted by: jimkelly Oct 15 2019, 10:36 AM

thanks for the reminder, i have a box of these in my garage i forgot about.

here is a relevant thread.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=99389&st=0&p=1215034&#entry1215034

Posted by: porschetub Oct 15 2019, 01:48 PM

These carbs were a great remedy when they came out for the bus owner that had worn out Solex's ,properly fitted and jetted they were a good set up and certainly an improvement over the centre mount Weber.
They come with small venturies so offer good power low down but couldn't be described as a performance carb,the set I had on a single port T1 motor were easy to dial in and balance and stayed that way,some say the later type with the power valves went some way to cure the flat spot when used with a 009.
These are an old design and were commonly fitted to some British Ford models back in the 60's and 70's,originally made by Weber then made under license in Spain.

Posted by: 914_teener Oct 15 2019, 02:22 PM

I predict that there will be no one who currently runs them on a 1.7.

If they are running it on a stock cam the results will be less that optimal at best and not less effort to set up and have the engine run.


During my 15 some years of running the stock FI on a 914, I never came across someone who had them on their car and ran them for any amount of time on a 1.7.

I always heard from someone else that "so and so's" car ran them and they were "great" ,but never saw one running for the same amount of time as I had run FI in my 1.7.

The only time the FI failed me is when I first had the car. The MPS diaphragm split.


I think that if you have the 1.7 stock cam in your car the easiest most reliable and cheapest route is to become an expert on the stock FI system and fix the things that aren't working correctly.

My opinion...since you asked.

Posted by: bbrock Oct 15 2019, 04:30 PM

with your bottom line here but will add a little to my experience with these carbs. I did run them with the stock cam and thought they did fine. Like I said, I just bolted them on the stock engine. Back then, the only time the stock FI failed me was when I drove the car There was no Internet then and I had neither the know-how, money, or luxury of time to constantly fiddle with the deteriorated FI. The car was my only transportation for awhile and the 34 ICTs were the quickest and cheapest way to make the car dependable again. I should say that in addition to the 009 flat spot, they didn't quite have the top end of the FI but I didn't care.

I wouldn't make the same choice today. With the Internet and alternate transportation, I would invest the time to get the FI sorted. I'm not sure I agree that is the easiest option, but IMO is the better one.

Posted by: Tbrown4x4 Oct 15 2019, 05:15 PM

When I bought my '73, it already had the EMPI single barrels on it. It ran so bad, I can't believe I bought the car. I added a balance tube and adjusted them a little, and they really worked OK for me at the time. I got 30-32 MPG (mostly freeway driving) so I thought they were fine, if a little anemic.

I eventually found a pair of 40 IDF Webers and installed those. I lost a few MPG, but they really woke up the car, even with the stock cam.

I even considered putting them back on for a while, but I would go back FI before I did that now.

Posted by: Chi-town Oct 15 2019, 05:37 PM

In really wish we could put the "stock cam doesn't work on carbs" myth

The stock cam is the same between the factory US fuel injected cars and the Euro carb'd cars. There is no huge loss by swapping to carbs because of the cam.

Is it optimal, no. But no factory cam is optimal for performance. There's always a compromise between drivability and power.

If you take the time to tune your carbs properly the car will be fine.

Posted by: 914_teener Oct 15 2019, 06:06 PM

Ok ....it.s put to rest.


Who is currently running 34 ict's on their 914 and what is your opinion.

Posted by: 914werke Oct 15 2019, 09:49 PM

I just had a customer bring in his 76 that he had bought & installed those new on his 2.0
WHAT a MISTAKE...
I ended up yarding them off & replacing them with some Weber copies (40's)

Posted by: rhodyguy Oct 16 2019, 07:33 AM

pick a path and stay the course. Putting 2nd hand, unknown parts on the engine will have you chasing your tail. Set your sails, Pony up now and save yourself some grief. Thread after thread about the same problem is irksome. Antiquated fuel injection...works great when it works.

Posted by: Junebug Nov 24 2019, 01:49 PM

Ran on 1.8 great gas mileage average performance. Biggest issue was manifold splitting one cyl per side always got less fuel result is hot running engine. Solved with the 40's HUGE performance difference and actually better MPG with the 40's (28 hwy) My other two cars are L and D jet. Fuel Injected 914's are smooth even and constant, once working they require little and start every time. The Carb'd 1.8 is parked at 4000' and tuned for Tahoe runs and Much Much more fun to drive in the mountains than FI. But for daily city driving FI is better and your hands stay cleaner and lid closed. If you must have carbs, I would not recommend 34's.