1974 914 1.8, the mystery of the EC-A and EC-B Options

[wonkipop]

i'll be dropping the information we have gathered over Dec 2021 in with a set of posts.

the material was prompted by mr b ( @JeffBowlsby ) who observed that for the 74 MY there was an EC-A and an EC-B engine. mr b's thought was that the EC-A was a 49 states car and and EC-B was a californian car for emissions.

mr b's view was rational and reasoned. 73 EA engines are 49 states. 73 EB engines are california. 75 engines are documented in factory literature as EC-a (49 states) and EC-b (california). the logic should follow?

BUT

as per the mystery of the 914, the truth about 74 1.8s turns out stranger than fiction (or common sense?).

the material is not necessary to running a 1.8 or having fun with a 14. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

its for historical purposes and as information to 74 1.8 owners to assist with restoration if they want it.

[Van B]

Well, really the point is to find high compression 1.8 pistons. If that few were made, I’m sure they’re NLA anyway.
I’ll just cross that bridge when I get there.

[wonkipop]

Well, really the point is to find high compression 1.8 pistons. If that few were made, I’m sure they’re NLA anyway.
I’ll just cross that bridge when I get there.

they even made magnesium engine cases for early 411s.
these are engine numbers beginning with VO.
not sure what they are like and its only early engines around 1968 as far as i can tell.
they switched to aluminium after that.
these were only european sold cars that had magnesium cases.
much lighter.
but maybe not as strong.

i'm sure you can get the domed european pistons.
maybe not NOS ones but maybe you can.
all the euro motors for 411 and 412s were high compression.
not just the 1800 twin carb version.
there was a high compression L jet 1800 in europe too.
maybe that is the one to find out about Van?
although it could have been set up to work with an auto box.
i can't find out enough info on those 412s.
very obscure and a lot of it is buried and lost to time.
the fan base for 412s is a very small group of enthusiasts and to some extent its a forgotten car. (though i do like the look of the 412 variants where they kind of got the shape and proportions right).
they sold a lot more 1800 twin carb 412s in europe than 914s with the same motor.

also there would be aftermarket domed pistions?

i'm wondering if the heads were different in europe on the 1800s.
but at present i can't work that out.

they ran on 98 RON high octane.

the 1800 twin carb had a fair bit of power. 85 hp. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)
not that far short of the last version of the smog-ed 2.0 in USA at 88 hp. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hissyfit.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)