Dual carbs vs Injection questions., YEs... It's another 914 N00b. Options

[FEF]

All,

I've been haunting the forums here for a few weeks. I've found the information sound and well reasoned. Well, for the most part. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

I have the chance to pick up a '75 with the 1.8 (I believe) and dual carbs that's been sitting for about 3 years. I'm told it ran well when it was parked. Here's the thing... I can get it for $600. If it passes the folding car rust test, I may pick it up as my dailydriver beater car. If it ran well enough when it stopped, I should be able to get it going again. But what do I do after It's running????

I've read in other places that the dual carb setup is not good. Now, I'm trying to understand why. Sure, they require 2x the timkering of a single carb, and more electrosavy (Ya... I made the word up) then the EFI. But, is it really that bad? I will not likely race it (Although, I was known to autocross and rally a bit), so high HP is not my goal. I am looking for a fun car that's reliable and has modification possibilities. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

I'm not saying that I want to bo back to EFI. To me, that's not an option. Before I do any engine work, I'll convert it to an Electric Vehicle. I've seen one move. It don't stink.

Why are dual carbs so bad? Why did one guy say he's only seen one good setup, and it was on a race car with a HUGE budget? I have experiance with 4 carb motorcycles, so multi carbs don't scare me. Should I be afraid? Should I plan on trying to get a single carb intake for the sake of simplicity?

It all sounds kinda odd.


Thanks in advance

[LvSteveH]

The poor reputation of carbs is largely undeserved, but as they pointed out, there are many misconceptions concerning them. If carbs were so very bad, then they wouldn’t be so successful on the 914-6 and countless 2.7-3.2L upgrades throughout the years. Basically you have to choose your poison, if you are more electrically incline, then staying with the factory setup is probably the way to go. If on the other hand you are an electrophobe, and shutter at the thought of testing various sensors for proper operation to debug a high idle, yet are perfectly happy splitting the engine case to throw in a more aggressive cam and some larger pistons and cylinders, then carbs may very well be for you. EFI and Carbs both have an art to proper tuning and maintenance, some very lucky guys are good at both, but most of us have a preference one way or the other.

That being said, as Dave mentioned, the best solution is without a doubt a modern fully programmable system. It will provide maximum efficiency, power, and engine longevity. Unfortunately such a system is not readily available and affordable. When that time comes, I will gladly hand over my carb jets and ohm meter and enjoy the relative ease of having a microprocessor take over. We’re not talking George Orwell here. It will just take a little initiative for someone to come up with a simple system that should work on a wide variety of engines. A mass airflow meter, and O2 sensor, a few others will do the trick. There are a few systems on the market, but none that have sufficiently impressed me to order one. I’m not an electrical guru by any means, but I’d think a simple retrofit could be made from a modern car with all the hard work already done by the guys with deep pockets.