Sudden flooding while running, Engine just dies - why? Options

[ThinAir]

My 1970 914-4 with factory LJet DJet FI ran fine when it was parked about 3 years ago, and when I fired it up to take it to the RRC last September all was well until the first outing. We went around a corner and the thing just died. It smelled horribly of unburned fuel and it was clear that the engine had flooded. This happened again about 5 times on the trip back to Flagstaff from Moab. In each case we were able to get it started again, but it's a real pain to have the thing die when you are right in the middle of passing someone at 70+ mph!

I'm pretty sure that this has to be a loose connection or a wire that has worn through the insulation and is grounding occasionally. In order to make it easier to find, the question I have is what component would cause such a behavior? Knowing that might make it easier to track down where the problem is coming from. Any ideas? I want to put this back on the road for the Rt66 Classic in March.

[dr914@autoatlanta.com]

My 1970 914-4 with factory LJet FI ran fine when it was parked about 3 years ago, and when I fired it up to take it to the RRC last September all was well until the first outing. We went around a corner and the thing just died. It smelled horribly of unburned fuel and it was clear that the engine had flooded. This happened again about 5 times on the trip back to Flagstaff from Moab. In each case we were able to get it started again, but it's a real pain to have the thing die when you are right in the middle of passing someone at 70+ mph!

I'm pretty sure that this has to be a loose connection or a wire that has worn through the insulation and is grounding occasionally. In order to make it easier to find, the question I have is what component would cause such a behavior? Knowing that might make it easier to track down where the problem is coming from. Any ideas? I want to put this back on the road for the Rt66 Classic in March.

a quick check is the head temp sensor failure.