Another 914 ALMOST on the road after 10 years..., Frustrated "newbie" really needs some help! Options

[kfieler]

Hey folks, I’m EXTREMELY proud to say that I’ve almost got another “teener” on the road… but first, I think I need some help!

Subject: 1973 914-4, 1.7 with fuel injection.

I purchased the car in non-running condition (PO says it sat for about 10 years). I did a TON of work on the car before attempting to start it for the first time (which I will describe at the end of this post).

Long story short, I finally got the car fired-up the other day. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif) It was running very rough. It would run for several minutes, have a hard time holding idle, then die. After the engine would quit, it would be difficult or impossible to start again until it cooled-down.

Last night, I decided to attempt a tune-up… to get the car closer to running “right”. Here’s what happened:

I could not locate TDC for #1. I did, however, find a “THIN RED LINE” on the fan (which I believe to be the timing mark?). The red mark looks “factory” and not painted by a PO. I put a white dot of paint from a paint marker on the fan (below the red line) to make it more visible.

I double-checked my vacuum hose connections (all new vacuum lines installed on engine).

I installed new spark plugs, a new cap and new plug wires.

I fired the engine and attempted to start timing it with a timing light. Using the timing light, I was able to get the “THIN RED LINE” and my white paint dot to balance in the fan shroud notch by rotating the distributor. Although the engine ran for a few minutes, it died-out before I could proceed further.

After letting the car sit for a few minutes, I was able to start the engine again. It idled for a minute-or-so. It sounded rough and, during idle, it had a "light" backfire one time. Again, it ran for a few minutes then died.

I attempted to start the car three more times. Each time, it would fire - but only run for about a second – then die (almost as if it were only running on the cold start injector?).

With subsequent attempts to start the car – it would not fire.

I added three gallons of fuel to the car (thinking maybe I was out of gas?) and manually ran the fuel pump relay for a couple minutes (to insure the pump was still running and that – hopefully – I was building fuel pressure).

I double-checked the MPC to see if it was still holding a vacuum. It appears to be working. I made certain wiring harness was plugged-into MPC.

I attempted to start the car again. DEAD.

Re-attached my timing light with inductive pick-up to plug wire #1. Cranked engine and noticed the timing light did strobe. Question: Does this mean I still have spark?

I am a complete “newbie” – this being my first project car. I am not a mechanic, but am trying to learn and do this right (so if I sound like an idiot, I am when it comes to auto mechanics).

Please, experts… Any ideas as to what my next trouble-shooting steps should be? I am getting so frustrated that I am about to send this car to a shop… which will completely take my pride in bringing this vehicle back to life away from me!

F.Y.I. – Here are the pertinent things I’ve accomplished in the past month BEFORE I started the car for the first time:

Fuel System:
*Drained the tank of old fuel. Flushed the fuel tank with new fuel.
*Disassembled, cleaned, re-assembled and tested the fuel pump.
*Installed new fuel filter.
*Installed new fuel lines.
*Sent fuel injectors to Witch Hunter Performance for a “rebuild” (cleaning). They came back tested fine.

Engine Electrical:
*Installed new battery.
*Replaced transmission ground strap with a new one.
*Cleaned negative battery ground to chassis.
*Cleaned both battery cables and associated connections. They all look great.
*Cleaned ground bundle to chassis (driver side, next to relay board).
*Removed, cleaned and re-installed relay board.
*Installed known working relays on relay board (fuel pump runs, blower motor runs).
*Installed new ignition switch (original was cracked).
*Cleaned all fuse connections (front and rear).
*Replaced ALL fuses in vehicle.

Vacuum:
*Replaced all vacuum lines with hoses from FLAPS (this is a temporary solution until I can get the “right” metric German hoses).
*Further tightened hoses with plastic zip strips.
*Replaced gasket underneath the “oil filler box”.

PLEASE HELP!