1971 914-4 Frankenstein, w/ 912E 2.0 L-Jet FI? Options

[mepstein]

I'm pulling a running '71 engine for a 6 conversion I'll send you a pm. Mark

[timothy_nd28]

I don't think they introduced cylinder head vents for the 1.7s till 73, so you might be okay. I'm also on the fence to either admire your setup as genius or rather a bunch of spare parts cobbled together.
The problem you have could be as simple as replacing the points in your distributor or the more expensive route of replacing the ECU. I'm not sure what's turning on the fuel pump with your setup, or why you have 2 fuel regulators in series. We bypassed the dual relay to rule that out, and you discovered a faulty fuel injector that's rated for a 1.6l bug. Could we get this running again, I like to think so but you will still have a crazy setup. I would hate to see you throw money at this.
I love the Ljet, but it may be worthwhile returning this 914 back to a Djet once again

[mikesjunk]

Yes Tim I'm on a similar page. I sent my sister a note an hour ago basically saying I'm about out of free things to do.

At some point here money will need to be spent to either find out what's wrong with this setup or to get one that can be more easily trouble shot.

I have no idea what is supposed to run the fuel pump. I figure that getting it running was first priority as I can force the pump to run for this. Like I've been doing.

You mentioned above thinking it would run on ether so that you were leaning toward spark. On that side of the equation it seems a typical system. Points, condenser, plugs and wires. I'm assuming whether this is D-Jet or L-let this is common so probably a good thing to just replace these items. And its not wasted or blind guesses.

Thanks for all the suggestions and pointers. The holiday is over and back to the grind tomorrow. So less time to tinker and make updates.

[timothy_nd28]

Yep, points are pretty easy and inexpensive. Another method to verify if you are losing spark, attach a timing light to one of the plug wires, start the car and stare at the timing light. You should see a bunch of flashes, if the flashing ceases during any time the engine is running, that would confirm either power to the ignition coil is cutting out or you have some burnt ignition points.

Also, go over the vacuum system. You will need to be vigilant when checking, a bad valve cover gasket will cause this same condition. As mentioned earlier, Ljets are extremely sensitive to vacuum leaks. If you want to pursue the diagnoses, take care of these and see if you can source another used fuel injector. Pelican parts will have the new O'rings (I'm betting they will be interchangeable).

best of luck