1976 914 Revert to EFI from Webers for CA Smog Options

[Miniwerks]

Considering an out of State 76 914 that has been converted to Webers and owner does not have original EFI system. I will have to have it smogged in CA so will need to find all necessary components for EFI and emissions equipment to pass tailpipe and visual. Has anyone done this? Are all parts readily available and what I should expect to pay on top of purchase price to meet CA smog requirement? Not sure why but it now has 1.8 heads and Weber 40 IDAs.

[rjames]

The parts are out there, prices vary.
Probably easier to find an earlier model that you don’t have to smog. Especially if you don’t know if the cam was replaced to match the carb setup.

[Chris914n6]

If you can find everything... about a grand piece meal, likely half that complete. Still there is the problem that everything is near 50 years old and new parts are not available for everything.

The 1.8L used L-jet which is a step up from the 2.0L D-jet.

Being a 76 you will also need the 75-76 exhaust system with cat. Good news is a modern aftermarket cat, like a Magnaflow, will be much cleaner than the original.

So bottom line, you could be in for another $1500 to meet CA compliance.

PMB has/is working on a modern FI for around $5k.

[Miniwerks]

Considering an out of State 76 914 that has been converted to Webers and owner does not have original EFI system. I will have to have it smogged in CA so will need to find all necessary components for EFI and emissions equipment to pass tailpipe and visual. Has anyone done this? Are all parts readily available and what I should expect to pay on top of purchase price to meet CA smog requirement? Not sure why but it now has 1.8 heads and Weber 40 IDAs.

Disregard, got this on Pelican from their admin. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

You would need all of the original type fuel injection equipment, all of the original exhaust, and all of the "extra" smog equipment.

Some of the FI equipment is difficult to find. The fuel injection trigger points, for instance, seem to be thin on the ground. The Manifold Pressure Sensor likewise, though many of the bad MPSes you can buy can now be repaired thanks to folks like Tangerine Racing.

The smog pump and its drive pulley are very hard to find, and likely to be super expensive to buy if you do find them. The exhaust is not that hard to find, but it is a power-sapping thing that is primarily responsible for the 75-76 2.0 being rated at ~7% less power than the 73-74 2.0 motor.

Note that if the car was built to take proper advantage of the carburetors (in particular, with a hotter cam grind) the D-Jet will never work well enough to pass a California smog check.

This is why the 76 cars are very often not worth bringing into California.

[GregAmy]

Dave's right. Unless the car is really really cherry, and the price really really low, it may just not be worth the hassles and money to convert the '76 back to smog for Cali. So much easier to find a nice '75 or older and not have to worry about it.

On the other hand, you will find little resistance on this board for re-verting any carb'd car back to its original EFI. It's well-known and -supported now, with the technology better understood and most replacement parts available. It can be done. And then it starts, runs, drives better.

Smog stuff? Not so much.

I'd personally "pass" on a '76 for California, unless it was a massively killer deal.

GA

[76-914]

Unless you have a 76 that is registered as a 75 in CA. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)