hey,
so i just got my first 914 back in April and have been rebuilding the engine since. we finally got it all back together and back in the car. the engine turns over nice and clean but doesn't fire . turns out im not getting any spark. the P.O. converted it to some tiny 34 ict carbs and the wiring was all over the place so im not sure where all the wiring is supposed to go. i think iv got the coil and distributor wired correctly but if anyone has any pictures of how its supposed to be or any suggestions of why it wouldn't be firing it would be much appreciated. this is my first air cooled build so im kinda in the dark. thanks for the help.

Get a manual. You'll save time in the long run.

Haynes manual get it online. Not many bookstores will have it. Post lots of pictures and someone will help. No way to know until we see what U have.

haha i have a hanes manual. the wiring diagrams in it combined with the mess of wires makes my head want to explode haha. but i will take some pictures and see if anyone can figure it out. my dad said it might be the points so i might get a points eliminator kit.

God forbid your head explode. That would make a mess all over my monitor.LOL!

ok heres some pictures. i think brown is the ground wire green goes to the condenser and the 2 black wires are positive. then i also have a brown, black, and green/red wire that im not sure where they are supposed to go.

Brown wire is not stock IMO. If its a ground lead you got it way wrong. Coil - goes to the points, coil+ goes to 12vdc switched.

The green/red wire is the oil pressure wire and connects to the oil pressure switch recessed in the engine tin, mounted to the block.
The brown, shouldn't connect to the coil. Does the "black" wire have a purple stripe on it??? Clean it good and check. It is the tach wire and goes to the coil negative side as does the green condensor wire.
Check the two black wires on the one connector and see if they are hot with the key on. If so, that goes to the coil positive side....

alright. my bro. said there should be a ground on the coil so he made one. so i will take that off. and connect the rest. thanks for the help. i will let you know how it goes.

Wiring diagrams are available on the Pelican Parts website. They're there for both early and late cars. For the ignition circuit, they're the same, and the late diagram might be easier to understand. Point (condenser) and tach wires go to the negative side, the thicker black wire goes to the positive side. There are NO other wires that go to the coil, unless someone has wired a fuel pump to the plus side. If so, that's a BAD idea, but you can live with it until it can be moved to a better power source.

The Cap'n

alright. brown removed, red/green attached to oil pressure switch, black/purple wire and green wire attached to coil -, and 2 black wires attached to coil +. still nothing. i tried it on my flame thrower and stock coil. any other ideas.

looks like points and possibly condenser problem now. so pertronix points eliminator kit is on the way! hopefully i will have this baby up and runnin by the end of the week! (knock on wood). next problem to fix- small sump cover leak... when will the problems END!!!

sheesh! wow, thanks guys!

You have a sports car that is nearing 40 years old. It is running an air cooled VW based engine...

The problems won't end until you.... no

if you..... no

when your car..... no

I don't think they do end.

haha ya i know. its all worth it at the end of the day though. i would just like them to end enough to be able to drive it is all.
thanks for all the help so far.

All cars are gonna break down someday. Even brand new cars have to be towed back to the dealer. When a 914 is properly taken care of, it can be a very dependable driver. Use only the proper parts for the job and you'll be much happier.