Dave's 914

I have a confession and I want to share my experience with the board. This board has renewed my interest with my teener and made me want to enjoy my car more. I have owned my car for over 25 years, completed my restoration 15 years ago and I have only driven the car 4400 miles enjoying the occasional weekend drive, car show or trips to the Pomona swap meet. I consider myself a competent mechanic- I have built many projects and been wrenching since I have been 13 years old. I'm turning 50 this year. My car mainly sits in my shop as it’s been a full concours q-tip garage queen as I’ve just never been happy with its driveability - off idle response could be better; the number one cylinder seemed weak with idle tuning etc. The engine is a 2.0 with euro P/C’s and 40mm Delorto carbs. Lately I installed a CD ignition and that improved things a bit. Last night, I was down at my shop and thinking about this and having a few beers (beer = clear thinking!)

The facts:
• In playing around with my idle mixtures screws, number one cylinder was the weakest-
• The number one cylinder is the furthest away from fuel flow
• I checked the idle circuit and passages in that side of the carb- clean no obstructions
• I decided to check fuel pressure- I am running a 914-6 fuel pump and a cheesy aftermarket fuel pressure regulator- the regulator was set at 3-4 psi, the optimal pressure for carbs.

So, I set up a pressure gauge on the fuel line feeding the suspect carb and find ITS ONLY PRODUCING BARELY 2 psi!

I cranked up the pressure regulator all the way up and got 3.5 psi – (the 914-6 fuel pump I’m sure is internally regulated) and now the engine runs fat and happy! I took the car for a spin and could not believe the difference. Off idle response is smooth and powerful. I’ll re-time and tune for more improvement.

With carbs, most of your regular driving is done off the idle circuit until closer to WOT so, here I’ve been compromising things for fifteen f’n years!

And I thought I had my act together- call me a stupid shit! Now, I don’t want to hear anything from you guys about staying with factory fuel injection….

This weekend I'm going for a drive.

Regards, Dave Hall

very cool dude, I love the car!

Yes, your car makes my pants feel tight!

Mr. Hall, educate me....
I don't think I have ever seen the kind of rocker panels you have on your car. Are those factory or aftermarket- plastic or steel?
-g

Very nice car! I bet it would look even nicer with some factory fuel injection!!! Just kidding. The car looks fantastic, and I'm a little curious about those rockers too.

way to go dave!

now, one thing ...
ditch that pressure regulator and the 914/6 fuel pump and get a real low pressure carb-pump.
i'm glad you only drove it 4400 miles in the last 15 years because your current fuel delivery setup is a BIG fireball waiting to happen!

Andy

His car makes you retain water?

Isn't the stock 6 pump a low pressure carb pump? I don't think he even needs a regulator. The stock six doesn't have one. I have been told by the folks at PMO that the 4 cyl. pump is fine with carbs. It is the pressure regulator in the fuel loop that allows the pressure to build to 30psi. I was told that it is like placing your finger over a garden hose to increase pressure. Remove your finger and the pressure drops. I hope they are right, or my 2.0 with Webers may soon ignite. I have been using a stock FI pump with a PMO conversion regulator system (very primitive) for years.

Just great!
A beautifull car like yours deserves to be driven (the only way to truely enjoy it)

cheers,

Jeroen

Thanks for the kind words about my car. The rockers are factory steel- I punched them with louvers as a styling exercise. It's hard to tell but the lower mounting points of the rockers that bolt into the pan are spaced about 1/2" to lessen their angle slightly to give a different look to the car.

The stock six fuel pump was designed to work with carbs so, it should be fine. I should ditch the aftermarket dial type regulator. I ran the pump and found that cranking the regulator all the way up maxed my fuel pressure at around 3.5 psi. I had decent flow with filling a container. You could time the filling of a quart container and factor your gallons per min. Later I'll test the pressure of the six fuel pump without the regulator. Here I thought that the graduated markings on the reg truly meant something so, always test to see what you really have for pressure and flow.

Dave

damm, i should think before i type. how's that for a change.

/6s were carbed. i knew that ...
Andy

It's the obvious stuff that kills ya.....I once had a Karmann Ghia with a 1835 dual port....was running a single 44 Weber and had a transistional problem coming off idle. It would stumble like a MOFO until 3000 rpms....checked everything three times....except the obvious.

Had a few beers and scratched my butt, my head and then my chin....couldn't figure where the smell was coming from, washed my hands, had three more beers and then looked IN the stoopid carb....Pressed down on the linkage and saw ONLY ONE squirt.....pulled it apart and found that one of the nozzles on the jet had never been drilled out.

Must have been a Monday jet at the factory.....swapped in a new main squirter and vroooooommmm, of course my mileage went from 30mpg to 21.....

Awesome 914 Dave. I saw it in person at Dunkel's this year. I wish we could have met.

I'm happy to hear that you might be getting it dirty form now on though!

Glad to here it is running better now. Makes me want to check 2-3 cars sitting around here.

I'm not sure what this means:

• The number one cylinder is the furthest away from fuel flow

Do you mean the drivers side carb gets fuel last ?


B

The fuel line for my carbs are plumbed "dasy chained" from the fuel pump to the regulator to the right side carb then to the drivers side carbs. I believe that the right hand carbs were getting more fuel flow at the low pressure. Number 1 and 2 cylinders are on the drivers side and for some reason cylinder 1 seemed more starved for fuel at idle and off idle. Fuel level in of carb bowls must work at a proper level for the lower rpm fuel circuits to work. I think so however, lately I'm beginning to doubt my knowledge and expertise! Dave