I'm looking at a 75 1.8 litre which is very solid. I have owned only 2.0 litres, are there any common problems associated specifically to the 1.8 litre?

The L jet doesn't like ANY vacumn leaks.

The 75 1.8L can be a wonderful cruzer if it has no rust and is in great condition. Even then it suffers from 914 anemia called the 'slows'...slower only than the 1.7L cars. I see a lot of pristine 75 1.8L cars...condition is usually excellent...they don't seem to be driven much and more often garage queens

Heavy chassis, low HP/torque, big bumpers, restrictive exhaust...you get the idea...if its a CA version it may have smog equipment on it.

I've owned a '75 since 1983 and faced most of the engine issues, here are the most notable and what I did:

1. Vacumn leaks- much is written about this on this site, but in short, hose leaks will cause problems. Sometimes a hose looks fine, especially small ones, be prepared to replace as necessary. I put a T to one of the smaller lines and installed a vacumn gauge. If the engine began to run rough and vacumn had dropped, I had a starting point.

2. Dual Relay wiring- this has to be secured so the wires will not work loose. Loose wires can cause the fuel pump to stop. I installed a fuel pressure gauge between the pass fuel rail and cold start injector. When the engine stops and the fuel pressure is low, the fuel pump is not working. In my case, it was usually a loose connection at the dual relay.

3. Resistor pack. Secure it if its loose and rattling around the engine compartment


4. Distributer-I had issues with it for many years. I replaces it with a Mallory Unilite that I bought from Chris at Tangering Racing. He sets the curve for the 1.8 engine. Engine runs smoother through the entire range of rpms, runs cooler, and does not ping on hills. This was my single best performance upgrade.

5/ Besides those: I change the oil every 3K miles and adjust valves every 6K miles

Hope this helps, good luck with the 914