Hello everyone!
I am a new member, and this is my first post..
I have inherited a '75 914 1.8 4 cylinder in canary yellow.
I am just starting out with the restoration.
The car has not been driven for seven years. It was garaged on the Oregon coast, and has only mild surface rust.
I have removed all of the interior and there are no major body issues.
I bought all new tune up parts, drained the tank, and replaced fluids.
It fires off, but will only run for a few seconds. I have a second built engine on a stand as well as other parts.
The fuel pump seems fine. My father made some modifications to the engine, which I have not yet sorted out.
I have his Haynes manual for the car.
I have it on my 18' tilt deck trailer.
I am wondering if any forum members in my area could recommend a good mechanic in the greater Seattle area.
Thanks.

,

you will need to post engine info, such as fuel injection or carbs.

we need more info. Let's see it!

The engine that is in the car is L- jetronic (AFC) fuel injection. The second engine on the stand I believe he was setting up for a carburetor.
It appears to me that both engines are missing some parts on the top end. Neither engine has an air cleaner. It seems likely that I have a massive vacume leak, for starters.
I have no experience with these cars.
I will need to bring it in to somone..

Welcome to the madness...

There are a few members in your area, someone will post with a shop in your area, weekends can be slow.

But until then, we do need pictures....the car....the engines.
Good luck

Jeff

Thanks for the welcome, and the replies..
I am glad that I joined.
I will post pictures tomorrow.
Cheers.

I would be happy to walk you thru the diagnostics on this Ljet. All we would need is a voltmeter and a fuel pressure gauge to start with. It's not terrible hard to work on this, and plus you gain experience

On the 1.8L with L-jet the AFM is attached to the air cleaner housing, so if you are missing the air cleaner you may not has an AFM. There is a micro switch in the AFM that signal the FI Control Module to energize the fuel pump relay. Is there a wiring harness with a 6 or 7 pin connector just hanging out on the driver side of the engine compartment.

Post some picture of the engine compartment and several (probably a lot) members here could tell a lot about your car and potential issues.

Jim

Here are a few pictures of my car, the engine compartment, and the spare engine...Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Wolfsburg Motorwerks
5010 14th Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107‎
(206) 789-0182

Engine compartment..Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Spare engine on stand...Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

The air cleaner is the box on the left side of the engine bay. The air flow meter is the thing with the tape on top of it.

I don't know what that tube sitting vertically on top of the manifold (or "plenum") is. If it goes into the manifold, that's a REALLY HUGE air leak.

Did we mention that L-jet hates air leaks?

--DD

Thanks.

Thanks.
I can't figure out what that is either. It has been sealed up with a black rubber ball to keep debris out of the throat.
If you spray starting fluid or gas in there, then it fires right off and runs great for a few seconds, until it starves out...

It looks like your missing the hose from the air flow meter to the intake!

The hose is right there, connecting the AFM to the throttle body ...................

The Cap'n

The madness doesnt take long to set in....

On the spare engine, I think your thermostat is faulty

So you're saying that tube that is open to the air does in fact open into the manifold?

Yeah, that's time for a new manifold. Air leaks are bad, they let unmetered air into the intake, which means the injection doesn't "know" about it. So it doesn't add the fuel to go with that air, which means it runs lean. A large enough leak will keep it too lean to run at all.

When you add starting fluid, you're effectively adding fuel. Which tells me you don't have enough fuel going in for the air going in. Could be that you don't have any fuel going in (you can put the injectors into cans or jars to see if anything comes out of them) or it could be that you have way too much air going in that the FI doesn't know about.

--DD

The best lead in Seattle for you..

Welcome to our crazy family. I love the color of your car.