Based on the information I've read, my engine number should be here:

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Is the number located under the tin? Based on my limited knowledge, everything looks correct for a 1.7. Here are some more pics of the whole engine.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

that would be the spot (flywheel end, passenger side, NOT under the tin).

You either have an unmarked replacement case or it was sanded off when the motor was rebuilt (GEX?).

If it is in front of the oil filler (like the 2.0), it was originally a VW Bus engine. The oil filler tube could have been blocked off and redrilled for the dipstick where the 914 engine has it.

Evidently some early 1.7s had the number outward and down the side of the case a little from the location you show. Also look in front of the oil filler, as Schlitz mentioned.

--DD

Some bus engines had the number on the shroud, in which case there is no number on the case.

The Cap'n

Thanks, guys. For some reason I wasn't getting notifications of replies (hope that's not the case for my other threads). It turns out that the number is in front of the oil filler. It says EC 107474, and the 4s also each have a second 4 for stamped sideways. Based on a quick search that corresponds to a 74 1.8l, but they were stamped in the back, so I guess this means it's a bus engine?? If so, in a nutshell, what is the difference between the 914 and bus engines? Where would I look to see the plugged original oil dipstick tube opening? Getting disillusioned by all that was done to this car before my time....

Bus engines were lower compression or at least the 2.0L was.

If you were facing the engine, fan staring you in the face, there would be a boss for the oil filler tube on the lower right hand front edge of the case. This would be covered with a plate and two fasteners if it was a bus engine. If not, it would just be a boss in the case.

I don't think the EC engines were used in Buses. Maybe in the 412?

--DD

A VW Type 2 and type 4 website, has detailed listings of all VW engine codes. So far, this site has been correct when I find conflicting info elsewhere.
According to that site you have a 914 engine, but lower compression Ca only version of the 1.8 originally equipped with L Jet.

EC 1974 1800 (CA-only, 7.3:1 comp, L-Jetronic)

Here is the site link.

http://type2.com/bartnik/enginecodes.htm

I believe that he is incorrect about the EC motors.

- I think that the EC in the 412 was a 1.8 liter, not a 1.7
- The EC in the 914s was all US-bound 1.8 liters, not California-only

--DD

I am with Dave on this. Every 1.8 I have had or ever seen have been ECs and every EC has been a 1.8. Only California specific engine case i know of is the 73 1.7 EB, had one, horribly slow.

Got sidetracked today by an emergency. I'll take pics of the engine code and the boss mentioned above. If I'm looking at the right area, it would appear that it was not from a bus. In addition to the website mentioned above, this one says that EC is for 72-74 411/412, but also for 72-73 914 1.7L (http://www.busdepot.com/identifying-engine-codes/). Is there any way of physically identifying the displacement without measuring the bores? Also, is there any way of identifying if it's D-Jet or L-Jet by looking at it? Does anybody know where the 411 and 412 engine numbers were stamped? Although not very powerful for going up large hills, the car was pretty zippy IIRC.

Here are some pics:

The engine number

Click to view attachment

Is this the boss mentioned above?

Click to view attachment

The only odd thing I see is this thing, circled in red, that appears to have been cut off and plugged. What is it and does it give any clues to the engine's origin?

Click to view attachment

That does not look like VW case stampings. At least none I have ever seen.

John

^^^^The plot thickens....

I see some arrows in a circle to the left of the engine number stamping. I think that means factory rebuilt. The Cap'n would know better than I, though. And the unevenness of the numbers (especially those 4s!) concerns me.

The cut-off bit is just a vacuum hose that is plugged.

The manifold appears to be from the D-jet 1.7 liter, not from the L-jet 1.8 liter. (OK, the stand for the air cleaner and the rubber boot from the throttle body to the air cleaner are what I was actually looking at.)

The boss shown in the one photo is where a Bus would have had the oil filler funnel (and dipstick) going into the case. It is not machined, so it isn't a Bus motor. There was at least one VW Type IV that had the oil filler on top like the 914 does, though.

There are only two ways to verify the actual displacement of the motor that I know of. One is to pop off the heads and measure the bore and the stroke. The other is to "pump" the motor, measuring the amount of air that comes out of the exhaust with each revolution. The latter is less accurate, but does not involve disassembling any part of the motor.

--DD

Here's a really interesting thread from the Samba:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=240656

It appears that my engine was an exchange engine (you can see a bit of the exchange symbol in the pic in my earlier post). Maybe the original engine blew and this is what was sent for a replacement?? That might explain why it has the 1.7l air filter. Apparently the numbers were stamped on by the mechanic that did the replacement (supposed to be the same numbers as original). That still leaves me wondering about the questions above, like how do I know if mine is a 1.7 or a 1.8?

Thanks, Dave. We were replying at the same time. What do you think is the likelihood that this was an exchange motor for this car?

As I have little bits of time I'm writing-up my engine removal and will post it when it's done. But I just noticed that the Wayne's Pelican write-up says, in the steps about disconnecting things for the fuel injection brain, "If you have a 1.8L engine, then detach the resistor and capacitor pack that are attached right below the battery tray." My car didn't have these items. Would a 1.8L engine work without them? Could the PO have used all 1.7L stuff, but with a 1.8L engine?

What you read pertains only to the 1.8 equipped with L-jetronic FI. Yours has D-jet, and is NOT an engine originally delivered as a VW installation. The oil filler/dipstick boss you show earlier is clearly uncut. The blocked off vacuum fitting is for something left off your engine sometime in its long and checkered history ......... It's obviously something thrown together to be driven, not to be "original and correct". You can never tell what's inside by the engine number, unless it's verifiably untouched. All the '69-'79 T4 engine cases are functionally the same, and can be swapped.

The Cap'n

Yes to both of those questions. As I said, it looks like you have the 1.7's D-jet on there.

--DD

Thanks, guys. That sure makes it interesting for ordering parts.

Yup, I had an early TR4 that spanned 3 model changes. The only way to get the right part was to order one, find out it was wrong and then take it back to compare to the next part. I used to call it Parts Roulette.

I had a 1.8L block with 1.7L D-Jet injection on it. Ran just fine ...

I helped my friend Garret sell a '73 with a 1.8 block and 1.7 djet. It was a great runner.

Yeah, the car ran really well back in the day. I was hoping that it was the original engine but, looking on the bright side, this opens up a lot of possibilities.