I've all but given up on the injection, but for now I am putting webers in.
Can someone tell me what else I need to do?
New fuel pump? what type now many PSI?
New distributor? Coil?
Just pretend you're talking to someone who knows very little, actually don't pretend.

on another note, I have my motor apart and want to know what sive the cylinder kit that's in it is, how many mm. = what cc. I have a 1.8 block and was told there was a bigger bore kit put in.

Thanks
K.

you need a low psi pump like a facet etc, less than 3.5 psi. and you should plug the return line from your tank.

the rest of your stuff will get it running but not very well, most here will tell you to keep your injection but I got rid of mine and have never looked back.

guess you could pull a head off and mic the bore and stroke to figure what you got.

do you know carbs?

if you are not familiar with carbs, you are probably making metters worse instead of better...


you have to learn 1 fuel sytem or the other... if you don't already know carbs, stick with FI and learn it... it will be more useful...

if you KNOW you like carbs better, you will need a new fuel pump, as noted above, and plug the return hose... also get a regulator, a GOOD(CB performance type) linkage, and good webers... if they are used, you need to rebuild them(not hard)

honestly, if you already have FI, stick with it, and get it fixed... you will spend more in the long run on carbs... I got carbs by default... it was the hand I was dealt, not the hand I chose... learn the FI or go with an aftermarket FI... it's money better spent

You'll need to replace the camshaft (and the lifters) if you want any decent performance out of it, and don't be surprised at the drastic drop in fuel mileage, poor cold startups, and general reduction in driveability. The Cap'n

Don't forget to bring lots of cash. Have you seen the price of Webers lately?

Ok,

I'm not going to argue the merits here, we all know that if working the FI is better, but if you set the carbs up right, you will be fine. I haven't touched or spent a dime on mine in 10k miles, the car runs great, never over heats, has no hot start problems, burns little to no oil, and I get close to 30mpg on the highway.

-that said, when I got my car I had all the parts, and the carbs were already installed, and the fI was totally removed.

-One additional piece of advice, pay close attention to the linkage, look at one of the PMO kits or similar, it's worth spending a little more $$ on that because the old style webber linkage is shitty.

-Fuel Pump- I went with a faucet, it works great, and I have never touched it once.

-Coil- I use the Bosch Blue coil, look up what the big vendors recommend (IE-Pelican, Perf. Products, Tweeks) even if you don't buy from them, their catalogs and on line sites provide the info you are looking for, for standard installations.

-pick up one or two of the webber carb books, I forget the names, but there are a few good ones out there which explain alot.

-if you have a mechanic you trust and you havent messed with carbs in the past, dont be afraid of setting the car up, and let them tune it, even let them show you how-or if a local board member wants to help...

Good luck!

I agree with the linkage thing completly. CB Performance ( www.cbperformance.com ) makes some linkage for the 914 that is great.

Also, thats a facIt fuel pump. I went with a CB rotary pump, but either one will work.

I got the haynes weber book off amazon, and its really good.

QUOTE (7391420 @ Apr 26 2005, 12:04 PM)

Ok, I'm not going to argue the merits here, we all know that if working the FI is better, but if you set the carbs up right, you will be fine. I haven't touched or spent a dime on mine in 10k miles, the car runs great, never over heats, has no hot start problems, burns little to no oil, and I get close to 30mpg on the highway. -that said, when I got my car I had all the parts, and the carbs were already installed, and the fI was totally removed. -One additional piece of advice, pay close attention to the linkage, look at one of the PMO kits or similar, it's worth spending a little more $$ on that because the old style webber linkage is shitty. -Fuel Pump- I went with a faucet, it works great, and I have never touched it once. -Coil- I use the Bosch Blue coil, look up what the big vendors recommend (IE-Pelican, Perf. Products, Tweeks) even if you don't buy from them, their catalogs and on line sites provide the info you are looking for, for standard installations. -pick up one or two of the webber carb books, I forget the names, but there are a few good ones out there which explain alot. -if you have a mechanic you trust and you havent messed with carbs in the past, dont be afraid of setting the car up, and let them tune it, even let them show you how-or if a local board member wants to help... Good luck!

what he said!

except I like facet pumps... you have to remember to turn faucets off...

a carbed car CAN run fine, even with a stock cam... it may not get you the most HP, but it will work fine!

all I was saying was, you were lucky enough to get the FI system, if you have to learn something new and spend $$$ why not stick with that!

now if you do decide to switch to carbs, cool! hell, PM me, maybe I'll buy your FI setup

a MSD unit 6AL really helps smooths out a carbed car, if you use their dizzy you can plug and play the 6AL. You can get both at Summit Racing even though its not in their cataloge they carry all the MSD stuff.

Used carbs aren't all that bad. You can usually score a set with manifolds and maybe even complete linkage for $400-500 on Ebay, sometimes a bit less. You'll need to also buy new rebuild kits. Note that there are TWO kinds of IDFs out there, and the rebuild kits are different. Search here for some discussion on that. If you don't have a compressor, buy a couple of cans of air, as you'll need to blow through all of the passages cleaning it. Buy lots of carb cleaner. You'll be back asking about jetting, and this can also be found with a search here.

A Facet pump works fine, if noisily. You should also have a regulator, as Webers really don't like more than 3psi of fuel pressure.

If the engine is in bits already, tear it down completely, measure your P&Cs, and try to figure out what cam is in there. If it's stock, ring up Jake Raby and order a new cam and lifters suitable for carbs. With the stock cam, carbs give horrible mileage (20mpg or less). With a proper cam, you should see closer to 30mpg, better performance, and even easier carb tuning. Pull your fuel tank and clean it out. Replace ALL of your fuel lines. Use a VW fuel injection fuel filter (cheap and v. good). Crap in the fuel will plug up the idle jets quickly and frequently, causing all manner of teeth-gritting problems.

The stock distributor and coil should be fine.

If you really know "nothing", you'd still be better off figuring out aftermarket EFI, IMHO. Carbs are no easier to figure out, no more reliable, and give no better performance. They are, for the moment, cheaper.

Thanks for the replies,
I know carbs only slightly more than I know FI(which is not that well), the problem here is that the previous owner kinda burnt a good portion of the FI system, so when it came to setting something new up I got my hands on new carbs, manifolds, linkage and K&N filters for less than $500, far cheaper and easier for me to get together than fixing the FI, however I think I am keeping the FI system to learn it and to eventually get the pieces whe I come across them.
I am looking for one of the Weber tuning books, I do have a local who can help with the tuning but would like to know for myself what to expect as I live at 4500 feet and have heard there could be issues.

I also take it the fuel return line is the smaller of the two.

I remember from my VW teenage years I replaced the FI because of fire related issues I put Kadrons in and a Bosch.009 and blue. Do I need the distributor change?

Thanks for all the info, it has my head swimming but is appreciated.

K.

Hi,

Use the stock distributor, unless you're going to pony up for a mallory. I've run them all. the mallory is ther best. Use a fuel pressure regulator. I'm currently running Dell 45's. Going to megasquirt when they release the next gen board.

Carlos

Where should I put the pump, by the Tank or in the engine compartment?

Keith

Hi
Dell 36s for 12 years...never looked back, we all agree a stock FI is optimum, but at what price???. When I converted, the parts suppliers where all out of the country, and Carbs where at the local "Bug" house. Just the import costs, not to mention I used to find phone # in mag adds, not the cheapest suppliers. My choice was clear. You would have to play with mixtures/jets for that alltitude, maybe ask a local bug shop. My car has a huge difference in cooler wheather, +20hp, just in abient temp change. You can buy a jet drill kit from snap-on, with solder and a drill any combo of jets is possible. Asks for a spare set of gaskets and jets, you will need them some time, its just easier.
Carbs conversions are personal tastes/needs, I did mine for the cost of FI parts. After I hopped up the motor ... carbs
Later
Joe

QUOTE (redbaron @ Apr 26 2005, 06:53 PM)

Where should I put the pump, by the Tank or in the engine compartment? Keith

I put mine under the tank... dunno if that's "right" though

rage all you guys want. forget the facet. get the self regulated rotary pump from cb or similar vendor. forget the cb linkage, buy one from triad, it will even come with a throttle cable holder. replace every piece of fuel line. roughly 3000 miles in a week. high 20's for milage when my foot is out of it. al blose runs l-jet. we compared fuel ammounts on the last fillup. 1/2 of a gallon. a badly performing set of carbs are poorly installed and/or setup, imho. an 009 will get you down the road (rage on), but the mallory dist makes a big difference. i didn't give an inch to the f.i. guys on the speed runs with similar 4 cyl engines. dispite what they want to believe, the mountain pull aways were the proof in the pudding.

k

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Apr 27 2005, 10:50 AM)

rage all you guys want. forget the facet. get the self regulated rotary pump from cb or similar vendor. forget the cb linkage, buy one from triad, it will even come with a throttle cable holder. replace every piece of fuel line. roughly 3000 miles in a week. high 20's for milage when my foot is out of it. al blose runs l-jet. we compared fuel ammounts on the last fillup. 1/2 of a gallon. a badly performing set of carbs are poorly installed and/or setup, imho. an 009 will get you down the road (rage on), but the mallory dist makes a big difference. i didn't give an inch to the f.i. guys on the speed runs with similar 4 cyl engines. dispite what they want to believe, the mountain pull aways were the proof in the pudding. k

009 DOES indeed work... and if anyone needs one, I have an extra, or 2 cheap. is it "best" no, most assuredly not, but it will run