TL;DR: I inherited a honey-do that is a 914 and looking to get it running. Currently seems to crank slow and has sat for a while with little/no fuel. Update: The #1 cylinder appears to have dropped a valve. Teardown commences.

My name is Sean and my Fiancée inherited a 1971 Porsche 914 from her father. It has sat for many years with little (maybe no) use. Therefore, I’m looking to get it rehabilitated and ready for some pictures this spring and our wedding this summer. So, I may reach out with some questions here and there. I’ve utilized this forum and many others for a crash course which have proved to be invaluable. Even if some of the posts now exclude originally attached pictures or were before image storage was readily viable.

The car appears to have been obtained through a Haggerty auction/dealer. The car came with a good amount of spare parts (including what appears to be the full FI system maybe sans wiring harness). To an untrained eye It looks to be in excellent condition, with the exception that it only ‘ran’ prior to being dropped off. I have yet to get it to run myself and am currently going through rehabilitating the fuel system but it also seems to crank slow. I didn’t realize that not only was I fighting old fuel but no fuel.

I should have taken pictures prior to some disassembly so you could see the car but maybe y’all and I can revel in some completion photos together.

What I know about the car:

• Signal Orange Tangerine
• Targa
• Fuchs Wheels
• Weber IDF 40s
• *some exhaust system*
• Clifford security system (super afraid of the wiring on this)
• More to be discovered?

Work in Progress:

• Removal and cleaning of fuel system
o Clean tank
o Replace fuel strainer
o Replace lines (including tunnel line which happened to be copper replacements on both)
o Replace fuel pump and filter
o Addition of fuel pressure gauge inline gauge
 This may be temporary if the FPR is accurate and consistent
o Rebuild/refresh carburetors (new task to me; pointers welcome)
o Run new wires for oil pressure and temp gauges

At this point I’m open to any and all comments/suggestions. Especially advice of things to do while certain areas are opened up. I grew up on Nissans and have a ~380HP Nissan 240SX (Silvia) as a fun car. So, I’m excited to see this car come to life as one of the first Porsches and air-cooled cars I’ve maintained.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/n8L1BejZ0xrDZmdQ2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/s5irKrca1vDfuSV37

What is the spade connector for in the middle of this picture resting on the block? Appears to be off of the ignition harness and is not shielded from shorting/grounding.

That car looks terrific, but it isn't signal orange. Tangerine?

Thanks!, and you're probably right! Looks a little more red than signal. Did I mention I'm new to Porsches?

welcome, you are in the right place. really nice starting point. i would start with basics. carbs on it, leave them on it. fuel, air, compression and spark. power the pump, bypass the lines to the pump (i use a lawnmower gas tank plumbed to the pump and a motorcycle battery to the LOW PRESSURE carb fuel pump. hot battery and crank. spark at the plugs, should run. if not diagnose coil power. key on, 12v to coil. so on and so forth. i would dump oil and replace, pull the plugs and crank. both to circulate new oil and ascertain spark at the plugs. good luck.

I’m a fan of starting with the brakes. Make it stop before you make it go.

And welcome

Yeah, that's a nice car to start with. Regardless of where you start, fuel, check fuel lines in the tunnel, brakes, electrical, suspension, tires, full service of engine. Transaxle, CV joints, etc. Have fun and good luck.

Very nice car. One thing I'd suggest is try not to do too many projects on the car. You've got the right idea of cleaning the fuel system.

Prioritize the projects and finish one before starting another. It's so easy to start tearing everything apart just to find yourself under water and overwhelmed.

Alright, so after a vacation and a short break. I've got the Tangerine fuel line and Facet fuel pump installed and wired. I bought two Redline carburetor refresh kits and removed the LH carburetor and got it all cleaned up. There was some green sludge in a few of the parts. However, the main galleys/body of the carb. were clean.

I've never done any work on a carburetor before nor really been around carb. cars. So, I wanted to pick some veterans' brains for tips/tricks. I diagrammed and counted the number of turns, as best as possible, when backing out all screws.

Also, please check the second picture in the first post as I meant to post a picture of some engine harness wiring and not the torn apart interior! What is that white quick connect connector in the middle?

Quick questions:

What should I do about the enrichment/choke mechanism on the inboard side? I've seen some people block them off with plates but obviously this car ran fine with the mechanism on but nothing attached (closed). Probably just ignorant to how leak proof the internal valves are. The little spring loaded part on the top side of each were stuck but a light push got them "springing".

I have a new float spring/damper but was curious if I should bother replacing it. Any tips or tricks are greatly appreciated.

Vacation Pictures:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/sxMSXNP5CDBpuR627
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KBXlhwRQP365zcOp2

Tangerine Line poked through:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qgdIoQYzidMv6Mbo2

Fuel Pump Installed:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2Pbv0UVgDb1ISx773

LH Carburetor:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/cGpXNi4ZbzF8F1iL8

Some parts post clean:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/oUbI6e9LqXSnpRce2

I pulled the intake runners to clean and replace the gaskets. When I did I saw a small chunk in the intake port, small pebble(1/8" at best). Thought it may have been on top of the runner and fell in. Decided there might have been more that fell in and figured I'd vacuum out the port and found this:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XaRxfKkyqj5LbAzFA/

Also, this was in the runner itself:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ctpQ4R4nhrYXQwt39

Damn....I had heard my father-in-law struggled to get it running before it made the voyage here but when he did gave it hell. I think he melted a piston and/or made valve-piston contact with a hot engine occurred. Likely got too lean and melted something.

Time to drop the engine, disassemble, inspect, and rebuild. I would start to pull the trigger on rebuild parts but I have no idea what may lay underneath (bored over, etc.) So much for spring/wedding photos. Haha. Here we go, trial by fire in 914World.

Any and all tips/advice welcome. I just bought a Quickjack to facilitate some (not an engine rebuild) of this work. Any ideas of whether or not it will get high enough to clear the engine when dropped?

I suspect it will (but others will know for sure). I recommend removing the carbs while the engine is in the car, as it makes the required lift height much lower.

Update...The Quickjack (SLX-3500) is amazing. Worth every penny. You do have to remove the rear valance, heater blow motor, and carburetors to get the engine out. However, pretty painless with the TangerineRacing engine/trans support tool and a good jack (reliable valving for slow lowering). Huge shout out to Chris over at TangerineRacing! See picture 1.

Disassembly of the engine went pretty smooth. I knew I would have a surprise waiting for me in at least one cylinder. See picture 2. However, I knew it was not going to be good when I saw picture 3. Underneath the oil fill cap there was a chunk larger than a pea.

The spark plug on the known bad cylinder was tough to remove. I popped off the valve covers and one of the retainers and springs fell off. I got the LH head removed and this is what was revealed to me... See pictures 4 and 5. Ouch. Fortunately, this was the only cylinder with apparent damage.

Next is cracking open the case and see what I've got. Hoping oil pump is still good but have my doubts.

My current plan is to replace the rod, cylinder head, cylinder, and piston. I'll obviously have to make sure the new piston and rod are of a similar weight. Any other considerations? I'm thinking I'll need to rebalance to ensure the crank is fine.

That's pretty much every aircooled owner's worst nightmare. Valve came apart and smashed up everything around it.

Since the engine is going to be apart, you might consider going with more. Larger pistons and cylinders, better heads, bigger cam... Since you already have carbs on it, changing the cam can only help. (Unless you're going back to the stock FI at some point, in which case you want to keep the stock cam.)

--DD

Yea, I'm not entirely sure what I'm working with from the start. I have a hunch that this may already be a 1.9+ car but won't know until I break the case open and start measuring stuff. I also assume (hope?) it has a hotter cam. I definitely won't be going back to FI. I'll update as I find things out and ask for advice on my options. I'm currently looking at AA Performance Products.

Nearly all aftermarket cams will have the timing gear bolted on instead of the factory rivets.
In days past there were some shops which reground factory cams without removing the gear.

Welcome Sean. Several 914 folks in the area. Me included. I'd be happy to come put an eye on it and help you assess the car.

Btw, I'd have to see where the other end of that wire goes to say what it is, since you don't have FI.

Just measure the cylinders to verify bore.

Cabinetmaker, thanks for the welcome. Maybe soon I'll be hitting you up or joining you at a meet.

Alright, so it is a 96 x 66 which makes it a 1911. What upgrade path makes sense? I'm thinking either 96 x 71 (2055) or 96 x 78 (2258) as they require no (or little) machine work.

What are the pros/cons of going 2055 or 2257 other than the latter will make more power? Is 2257 too big for 40 IDF Webers? Any intake/exhaust valve sizing should I be looking at with the displacement increase?

You could use the 40s on a 2056 by installing bigger primary venturis. 2256 would need 44IDFs.
You could get away with the stock size valves on a 2056, but 2L valves would be better. New 2L heads with even bigger valves would make the most sense for a 2256.

Depending on the camshaft, a short stroke 1911 can make nice power with good headwork.

Agree with racer Chris on 1911, or 2056 as reasonable cost rebuilds, but 2258 starts down the slippery slope adding stroker crank, rods, more costly heads with bigger valves, and 44idfs.

Another interim solution or option is to find a good used engine from someone that has upgraded to a six cylinder engine. There are often times some good running stock 2.0, 1911, and even 2056 that come available and could put you on the road in just a short time for modest cost, ($800 to $2000), or get a long block 2056 just rebuilt from one of the known builders. You can later build your engine to 2258 if you still want more.

So, I'm back. +1. The most amazing daughter, my first that I thought I would wish to be a son, has taken the majority of my time. I just placed an order to rebuild 'as-is', meaning a 1911 build. While power could be something I chase I like the idea of keeping it 'faster' revving and more inline with what my FIL built/bought. I've ordered AMC 42x36 94 Bore heads, Chromoly H-Beam 5.00" Rods (pains me to pay for stock length rods at this price), & 96mm Type 4 Bus Pistons with Biral Cylinders.

I'd love input on the rod purchase. I'm not looking to abuse this car but rods seemingly are hard to find at the stock 1.7L stroke (66mm) for cheap. Anywho, I'll post build pics as they come.

Good for you and congrats on your daughter. They are the best! I'll be following this closely. I've got a long dormant 1.7 liter 1972 that I am making plans for. I'm likely going to pull the original engine and store it. I've got 2 2.0 cores, one with FI that I can build from. I am thinking of going with carbs or modern FI.