I just purchased a 71 914 which has been converted from fuel injection to a what I think is an EMPI EPC 32/36 Progressive Carburetor or some other similar carb. The car was running fantastic with no issues at all. Had it out for a drive today, when all of a sudden it started sputtering and wanting to stall. I limped into a parking lot and let it cool down for about 1/2 and hour. I tried to start it, but I had to keep feathering the accelerator to keep it running, at times the revs would shoot up to 4000 rpm without me further depressing the accelerator. I towed the car home and decided I would try and reset the carburator using the carb initial setup recommendations which required me to turn the idle adjustment screw until it contacted the accelerator cam and turned screw about 2 turns. I then bottomed out the air/fuel mix screw and backed it out about 1 1/2 turns. Still the car will not idle. Any thoughts or suggestions? Didn't note any vacuum leaks.

Sounds like dirt in the jets

You have to check the float.
Take it off, toss it into a pond, lake, river, etc... and if it floats it's good.

Easy fix!

Step 1:
Take the carburetor off.

Step 2:
Throw it in the ocean.

Step 3:
Buy dual carbs.

Done!

Easy fix just take it apart and pretend it's Briggs and Stratton lawn mower carb poke a wire brush brissel through the jet and wala

In all seriousness...

Single center mounted carbs don't work well on a 914 engine. The runners are too long and the fuel drops out of atomization on the way to the valves. The best system for a stock motor is the fuel injection that came with it. It will idle better, run smoother and get better fuel mileage. If you want carbs, go with the duel weber downdrafts and a quality linkage. Fuel mileage will suffer, but it will run far better than the single carb.

If you decide to go back to the FI, lots of people here will help you find the parts and get it running. Personally, that is what I would recommend.

Cant agree more / with Clay....... If you can, convert to dual carbs and a good linkage setup - all available on this site or by reference from this site. I ran Dual Empi / 40's on my 2.3 four and to this day, (i am told by Drem914) they run great.

People wail on the Empi version of the Weber carbs but for the money, they worked for me for thousands of miles from sea level to mountaintops at 7500 ft.

The CarbGuru that set up my 6's Webers has a big pile of 4 - Webers and intake manifolds to match the various sizes So,if you want his contact info. pm me / I make nothing off of his operation but have used his knowledge base as a resource in sorting out my 3.0 6 using Webers on vintage PMO intakes.

Finding a complete set of period correct FI (and knowing the reason it is available) is another option but not as much fun..........

Poor rookie...1st post and he gets da business.

It's OK buddy we treat everyone the same when they ask about progressives.

Get rid of the crap carb and all will be good and we'll even give you a hug

Also check to see what distributor is installed in the engine. If it is a Bosch 009, take it out. The 009 distributor was built for the Type IV engine, but only used on the industrial engine which ran at a steady 3K rpm all the time. The bug guys found it worked great for the Type I motor, so they started using it. But for a 914-4, the advance curve is completely wrong. That will affect the performance severely.

I suggest either a Bosch 050 (rare these days) or the stock distributor for a 74/75 1.8L if you are going to run carbs. Both have an excellent advance curve for a 914-4.

Mallory is good too.

Even on hot days these 32/36 s tend to "ice up" on humid days . then they have to run rich to compensate. Also the alcohol fuel eats out the rubber hoses, take out the idle jet and blow it out.