a touch rough,just being honest.

I went back and re-read some of this thread. I'd recommend disabling the cold start plungers. I've never seen those used on a 914, but I have seen where the mechanism got janked with, stuck and made it run fat as a hog, to the point of diluting the oil with gas.

You've taken the mechanism off, and properly blocked it off. I'd take the next step which is to tap the plunger bore for a 3/8 x 16 and install a brass hex socket head set screw to keep the plungers in place.

I just did this on an engine about a month ago. I got some brass plugs off ebay. brass set screws I chucked up a 3/8 x 16 tap in my drill press and turned it by hand to start the tap, and make sure it was lined up.

@bbrock Cold start disable on Weber carb

I was surprised to see this old thread pop up again but appreciate the additional advice. Tapping and plugging the cold start circuit is on the to-do list for when I get back to finishing up the engine before first start. Thanks for the tip on those brass set screws Perry. They are on order now.

I will also double check the end play on the dizzy as suggested by @72hardtop before first start. I'm pretty sure I shimmed it but good idea to double check.

To answer the other questions. I live at 6,000 ft. and a long day drive could run through anything from 3,000 - 10,000 ft. The engine is stock 2.0L (1911) with an Elgin 6408 cam and flat top Mahle pistons.

My procedure....

Start and warm up the engine.
Make sure the two drop links for the throttle linkage are exactly the same length, and disconnected. You can use a 8mm thin ignition wrench to snap them off.
Turn the mixture screws all the way in (lightly seated) and then 4-5 half turns out.
Turn the air bypass screws all the way in. Snug the jamb nuts on the air bypass screws.
Turn the idle speed screws out and then in until they just touch the levers (then add 1/2 turn in) Should run like a tractor.
Put on your hearing protection and start the car. Allow it to warm to normal operating temp prior to tuning.
Use your SNAIL and find the barrel that pulls the most. We'll call this one baseline.
Balance the barrel in the other carb that pulls the most with the idle speed screw. (if you have a Uni-syn, give it to someone you don't like and purchase a SNAIL airflow meter)
Go back to the other carb, with the baseline barrel. You will have one all the way in, then use the air bypass screws and balance the two barrels to each other.
Go to the other carb and do the same thing. Keep the idle speed low 850rpm or so.

All four barrels should pull the same (within 1 point of each other) amount of air at this point, if not repeat air adjustment procedure.
Snap the throttle linkage drop links back on the carbs. If the idle changes then you need to barely adjust the linkage mounts so snapping the drop links on, doesn't change the side to side idle balance.
Start back at the baseline barrel and adjust the mixture screw in or out, to get the smoothest running and highest idle. (No further adjustment in)
Do the same with the three other mixture screws.
If you have to turn the mixture screws out more than two turns (from lightly seated), you've got the wrong jets.
Recheck side to side and individual air balance, adjust as needed. Keep the idle speed low 850rpm or so.

Road test the car.
If you get snapping and popping out the intake, it's generally a lean condition.
If you get heavy exhaust fumes, or popping out the exhaust it's probably too rich.
If you get a flat spot or popping out the intake at between 2800 and 3200 rpm, you probably need larger idle jets.

If you change/alter the timing, jet/s and or A/F mix screws you redo LBI on all screws. All tuning is done on an engine that is at normal operating temp. If the jetting is correct it should run like crap when cold idle/progression circuit).

I've had this thread open in a browser tab on my laptop for two months now, meaning to ask this question.

Regarding the post in this link, #41 in this thread.

@mepstein - Mark, can you please tell me about your vapor blasting setup? I have a lot of part restoration to do. Ideally I'd like to do some dry ice lasting, but it's cost prohibitive. This vapor blasting idea interests me as the results here were fantastic. Thanks!

Aha! Just re-read post #36 Apparently I need to read this thread

@bbrock - I should also say that I'm a big fan of the your work. Thanks for posting your progress on 914world!

@IronHillRestorations Well Perry, I've gotten myself into a bit of a pickle. I pulled the top off of one of my carbs today planning to tap the top of the cold start bores for the brass set screws you recommended. I rediscovered that the cold start pistons are seized in the bores from the same evil that caused me to start this thread in the first place. I tried soaking them with penetrating oil and then tapping them out gently but no luck. They are stuck. The good news is they are stuck in the down position where I want them, but I'm reluctant to try tapping the bores with the pistons in place so I decided to just put them back together and recheck after running the engine for a year to see if they loosen up. Wouldn't you know it that as I was pressing that little brass spring washer that locks the mechanism down, my screwdriver slipped and the washer and little air cap went shooting across my overstuffed and cluttered shop. I found the cap but after 4 hours of searching, still no washer yet. I can't find that part for sale.

Wondering what my options are here. I was thinking maybe cut some brass rod to stick in that bore instead of the set screws so even if the pistons worked free, they couldn't go anywhere, but I think I'd still need that stupid spring washer to lock it into place. Thoughts?

And @Gint , thanks for the compliment. I am proof that any idiot who doesn't know what they are doing can fake a good result restoring one of these cars armed with all the great help on this forum!

I haven't ever converted them to disabled as they already had them and I didn't hook to a cable or they had block off plates, but I believe there is a kit that removes everything in the cold start system and gives you the block off plates to close them up so you shouldn't need to bother with finding that washer.

I already have the kit. It is just a block off plate that removes the lever mechanism but you do have to keep all the guts in place to make it work. However, there is a lot of info here and on the Webs about how the little pistons in the cold start mechanism can get stuck in the open position which will make the engine run very rich and could scour the cylinders. What I was attempting was to follow Perry's procedure (see link a few posts up) to tap the bores and insert a brass set screw that holds that piston down so it can't migrate up and get stuck. As long as that piston remains seized in the bore like it is now, there will be no problem, but I'd like to have some assurance it can't work loose so I need to put something in there. Here's another thread on The Samba of someone using brass rod but I think they are still holding it in with the washer.

Interesting, I happen to be working on a customers 1.7L that happens to have a set of 40IDF Webers that also have this cold start mechanism,
1st for me.
Besides a hole in a float, the pieces that makeup that cold start circuit were probably part of this problem, as they were a big mess.
Id also be interested in the "Block off" parts & procedure as Ive got them apart for ultrasonic cleaning now.
Would be nice to soda blast as the finish sure is nice but Im not set up for that..yet

Edit: I followed the link to TheSamba thread. Looks like all I need is some brass rod & some calipers

Weber enrichment disable

I chucked the tap in a drill press (turned by hand) to tap the bores

If they were mine I might take this approach, but removing the springs & associated bits & replacing them with some simple spacers provide the owner ability to reverse if it is ever desired.
Given that the accompanying jets have to be retained wonder what (negative) affect might be in tuning ?

I've never seen the cold start enrichment used on a 914, and I don't think it's needed. I had dual Webers on my daily driver 914 back in the 80's (it was my only car) and it started good in cold weather without the enrichment system, which was long since discontinued by Weber

Ive never seen it either thats why when I tore into this set Im going "WTF is all this"!
Apparently it was manually cable operated ala early domestic trucks via a knob on the dash, but unless there was a way to bridge them together actuating both carbs from one cable, what ..2 knobs. Plus cable routing on a 914 would be a bitch!

At one point I had plans to add a 914-6 throttle lever in front of the shifter and run bicycle cables back to the cold start valves to operate them like the heater valves. That was before learning those valves are prone to stick open and cause the carbs to run dangerously rich.