Is there much love for Monza exhaust systems on 914s?

I assume that there are multiple versions based on what motor is in your 914-4 (1.7, 1.8 or 2.0), correct?

What does this one look like?

Click to view attachment

Not too much love

Heavy, rust out quickly, etc. I had one back in the day.

I hear they rob power too. Look awful.

Had one on our car up until it was parked some 20 years ago or thereabouts. When I was younger, these were THE muffler. Ours was on the car well for over 10 years of use and still in decent shape. Our car is a 74 2.0, and can't tell for sure but yours looks very similar, however it's been awhile since I've really looked at it. If we were planning to keep the 4, I'd seriously consider them.

Dan

Sorry for the small size, but you can measure to determine if this is for a 1.7 (also 74-only 1.8) or for a 73-74 2.0:



Not much love to the Monza exhaust from here, either.

--DD

[EDIT: Didn't close the tag properly. Argh!]

Thanks for that link. I’ll measure to see what we have here.

I like the cross over pipe all the cool kids have that . But they do weigh a ton

looks like a 1.7/1.8 from here

Ran them for a long time. had two sets on my car over the years, 79-90

If you have one, run it. its your car.

Thought the quad tips looked cool.

Now running a Triad.

Same.

Mr. Woody Harrah founder of PaceSetter exhaust systems (+the Monza muffler), thanks all of you for the generou$ purchase$ of his muffler systems
BTW he is a cool guy to know

I have them on my 73 1.7. I love them.

H E A V Y

…and loud, and doesn’t fit well under the rear valence.
Did I mention heavy? These cars are underpowered enough, why add unnecessary weight?

Had one in my day (high school) regretted paying to make it slower. Not by much, but it was on. At least..... they rust quickly.
SO the problem was rectified. The Triad is the best sounding I've found so far.

Tough crowd! Doesn’t the thought of a VW bug with Mona exhaust send shivers down your spine?Click to view attachment

No.

A 914 is not a VW bug.

Bug: vastly under powered (40 HP!), RWD tail heavy, swing axle, roll over machine with terrible handling. But strangely addictive & charming.

Monza was cool in 1986 but too many other better options in 2022 both for bugs and 914's.

Full disclosure. I've had bugs, love them, and I'm not running them down. I drove one in winters to protect my beloved 914 from salt!

Exhaust is overrated. Put it on, try it, take it off if you don't like it. It is so easy on these cars there is no reason to even worry about it. If it fits, and you want to try it, go for it. Folding laundry takes longer and is more annoying than swapping mufflers on a 914.
Click to view attachment

That's Ansa though

Problem is they are pricey to ship. Large, heavy box.

there was a time when these things were like a 1/2 price alternative to a genuine muffler.

at least down here.

during the mid 80s to mid to late 90s.

those monza things were everywhere at vw parts shops.
i think the kombi ones used to fit on 914s.

i remember going through the exercise.
somehow i managed to find an old stock stainless steel kombi (ie bus) muffler for mine for a reasonable price back then.

for a while i had to have it upside down with the tail pipe out the rhs.
then i did some surgery on the inlets pipes and flipped the flanges.
hey presto - 914 muffler.

its the same now.
look at the price of the dansk muffler for the 1.8 vw.
then look at the dansk muffler for the same 914.
most places are charging double dollars for the 914 one.
if you are handy with a welder order the vw one and do the surgery.

probably doesn't matter so much to you guys.
but by the time i landed one down here it would matter.

anyway, those monzas had their time and a lot of it was to do with $.
and folks trying to get an "un-vw" sound out the back of the bugs etc.

I'm running an Anza on my '71. Really takes me back to the good old days. Makes the car a mini racecar. What's not to like?

Have one currently and its near top of my list of items to replace, its loud, not that nice a sound, and heavy

I had one that came with my 73 that I had back in the 80's-90's. Pre-internet so I didn't know what I had and what the options were! One thing I DID like was that first startup after it rained and the water cannon that resulted!

Not much love. Put one on my dad's 914 - at the time we thought it looked "cool." Rusted out quickly when driving the car in Iowa. Never looked back, and never missed it...

2.0 73 74 only