Hey all. First off I give you a little history, I've been fixing up my 1970 1.7 w/D-jet and 150K miles, getting it ready for a cross country Formula 1 trip, starting in DC going to Montreal and then to Indy and back to DC, to see both F-1 races... Well last night I've doing a long run from B-more back to DC after watching Monaco on sucky CBS coverage.

I noticed that it was knocking, driving up hilly roads, so i retarded the ignition a little, it continued to knock I thought bad gas and I couldn't drive any slower it was knocking on and off, then after the hills on the hi-way it still did it I noticed smoke coming out of the exhaust as I let off the throttle, it stopped knocking and when I got off the hi-way it stalled and was hard to start, it stalled again at the next light and wouldn't start, it was cranking funny, slower and more labored sounding, lots of blue smoke out the tail... I wasn't able to get it restarted... And only .25 mile to my house... Well better there then on the way to F-1... I still have some good luck left...

Well here is the question. What to do.... I'm interested in getting a rebuild to replace it and I'd like to keep the displacement small, maybe under 2 liter, and have good performance and reasonable gas milage... Where can I get a good cheap rebuild, I've heard some negitive things about GEX? Anyone else? I'd love a Raby engine but I can't see myself shelling out that kind of money for it, its still just a toy... (for now)

Also I'd do the swap myself but I'd like to still take it to F-1, is there anyone in good in DC that can do this (one stop shop) on a budget before I leave on June 16 or am I S.O.L (sorta, outa, luck, for all you teeners) Any help would be great, I'm new to the air cooled engine and trying to find out what is best for a street, track car... I've done a lot of work to get it working better and I'm not about to give up yet, I need to still try to get it working, I still have time... Right?

Neu

You may have broken a ring. Oil in the combustion process will lower the effective octane considerably, so you get more knock.

You could try your hand at a modest top-end rebuild yourself. P&Cs and have a local shop replace your valve guides. This could be done relatively cheaply ($1000 or so), and would give you some extra time on that engine until you decide to do a complete rebuild. There are really only two ways to do a Type IV rebuild these days: do it yourself, or spend $5K (or more) having someone else do it for you.

GEX, Import Motors, and the like, generally have a well-earned bad reputation here.

I was noticing that the engine was using a little bit more oil than it had been, I'd could do a top end rebuild that sounds resonable and could get me by for a little while, anyone know of someone in the DC area that could do that type of work? Any suggestions of what P&C combo, maker, and what about head work to make it breath a little easier or is it not worth with stock throttle and D-jet.
Neu

Like the Gentleman said do the top end. You can get a less expensive set of P/C's

on ebay, and do the guides and seals. Should do ya until you realize that if you

can't spend your money on you toys what can you spend it on that will give you

as much pleasure. If you are going to put this car on the track I would sudjest

a good case of Raby's..

I agree whole heartedly about CBS coverage of my beloved F1, and Danny Sullivan is the WORST commentator ever. Remember his one race with SPEED VISION? It was also terrible...I turned the sound off.

Hi

I have been told many times by different suppliers that GEX has some serious quality controle issues. One supplier actual didn't want to sell me a long block (and they were a GEX distributor).
Forget about a Raby motor, cheap is not in his vocabulary, he has a high end customer base and sticks to that.
These motors are very unforgiving and cheaper rebiult motor have a bad habit of blowing I think there was a thred about a 3K 2.0l rebiulder but don't know if it actualy materialized.
The problem is that even with a licenced tech, things go bad very fast with cheaper parts in a T4, this is OK if you are aware of the possible out come, and sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I doubt that I am telling you something you don't already know. This is a huge problem for us 914 owners.

The knocking you are hearing worries me, I suspect you have a real nasty problem, so the options are limited, buy or DIY. Definately have someone do some basic test and open it up, maybe its not so bad...

This question come up alot, albeit, not just for you area.
Good luck with it

Later

Hey friend, I live in Tappahannock about 30 miles of Fredericksburg and have just purchased a 914 2L engine from another club member a month or so ago. He used it in his own car and had no problems and he got it form another who had it just rebuilt. I might sell it if the price is right. It is FI complete including new clutch. Let me know if you want it.

Spare engines are always good to have around.

PM sent...
Neu

my money goes to the "dropped valve" camp.

b

and my offer of parking space for F-1 weekend, in Longueuil (walking distance to subway) still stands. Plus, I've got a garge full of 914 parts.

Michel

Thanks for everyones help, I think I've got a replacement engine from John. Thanks again John, you saved my trip! I'll be seeing you soon. And Michel I you'll be seeing my silver beauty F-1 weekend...

When I return I'll open up the original engine to see what's wrong. Thanks again everyone...

Neu

Let me know when you plan on getting into Indy. We'll have to get together for some either before hand, or during Saturday quals...

My seats are in stand H. Where will you be sitting?

Hey I get there Wednesday with friends and we are there till Monday, I'm also in Stand H row 12 since Day 1 in '99, after last years fun, my friends and I decided to try Montreal, I love F-1 at Indy but it was really expensive to see a joke of a race...
Neu

you might do a compression check to rule out the dropped seat that britt referred to. i would have suggested to do a top end rebuild with your p&c's and rebuild the heads to keep costs minimum. nice score on the engine. you might check dorkiphus.com to see recent threads about a machine shop in falls church (not too far from bethesda) that some posters used. that is, if you don't find a machine shop near you. the pca potomac 914 model expert owns a shop in merrifield. check out pcapotomac for the tech inspection this saturday at his shop. free discussion on your car on a lift. free donuts, too!