Hi,

Thought I's start a thread so I can talk about my engine conversion.
I have many questions, so I hope I can get answers here! Others also may be
interested as well.

I am swapping out a 1.8l L-Jet engine for a 1.7l carbed engine, I hope! I also
have an almost complete D-Jet FI system for this engine, but I have been assured
that the engine will run correctly with the carb. I hope eventually to build up a
2056 or equivalent from the carcass of the 1.8.

The carb is a Weber 32/36 DFAV 2 barrel progressive carburetor.

Questions

1. Is this carb a reasonable choice for a 1.7l engine? I do not know yet if the cam
has been changed. I sort of doubt it.

2. There are no gaskets for the head ends of the intake runners. Can I just
make them from paper gasket material?

3. Does the carburetor just sit hanging off of the intake runners? There do not
seem to be any brackets to hold the carb down. It LOOKS like it should be ok.
The metal runners slide inside the intake manifold.

4. Where do all the vacuum lines go? There seem to be a lot of disconnected lines
floating around! I am refering to the larger lines that normally connect to the
intake plenum. Small lines from the carb to the distributor are no problem.

5. I did not get a distributor with this engine. Is it okay to use my distributor from
the 1.8? The carb has vacuum advance and retard connections, and so does the
distributor. I'm not talking pefect here, just okay for now. This is a temporary
engine swap (yeah, right! )

6. Any specific recommendations for a fuel pump for this carb? How much will it
cost? How do I mount it? My pump is forward under an inspection plate.

Well, that is enough for now. I will have lots more, and pictures too! I need to pull
my old engine tomorrow.

Thanks for any help!

Jeff

The answer to #1 is NO. The rest of the answers follow that. Whoever assured you "that the engine will run correctly with the carb" if fulla cr*p. It's, at the VERY best, a poor compromise. The runners are too long, the carb in not appropriate for the engine, the method of mounting is shaky, and the setup is best used as an anchor or a target. The Cap'n

Well,
First off, you need to take some pictures of the carb setup, so we all know what in the world you are talking about...
I for one have never seen a carb that uses the existing runners...but I am sure someone invented one.

I said in another post, and I will re-state it here.

The 1.7 motor will run using the 1.8 injection system, and you will learn how to tune it right here...

If the Capn is in a good mood, you will learn alot more.

Take pics, provide the engine number (so we can make sure its a 1.7) and think about putting it in with a long term fuel induction system in place.
The FI will also support a 2056.

Rich

Not sure he stated original runners. I'm guessing that it's the standard progressive carb kit.

With that assumption...put that whole setup on Ebay and take the $$ to offset the cost of a set of dual weber 40's or buy the remaining FI parts to complete you FI setup.

That carb setup is the biggest POS. I had one when I bought my car. I could never get that to tune properly. One cylinder would run super lean while others would be rich. I always had vaccum leaks from the rubber hoses where the maifold met the runners.

Sure the engine will run. Think of it as bolt on Asthma.

I hate the DFEV as much as everyone else here, but I will say that it will cause your engine to run reliably, if not perfectly.

I have about 150k miles driving 914s with DFEVs and have never been stranded by the carb.

Luckie is presently driving a 2.0 with a DFEV. It's no rocket, but it starts every time.

As a 'temporary' solution, it will adequately serve your needs.

Hmm, thought I'd replied here. Guess not!

THe carb is a DFAV, not a DFEV. I do not know what the difference is.
Second, the intake runners are carburetor specific. There are no holes for
the injectors.

Here is a mockup of the new engine, with the carb placed in its approximate spot


Click to view attachment
I got my 1.8 out of the car today. Six hours, but it was my first time, so I am
happy! It was actually easier than I thought it would be. I used the Pelican
procedure.

Now I need to start working on the new engine. I think I will go with the
carburetor for now. It is an easier setup than the FI, and I do not need as many
pieces. All I need is a fuel pump. For the D-Jet, I need an FI dizzy, air cleaner,
CHT, and miscellaneous other parts not figured out yet.

Two questions remain. What do I do with the breather lines that normally connect
to the air cleaner and plenum. I can see a line from each valve cover, and a line
from next to the oil filler cap. What do I do with them?

Second, where do people get switched power for the ignition, choke and fuel
pump? I disconnected the harness from the rear of the relay board. I'd like a
nondestructive way to hook them up! Remember, this is intended as a temporary
engine!

Thanks,

Jeff

Now I'm confused. I have been cleaning the new engine, and I
finally found the serial number. It starts with EC! According to
my info, that makes this a 1.8 case. Is there a way to tell
about the heads? I do not know, short of pulling a head to
determine what is inside, 1.7 or 1.8 components. Another
difference I can see is that there are breather ports on the
heads near #2 and #3 cylinders.

I pulled the engine tin from the left side of theengine, and
found afew more surprises. First, there is a bunch of grass
stuffed into the rear of the #1 cylinder. There was also a long
bolt underthe tin, and several pieces of what looks like fins
broken off and lying on the top of the cylinders! Lots of surprises!!
There is also more engine tin in places where there was none on my
old 1.8. Here are some pics:

This is the left side rear, #1 cylinder area. I do not have this
duct on my old 1.8. What is it for, and why does it open up to
the top of the engine?

Click to view attachment

Here is the bird's nest!
Click to view attachment
You can also see the bolt that was laying under the tin! The
breather line is near #2 intake port. I do not have those on my
old engine.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Jeff

The duct on the #1 tin is for a '72 1.7. It's for the air cleaner heat riser. The heads are 72-73 1.7. 1.8 engines didn't have breathers. The Cap'n

I would be very concerned that you may create a lean condition in the motor with that carb.

The issue is that the fuel gets atomized quite well by the carb, but after it makes it to the intake valve, it is not atomized enough, and some of the fuel is solid again.

This happens because the carb is to far from the intake valve.

That setup , while it may be inexpensive, does create a lean condition in one of the cylinders that you really need to monitor closely.
It will work, you will learn how to tune it..but I would tell you, start hunting for a dual carb setup that you can find cheap.
34mm or 36mm dells or webers are perfect for that motor...
The parts and manifolds can be bought new, so can the rebuild kits.
Keep looking for those, they tend to be alot cheaper than the 40mm models, and they are sized just right for the car.

Rich

EC is, indeed, a 1.8 case. Pop the valve covers and look at the part numbers on the heads; they should be inside the rocker boxes. You can look them up on http://t4.tunacan.net to see what they originally came off of.




Common on 72+ 914s, possibly some earlier ones. I think I remember that my old 1.8 had them...




Might have been a mouse nest at one point in time. Did the engine sit for a while?




I know that many or all 72 1.7s had a duct through the engine tin to get warm air to the air cleaner, but I thought it was on the rear tin? I don't recognize that duct off the top of my head. The Cap'n answered a question of mine about the 72's warm air duct once for me...

--DD

Thnks for all the replies!

I will pull the valve covers once I get some gaskets.

A couple of points. I guess now I will go with the L-Jet instead
of the carb. I need to do a little more looking, but I seem to
have most of the brackets for the L-Jet FI stuff on the engine.
That should take care of concerns about drivability.

I AM curious why there is such a mishmash of parts here! I wonder
if the cam is original or after market, what other changes have been
made, etc. I can always change back to a carb if I decide to, or
put the D-Jet back in maybe.

Dave, the air duct IS on the left rear of the engine.

So, what should I do with that warm air duct? Should I block it off, or just leave
it open? It is warm here all the time anyway, 90+ degrees.

I guess I can duct the head breathers to the air cleaner somwhere.

I appreciate the replies. There will be more questions!!

Jeff

Oh, right--for some reason, I "read" the pic as being from the side of the engine, not from the rear. Duuuhhhh....

I would block the duct. The air below the trunk floor gets pretty warm, what with the exhaust running under there. And you would ideally like to keep warm air out of the engine bay (it gets warm enough as it is!).

--DD

Well, things are progressing. I find out the most interesting things!

The new engine was supposed to be a 1.7 l. The case is a 1.8, and
the heads are 1.7. No idea about the pistons.

My old engine was supposed to be a 1.8 l. Actually, it is a 2 l bus engine!
Again, can't be sure about the pistons, although I expect them to be original.
I don't think the PO knew that. The 2 l bus engine is only supposed to be 70 hp.
I haven't torn it down yet, but it make terrible grinding noises when rotated.
Can't tell where from though...

Some days there are too many combinations to choose from.

Assembly of the new engine is progressing well. I adjusted valves for the first
time today. It's a lot easier with the engine out of the car, especially when
you remove the engine tin, and do not have heat exchangers in the way.

I have detailed hookup left, taco plate, clutch, and transmission to do.