1975 1.8 Driver Restoration, Driver quality restoration of a 1975 1.8 Options

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I’m a newcomer to the air cooled world. I picked up a 1975 914 1.8 project car last Fall that I’m just now beginning to work on. It seems to be mechanically stock and structurally sound and has ~120K miles on what appears to be the original engine (it doesn’t look to me as if it’s ever been pulled).

I found it on Craiglist in Maine where it was in the hands of a VW bus/bug enthusiast who was the third owner and had decided to focus his energies on a bus restoration instead. It was last registered an on the road in 2017 when the second owner had it. When I bought it it lot drove and came with an assortment of Restoration Design repair panels, several spare doors from earlier cars, some foglight front bumpers, spare seats, etc.. In a first for me when it comes to project cars the electrics all function properly and appear never to have been monkeyed with. Lights, blinkers, engine heater fan, hazards, everything.

Photos below tell the story but the worst of the rust appears to be in the aft section of the LH outer longitudinal. I haven’t pulled the battery and ECU out yet, but from what I can see underneath the car, inside the engine bay, and between the quarter panel and the engine compartment tin the hell hole appears solid (but I’m prepared to find surprises). The rear of the car seems worst off with rot from the foam above the tail lights partially cut out and partially corrected (I’ll be cutting that all back out and starting the job fresh). It was also hit from behind on the LH side and although I haven’t measured everything out yet, from what I can see underneath things don’t seem to be out of whack (maybe wishful thinking as the panel gaps for the rear trunk are uneven). The trunk lid itself somehow didn’t rust out along the rear edge, but it’s suffered a lot of abuse in the form of a now missing luggage rack and a black fiberglass spoiler that had been attached with wood screws. The front of the car doesn’t show any signs of impact damage but the trunk lid sits high when latched on the LH side.

My plans are to do a driver quality restoration (between a Hagerty 2 and 3) and get it on the road where I can enjoy it; I’ll cut out and weld the rusty sections, do as much of the body work myself as possible (thankfully it is very straight and the paint meter indicates there shouldn’t be a lot of bondo hiding under the old re-spray) and get a professional re-spray at a local body shop. I’ll either farm out or attempt to DIY the engine work myself. Since I’m assuming the engine will need a rebuild (see below) I’d definitely like to increase the displacement while staying with the stock FI setup.

I just started assessing the car in the last couple of weeks and have focused on the health of the engine. It’s still got the original L-jet FI (which I intend to keep). When I got it, it fired up easily but was extremely lumpy and stumbled badly coming off idle. After fixing vacuum hose routing (mostly anyways), adjusting points, doing timing, and adjusting valves it idles well at 850 rpm, sounds much healthier, and revs up from idle nicely (all this is based on stationary testing as the car is not on the road).

Today I warmed the engine up and did compression test (throttle propped open with screwdriver) followed by a leak down test. I think the results tell me that I have a tired engine needing rebuilding:

Cylinder Compression Leakdown
1 105 15%
2 105 20%
3 105 21%
4 105 23%

I didn’t crawl around under the car to listen for leaking valves, but for each the cylinders I could hear hissing in the crankcase as soon as I pressurized the cylinders, which I assume is a bad thing. I’m going to discuss rebuild options at a local multi-generation family garage that started out as a VW shop; if they can do the work within my budget then I’ll probably go that route. I plan to drop the engine sometime late this month.

One thing I need help on at this point is figuring out the remaining vacuum lines. I have a large inlet on the air box that looks from the diagrams as if it should go to the charcoal canister but there was no hose on it when I got the car and I don’t know where it should be routed, or even where the canister is (is it that plastic contraption sitting on top of the fuel tank!?). And just yesterday I noticed there is another nipple on the metal thing that the coil bracket attaches to…what’s that supposed to go to??

Looking forward to sharing my progress. This is a great forum that I’ve already learned a lot from!

[technicalninja]

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You have a running engine...

And you going to need a bunch of rust repairs...

I'd not worry so much regarding the engine.

If it has been in non-use for some time you need to put it under load to help everything reseal. Just warming it up doesn't clear all of the problems.

Drive it around like you stole it and I bet your numbers will improve.

Having all the compression numbers exact says two things. It's in pretty good shape AND your valve adjustments are consistent.
The biggest factor that effects compression readings is intake valve closure point and yours are all damn close to each other.

My 75 1.8, that sat 33 years, and really has less than 32K on it hit 120 on all cylinders but leak downs were 4-12%. This was cold but you can see you are close to my numbers.

These engines are now EXPENSIVE to rebuild, and it appears few machine shops can complete the machine work properly.
Even Ian Karr's Bumble Bee had trouble and he's a "cost no object" type of guy.
His videos are all worth watching...

https://www.youtube.com/ @IanKarr

In your shoes I'd concentrate on body stuff and educate yourself regarding an improved engine. Often times buying a stalled project can reap dividends.

@Montreal914 kicked ass recently on a stalled project and scored a 3.2 911 engine with a shitload of other stuff. He is currently selling off the un-needed parts and vastly improving his project.
At some point he may have a serious T4 for sale that might fit into your plans better...

A recent thread showing excellent metal work can be found here.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=368359

The fact that Fred's doing this in his backyard just adds to the WOW factor.

Having a project that can move under its own power is a nice luxury to have.
You have that NOW!