Holley Carb on a 1.8, anyone got info on this setup Options

[Literati914]

I have a 1.8L engine in a non-running '74 I got about a month ago, that has a single Holley carb mounted. It has an aluminum tag that reads "R9677" and "1943". Does anyone know anything about this setup? I've never heard of a Holley on a 914. Is it a reasonable carb for a stock 1.8? thx.

[Chris H.]

That would be a progressive carb. Not part of any stock setup. Aftermarket cheap fix for someone who took the fuel injection off. It works, but really affects performance. I test drove a 914 with one and the power was WAY down.

[Mblizzard]

As I am sure you likely know. Many will say there is no "reasonable" single carb set up for the 914.

But the Holley R-9677 is a fairly middle of the road two barrel carb. Believe it is the same as the Holley 5200.

Used on engines 2.8 L and larger so should be plenty for a 1.8. But with the single carb set up there will always be issues with good performance and such.

If you got it non running you can almost be sure the carb needs a rebuild. Kits are $50-$60+ and a lot of time and experience. Hard not to go with reman one for a $150 to $200 if you are going to keep the carb set up.

Going this route eliminates a lot of potential problems to run down when trying to get it started.

[porschetub]

IMO the Holley isn't up to the Weber and even that struggles with this setup,the T4 engine isn't suited to a single centre mount car due to the long manifold runners and lack of preheat to them.
If on a budget factor in the twin Weber ICT's or pick up a good used IDF dual throat set used in the classified section on here,they seem to come up fairly often.

[PlaysWithCars]

Is that the same carb that was used on Type I VWs? Think it went by the marketing name of BugSpray. As I recall from my VW days, they were cold blooded as Porschetub noted due to lack of manifold heating and had a reputation for engine fires. I don't recall what the root cause of that was though. It might be worth doing some research to understand if its the same carb and why/if they were susceptible to engine fires.

[jcd914]

I don't think the Bugspray carb was a progressive 2 barrel carb, I think it was a standard 2 barrel carb.
I had a 2 barrel carb on an old Baja bug and it never ran as well as the dual ICTs I had before the 2 bbl.

I don't know if what I had was a Bugspray or not but it was supposed to be an upgrade from the ICTs, it wasn't.

Jim

[rhodyguy]

Usually a quick fix due to the mysteries of the Ljet fuel injection. With any luck the FI was tossed aside with internal engine parts remaining unchanged. The Ljet parts are readily available.