1970 914-6 tuning/tune-up near Albany NY
10-08-2006, 09:33 PM
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1970 914-6 tuning/tune-up near Albany NY
I recently purchaced a 1970 914-6 with 56kmi in very good condition. According to the previous owner, it has "S" cams. The car had a registration in the window from 3 years ago so it might just be that the car needs to be driven, but when behind the wheel, it has basically no low end power. It will not take off without stalling unless around 4,000rpms. At that engine speed and above, it seems to run great and is relatively quick. I have never driven one before so I have nothing to compare against. The owner had the choke lever removed which seemed odd to me because when he started it cold, it really struggled to run. Once warmed up, it idled ok, but again, the lack of power below 3500-4000rpms really concerns me. Also, it is difficult to restart after it stalls. The only other issue is with the transmission. All the gears work fine and the syncros seem strong, but it is very trickly to find the proper gear, whether it be 3rd and 5th, or 2nd and 4th. Is there some linkage that commonly wears or need to be greased? Also, 1st is tough to get into unless rolling, and even then, you have to give a pretty good tug. Thanks in advance and sorry for the long post.
10-09-2006, 09:51 PM
#2
S cams make "no" power down low. The S cam opens up around 4K and pulls hard until redline. The trade off is lack of low rpm power. The original T cams the car had, are significantly better for day to day driving. "E" cams are a great compromise/improvement.
It also sounds like the carbs may need some re-jetting or other adjustments to ensure they are working properly.
Not sure why one would remove the choke lever.. might want to have that re-installed.
Shifting!? Ha. Welcome to the 901 tail shifter. "Vague" is when its adjusted properly, the rest of the time it is "lousy". Make sure all bushing are good. Oh, and if they aren't, or the rod is loose at its attachment points, it may be hard to make better. Best way to shift is to be slow and deliberate.
First can be hard to engage, but if the entire linkage is adjusted properly, then you may have a bad synchro.
Sounds like quite an adventure. Buying a 35+ year old car, especially one you have no formal knowledge with is a big jump. It would also seem you missed out on getting a pre-purchase inspection by a shop familiar with these cars.
It also sounds like the carbs may need some re-jetting or other adjustments to ensure they are working properly.
Not sure why one would remove the choke lever.. might want to have that re-installed.
Shifting!? Ha. Welcome to the 901 tail shifter. "Vague" is when its adjusted properly, the rest of the time it is "lousy". Make sure all bushing are good. Oh, and if they aren't, or the rod is loose at its attachment points, it may be hard to make better. Best way to shift is to be slow and deliberate.
First can be hard to engage, but if the entire linkage is adjusted properly, then you may have a bad synchro.
Sounds like quite an adventure. Buying a 35+ year old car, especially one you have no formal knowledge with is a big jump. It would also seem you missed out on getting a pre-purchase inspection by a shop familiar with these cars.
