POLL: Carbs or MFI?

[LongRanger]

One of the things that strikes me about being around vintage 911s is how few MFI cars I come across. The last show I went to --- the Santa Barbara Region PCA Concours at the UC Channel Islands campus in Camarillo, back in October --- I think I saw two. (And one of 'em was mine.)

Now I'm curious. So . . . I want to do a poll.

The question is, are you running carburetors or mechanical fuel injection in your 911?

[Flieger]

MFI all the way!

[Mr9146]

It all depends on the application.

I prefer MFI, but I built my current motor with Webbers.

[Allen Henderson]

Interesting. However, is what you really want to know is how many cars (engines) were originally equipped with MFI are now running carbs and, I suppose, visa-versa (not many I'll bet) . If one is building a hot rod Webers (PMOs etc) are going to be MUCH easier and cheaper to set up for a custom build. Over the years MANY MFI cars were converted to carbs due to not passing emissions with (worn, out-of-spec) MFI and the cheaper alternative of putting on carbs--remember this was when 911s were daily drivers.

My '67 has it's original (re-configured) Webers. Thanks.

-Allen-

[Grady Clay]

MFI!

Without doubt the most fun.

I have one car (street 914-6, 2.8S) with MFI but double-digit spare engines.
I have two cars with carbs (911 original, 914-6 GT2 for rules) plus spares.
I have two cars with CIS (original to 911SC) plus spares.

MFI rules.

Best,
Grady

[Chuck Miller]

................ from new till now, once it's right, it's REALLY right........

Cheers

[Flieger]

The last show I went to --- the Santa Barbara Region PCA Concours at the UC Channel Islands campus in Camarillo, back in October --- I think I saw two. (And one of 'em was mine.)

And the other was Marco's 911ST project. I bet those were the only two early cars there. The rest were water cooled, right? That is the way PCA-SBR seems to be going.

The early cars, and especially the ones with MFI, must be out driving and too busy for the concours.

[MountainRoads]

I've run both. To me it depends on what was original for the car, and I try to go as original as I can. As I mentioned in a previous thread, I ripped out the MFI in my '71 E and converted to Webers back in the late eighties. I did a conversion back this past year after re-acquiring the car and the first drive I took after reinstallation was over the mountains. I was amazed by the throttle response difference - no lag at all.

- MR

[LongRanger]

Hey, Allen . . .

I thought hard about just asking Owners of cars that were originally equipped with MFI if they still were still running that set-up. But I was worried about not finding enough respondents.

And besides, at the highest level, I think the basic question is the most telling --- carbs or MFI?

I consider myself a hard-core hard-a$$ about running old cars --- especially old Porsches. I'm not really interested in performance or usability or comfort in any absolute sense. If I was . . . I have lots of other choices. But I chose an old Porsche, and I specifically sought mine out for, among other things, its MFI. I'm interested in driving and living with and understanding something that I view, not just as a car, or a possession, but as an artifact --- something from another time.

So I don't really care if the car is difficult or flawed or scary . . . as long as it's still what it started out as, still authentic . . . still the car that Porsche built.

This poll is to see how many others on this Board still have what I regard as an authentic Porsche feature --- MFI.

Rick Kreiskott

[Allen Henderson]

Rick,

Just for the record, I'm an originality freak too. I do believe most on the board with Ss (I dont' have one) will have their original fuel system. With more later, LWB cars, your going to have more MFI. I'd be surprised, shocked, to find MFI on any '67 or ''68S with its original engine.



As for hotrods, custom engines, I think Carbs will predominate. All IMHO. Below, a '72S I once owned.

-Allen-