Carpokes Porsche Forum

Hi All,

Thanks for the warm welcome to Carpokes. I found this board via the Stuttgart Market Letters site. The bigger question I am exploring Is “how can the younger generation continue to drive and enjoy our carb based Porsches?” The biggest deterrent I hear from enthusiasts in their 30’s, 40’s and even 50’s is “carbs are a lot of work, they smell up the garage, they need constant attention, they are too much of a hassle”.

Ok so perception is reality. I have many carb based cars and yes, they do require tuning and love. So what if you had a 1970 911T with EFI? Or a 1968 912 with a 1.9 liter with EFI? No more stink, less hassle, and tunable, mountain passes don’t affect power etc.

Well, it sounds good to me. Having EFI that is “open” meaning no closed systems for mechanics to be able to tune and make changes to maps etc. Haltech? I don’t know but I have a bee in my bonnet . I am going to spend time researching this option.


Open, tunable, good support, performant, efficient and cost effective are some of the adjectives that I have down. More later….

Btw. Here is a photo of my 912. I am in Bellingham WA

@912Porsche

Stunning car! I LOVE the darker greens (my favorite) and yours is fabulous!!

@blueline thanks for the compliment I love all cars, I have a special place in my car heart for long hoods in greens, blues, oranges (skittle colors . I think about the future of the longhoods with carbs. Will EFI replace carbs in the future? If I placed my bet today, I would say yes. It’s the only way they will continue to attract younger owners (IMHO). Sure, there will always be exceptions. I am talking about the broader market.

Input, perspectives, thoughts on all this is much appreciated.

Love your 912 and thanks for posting the pictures! She has got to be a riot running through the mountain roads of Washington!? ....and she be a lovely color for an Irish lad , me boy!

@WillyDaP The 912 is a blast to drive. I noticed you have a Cayman GTS which I yet to drive. How much do you love that one .

dr bob wrote: Wed Feb 19, 2025 10:48 am Someplace in my massive collection of stuff is a suitcase-sized kit of Weber tuning parts. My tuning audience way back when included several popular conversions including choked-down 48 IDA's on your motor. The good news for most is that, once set up correctly, the only time that real tuning is needed is when you are racing, and changes in air density might necessitate a jet and emulsion-tubes adjustment to get to the last couple of ponies.

I can't express how happy I am to read this! Right on Dr. Bob, now I am not the only one that loves Carburetors on this board. German cars and Italian carburetors make a great match.

It's a symphony. I think there's a certain something, the 'flushing' sounds when the throttles are snapped open, the music from the intake as revs build under full load... A single-throttle EFI system just can't play all those notes and escalating harmonies at the same time. I do love the easy starting , the altitude compensation, and the lack of 'boiling fuel' fragrance that come with EFI. But unless you still have ITB's with long runners and just the right intake bells, it just doesn't match sonic swells of a well-tuned set of slightly oversized carbs on a well-tuned engine.

And a side note... The Solex 40P11's on my first car, a '65 356SC cab, sounded and drove pretty darn well. Same engine as the 912 that succeeded it. That said, a well-prepared 1700cc 912 would run pretty easily with stock carbureted 911 cars at the time. You had to love working on them all the time to get top performance and enjoyment. I think I had the engine apart for refreshing at least a couple times in just the plug change intervals on 'modern' EFI cars. Sync the carbs, change the plugs, run the valves... a monthly or more often piece of the ownership duty for the weekend racer.

The Good Old Days...

Old timer here......that's Solex 40PII's (eye eyes) not 11 (elevens)....the big 4 cam Carrera motors got PJ J 's
SC 616 motor = 95 H.P. 912 616 motor = 90 H.P. they had to 'detune' it a bit. SC's were very 'high strung'.....
the "Super" and "C" 75 H.P. motor, was like the 3.0 911 SC motor....long lived and nearly built proof.
:-}

Darkbeer wrote: Thu Feb 20, 2025 10:00 pm ......that's Solex 40PII's (eye eyes) not 11 (elevens)....

Good to know, I have been saying them incorrectly all these years.

Some carburetor fun and history and whatnot from Hagerty published yesterday. Excellent timing for this thread Hagerty!

"Mix Master: After 120 Years, the Carburetor Still Befuddles"


https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenan ... befuddles/