Technical Instruction

I stole this Bosch D-Jetronic and L-Jetronic fuel injection systems manual from Melcher several years ago (he got it with a basket case 914 he bought) and I'm sorry to say, if you're reading this Mark, that you're not getting it back.

Gertie is a D-Jetronic fuelie; the "D" stands for "Druck", which is German for "pressure". Various hard-to-find sensors measure the level of vacuum (hence "Druck") in different parts of the system, give that information to the brain which then decides how to deliver the fuel (in a sloppy nutshell). It was the first electronic fuel injection system ever put in a production car, the 1968 Volkswagen Type III, and by the early 1990s you couldn't buy a vehicle in this country that wasn't fuel injected--though more modern EFI differs significantly in practice, but not in principle, from D-Jet. Gertie has the "E" version from 1972.

Really, it's almost entirely over my head but as Gertie is now in her fifth decade of service, and as the number of people who really understand these old systems succumb to base actuarial facts (RIP Russ Wolfe), it's gonna be sink or swim for idiots like me. (No, I'd rather push her over a cliff than put aftermarket carbs on her in "favor" of the fuel injection, thanks.) This book hopefully will prove to be a partial life preserver.