911 engine swap hose routing

[Andy Somogyi]

Hey all you water-cooled swapped 911s, how'd you guys route the hoses underneath the car? Did you guys make hard-lines and go over the rear tires, or did you route between the rear swap bar and the tub?

I'd rather not route over the rear tires because I'd like to keep the radiator hose length as short as possible. But, got some concerns about routing under the swap bar, in that this is really close to the jack point, and there's a good chance the hose could get crushed here.

Here's some pics of 911 AC lines, and a great set of water-cooled hard-lines.

What I'm thinking about now is welded aluminum hard-lines for most of the lines, but route under the sway-bar bracket, and use marine flex hose here. This way, if I do run over something, the marine flex hose is flexible, and easy to replace.

[Trackrash]

Porsche Engine Conversion Tech Forum - Pelican Parts Forums

[Andy Somogyi]

Originally Posted by Trackrash

Porsche Engine Conversion Tech Forum - Pelican Parts Forums

The engine swap forum is moribund, lot more activity here. Figured, some folks might have some insight on the routing of the factory AC lines, as these go between the torsion tube and sway bar.

My car has a very different AC line routing, so that's not much help.

I think the Renegade Hybrids swaps might have ran the line similar to the factory AC line.

[BoxsterGT]

Here are some photos of a routing that seems to work well....





I do not know the OP but someone will recognize the car. I believe it has a Jeep Radiator up front.

Hope this helps a bit.

Len

[Andy Somogyi]

Originally Posted by BoxsterGT

I do not know the OP but someone will recognize the car. I believe it has a Jeep Radiator up front.



Hope this helps a bit.



Len

Thanks, yeah, that’s Reece’s car, I know it. He’s got an LS swap. I’m going for a more subtle approach, going with a Weber carb twin cam Subaru flat-4 in mine, going for a period correct feel with my 76 912. Hence, I’d like as stealth a route as possible, so you can’t see the lines from the outside, and still want plenty of ground clearance (it’ll be a daily driver).

So I’m going to see about routing the lines with a rubber connector between the sway bar mount and the torsion tube like certain dealer installed AC systems. Also that way, the lines are shorter, less coolant and less weight, and less pipe to push through, less pressure drop. I’m just curious if there are any more pics if the factory AC line routing.




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[Trackrash]

Originally Posted by Andy Somogyi

Thanks, yeah, that’s Reece’s car, I know it. He’s got an LS swap. I’m going for a more subtle approach, going with a Weber carb twin cam Subaru flat-4 in mine, going for a period correct feel with my 76 912. Hence, I’d like as stealth a route as possible, so you can’t see the lines from the outside, and still want plenty of ground clearance (it’ll be a daily driver).

So I’m going to see about routing the lines with a rubber connector between the sway bar mount and the torsion tube like certain dealer installed AC systems. Also that way, the lines are shorter, less coolant and less weight, and less pipe to push through, less pressure drop. I’m just curious if there are any more pics if the factory AC line routing.
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You do know you can get ~200hp out of a T1 VW right? That is smokin' power in a 912 and no hassle with pipes, radiators, overflow tanks, weird ignition, engine adapters, clutch adapters, engine mounts, gauges, heck I could go on.
Just my opinion.
This car had a 1725 and was TTOD more than once.

[Andy Somogyi]

Thats a NICE 912!

I seriously thought about a performance Type-4 build, I've still not 100% ruled it out, but I see a lot of advantages with a Subaru, mostly in terms of reliability.

I'm a research engineer at my day job, and I've got access to one of the best machine shops in the state where I can custom machine pretty much any part. I work mostly on laboratory instrumentation design, so designing micro controllers is my thing. I'll be making a custom Speeduino ECU, port injection, coil on plug system no matter which engine I go with, and I'd use "Weber" throttle bodies with hidden injectors either way.

My concerns with a T4 is this will be a daily driver, and I plan on some seriously long trips with the car, looking for reliability and parts availability. I can easily make a 165 hp T4, but making it last is a different story. People like Jake Raby have their own dynos, and can spend months dyno testing all sorts of different configurations, and I can't really do that. With a Subaru, you get a well tested 5-main bearing, forged, nitrided crank, nikasil cylinders, forged rods, 16V heads, and if an engine blows, no big deal to buy an other one. I can easily and super reliability get 220 HP out of N/A Saburu. I also have a cooling system design with stealth radiators hidden in the front fender wells, and sandwiched between the tub and bumper.

Cost wise, it's much more expensive to build a T4 than a Subaru, and if the engine detonates, you're pretty much screwed with trying to find another case.

Anyways, for practical engineering reasons, I've 99% decided on a Subaru, but still not entirely ruled out a T4 build. I've attached a spreadsheet of 4 different options.

Originally Posted by Trackrash

You do know you can get ~200hp out of a T1 VW right? That is smokin' power in a 912 and no hassle with pipes, radiators, overflow tanks, weird ignition, engine adapters, clutch adapters, engine mounts, gauges, heck I could go on.
Just my opinion.
This car had a 1725 and was TTOD more than once.

[BoxsterGT]

Build the Subaru motor.

Keep it simple, no exotic stuff for reliability. Especially if long trips are planned.

Just my $.02 worth of advice after 45+yrs doing this.

Len

[Trackrash]

I know this has been debated for ever and there is a build thread somewhere, doing just what you are thinking of doing. Took him three years. Endless fabrication. I guess if you work for free, you save money. And if you keep the car for ever, and you aren't worried about seriously reducing the value of the car.

FWIW. My other daily driver, is a '67 Bug. Read my garage for details.

It has a 2110 T1 motor that I built in 1985. Probably around 150 hp, which is more than a Baja Bug needs. It still runs perfect after 80K miles. Starts right up, never any smoke, burns zero oil, runs on 87 octane. I recently drove it from San Diego to Sacramento in the summer. No issues with the motor.

My sister has owned a couple of subies, and I have read about their issues. I guess if you start with at fresh motor you will be OK on the reliability end of it.

Looks like you have a plan, so I say go for it. But in my opinion, you would be better off buying a Subie for what you want. But in the end you could end up building a cool car and I have to admit 220 HP does have its appeal. Keep us posted.