'74 911s ideas? engine swap?

[PorscheRB]

I am new to this forum because I just bought my first Porsche... It's a 1974 911s, Gaurd's red with a 2.7 and Weber carbs. After seeing all the posts about kids fooling around with imports and not appreciating true driving machines, I saved for 10 years to buy my true driving machine and I'm the only high-school kid I know with a Porsche. It runs very well but gets pretty bad gas mileage and burns a little oil- the exhaust is blue for a good 10-15 minutes after it starts up and the engine smokes after a long drive, but only enough so you have to look closely to see it. I'm looking to pull the engine and replace it with a newer, more powerful and fuel efficient monster... with premium going up to $3/gallon this summer I can't afford 8 to the gallon. How hard is a '74 engine swap? Can someone recommend an engine to swap in? Do I need a new transmission? I'm only 17 but I can do my own work... the parts budget is an entirely different story though, I'm looking to keep it as inexpensive as possible without sacrificing quality.

Gotta love dangerous curves- on and off the road

Ian

[vash]

damn at seventeen, i barely had enough cash to get a camaro into running condition. kudos if you pull it off! i would brave the gas prices personally.

[Tim Walsh]

first of all welcome to the board.

Second it's going to be pretty hard to get decent gas mileage with the weber carbs. CIS and EFI are much easier on gas. Even a well adjusted MFI system is much better. Since you have a 74 you have a few options. It originally came with CIS so wiring in a CIS 3.0 won't be that bad at all. And I belive a 3.2 with EFI swap isn't too terrible either but does require some rewiring.

Third,
Porsche's aren't cheap, I'm a college student and my porsche spending could easily spiral out of control. A new motor is going to cost between 2-10K depending on condition, size, case type (Al or Mg). To rebuild your motor is just as bad, 3K on the basement end needing nothing but since you have a 2.7L motor it will probably be alot more (5K+). Not to discourage you but just a warning.

[fintstone]

a '74 is a heck of a nice car. I would drive it as is as long as possible. Even with poor mileage, you could put a lot of gas in it before you would spend anything near what a new engine would cost. I would save my money and do it right. A 3.0 or 3.2 will both work great in your car, but remember that those engines are getting up there in age and could have problems too. To prevent this, I swapped my 2.7 for a professionally rebuilt, nicely hopped-up 3.0 from Supertec and am very happy with it..decent gas mileage and runs like a scalded dog....it came with a 2 year, unlimited mileage warranty, but it cost close to $10k. If you have the original tranny, it will work fine for a swap.

[Doug Steinel]

Ian,
Anyone who has a 911 before they have to shave is kicking my ass.
I say keep with your present engine as long as you can and learn as much as you can about your car. I would try to get a leak down test of the enigne so you can estimate if you have some time on it. A good place to start is with Wayne's 101 projects book. There is a cost estimate to each project and you can stay within the kind of budget I think a 17 yr old can handle. Refreshing your car via these projects will teach a lot about your car. In the future, when you have to do the engine, you will be ready to go.

[Jim Sims]

I will be realistic - there is not much you can do without spending lot's of money; I don't see a engine and induction/fuel system swap for less than $3000 even with you doing all the labor and cutting every possible corner. These cars tend to require parts purchases on the order of $500 chunks for any kind of modification or repair. To calibrate yourself add up the cost of parts and tools to do a clutch job. I recommend you consider getting your existing set-up tuned for optimum fuel economy and then live with it. It is very easy to get into a $6,000 to $10,000 cost to do what you think you want to do. In the world of 911's inexpensive as possible without sacrificing quality is a contradiction. You could drop the engine and fix some oil leaks (and maybe some of the smoking) for mostly a labor and tool investment. Do you have tools or can you borrow them? Good luck, Jim

[PorscheRB]

I have access to tons of tools and a lift, and help from a professional mechanic if I hit a dead end. I've pulled engines and replaced a clutch before but never on a Porsche. Thanks for all this advice! I'll post pictures soon.

Ian

[Jim Sims]

Well, first of all Porsche 911 engines are usually dropped rather than pulled. Jim

[bigchillcar]

i agree...you'll spend a fortune replacing the engine...much more than than the difference gained in better mileage for ANY other engine you could decide to put into it. wonder if it's running too rich? have access to a co meter?

best bet for mileage/reliability would be to replace the wonderful sounding webbers with the stock cis fuel injection. you'll see better mileage and won't cost as much as an engine replacement. although, you'll see some performance loss...more possibilities for other mods down the road with carbs in terms of cams, etc.
ryan

[AZ1977911]

Just out of curiosity, how are you measuring your oil level...

[bigchillcar]

Just out of curiosity, how are you measuring your oil level...

what he's getting at...are you measuring oil level with the car running and exactly at operating temperature (180 degrees)? you could be overfilling, so...
ryan

[H20911]

Drive it the way it is. Do not let anyone talk you into a v8 swap because you do not have the $$$$$ for this and chances are once you pull it, it will never run again due to $$$$$ to get it right.......No V8 SWAP done right is cheep.
I would just drive it and if you must upgrade go with a 3.0 or 3.2 but it will be better if you just drive it and sell later and up grade to an SC. A cab would increase the fun factor.
Also this board would have saved me thousands of dollars had it been around 10 years ago. stay tuned and good luck
"77" V8 911S

[chuckw951]

A motor swap would be a fun but expensive proposition. I think you need to find out what is happening with your current motor, it could be something simple or fairly inexpensive (compared to a swap) problem to fix. As a first step I think you should buy all of the books and learn about your car. Pelican Parts sells books on the new 911 owner required reading list.
You could probably trade the carbs for a CIS system which would give you better mileage and driveability, but remember this isn't a honda, especially when you have lead foot. Which reminds me I bought my first 911 when I was 26 which I thought was pretty young to have a P-O-R-C-S-H-E. I did some stupid stuff on the streat with that car, be careful. Don't lift in the turn, I did that on an exit ramp and spun out. Luckily noone was around and the only thing that was hurt was my pride

[Matt Holcomb]

Ian,

Keep in mind that if you swap your magnesium-cased 2.7 for an aluminum-cased 3.0, 3.2 or 3.6, you'll have a heavier motor sitting behind the rear wheels, which means the distribution of weight will be biased more toward the rear of the car than it already is.

My suggestion would be to buy this book and rebuild the 2.7.