Early 911 Conversion links?

[creag44]

Sorry couldnt think of a good title for the subject. My question is, I am planning on buying an early 911 like around 75 or so. I know that the 2.7L engine has a bad rep and I was looking to put a 3.6L engine out of a 993 in it. Does anyone know anywhere I can look or any links that would help me with this conversion? Since I am relatively new to porsches I have no clue on the actual size of the two motors or if the 3.6L motor would even fit. I am also wanting to upgrade the interior in this vehicle also. I have seen someone do the interior with an 82' 911 but havnt found anything with this early model year done. I thank you all in advance for your help and cooperation. Please no flaming, I am just a porsche Noob trying to get some help. Thank You all

[Grady Clay]

Welcome to the Forum. You will find a lot of help here.

As a very general rule of thumb all air cooled 911 engines are interchangeable. You will find some easier and less expensive than others.

Your main concern right now should be the condition of the ’75 or so. It is far more important to find one in excellent condition and not needing much. Ideally one with a fresh rebuild, properly done. The best bargain is to pay top dollar for a really good example.

If you need to swap engines a 3.0 911SC is the easiest. It has a similar fuel system and much other. Yes, you can install later and larger engines. You can build very special and powerful engines.

You need to define what your intended use is. Do you have exhaust emissions requirements where you live? What is your budget?


Among those years (’74-’89) there isn’t a great deal of difference in interiors. With some creative work with dash vents and such you can up-date and back-date. Unless you have some specific need, you are better off keeping it original or as-original.

All of the above are very simplistic answers to a very general question. As they say; “The devil is in the details.”

What ever you do, get a Pre-Purchase Inspection (PPI) from a knowledgeable shop and post more questions here.


Best,
Grady

[creag44]

Thank you Grady on the engine sizes, I greatly appreciate it. I am looking at that year of porsche cause I really like the looks of it and I guess I just fell in love with it ! My budget is really in the project, this will definatly not be something that I am going to source out work on it. I will do 90% of the work myself, so my budget will increase with time on it. I am really looking for a good rust free porsche right now that isnt exactly mint, cause I will repaint it for sure and pull the motor out and everything. So a excellent running car really isnt that big to me, I am just really looking for a good rust, and damage free porsche that rolls. I have built several hotrods in the past and I just really wanted to go the more exotic route on this one and make it my baby for sure. I love porsche and decided that I wanted to get the best of both worlds, the old styling of the 911 body, with the new reliable motor and nice looking 993 interior. That is really my motive for this car. Thank you for all your help! And if you know any good information or links on this I greatly appreciate them.

Thanks, Mat

[randywebb]

Facts
- new to Porsche
- has hotrodding & mechanical experience
- wants a bumper car look??
- wants a monster motor (sure you want a 993 and not a 964 motor??)
- want 993 interior
- low budget; will do most labor himself
- in midwest

Unknowns:
- local market
- emissions regs to meet

IS the above for sure? or would a 3.2L motor be ok for you? They are easier to put in.

You want the look of the early cars (aka "longhoods") or of a 1974 - 89 911 (big bumpers)?

There is no exact description of how to do a full conversion. Jack Olson's BBII series of posts might be the best documented.

Full galvanizing starts in late 1977. So you can buy one that has the 2.7L motor in it.

Or you could get an SC.

Can you tell us your $$ budget? If it is less than $40,000 then [1] a 3.6 in a [2] galvanized chassis with [3] an early look, and [4] a 993 interior will be hard to do and take a long time.

If you can define things a little more people can help you more. If not, then it's time to browse the bbs for a while to better define what you want.

The search button (the gray one over on the RH side of the screen) is going to be very important to you...

Also, a poster named Souk has a shop in Chicago I think - he might be somebody to visit. If you take a trip to SoCal you will find Porsche shop nirvana. There are also some good ones in the PNW and in Tenn. or near there that do conversions. For a 3.6 you will also want to look up the name Stever Timmons, back East.

[creag44]

Thanks for the info Randy! Yes I have quite a bit of mechanical experience, no I do not have any real porsche exp. though. This project is in the works. I have no real budget as of yet. No I am not a extremely wealthy person by any means, I am a mechanic, so that should tell ya something! LOL I am mainly wanting to make a 993 look a like, or retro a classic with 993 parts. I dont know on which one yet? I know there is some body kits you can buy to change the fenders and bumpers to a 993. I know it will prolly save me more time, money, headaches, and everything else if I just save up and buy a 993! But I want to build a classic and retro it to a newer 993. No a 3.6 is not set in stone, and a 3.2 is def be something for me to look into. I really just want to have a nice porsche, that is quick and fun to drive! I like both the 901 and 911 styles. I think the 911 style of the 74-89 will be better. Thanks for your time and information!

[Quicksilver]

It is fairly common to find an early racecar that someone has put 993 bodywork on. Fit and finish will be what you would expect from a racecar but it will save a lot of money.

If you really like the 993 then I would really suggest buying one. It will cost a lot less then taking an early car and adding bodywork and a bigger motor.

I personally would like a longhood with a 993 motor and trans in it. Give me an older car with MORE!

[LeeH]

Lots of info here.

[creag44]

Thank you so much guys, and LeeH that site helped out tons! I appreciate it! Thanks guys love the support on the forum, thank you.

[Rick V]

A friend and I are putting a 3.2 from a doner 85 targa into a 71. He has some issues with the body (minor) and I'm gonna freshen up the engine. This car will look like a stock (non-sunroof) long hood, Just don't make the mistake of thinking it is a lamb.
A 3.2 should be enough for any long hood since these cars are sooooo light. My buddy also has some glass fenders and other pieces to lighten it up some more.
This might be a more cost effective and easier way for you to go.


PS I am a wrench as well, good to see another grease monkey on the board!

[Zeke]

After you've snooped around this BBS for awhile, you will become familiar with an expression that says 911's are all $20,000 cars, whether you pay now, or pay as you go. There are scores, if not hundreds, that have crossed the 50K mark that were purchased as a moderate project car. Better line up your budget and expectations as a first order.

Another way to explain a concept here is to tell you a little about kart racing, something I did for 30 some odd years. When a newcomer showed up to get involved with the sport, we would always caution not to spend for a brandy new machine until one season of racing was accomplished. If the racer did buy a new kart, at the end of the freshman season, he had a year old kart and probably never finished in the front 3rd of the entries. Had the racer saved his money and spent it tuning and tweaking an older machine, he would have a lot more knowledge of the process and probably as many finishing points. The following year, this racer buys a new kart and starts to win because he knows how to use the latest in technology.

Not quite like your Porsche project, but the principle is shown. Why not buy a nice street car and drive it for a year. Learn how to drive it well (they are tricky) and see if you really pick up on the Porsche philosophy? Then, tear it apart!

[creag44]

Rick - nice to see another wrench, now I know there is more ppl like me out there wanting the dream car of a porsche!

Milt - Thanks for the philosophy, I totally know what you are saying here!! I hunt, and do some combat sports and you always get that guy just wanting to jump in there and buy thousands of dollars of gear to go out hunting or training 2 times! Definatly a waste of money! I am definatly knowing that by the time I end up finishing this project i will have 10000? hours tied up in this thing and probably 20 grand EASY!! I am not financially set up to drop 20 grand right now and the same goes for 5 years from now. Thats why I wanna buy an older porsche and learn on it, get the experience of porsche and like you said TEAR IT DOWN!! LOL

Like I said in an earlier post, a lot of ppl will prolly just tell me that I should just buy a 993! Thats a good idea but do you know what insurance rates are for a 993 bein a 21 year old? Not a pretty site shall I say! I have built older hot rods and got classic car insurance on them and have paid very small sums of money on it because of the year! And thats why I really wanna take a classic EXOTIC, and porsche has been a dream car to me for ever it seems like, and build it up to what I like. Thanks again to all you guys helping me out I really do appreciate it. This definatly seems like a great board to get some info from!! Also thanks again to LeeH for the link to that site. I have been skimming it for awhile and definatly gives me a look at what will be in store for me when it comes time. Also if any of you guys happen to hear of a 70's 911 in the midwest for sale body in good condition, please pm me and let me know. Like I said before I cant spend a but load of money as of right now, but definatly wanna check out my options.

Thanks, Mat

[defcon65]

Everyone admires the courage to attack a project of great unknowns guided by a simple premise of building exactly the car you want.
But take heed of the warnings that have been hinted here and buy the most car you can afford. My 17K Carrera is turn-key, rust-free, low miles, clean interior 2-owner coupe that runs great. The car I passed on, a 72 911T was 7K and probably needed top-end work 4K, carb rebuild and tune up .5K, exhaust and heat exchangers 1.5K plus some paint work, suspension upgrade, seat repair, etc.
Had I not passed I'd be in to the tune of 14K or more and looking at a beat-up, slightly rusty, 5 owner project car.
My hat's off to you to take on a task of this magnitude with a shoestring budget, just make sure the 20K car you end up with IS the 20K car you wanted.
Oh, and welcome to the forum. This is THE place to ask your questions, air your grievances, bounce your ideas and get empathy for those pitfalls you will inevitably incur once you put wrench to Porsche.

Good luck and regards,

[LakeCleElum]

http://www.instant-g.com/index.html

[creag44]

Thanks defcon, it will be a big project but thats what I love, I am a mechanic and hate work!! But I love to work on classic cars! I am sure there will be a lot of headaches but o well thats just like any other project. I am just worried about wiring up everything and making sure all the harnesses and everything will work right! But it will all be good.
Also thanks lake, Lee told me about that site earlier in the thread and it is def what I was looking for, appreciate man.

[Dantilla]

I have a 3.2 in a 1973 coupe.

My project costs were far below what most spend on something like this because I had two things:

1- A complete, straight, rust free 1973 911 that had suffered an engine fire, purchased from an insurance auction, and

2- An '87 Targa that was hit hard in the nose, also bought at auction.

By having the entire car, I had the engine, complete wiring harness, later suspension and brakes, lots of bits and pieces, yada yada, to pick from when building up the '73. Then I sold quite a few parts from the targa to further reduce the actual costs.

If you have the space (that's a big one), try to get a wrecked 993 to rob parts from. Then you'll have the Pelican vultures circling over what you don't use. Much easier than trying to find lots of individual parts as you go.

[creag44]

Thank you Dantilla, I have thought about this. I just moved to a the southeast and I dont really have too much space at this moment. I am gonna rent a large storage facility and do my work in there. I have pondered the idea of the whole wrecked 993 and it seems great, but I am kinda wondering what a totaled out 993 would cost? Like I said my budget is kinda limited thats why a project is great cause I can pay as I go, instead of all at ONCE! Your project sounds real nice any pics of it? Like to see others dreams as well! Thanks for the info.

-Mat