911 with a VW engine??

Ok guys, time to prove my dad wrong, I hope...
My dad is convinced that the 911's from the 70's had an enging from a VW van. Please, say it ain't so...I have been telling him that it wasn't. I told him that maybe the 912 are the ones with the VW engine, not the 911. So, who is wrong. Thanks for all the help guys.



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There is no substitute,
Tim
'83 944

You dad is correct. There was a porsche with a VW van derrived motor. But fortunately it wasn't the 911, merely it's lowly relative the 924 (dig dig).

You can rest easy now.

The 924 had the VW/Audi motor that I think was a 5cyl used in the Audi 4000. The 76' 912E had a VW 4cyl boxer as a stop gap between the discontinuance of the 914 and the arrival of the 924. No 911 ever came off the assembly line with a VW motor. Bobby

The 76 912E actually had the 2.0/4 914 motor with L Jet Fuel Injection....only the 1.8 914s had that injection...the 2.0/4 had D-Jet...a true orphan in the used parts world....

There've been VW vans with 911 engines...now that's a pretty cool conversion.

Tim, your dad's thinking about the '76 (only year) 912E-MikeZ is right about the 2.0L VW Type 4 engine being installed by the Porsche factory in those cars. It was pretty much the same verson that was in the VW Transporters (Vans)-also called Type 2 by VW nuts. It's a flat four aircooled engine, with a split case, individual cylinder barrels, heads that span each of the 2 cylinders on each side, cam underneath the crank driven by a gear, pushrods acting on rocker arms-it's basically a Beetle motor's big brother.

I have a 912E. If you want to see the VW markings on the case, let me know. I'll email you directions!

Dave

PS It's a great, reliable and even sorta quick car (with big Webers in place of the F.I.)

Stray15,

Your father is 100% wrong. No 911 model ever left the factory with a VW engine.

Too bad you didn't challenge him to put his money where his mouth is and bet $1000 on the outcome!

Caretake,

- roGER

I guess it's a matter of interpretation. The 912E is a stock 911S for all intents and purposes. Sure, it doesn't usually have the rear sway bar, but the bosses are there. No, it doesn't have the six cyl. motor, but the mounts are there. It has a 915 variant for a gearbox. Just about everything is interchangeable. Most part numbers are 911.XXX.... which isn't true for non-911's. I guess you could say no 911 ever was a turbo either, correct? Not with 930.XXX part numbers? Really a 912E and a 930 are the same in the sense that they are 911 variants. To say his dad is 100% incorrect is to say that a 930 isn't a 911. Whadda you guys think?

Look at the serial numbers on the engine. Are they 930/911xxx or 411xxx. Question answered.

[This message has been edited by RarlyL8 (edited 10-13-2000).]

There's no question that it's a VW engine, that's my point. I have, essentially, a 911 with a VW engine and it's from the factory. Plus, plenty of the part numbers on the engine in my 3.2 Carrera were 930 part numbers. The 912E internal factory designation was 923.XXX..., not 411...

Dave

Dave:

A 912E is a fine car in its own right, but to say you have a 911....Wouldn't that tend to admit that you're a bit of a poser? Or is that the politician, or the beer talking?

Dan

Well, in one sense you're correct. It isn't a 911. But, I had a 911 Carrera and I like the 912E better. I sold the 911 and kept the 912E. Poser is so derogatory, but you can't call yourself a "912E" guy, no one would know what you're talking about.

Here's an interesing factoid: if you think about it, the 912E is the last air-cooled four cylinder Porsche ever built. Neat huh?

Dave

Dave - the point that I was getting at in the above post was that Porsche serial numbers mean Porsche engine. I was thinking the prefix for VW engines was 411 (my brother is a VW freak, that's another story). If the engine in your car has Porsche serial numbers as opposed to VW serial numbers I would say it is a Porsche motor. I have heard that the Porsche 4s are much more expensive to rebuild than their VW counterparts. This leads me to believe that there may be some differences (other than the Porsche tax) between the two.

Dave:

I apologize for the dig, but under the circumstances I couldn't resist. A "912E guy" sounds real exclusive and has a right to be real happy with that machine. It has built in physics superior to its big brother when it comes time for changing direction. I guess that I'm guilty of going the opposite way. When I had my Ferrari 250 GT spyder, I told the curious uniformed that it was a big Fiat. When I had my 427 Vette and I picked up a chick in a bar I told her I drove a Chevy and they were confused when I opened the door to the Vette. I guess that I answer more accurately when it comes to the P cars, but I must confess that I really hate it when they refer to the 928 as a 924. Those who don't know the difference probably could give a hoot anyhow, so what's the point in an educational tirade?

Dan

I use the "911 guy" moniker with you folks. I tell girls I have a VW! What's worse is the looks from the Jap car crows around here when they want to run and I tell them, "no, on principle and NO, because It only has about 85HP!".

The 912E engines isn't a straight VW motor. It wasn't when it was in the 914 (look at the heads for example), and mine is an evolution of that motor. Well, "evolution" connotes positive development so maybe it's a bit strong of a description!

But, it's a neat car. Like I said, I've had it to numerous car shows and I typically get it parked amidst the 911s. Occasionally, someone will look at the motor, grow confused, look at me and say "what the hell did you do that for?". HA!

Dave