3.2 or 3.6 for a conversion?

[Ken911]

I have a friend at work thats got a targa. with a 2.4 with mechanical fuel injection and a mag case. he is looking at possibly swapping it for a 3.2 or a 3.6. which swap is easier for that year of car it's a 70 something I think a 73 but not positive. I suggested a 3.2 with a 915. I have one in my carrera and it's easy to work on and trouble free. but I am biased in that so I wanted to ask here and would appreciate answers from people who have actually done the conversion. I'm thinking the 3.6 would be a lot harder due to changes needed for the tranny etc.

[herman maire]

If its a stock 2.4L motor its going to be either a 72 or 73.

how much $$ does you buddy have to spend?
If your buddy has the $$$ go with the 3.6 you wont regret it, a 3.6 is NOT cheap to buy, your lucky if you can find one for $6g's

Theres really is not much more involved in the 3.6 conversion, on both motors you have to deal with the DME wires,not that big of a deal if you have help, it has been done many times by pelicans here so there is alot of help when you need it. You have to run 1 huge oil cooler or 2 smaller fender mounted coolers, the 915 works with the 3.6 perfectly.... there are even a few running 72 mag case 915's and there holding up fine. You just need a aftermarket flywheel to work with the stock DME.

If you go with the 3.6, try to get the latest one you can...the early 3.6l motors had cylinder sealing problems but there is a big chance that they were taken care and fixed by porsche.

Your going to get bunch more info on this swap... good luck

[einreb]

i (with generous help from friends) swapped a 3.6 into a an '88 and a 3.2 into a '78.

3.2 is much easier. its not just the tranny/clutch conversion crap, its the cooling and exhaust that make it a pain. Earlier car with a 3.2 is the sweet spot of bang for the buck IMO.

[ischmitz]

I think it all depends on the engine condition of the donor. Both the 3.2 and the 3.6 have their set of known issues and many donor engines have seen their fair amount of (ab)use by now. For the early 3.6 the cylinder to head seal can be problematic. And most engines need at least valve guides since they ran pretty hot in the stock cars. 993 Euro engines are nice but comand top $ especially when they are the later Varioram type while the earlier 964 engines can be found a lot cheaper.

In terms of difficulty both conversions have been done many times now so it really comes down to a budget question. You can buy kits and bolt-on muffler solutions for any 3.6 making it about as easy as any other swap. I recommend spending a premium on a motor with known good history rather than having to shell out an additional 6k-10k down the road for a rebuilt.

Good luck,
Ingo

[randywebb]

3.2 is much easier; the Timmons kits make the 3.6 very doable tho.

BUT - if he has MFI on the original motor for a '72 or '73, then he has a relatively valuable car. Find out what "letter" it is - e.g. S, E or what. Or post the VIN.

He should prob. save the original motor, as the car may be quite valuable.

[ToddM]

Due to the added weight and the fact that the car in question is a Targa, I'd almost recommend against the 3.6L.

Youre looking at an easy $14K to do a 3.6L engine conversion. You would want a donor from a late 92 or later. It is not straight forward and making it all work togather without glitches is easier said than done.

You'd also need to modify the exhaust or purchase a whole new exhaust and beef up the rear suspension.

You also lose the power steering when moving to a 3.6L

[Kevin Stewart]

The 3.6 is an altra smooooth FAAAssst motor. lets look at it realisticaly

exhaust, even if you go 3.2 you will up grade so dont include exhaust, you can use ssi with the smaller tuibes and no its not gonna choke the living ****z out of the motor

Oil cooling, you have to do it anyway so you cant add this

as far as suspension, thats funny wont go there

what was the added weight wasnt it like at the most 50 lbs (so you cant store the fat chick in the back seat no more


if you dont track the car the stock brakes will work, but guess what you will probably upgrade them with a 3.2 or 3.6.
\
there have been many on this bbs that have done in a long weekend.

tons of knowledge how on this bbs

the biggest thing is start with a timmins kit, www.instant-g.com (check his crate package.
and yes buy the best motor that you can find, My altimate reason for a 3.6 was newer modern fuel injection

it will probably cost you more then the 3.2 but will be worth it

this is my 82 sc with a 3.6,, bbs headers and exhaust (i bought used) timmins kit, guess what STOCK BRAKES, Have agood one, Kevin

[Kevin Stewart]

coooool

[aigel]

There is no replacement for displacement. The 3.6 conversion may be more complicated but it certainly is a whole different performing animal, if you compare it to a stock 3.2.

That said, I believe the 3.6 would warrant more other upgrades, especially suspension and brakes. It goes on with tires and wheels and wider wheel wells etc. I think the 3.6 will be much more money, not only initially, but with the other upgrades as well. A 3.2 would be just enough of an upgrade where you would be fine with leaving the rest of the car alone. If you would feel that you need upgrades to the rest of the car, they would be milder and cheaper, say a carrera suspension and brakes, instead of 22/29 torsion bars and turbo brakes!

George

[jevvy]

I would say that if he hasnt decided which he wants yet (and would be happy with either) then he should wait to make that decision until a good 3.2 or 3.6 turns up.

No point deciding to do a 3.2 then miss out on 2 good 3.6 engines while you wait for a good 3.2 - just put the net out for both engines and see what turns up.

[Bill Verburg]

If you do it, do it right, 3.6, biggest issues are cooling and exhaust, bioth easily if expesively solvable.

3.6 targa is nice, just don't expect race car chassis rigidity.

[cdill]

I have a 3.6 in my '83 cab with the 915 tranny and have had 2 trouble free years. The only up grade that was done to the car after the engine was 930 front brakes. My car has the factory bilsteins on it and the ride hight lowedred to euro specs. The car will out perform almost everything I have come across. After driving many 3.2 carreras I can't imagine doing a swap and not going with the 3.6.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally posted by cdill
The only up grade that was done to the car after the engine was 930 front brakes.

please tell me that you also did the rears

[cdill]

Originally posted by Bill Verburg
please tell me that you also did the rears

Oops! The rears have also been done.

[aigel]

Originally posted by cdill
Oops! The rears have also been done.

How much do turbo brakes run? $2k by the time you are done?

George

[Bill Verburg]

Originally posted by aigel


How much do turbo brakes run? $2k by the time you are done?

George

More like $3k+

[Rot 911]

It all comes down to how much you want to spend.

[ToddM]

You realy have to know what you are doing or have a competant shop in the are to pull off a 3.6L. Do not underestimate the complexity of this conversion.

I have seen many 3.6L conversions where the car will stall or surge

I think the point is that the 3.6L conversion can't be treated as a seperate entity and a car by nature is a system.

[aigel]

Originally posted by Bill Verburg
More like $3k+

Yikes. That reminds me again why I got the 993. I needed brakes on the SC - I was just getting too fast on the track ... then there was wheels to be bought as well, before you know it, I was going to be another 5k into the car ...

George

[Scooter]

I am going to go against the grain here and say 3.2. My opinion is that a 3.6 is just too much power for an early car. When looking at balance, the 3.6 is just overwhelming for an early car, unless you do a lot of other improvements as well. If you really want more power than the 2.4, I believe the best balance is either a 3.0 or 3.2. But this is just my opinion, other's will most definitely disagree.

Additionally, the realistic cost of the coversion to a 3.6 is consistently underestimated by many. I've heard from those in the know that the budget just for the conversion should be at least 15K, but closer to 20K.