Nope.. the controversy turned this into a 912E ad more than anything else.

As far as the cost of my "upgrades", nothing we do is cheap, nothing that can be done with a Porsche is cheap. What I do capitalizes on the stock platform and can easily maintain a "numbers matching" car. To swap another engine in to the car creates a compromise of most everything that makes the car a 912E.

Even while making more power the longevity, driveability and MPG are either maintained or even increased.

Some of us like 911s, some like 912s and some like and own both. Owning a 911 made me appreciate the 912 platform even more.

What controversy? All I'm seeing is that some who are posting on an (ahem) 911 tech forum really love the 912. . .

Probably won't sell too many on this forum on buying a 912. After all, we're all pretty busy with our 911s

And, to be honest, despite your spirited defense of the benefits of the 76 912E, I'll probably look for a pre 74 911 for my next P-car.:D

After all, this is a 911 tech forum. The 912 was always going to be a hard sell here. . .

Nice to hear the feedback, though.SmileWavy

Yep. I have to state that the two other forums where this thread is being discussed the conversations are much different.. Because those forums are populated by 912E lovers.

I wasn't defending the 912E.. I was merely stating things that those have never driven one (but find it perfectly fine to slam them) would not know otherwise.

The 912E is grossly misunderstood by the majority but the owners of the 1200+ of them that have been registered still in existance love them for both what they are and what they are not.. A 911 body style that's NOTASIX

No, you should have defended the 912E. There was a valid question posted by the OP, and it's been interesting to learn more about the model, although I couldn't resist a poking a bit of fun at the fact that the debate was on the 911 tech forum. Hopefully no offense was taken.

As I said, nice to hear the feedback and I'm always interested in learning more about Porsche.

I'm going to have to go re-read your posts. Seems like all you've done is defend the 912E. I must be missing something.

I didn't see a question. I saw a self-proclaimed rant about how the 912E is a piece of crap compared to 911's. Probably the original source of 912E owners speaking up to talk about their cars in this thread.

I can't get over the attitudes of some people over a car. If they were truly car guys, then why would somebody spend the time and effort to slam someone else's ride?

The elitist attitude further solidifies why people think porsche owners are d*&%heads. have i owned 911's? sure. have i owned 912's? sure. have i owned watercooled porsches? sure. british cars? sure. other german cars? sure. swedish cars? sure. american cars? sure. my point being is that i'm a car guy. i like cars. do i need to spend my time and effort talking poorly about other people's cars? nope....i'm past grade school.

reminds me of when i was in college. (this was like 7 years ago). i decided to take my '67 912 (slate grey...original paint and patina. great car) to a porsche show. unsuspecting a 21 year old to be the owner of the car, two 911 owners were standing by my car, tearing it apart. one of them made the comment that they couldn't believe the owner brought it to a "911 show." (it wasn't...it was an all-porsche show).

i spoke up, told them that i got the car running after it sat for 20 years in a barn, and asked them what kind of mechanical work they did on their cars. none. they were checkbook mechanics. ....and they felt pretty darn stupid being called out by a kid on their immaturity.

point being....why piss on somebody elses car, if it makes them happy?

My opinion, FWIW. Based on a few drives in a basically stock 912e when it was about 9 or 10 years old.

Handled/cornered very nicely (esp considering the little 14 inch wheel/tire combo)
Engine was enemic.
Freeway on-ramp maneuvers had to be well timed. Leisurely cornering was, ugh, "lacking".

I am sure with some more HP it would have done a lot for me. This stock car pushed a lot of the right buttons, but made me cringe in the useable power category.

Way back then, I had very limited 911 seat time, but i remember being surprised by the little car's cornering prowess given the small rubber. My first stint from the owner's house was down hill and had me saying "alright!" .... the trip back up the hill through the same curves had me thinking "lacking"

Flash forward 25 years from that test drive.
Imagine if Porsche made a flat four with the modern technology of the 997s flat six.
The HP would be stout and the weight quite a bit less..... and the resulting reduction in rear weight bias would make it a stellar handler.
There is already a multitude of 911 variants..... why not a new 912e (or 912f, if you will) :D

I don't think I've ever slammed somebody else's car, in this thread or any other.
But I'm not afraid to tell about my experience with a car I owned.

Did I mention that my 912E had pretty lackluster performance?

I think the 912e is pretty cool.

Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that the original early 911 enthusiasts were lustily voicing the opinions of lackluster performance with the original early 912's? And that the original early 912 enthusiasts were rabidly defending their vehicles of choice?

Even funnier....many people slammed both the 912's (as well as the 914's) as not being "real Porsches", and pontificated that neither would approach the resale value of a 911.

It's amazing what a few years will do to people's judgment.

I don't have a problem with the 912E, either or Jake selling his engines.

To clarify, the 76 MY was an anemic HP in both the 6 and the 4 cylinder version. As mentioned, the Thermal Reactors and other smog controls killed EVERY sports car of the era. Add on controls were the bane of the industry until modern fuel injection and redesigns of combustion chambers and exhaust brought emissions down to a level where HP could climb again.

Just my $.02.

Here is an old picture I found. I seem to have plenty of pictures of the 911, but this is about it for the 912E.

The black one to the left is the 912, and the silver one in the back is the hot-rodded 911. Then there's a silly thing with a radiator and water pump sitting in the 912's normal spot, getting prepped for the racing season.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1297114376.jpg

I'm glad people are happy with their 912s. Also glad mine has been sold. :D

Sorry to bring up an old thread...not trying to bring up the topic again, I'm just curious if you have any more photos of your orange 912E? Is that Continental Orange? Mine was originally that color and hopefully will be that color again.

This is mine..."ruined" by a PO with fiberglass flares and black paint. :p

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341279791.jpg

I had a 912E. The 912E was brought back because of the gas crisis. For me, at that time it was a step up from my 914. I had always like the earlier 912s, so the 912E made sense, and at that time, I could not really afford a 911.

I owned the 912E for a few years, and then decided to step up again to a 911. My experience with my 912E was mixed. I have to say, that between the 912E and my 914, I wish I would have kept the 914.

The 1976 912e may not have much power and torque compared to a 911, but isn't as tail happy as a 911 of the same age and gets great fuel economy. If you are not happy with the performance, look into a type 4 upgrade via Jake Raby and put the car on a diet?

The full Jack Raby treatment can set you back $20,000 again why not just start with a 911? And tail happy doesnt seem to bother the 934, 935, 911r, RS RSR, ST all the way up to todays gt2 and gt3RS cars

The official line was a bridge between the end of the 914s and those front engine water pumper thingys that were late off the assembly line.....but hey, whatever floats your boast.

I always figured the 912E was brought back due to excess inventory of 914 engine parts.

Well, the 912E had a 2.0 modified VW/914 Type IV engine but used the 1.8, L Jet fuel injection. A one off 915 trans and few other WTF parts that no there Porsche had or has since......who the hell knows.

All earlier 912s were carbed and used 356 engines.

I don't mind the 912 so much, but I agree, it is a sheep in wolfs clothing. That said, I know at times Porsche needed some dinero and this was a quick way to make some money. At the end of the day, I am a capitalist first.

That said, however, is it worse to have a 912 or to get rid of the boxer and put in an american crate engine in it?

I happened to spot and follow a beautiful looking white longhood coupe coming over the bridge across the Willamette today on the way home. It even turned off at my exit a couple of cars ahead of me. It went right, I went left at the light. But not before I was able to read the 912 script across the rear lid. (69? couldn't get close enough)
I'd drive it any day of the week. (Probably every!)