Putting a V8 in a Porsche is like putting a V8 in a Jag. And there might be more justification for the Jag since it costs as much or more to rebuild one of those I-6s as it does a P-motor. But if you rode in a V8 conversion Jag, you might feel like there was something not quite right with absence of the original purring kitten.

The proper place for a V8 is in front of you in a Corvette. I just can't fathom that rumbling behind in a 911 displacing the unique sound of the F-6. And I really get upset over the butchering of the 914's. Say what you will, but that is a member of the Porsche family and deserves an original aircooled motor, 4 or 6. Mine will get the six eventually.

One can easily make the case for an 8-cylinder motor in a 914:

http://www.porsche914.org/Eight.html

What RarlyL8 said. It's just a car.

I'll add to that a little peice of forum wisdom I've gained over the years: <b>Don't Drink & Post</b>. I'll bend that one a little bit if I'm just in a good mood after a few beers. But I never, ever flame anyone on this board; I have a much more juvenile-oriented forum involving videogames for that, where flaming is tolerated a little more.

The guy wants a cheap, reliable motor in his 911. What if the 911 in question has a blown motor anyway, and he needs to replace it? If he can score a working 3.6l Buick engine for $400, and drop that in rather than buy a rebuilt Porsche 2.7 for $2000+, then why the hell not?

Give him a break. Purists and intolerance are about the only things that make <b>me</b> sick around here. We've seen everything from V8 conversions to electric 911s to Geo Metro engines being dropped into these cars. It happens. Get over it!

so I was watching a really bad movie and the main character drove an early 70's pristine caddy convert. the guy played a docter and could afford anything but chose the big old car. Why I don't know. Being cool must be driving what you want to. I suppose eventhough you could get something that everyone approves of.

I have a V8 in the back of mine. sure there were some problems that had to be over come but I have approx 450hp and 425ft/lbs and that requires beefing up stuff (I will be going to 600hp this year). Sure the sound is not what a purist would want to hear but who cares.

do your own thing . Yeah I would rather have a TT993 cab if I could afford it..... but I can't! But in the mean time it is a 77 911s V8 for me. (Formerly a 2.7 engine)

have a stress free day!

"Don't Drink & Post."

Amen to that.

Actually,... I am looking into the aluminum LS1 chevy v8 for my 77. :p
Flame away
Tim in Sac

That's it. I'm going to buy an old 70s Camaro shell and drop a 2.7 into it, just to piss all y'all off.

;)

Of course the best is to be able to do your own thing. But sometimes it's worth at least listening to advice and criticism offered, regardless if it's in a "flame" format. And, as someone who earns a crust as a consultant by selling advice, I am one of the first to say that, free advice is worth exactly what you have paid for it. (it is a feature of consultancy that clients only take one's advice seriously if they have to pay for it)

I have driven a lot of hotrodded and modified 911s. They all had one thing in common: Their owners loved them. However, for the innocent bystander some of them absolutely sucked. The 911 is a beautifully engineered car, I don't believe it is wrong to modify one, but, it deserves to be done well. Of course anyone can do what ever they like to their car, but they then have to live with it, and very often the quality or popularity of the mods will be reflected in the sales value, or even make the car totally unsellable. This is also a consideration for some of us.

High torque V8s and supercharged sixes may be an economically viable purchase, it may be possible to install at home on the cheap, however, I would imagine that for most amateurs it would be easier to fit a 911 engine and get a truely satisfactory result. What would be the cost comparison for a professionally completed conversion to a high standard: V8 versus a 3.6? And which would you rather have at the end of the day?

I have to disagree with theme that free advice is useless. this board is full of people that will gladly give advice to newbies and others that saves them thousands of dollars.

I also have ridden in several cars that have been converted and most sucked ..........total pieces of crap. On the other hand I have a friend that also has a beautiful fuel injected car that is near show quality. Where you stop is what you are known by.

first hand knowledge is the best........everyone else is just a spectator.

OK, OK, so I won't drink and post again. It's 9:35AM, Monday morning I'm stone cold sober now. I just had a hunch this guy was here to stir up trouble.

Cheers, VC
'89 3.2

By the way, I used to have a Jag Series I XJ with a 327 chev transplant running on LPG. (Gas) It was a particularly poor conversion, so I have been biased against this sort of stuff since.

"Putting a V8 in a Porsche is like putting a V8 in a Jag"

Well...not quite the same...one assumes that any given Porsche is *running* at the time of the swap... Jags on the other hand...lol...well, I recently stumbled on a website called:

http://www.jagsthatrun.com/

The premise of this site is that the only way to get a Jag to run is to put a Chevy V8 into it. To this end, they sell manuals etc to help with the conversion. They seem to take themselves a little too seriously, but I got a good larf out of it and bookmarked the site for future amusement.

:D

My 1986 (Series III, VDP) XJ-6 has 143K on it and runs like a top. I just took it to the Tribute to Le Mans, and was surprised to get quite a few compliments on it. Go figure.

My 911, however, benefitted greatly from an engine swap. Fortunately, it was of the F6 variety.

I built 2 cars from "Jags that Run" manuals. One 280z datsun with a 350 and a 700 automatic ( brakes were not really up to the cars new power level). Then when I got married, an 84 S-10 Blazer (with 4 wheel drive) with the same setup drove it till it rusted out (over 100k on coversion with no problems) then gutted the drive train.
the reason that they are serious is because the do a quality conversion that is carb legal with mostly factory parts that repond in ever way like a stock driver.

Jack, I might have done the same as you with the 3.6 if I had the money at the time. I knew a shop owner that had a 3.6 that was from a low milage total but he wanted 10k and I had about 5k and a V8 engine already.......and the rest is........

I have always thought your car is "the stuff dreams are made of" and if I hit the lottery I will be making you an offer..........just a dream for now........
Just imagine I would have a car with some racing history(loved the story). I will get some wheels like yours someday but I only have one spare 6" and 7's & 9's on the car.

"the reason that they are serious is because the do a quality conversion"

:eek:

Yes, of course, I didn't intend to offend. I have no doubt they are sincere and competent. I just thought the name "Jags That Run" was a bit harsh - but also pretty darned funny.

I didn't mean to knock this board, my comment was intended as a general observation that advice paid for is valued more. I am the first to stand up and say how much I have gained and learned from the help freely offered by members and that I have found trawling the archives in search of an answer to a problem. More, perhaps, in less than a year of following this board than in over 20 years of Porsche ownership on my own. However, if you read some of the problemsolving threads you will sometimes see my view of free advice in action when the poster ignores qualified advice from someone like Warren and continues down his own road. Human nature?
Following on from a theme you touched on I would agree that the quality of work can be a justification and may make a "strangely" modded car more acceptable. Lets not forget however, how many butchered 911s are out there, victims of their owners' ideas and ignorance.

Hey aquaman - I did a JTR conversion as well on my '85 S10.
While researching the swap I saw a LOT of homemade junk. Not good for the reputation of coversions.

Bought the truck new and ran it to 125,000 miles in three years. Sold the motor and tranny (still going strong) and did the conversion using the drivetrain from a 1-ton dually. Ditched the TH400 a few years later for a TH700R4.

I looked at that 350 engine many many times when the motor was out of the SC. You don't know how close I came to transplanting the transplant.

A few months ago I sold my trouble-free daily driven 17 year companion, due to rust, at 238,000 miles! This trouper made many a trip down the 1320 over the years (I towed my street machine to the track with the S10, when the car wasn't doing well I ran the truck). I used this truck as a truck, she worked hard. I still see the truck, now in primer, all over town.
Still going strong.

Moral of the story? You have to do a top notch job if you expect it to last as a daily driver.
It would be my guess that the folks screaming blasphemy have never done a top notch conversion of any type.

Someone posted earlier if a 996 engine has been put in an older car and the answer to that is yes. My mechanic did it and the car runs sucessfully in PCA GT2 class. He cut a hole in the hood and put in a radiator etc. It looks really good and runs like hell. I believe it's a Porsche Motorsports powerplant.

Cheers, James

Hmm, a V8 in a Jag?
 

I think someone tried that. Oh yeah, Ford motor company. Seems to have worked pretty well. They also threw a couple of V6's into an Aston Martin, called it a V12, and they're selling them at 130K a shot.

People seem to like the idea of a reliable, cheap powerplant in a beautiful car. Go figure.

Cut the guy a freakin break. When a porsche engineer gets on this board and starts getting uppity about engine swaps, I'll put a little more weight to his words. This board's intended for advice, not to see who can give porsche owners the worst reputation for intolerance.

Anyway, back to work. I'm saving for a bigger soapbox.

Aston: Reliable? Maybe today, but not until recently. Cheap? In our dreams.