Engine problem
 

Hello everyone I am new to the forum and need your assistance. I live in the Chicago land area and have a 1972 914 with a 1.8l that is really tired. I would like to get a 2.0l and start over instead of rebuilding the engine. I was wondering if anyone can refer me to some oe who builds a good engine that i can get in long block form (a crate motor). I have found a couple of places that sell crate motors. gex international and mofoco. i was wondering if anyone has ever purchased anything from either one of them? and if so how was the quality? or i someone can recomend someone in that could possibly rbuild my motor. i really want to get my car on the road.

thank you
Curt Biron

Welcome to the wonderful world of the teener! If you haven't been already, I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised with your car.
If I were to have my engine rebuilt I'd ask Brad Roberts for recomendations or go to Jake Raby. Do a search on engine rebuilds and you'll see their name come up quite often. Neither are in your neighborhood and you'd need to ship it. There are a few in your area that will probably pop in on this post and give some suggestions.
Have fun :)
bruce

The quality on GEX and Mofoco is very spotty. Back when I looked in on the VW newsgroups, the very mention of GEX was enough to start a flame war. Quite a few people had bad experiences with GEX motors, and some had good experiences. Mofoco was similar, but seemed to have fewer defenders.

Do as much research as you can before you buy a rebuilt motor...

--DD

Depending on your goals & budget for the project, you might also want to consider buying a (good) used 2.0. They come on the market fairly frequently, from guys who do the "hot rod" thing (-6 or V8 conversions and such.) Should be $1000-2000 tops including D-Jet FI; basically a turnkey deal. A proper rebuild would be significantly more. Just a thought.

Yes, rebuilds are expensive for what you get. Labor is $1000 or higher. I put a (apparently) good motor together for $2000 and half of that was for the heads. Yet, shops want $4000 or more. Jake gets half again as much. No disrespect to Jake or others is implied here. None. But you need to address your exact needs. Do you want a killer motor or one that gets you around and that's all.

If you tune your own lawnmower, you can rebuild your TypeIV. All the critical stuff is farmed out anyway. Rods, crank, heads and you use new pistons, either in bored cyls or as a kit with new cyls. (Most seem to prefer bored cyls over the new ones). If you can remove the engine and trans, disassemble the sheet metal and periphials, you can do the rest. For me, that's the harder part.

When you get finished, not only will you have emense satisfaction, but you will know that there are no stripped out studs and other mickey mouse stuff on the motor. Unless you tend to do MM type of work. Don't do it then.

I have the know how to do it my self i just didn't want to take the time. But it looks like i will have to. does any one know if there is any body out there that sells a rebuild kit that is wroth while or where to get the parts. i have a bunch of catalogs just wondering who would have the best parts.

In a word, Pelican. Right here. Just click on the link at the bottom of the page. Get Tom Wilson's book, "How to rebuild your aircooled VW engine" and Jake Raby's video if you can find one. Lotta information there. Also, the tech articles on this site are very extensive. All the parts are listed in the online catalogue. It can sometimes be a little tough to navigate, at least for me. It helps to know the proper name of each part. They have stuff that is not listed as well.

914curt, I live in the Milwaukee area and am very familliar with Mofoco. Do yourself a huge favor and imagine that they have SARS and don't wear masks.

In other words Stay Away From MOFOCO! Especially with a 914. (Or a Schwinn for that matter)

I have some good buddies who live and breath VW's and say that the only thing Mofoco is good for is a place to buy chrome crap to hang on a bug.

The names you've read here are nationally known and respected. You may want to check with the Chicago Region PCA, if your not a member, I know there are quite a few 914 owners in that club.

Also give Brad Mayeur, owner of 914 Limited Inc. in Peoria a call.
309-694-1797
1162 Beyerly Hills Dr.
East Peoria, IL 61611

A real nice guy and knows his 914 stuff. He's come up and run with us at some Milw. Region PCA Driver Ed events at Blackhawk Farms Raceway a few times.

Don

With MOFO in their name that's gotta be a red flag in my book, eh?http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat2.gif
bruce

Since you're in Illinois, call Brad Mayeur. He usually has several motors, ready to bolt in. You could probably pick up a complete early 1.7 very reasonably, and your 1.8 exhaust should bolt up to it, IIRC.

309-694-1797 Mayeur has email… but it's better just to call him. He really doesn't like email. :)

I purchased lots of new and used parts and two 914s from Brad Mayeur. He's been a Porsche mechanic since the 914 was first delivered to the dealerships. He also developed the chassis stiffening kit that I used in my tech article. It's the only kit on the market that ties into the rear trailing arm for additional stiffness.

There's a VAST amount of experience on his end of the phone, and he's a genuinely good guy. While other's might have a toll-free line, it's definitely worth the dime.

-Lawrence