914 V8 conversion

[sammyg2]

Yep, kennedy engineering for adapter plate, flywheel, clutch/pressure plate, engine and tranny mounts.

Definitely not Rod simpson for cooling system, I had one in my car and ripped it out.
Renegade's system is very good but also big $$$$.

I used rod simpson's water pump (about the same as renegade's) routed the hoses tucked under the car in the recesses of the center tunnel where they are fairly well protected.
I used a griffin aluminum radiator from summit racing. Make sure you don't skimp on cooling fans.

It is really not that expensive to put together but if someone really wants a conversion car (whether V8 or Porsche 6) don't build it yourself, buy it from someone else who built it. let some other poor slob loose money on the resale, not you.

Chances are you will not recoup even close to all of the money you will invest in any conversion. Why not let someone else do all the work and spend all the money. that way you pay fair market value.
The only time when doing a conversion yourself makes sense is when you plan to keep the car forever and want it to be done a certain way that is drastically different than what everyone else is doing and it would be cost prohibited to change a completed conversion car to your specs.

I made money on my V8 conversion car but I bought a partially completed project where the seller already bought most of the parts

[74914]

If second is the driven gear, with stock tire dia. top speed is around 180.

I could be wrong but am under the impression that the HB gearset from the 901 4 sp. is the one that's needed for fifth, and of course that they're hard to come by and expensive. Is this true, or what are the alternatives for the 914 5th?
Ed

[peter carroll]

Perhaps a bit off topic, but could I get some opinions on the Subaru conversion. I like the idea of putting a simularly designed motor in without the massive hp of the v8. Which motor is good to use and which model car would it be from? Thanks, Pete

[bowlsby]

Eric Tischer did a couple of Subaru swaps...very cool....

http://www.etischer.com/914xt6.html

[sammyg2]

Boy, I'm really going to go out on a limb here with gear sets (with almost no knowledge of the subject), but I seem to remember someone telling me that they took 4th gear and reversed it to get the correct higher 5th gear ratio. Anyone out there who knows enough about this to tell me if this is full of baloney?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Yup, it's full of baloney. 4th gear is 0.9259, and if you flip that around you get 1.0800, which is about halfway between stock 3rd and 4th.

You can flip a number of 3rd gear pairs to get taller 5th gears, but the stock /4 and /6 will result in a shorter gear than the stock 5th.

You can't flip 1st, as it is different from the other gears. You can't flip 2nd, as it is part of the main shaft. You can try to find some low-low 3rd gear sets and flip them...

--DD

[M. Hendrix]

Dave, please continue for a few paragraphs on gearing, what's out there for us?

I haven't found any resources that include gear sets.

Thanks.


M

[Phoenix-MN]

I have bought gear sets from PowerHaus in the past, they were very helpfull in gear selection.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Charlie Davis has the 901 and 915 ratios on his website. http://members.rennlist.com/chuxter/901&915ratios.htm

When you flip the ratio, you swap the position of the drive gear and the driven gear--one to the input shaft, one to the pinion shaft. That inverts the ratio, so you divide 1 by the ratio and the result is the new ratio. You can compare that to the stock ratios and see how that lines up.

Note that 1st and 2nd cannot be flipped, as they are uniquely built. 2nd cannot even be swapped for anything else, as it is a part of the input shaft.

PowerHaus (or PowerHausII?) carries gear sets, but for the transmission guru, talk to Paul Guard at Guard transmission. gears@gte.net

--DD

[74914]

Sorry, I meant early 915 trans. A chart I have shows 2nd as 1.632 for the '71 4 sp.
Humbly
Ed

[M. Hendrix]

I somehow knew you'd have something Dave, thanks so much.



M