914 V8 conversion
 

I have given up trying to afford a 6 porsche engine and am going with a small block chev v8. Anyone with any experience regarding rendgade vs red dog vs rod simpson kits.

Thanks for any input

I dont have any direct experience with Red Dog but the others have great quality stuff. I would also check with Kennedy Engineering for the adapter and clutch, They are the best deal out there and I have heard that Renegade uses Kennedy for adapter plates.

Do not forget to factor in the cost of rebuilding the transmission to handle the torque and changing the gearing to better work with a V8.

James

Take a carefull look at the cost of a V8. Not as cheap as one is to might think. Problably cheaper to buy a converted car.

James,
Do you do that kind of work?
Ed

Check out this webshot picture page. He makes and sells V8 conversion kits.

http://community.webshots.com/user/adbuch;) ;)

I am going to put a v8 in my car too. Thd dollar to horsepower ratio is way better than a 6. After looking at the different conversion parts out there, I am going to buy the adapter and clutch parts from Kennedy and the rest from Renegade.

Jerry

If you can find the parts, I can put the tranny together. But....

It's $2000+ in parts for the re-gearing, LSD, and upgraded cover and Intermediate plates.

And the high end gear for highway cruising isn't the easiest thing to find.

James

The cost of all the parts to do a 6 or v8 conversion cost about the same, less the engine. You can buy a worne out 3.2 with a littel over 200 hp for $4500.00 or a brand new 350 hp crate motor complete with efi from GM for $4500.00.or a 330 horse long block for $ 2200.00.

Jerry

I just sold a 2.7 to shoguneagle for less than 2 grand which is ready to run. He has a SBC in his 914 now that HE put in. It's coming out in favor of the six because in his words, it's OK in a straight line but a pig in the corners. I'm wondering about the complete opposite. How about a typeI in there? 2185cc and light as a feather. Someone said that every 12 pounds saved is worth something like 1 hp. So, there's 20-30 hp right there over the Chubby,...er, Chevy.

You could always have a Porsche V8... Does it get any more confusing?

I have a 914/6 which has been upgraded to a 2.2 with S cams. It's somewhere around 160 to 180 HP. The car as is can get scary fast. I cannot realistically imagine 350 hp....

James

Well I am going to settle for my little 270HP Turbo V-6 Buick engine conversion in my mostly fiberglass teener. We will see how that goes as I get it together.

I've looked into doing a conversion about as much as every 914 owner! Also as with most it just costs to much to do it! I also just don't have the time to put into doing the conversion. It is much easier & cheaper to buy a conversion allready done! BEst of luck whatever route you go! I am looking for the right conversion car as we speak! Anyone want a cherry restored 73' 2.0?

Check out the Pomona swap meet.
There's always V8 914's for sale there.

What about a turbo on a stock 1.7- 1.8- 2.0? If you go the "pull thru" side draft weber route and can do some fab work, you could probably build one for less than $2000 easy, half that if you go the "junk yard/swap meet" route.

A friend of mine did a 914 V8 "on the cheap" and did most all of the work himself. He spent over $3000 on the conversion and was unhappy with it when he was done. Biggest gripe was he had to rebuild the tranny twice and (if he kept it) had to re-gear the tranny to go over 80 mph with it. You have to figure you're adding > 500 lbs to the car, and putting the weight higher in the car which messes up the center of gravity.

Rob

Uhhhhhh, I disagree on the added weight of the V8. As one who's BTDT here's my opinions:

A chebby small block with iron heads, aluminium intake manifold and headers will add about 225 to 250# to the weight of a 4 cylinder 914, about 125# over a six. My engine with iron heads weighed around 525 lbs. Not that much especially when you factor in the incredible torque. A stock type 4 weighs around 350 lbs. Using aluminium heads on the chebby will save at least an additional 60#. Radiator, hoses, and cooland add very little weight, less that 40 lbs. and most of that is in the front.
A V8 will raise the center of gravity a little but not enough to make much difference. Urban myth.
Stiffer springs in the rear are a must (I ran 200# springs) but there's no reason why a V8 914 won't handle as well as a stock 914 if set up right. I beleive that 225# rear springs and a larger front sway bar would have been perfect for the way I drove the car.

If he couldn't get his V8 car over 80 mph there was a serious problem, mine was capable of at least double the posted speed limit with stock gearing without much trouble:-)
I agree that for optimal gearing the 4th and 5th gear should be raised but it is not manditory. Renegade offers this service, IIRC it was under $2000 last time I checked.
If the chebby engine is built correctly it will be more compatible with the stock gearing. the worst thing you can do is to use a stock or an "RV" cam in the V8. It will provide too much torque low and not rev high enough. It's not that hard to get a small block to rev over 6000 rpm safely and reliably, that's higher than a stock type 4.
A high lift cam with high duration and resonable overlap will raise the power curve high enough to mimic the stock engine, but not quite as high as a six. It will also take some pressure off the transaxle.
f your buddy has went through 2 transmissions something is wrong.
I ran a used junkyard trasnaxle in mine and never broke it. All I did was change some bearings, seals, and installed a used 2nd gear syncro before putting it in the car. I only used 1st gear for pulling into the garage but did a a few two wheel burn outs in 2nd with no problems.
Scott Mann from renegade ran a 901 tranny behind his high HP engine (claimed 465 hp ;)) for years before he broke it, and he is the first to admit he abused the heck out of it.

I also did the junkyard turbo route using a weber side draft in a pull through application. That design does not lend itself well to intercooling so the boost levels will have to be controlled, my engine was happiest at around 7 psi but I could take it to 11 psi for short durations. That was enough to make it feel like a zillion HP but in reality it was probably around 150 hp to the rear wheels at 7 psi. You will still have some turbo lag and will not get the enormous torque of a V8. Very fun but not as fast as a good V8 conversion. My V8 car actually handled better than the turbo but some of that had to do with the tires I was running.
I had much less that $2000 into my turbo set up but I am also a cheap SOB. I think I had less than $3000 into the entire car :)

I bought a built V8 (383/420) with a stock 901, I hated the gearing, and it was not a light engine, so it made the 914 a straight-line drag sled... goodbye lovin.

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

I decided in my situation, a workable V8 car would cost as much to engineer as a high-end 6 conversion, and I like the cars for what they do best anyways.... hundred mile an hour 28ft circles, and getting to 70 from 30 in one gear.... now.


M

I have 2 914-6's, one with about 280HP. I also have a 914-8 with a mild 327 / 300HP running into a stock 901.
For the street, there is nothing better than a 914-8. For the track, there is nothing better than a race prepared 914-6.
Buy the renegade kit, buy a used 283 or 327 and put it all together with the stock 901 ... after driving for a while, adjust to your preferences !
Good luck...

I have personnaly visited all three companies and seen smaples on the street and car shows.

Get the adapters from Kennedy. They make them for all three outfits. Have been around much longer than all three. And will still be around long after any of the three decide fade away.

Red Dawg, formerly PRO-SCA has the best designed engine mounting system, a full eng-trans cradle. The others all look kinda "rigged". You can buy just the cradle.

For all the rest of the stuff, mix and match from the three however you see fit.

But trust me on the adapter and engine mount.