914-6 conversion: Do it or not?

[speedemon666]

Don Newton! What's your e-mail address? I'd like to know all the details on your 2.7 conversion. I've finished the whooooa and am starting on the goooooo!

[rich]

This should get a rise, Talk about making no sense.... You could always have a Porsche V8...... http://www.d.umn.edu/~jrichar4/alien.htm


[This message has been edited by rich (edited 07-15-2001).]

[farleyd]

A little recap before i talk about my conversion. When i got my 1974 2.0L, its all i wanted. But when i disembled the engine - its was fuming blue - i got some surprises. Pistons/cylinders were gone, as were rings. Main bearings and cam and lifters were worned. I estimated at around 1K (1500CAN$) at least for a basic rebuilt. Then i said to myself: my 914 isnt in a very good shape, a lot of bodyowrk was needed. So i cant count on reselling it as a good exemple. Why not invest that 1K into a six conversion? Even a 2.2T one? With limited HP? The sound of a six of course.

Whats more is that after reviewing some classifieds site, i thought that maybe i could resell some of the 2.0L parts. From now on, ive sold more than enough to cover the price on my 6 engine and i still have a lot of parts. Heads (300US$), SS exchangers 250US$), muffler (50US$), p/c’s (100US$), injectors (80US$), MPS (90US$), fuel pump (no yet), alternator (30US$) are good parts that resell easily. The others i tried Ebay .. with goods results.

That made me into the conversion. At this time. the engine is in and will be attempt to start anyday. I have fabrcated my owm sheet metal. Was about to do the same with the oil tank - Michel Richard is doing it, keep you posted on this - and the engine mount. But as my parts were selling weel, i bought them. Enough trouble to convert, lets save some.

I cutted corner some places. Some parts are functional but not pretty. For example, i used the stock 911 oil lines. It works but it is a bit less pristine that braided lines ive seen. I estimate that my cost are at around 2K right now.

my experience is viewable at
http://www.farleydw.com/914.html

Will be updated this week

[JmuRiz]

Don Newton: How did you get around the reliability problems of the 2.7? Wondering if this would be a nice engine for my future conversion.

Rich: What ever happened to that 914/928, I haven't seen or read an update on it in months!

farleyd: That has to be the least expensive conversion attempt I've ever seen. Keep us posted on how it all works out!

Nathan

[DonNewton]

The issues regarding the 2.7 ALL arise from the factory use of thermal reactors to comply with the then-existing smog laws here in the states. Once those have been removed, and yes, you've time-serted your case (see above), you have a very nice engine. My engine is a race only engine. No thermal reactors, time serts done, plus other go-fast mods, I have a fairly light weight, high performance engine! Of course, I'd like to have a 3.6, but I don't really want to be a moving traffic cone for the GT-1 guys!

[GaryW]

Don,

What class are you racing? I'm putting a 2.7L conversion together, mostly as a driver with some autox and DE events. I'd be interested in what class and competition the 2.7L puts you in.

[DonNewton]

I'm a GT-4R (PCA) kinda guy. Once I had all the suspension, brakes, safety rig, engine done, it just "made sense" to go to slicks! The best thing about competing with a 914 is that once it's set up correctly (or correctly for me), I have dead neutral handling characteristics, extraordinary levels of adhesion (I run a front and rear roll/anti-sway bar and have the Oh My God chassis stiffening kit), and lots of punch! I'm really pleased with the torque this engine generates, and peak horsepower is really nice on the straights where at 6600 rpm, I'm cooking at ~140mph. I've also found that the momentum management skills we develop when the car has anywhere between 80 and 100hp are put to good advantage with greater levels of horsepower. Because of the low CG and good power-to-weight of this configuration, I think you'll be very pleased, and remember: Frank Williams already has his drivers for next year. Just go have fun!

[farleyd]

I updated the page of my 6-conversion. Coem take a look and let me know!

http://www.farleydw.com/914.html