Should I buy this engine?

[andreic]

Hello,

I am the owner of a 1975 Porsche 914 with the 1.8L engine. The engine has been modified by the previous owner to run a single Weber carb setup. I don't have major complaints about how it runs. The biggest ones would be that when the engine is cold it can be sluggish at low RPM's (you need to rev it up before starting from a stop), and it has a few fairly minor oil leaks (my mechanic said it is probably from the pushrod tube seals, which he said we could do in about 4 hours total, by partially dropping the engine). The car does not smoke at all, and reaches 90mph easily (probably more but I did not dare).

Recently I came upon someone in my area who is selling a complete 914 1.8L engine, complete with the fuel injection system. They claim it was running when removed, about 9 years ago, and it was stored in a dry place for the last 9 years. He says the engine is not frozen, it spins easily. They ask a very low price for it (around $250). My question is -- should I buy this engine or not?

On one hand I would like sometime to try my hand at rebuilding an engine, and this sounds like a good candidate. Is it likely that I will need to do a complete rebuild, or is it enough to just do a top end? Or nothing? (The owner said he would just try to see if it starts as it is.) How many hours are needed to do a top end versus a complete overhaul? Do I need many specialized tools? (I have a pretty large set of general purpose tools.) What would be the cost of the parts that I would need to put into the new engine to rebuild it? Can I do it over the winter in my basement, or is this a multi-year project?

Any comments/suggestions will be highly appreciated.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

There are lots of "it depends" variations in answers to your questions.

I suggest picking up Tom Wilson's VW engine rebuilding book; it tells you what is involved in a rebuild (even discussing some of the stuff that you will have to farm out to your machine shop) and mentioning the tools you will need.

Bolting the engine in and starting it is a tempting notion. But in order to use the fuel injection, you will need to swap back to a high-pressure high-volume pump like the original one; the low-pressure low-volume pump that feeds your carb will not cut it. You would also likely spend some time sorting out the injection system--old rubber may have deteriorated, leading to lots of vacuum leaks, for instance.

It sounds like this engine would be a reasonable one to try rebuilding. It is difficult to tell if it would need top-end or bottom-end work without either running it or opening it up. And if you're doing it just for the experience, why not go the whole way?

A pro shop can rebuild one of these engines in a week, and that includes waiting for the machine shop. An amateur like us can stretch it into a multi-year project, as life gets in the way...

--DD

[andreic]

Thanks, Dave, for the reply. I certainly don't want a multi-year project on my hands. What does a bare-bones rebuild involve? If I understand correctly you get the heads reworked, new bearings in the case, and all-around clean-up. New hoses all-around, new spark plugs, new oil and filter. What kind of money do you think this would cost? I have no idea about the cost of the cost to get the heads reworked, for example.

When I thought about getting the engine to run, I was thinking of doing it in a test bed, not in the car. I still have the old high pressure fuel pump from my car, and I could replace all the vacuum lines and injector lines (does not sound like much of a difficult task).

What scares me more is getting stuck on a stubborn bold that would break, or finding that the injector system is dead, or ??

My budget for this project would be at most $1000, including sending the heads to the shop. Would something reasonable be doable within this cost?

Thanks.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

You might get lucky with the budget. If the heads haven't cracked, if the valves are OK to re-use, if the cylinders are in good condition and still round, etc.

If it were a 2.0, I'd say no way. Those heads love to crack, and welding them up and properly fixing them isn't so cheap. You can spend $1K just on the 2.0 heads pretty easily. (Don't ask how I know.) You've got a better chance with 1.8 heads.

For your budget, I think just trying to run the engine as-is is the better option.

See if you can dig up a copy of the Wilson book (maybe you can get it through the library?) so you can see what is involved.

--DD

[andreic]

I just realized that my initial plan of trying to start the engine I'd buy without removing anything from my car might be harder than I thought. (My 914 goes into storage for the winter in 5 days -- I am in Wisconsin and winters are harsh. Since my car is running good I was not planning on touching it.)

Does anyone know of a way to start an engine without putting a transmission on it? (I know that the starter goes onto the transmission.)

Another option would be to buy the transmission from the owner as well. What would be a fair price for a rebuildable 1.8L with FI and a side-shifter transmission? $400? $450?

Thanks.