If you do go with a Porsche six, go with a 3.2 or bigger...sure it'll be a little bit more money, but it'll be more fun to drive and it'll be a newer motor.

A small /6 is a waste of money for a conversion unless you "have" to run a specific sized motor and you don't have to spend too much to rebuild it. A good running low mileage 3.6 can be had in the 6 to 7k range...sure it's a lot of money, but it'll last a long time and you shouldn't have to do anything to it as far as rebuilding goes.

If I decide to keep my mostly all stock 914-6 (stock 2.0) a bigger motor such as a 3.6 will find a place in the engine compartment.
(up for sale....price depends on how much money I have to put into it to get it running since it sat for many years)

I've owned and driven a stock 914 1.7, a stock 914 2 liter, a turbocharged 2 liter 914, a 350 chevy 914, and currently a 911SC.

The stock engine was fun but way underpowered. The turbocharged car was a blast but was a bit crude and I was not interested in putting the time and large amounts of $$ it would have taken to make it as good as a factory setup. One of these days I'll do another one the right way.

The V8 car was a monster, scary fast, handled well, but lost most of the charm of the 914. it was fun, but I don't want another one.

I love the porsche flat six. it is not incredibly powerful for it's displacement, it is incredibly expensive to build, but it feels and sounds great.

You can put what ever you want into a 914. It's your car you can do as you please.

If you do a Porsche six conversion you will get more of your money back when it comes time to sell (you never get all of it back). If you spend $14k for a realy nice 3 liter six conversion you can probably sell it for $13k.
If you spend $10K on a chebbie V8 converion you can sell it for $7k.

(I actually made money on my V8 car, but I bought it as a partially completed project, I let the PO loose all the money).

If you are going to do a watercooled conversion just put a chevy small block in it and be done with it. Why go through all the expense and trouble to do a conversion and end up still underpowered? Plus the chebbie is probably the cheapest conversion there is out there. Even if you buy all the conversion parts new you are looking at around $3k for everything except the engine, a 300 hp rebuilt 350 chebbie can be had for under a grand, if you want more hp you can get 400 hp for 2 grand. There are ready made kits for the chebbie conversion and lots of people do them because they make sense.

Forget about the 928 engine. It's expensive to buy, install, and maintain and you will end up with an underpowered V8 unless you use one of the later 928S4 engines and then you are talking even more money. The main problem with the 928 engine is that it is too big. It's at least 4" longer than the chebbie so the front firewall has to be cut out or the back end of the car has to be lengthened. Plus the chebbie engine will run many years longer than the 928 engine with little or no mainteneance.
A new HEI distributor for a chebbie costs $129. A new dizzy for a 928 costs $1400 if you can find one.

A few others on this board have driven conversion cars and you should listen to them, they have experience (Mike Mueller, Brad, etc.) but if someone offers their opinion about a V8 conversion car ask if they have actually driven one before you put much stock into what they say. it amazes me that there's so much BS about conversion cars out there and it all started because someone made a post once, some one else read it and believed it, and it spread.
Examples:
1) V8 cars don't handle well because they are too heavy. Simply not true. The V8 adds as much weight as if your buddy climbed into the passenger seat.

2) A V8 engine moves the center of gravity higher. Technically this is true but the difference is so small I really doubt you would be able to notice it unless your michael Schumacher.

3) big horsepower cars need bigger brakes and better suspension. BS. You need bigger brakes if the car gets heavier, or the top speed is measureably increased and used.
Sure it's nice to have upgraded brakes and suspension, but that can be said about all 914s, not just the ones with strong engines. HP has nothing to do with stopping power unless the horespower adds weight to the car.

Another V8 conversion spotted
 

Speaking of conversion 914's....I just meet a fellow 914 owner that lives just a few blocks away from me last night.

He has a Renegade converion in the most perfect stock bodied 914 I have ever seen outside of a museum....supposedly less than 60k original miles AND it's been rebuilt/refurbish/restored, take your pick :)


I kept walking around the car in shock on how perfect and nice this car is....all new rubber, glass you name it....very nice

The conversion was done very nice as well, the key to any watercooled conversion in my opinion is the radiator....personally I like the Renegade radiator...expensive, but worth it...

Sammy, what's you newest project? I'm picking up "another" 914 soon......I need a /4 for some stuff I want to do in the PCA and the /6 or the C2 won't cut it :)

Ummmm, nothing going on right now. I have a bunch of scetches a few autocad drawings and a box of parts, but that's all I can say. I figure it will be at least a year til I roll out the next dumb accomplishment :)

Well, I'm sure whatever you have planned shall be worth the wait....

I still have that turbo I bought off you if you need another one...it's just collecting dust and I see no plans in the near future to do anything with it :(

I drive a Renegade converted V8 1973 914. Picked it up about 13 months ago and drove it in stock configuration (2.0L) for several months before starting the conversion. My plans when buying the car was to convert to V8 power. The car in stock configuration was a blast to drive after a 25 year absence away from Porsches but did not have the neck snapping power I wanted this time around.

Other than the increase in power, some of my other "wants" in a chevy powered 914 were:

-Modern heater and a/c system (Renegade has this available)
-Elimination of oil leaks (something that always bothered me with both of the Porsches I've owned.
-Eliminate having to adjust valves on my back on a regular basis.
-A engine I can work on.....from tune ups to rebuilds if necessary.
-A car that I can jump in and go without fear of starter problems, vapor lock, fuel injection problems and a few other common quirks with the stock drivetrain.

As Sammy mentioned, alot of garbage is spread about converted cars. I did not install a stiffening kit (as many said was a requirement) and have had no ill effects with 400 horsepower. The stock brakes worked great for the street and my only reason for upgrading was to install 5 lug Fuchs.

As far as work goes, this would depend on what kind of conversion kit you buy. Renegade can provide you with everything from wiring harness to all hardware (radiator, fans, rear springs, headers, tail pipes, starter, motor mounts, etc. required to mate a V8 into the 914. This route will eliminate alot of running around=time. Modifications to the chassis are minimal and require only common tools.

I may be far from a purist with respect to drivetrain but do like to keep the 914s appearance pretty close to bone stock. I also run quiet turbo mufflers and have had a few knuckleheads think my engine was a modified 6?????

One aspect of my project I would do differently if done again would be selection of car to start with. My car was a driver purchased for $3500 with very minimal rust and a fresh 2L and trans.. I did not pay enough attention to some of what I thought were small cost items (bumpers, bumper pads, seats, dash pad, door handles, mirrors, windshield chrome, too many dents in front hood, etc.). Failure to research replacement cost for these parts along with the need for paint to yet be performed will put my total cost higher than expected. If I did this all over again, I would look for a car that was a close to perfect cosmetically as I could afford. After buying my car, I found two 914s in near perfect condition for 5k with bad drivetrains.

Good luck in whatever you choose!

John

so what is the cost. i have no idea what a 400hp chevy goes for. did you do a premptive stike and rebuild the trans or modify? is this a $4000 modification (complete) or less? i hate to seem nosey, just curious. all of those bits and ends that you and i mentioned can add up to a nice pile of change quickly. this is one reason my car cost was higher.

kevin

Kevin,

I had my engine custom built by the same folks who build for Renegade Hybrids. Cost was $5000 delivered to my door and came complete from carb. to oil pan, ignition system, aluminum heads, roller rockers, carb. bench flowed. All parts were brand new and nothing rebuilt or remanufactored.

Conversion kit was another $5000 and included all the typical stuff to install a v8 into a 914 but I went the easy route and bought complete exhaust system, wiring harness, rear springs, gages, HD clutch, HD cv axles, a/c+heater system. The basics can be had for about $2000.

The polished Fuchs, new Yokohams, new brakes, rotor, hubs, struts, s/s lines and fittings, tie rods etc. was another $3000 or so.

The pieces I mentioned earlier (bumpers, dash pad, etc.) was about $2000 more.

To tell the truth, I've got about 20K invested so far and quit counting at that point : ) Alot of money to put in a 914 but more fun than I can get out of a new Camery at about the same cost.

John

The first 914 V8 I drove had a motor that cost about 150 bucks from the autowreckers....a tired old chevy 350...still a blast to drive and was as reliable as one could ask.

it's the conversion parts that cost....V8 or Porsche conversion will add up with the little parts....Luckly for the V6/V8 guy's, a complete kit is available and it is pretty straight forward.

Unless you have a machine shop and have plenty of time, do yourself a favor and buy a kit if you go the V8 route, I started to buy all the piece parts seperatly and it was getting expensive..I also bought a huge all aluminum radiator for about 1/4 of the price of the Renegade kit, but the darn thing takes up more than half of the front trunk....

Back to the flat six Porsche motor conversion:
The cheapest conversion I have heard of was 4k (I think??) for everything including a tired but decent 2.2 911 engine.
This price DID not include 5-lug upgrade or the car.

thanks for your real money reply. i know your joy/pain. bumper tops, who ever factors in the cost of those babies (yikes) when you buy your 1st 914. how about those little plastic caps at the back of the window on the door(early style) last time i looked they were about $50 a pair +shpg.

kevin

Kevin,

Sorry, forgot to answer question about my transaxle. The PO had it rebuilt about two years ago to factory specs.. It has worked well behind the V8 since last September. I just don't use first gear.

I've read/heard the stock trans. is good for about 300 hp. Although I have a little more than that, I just keep the tire smoke to a minimum. I also don't pound every gear like I've seen so many of my friends do.........just not my type of driving.

John

that's $1200 the po never got back.

kevin

These cars (conversions) are NOT an investment.
What they are, IMO, is an expression of the builders imagination.
The same can be said of about any hot rod. There will be a substantial loss should one sell it. If you change cars like shoes, fergit it.

A few things to remember:
HP costs money.
Having HP costs money.
Having HP is no fun if you can't use it....this is an opinion, of course.

The above is also true in the handling department.

BTW: Big power means the capability of more speed, more quickly.
Brakes become an added importance......unless you're just a poser.

As for me, I like the idea of a light, nimble car, with enuff power to dust 98% of the cars you see on the road and on the AX course......I have simple tastes....and yes, I'm spending money to get there.

When I can no longer drive, I'll give it to my son. He can add up the receipts. As John said, I quit counting at 20K.:rolleyes:

Thanks for the reamers, Sammy.
Gimme an addy and I'll sent you some dead fish.:confused:

Many folks avoid the rotary conversion because they don't understand it. I found it a nice compromise between HP, size, weight and ease of installation. A 13B puts off a fare amount of heat into the oil and water so a large oil cooler and a radiator similarly sized to those needed by a V8 conversion is necessary. My biggest issue with the rotary is the noise. Torque is lacking but the downside of the V8 conversions is that they really require a 915 box as the 901 can't take you really standing on it. My next project is putting together an old Moonshadow Buick V6 kit that I found in a garage. Check my website for the step-by-step on the rotary. http://web2.airmail.net/atl/Rotary.html I will post the V6 details when I finish that project. DLee

I have to disagree with the ability of the 901 gearbox to withstand the power of a V8. My 400hp car is living proof of that. I've also talked to others that have had this combination work. The key here is using common sense (don't drive it like a drag car) as well as using a V8 that has the torque curve applied in the mid to upper range..........many folks overlook this issue and have problems.

From what I've learned, both 901 and 915 gearboxes can be upgraded for the V8 application, but the extra money spent purchasing a 915 and then having it upgraded doesn't buy much over upgrading a 901.

If you really want to upgrade, the 930 is the way to go but at a considerable cost increase. Given the price of stock 901's, I could have 10 sitting around as spares for what it would cost to upgrade just one.

I guess I'll just have to wait until mine breaks before making that kind of decision.

John

I did my share of big smokey burn outs (2nd gear) and speed shifted my 901 box all the time without any problems in my V8 car. I don't know how long it would have lasted but I would be surprised if it didn't last several years at least. If I babied it a little more it probably would have lasted many times as long.
I went through it before installing it in the car. Plus I can buy 10 used 901 boxes for the price of one used 915 box installation.

Golly, I've never done a smokey burnout, but I did need bigger brakes.....whudda make of that? He,he

I agree they are not an Investment ...... more of an addiction :)

What about uprgading to a hydraulic clutch? Is that out there? I imagine a cable clutch behind a V-8 must be hell on the knees?

The hydralic clutch is available but I find the clutch system installed from Renegade to be about the same as the stock setup with respect to pressure required to move pressure plate.

John