914 2 liter motor in 1972 VW westfalia camper ?????

[Southbay356]

Hi we have a 72 Westfalia camper , it came with a 1.7 liter Type 4 motor that died , I think the best way to sell it would be to get it running again , so I need a motor , We found a 2 liter 914 motor which is "almost the same thing" But what do I need to change ? Flywheel / clutch ? TO bearing ? will the bus rear mount fit ? I know it will need a 12v fuel pump And will probably get rid of the 2.0 injection and put carbs on it....... But anything I would not think about ? thanks for your ideas ,

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The oil filler and dipstick may be in the way. The 914 has a dipstick that sticks straight up out of the top of the case. The oil filler is on top of the chimney by the fan shroud as well. There is a decent chance those will foul on the bodywork above the engine bay.

The flywheel has a different pilot bearing; I am not sure what the difference is right now. You can probably swap flywheels if you can't adapt things.

I think you can swap the motor mounting brackets and such to the 914 motor, but I am not completely certain of that.

You will have to adapt the engine tin, as the spark plug holes are in a different location on the 2.0 914 motor, but the outer edge of the Bus engine tin is a slightly different shape than that of the 914 engine tin.

Note that the 914 heads are on the fragile side, and pushing a Bus around is going to be a bit hard on them. Cracks in the exhaust ports, cracks across the spark plug holes, and dropped valve seats are possible problems caused by overheating. The 914 has higher compression than the bus, so keep an ear out for pinging if you can.

A 72 bus should still have oval exhaust ports, so the Bus exhaust should bolt up. It will be a bit restrictive and will limit power and flow, but it should work.

There are other differences, but I am not sure if any of them would cause problems in a Bus application.

--DD