Hi All,
I've got a 912e that's generally in very nice shape. I like the narrow body G series cars, I like the lightweight and handling of the lighter type-4 engine, and I like this car. It just needs more power.
I've been considering going with a turbo type-4 for some time, but by the time I get to my goal of about 175 hp, I'll end up spending well over $10,000, and will require a huge amount of design and fabrication on my part (turbo exhaust, intake, custom dry sump, oil lines, oil coolers, etc.) In the end, I'm afraid that I'll still have an obscure, fragile, unreliable type-4 engine.
I've also considered a flat-6 swap, but that would involve a massive expense, about $20,000 after you factor in builder engine, rebuild, intake, exhaust, cooling, electronics, oiling and misc parts. Add to that, it's a heavy engine, and I like the balance of the 912.
So, I'm back to considering a Subaru swap. Advantages here is super reliable, cheap, commonly available engine with a rock solid (5 main) bottom end, twin cam head that's 175 out of the box, and 200+ with a tune. The Subie, even with the water is the the same, or less weight than the Type4 engine.
Obviously, the issue is the cooling system.
My requirements is I don't want it to look like a hack job, and I'm not willing to lose my trunk space.
So, help me out with making a decision here. Should I spend more time trying to design a type-4 turbo, or just bite the bullet and figure out how to Subie swap?
There are two really great threads here that I like their cooling systems. Neither of these cut into the trunk, but I don't know how well they will work on an impact bumper car. The issues with these are I need to get rid of the fuel evap and overflow tanks in the left fender, windshield wiper bottle in the left fender.
I'm also playing around with pressure drop, and I can compensate with an additional electric water pump easily.
Here's some cooling system info that I'm considering.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/488187-help-me-style-beat-up-old-912-a-16.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/518231-pvx-build-thread-one-view-slope.html
I could also add two additional radiators behind the rear wheels.
Note, I'm OK with adding a center radiator, with a Carrera RS style relief behind for puller fans and airflow like this:
