[Tonyakavw]

I've been driving my Subaru conversion for a few months now and its a total blast. My upgrade was from a stock 1970 1.7 L type IV, to a 2001 EJ25 naturally aspirated Subaru motor. I went from probably 80 HP to somewhere around 170. It cost me just under $3k to do it. (I did a ton of fabrication and all the work myself aside from welding in a 1-car apartment garage).

Porsche purists don't like conversions in general and there are three major things they don't like about this conversion. 1. Its a Japanese motor and 'doesn't belong in a fine German automobile.' 2. Its not a Porsche engine, so it doesn't belong. 3. Its watercooled.

For the non-purists, its a highly regarded swap. You get all the benefits of EFI, low center of mass, an all aluminum engine, less weight, cheap parts, cheap to upgrage or replace, etc. Also you don't have the torque of a V8, so you don't have to reinforce the chassis, axles, or transmission (with a 300 HP turbo motor you might).

The EJ25 is what the Type IV motor would have become had they continued developing it. When placed side-by-side there is a definite resemblance in many of its features. Its probably the most natural non-Porsche engine conversion possible.


-Tony