New to Porsche's/community/912 questions

[J. Perrault]

Greetings,
Just newly registered here, have a few questions and would welcome any advice, technical or otherwise.
Been looking, reading and obsessing over 911's for 4 years now. I do realize this is jumping on a HUGE bandwagon at this time and have been watching cars that seemed affordable a few years ago climb up and up.
Full disclosure : I've been into Fox Body Mustangs and owned a few since the age of 20. They are simple, somewhat light, with conservative looks and are easy to perform simple repairs and slightly modify. I feel they get a bad rap, please don't hold it against me haha.

I'm now ready for a change and it has to be air cooled. The looks, the sound....I've drunk the cool aid in other words.
Initially, the S.C seemed like a great choice for obvious reasons. For 25 or 30k they still seem a great choice. However everyone else feels the same way the last 6 months . After all the research the S.C still seems the best bet though.

But my question is this, and maybe this isn't the correct forum for this question... but what exactly is involved with converting an older 912 over to a flat six ?
I've poked around and found some information, i.e, relocating motor mounts ect. but haven't found that much on the topic.
Assuming the car is mostly solid and free from rust : What are the major changes ? Is it even worth it? Electrical? Suspension? Transmission? Has anyone kept track of labor hours ?
Just curious , and any help pointing in the right direction would be great. There must be a thread that addresses the specifics.
Thanks and my apologies for the long winded explanations, I am excited to be here and hope to become part of the community.
Cheers, Josh Perrault

[19-911-65]

Search "912-6" both here and on the web, I think you will find what you are looking for.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/488807-how-convert-swb-912-911-a.html

[Jcslocum]

912's are following the 911 up the price ladder and are a very good car in their own right. You don't mention what year(s) 912 you might be interested in. The main diff will be the motor mounts and maybe some rear torsion bars to adapt for the weight.

You are really better off looking for a 911 that is in your price range, doing an inspection of it and buying that way instead of looking at a conversion. You will end up in the same place $$ wise with a bastardized Porsche.

And remember; There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche.

[88911coupe]

Josh, welcome! The issue now, as has been mentioned, is that the 912's are getting dragged up in price with the older models of that time. I was at the Porsche club breakfast in Tulsa last weaken and we touched on the 912s and how they've gotten up there in price. I recall a few years ago seeing a 912 for about $5k(!) and was thinking of doing the same thing you are discussing, but never pulled the trigger. Yes...kicking myself now! Anyway, I'm not sure what your budget is but I'm guessing if you keep looking you'll be able to find and SC for what you'd have into finding a 912 THEN finding and installing a 6 cylinder engine. I'm often on the "for sale" sites and I wonder if people are actually getting these crazy asking prices...obviously the prices are going up but holy cow! i'm not complaining since I've got a Carrera I'd like to think has held its value but this all seems a bit crazy. Good luck with your search and you are at the right place for help. This site has saved me time, money, and aggravation. Actually, it's caused me to SPEND a lot of money, but I did is more wisely...

[confused]

I did Mustangs once upon a time, went to Porsche and never looked back at any other car. I know 912s up and down, putting a carbed 911 engine into a 912 is easy, super easy, don't forget you will have to add a oil tank. That being said the cost of Porsche parts needed to dial in the motor in that car will be much more than if you just go buy an SC. You can't go through just any swap meet and find tons of parts to make an old 912 work right the way you can with Mustangs. You probably like to tinker, so buy a complete 911 and tinker on that. Converting a 912 to 911 was fine when we had $5k 912s but no more. You will be stuck doing rust repair and 100 other things before you even attempt to put the 6 in the car. Look at my website, I have done it all and only prefer to do it original these days.