SiberianDVM

Doable or really stupid idea? God help me, I'm thinking of buying another car, this time a 914. I know in my heart I can buy a BMW 325i for less money and be more competitive, but the stubborn part of me wants to build a "race" 914.

For Chump car, it's going to have be mostly stock, which is a good thing, since I won't be tempted to do a flat 6 or Subie conversion or buy a Raby engine. I'd probably have to sell my house to buy the Raby.

I found a 914 that I'm going to look at this weekend, so if you think this is really dumb, please say so.

Amber Gramps

I see gorgeous 914's cruising rte66 all the time that I am sure owners have more money in than I have in mine. I also see lots of them being parted out for pennies.

Define "Chump"?

SiberianDVM

www.chumpcar.com

"Cheap" racing, as if there is such a thing. The 914 (but probably not the 914-6) is on their list of so-called "Approved Basic $500 Cars", which must be run mostly stock to avoid lap penalties. No doubt the 914's chassis (if not rust eaten) and suspension are well suited, I'm just worried that a Type IV motor will not have the power or durability to last LOOOOOOONG endurance races. And I definitely cannot afford a RAT motor, even disregarding the illegalities of running the motor in a"stock" class.

bkrantz

I raced a 914 in SCCA IT for a few years back in the 90's. Had lots of fun on a relative budget. IMO, the stock 2.0 liter 4 is strong and durable enough, and for the first couple of years all I did was make sure it was up to spec tune (including fuel injection) plus some good headers. I got more lap time improvements from getting the suspension settings and tire choice optimized. And most of the suspension tuning comes down to spring weights, sway bars, and stock or slightly modified camber settings.

SiberianDVM

Thank you, very good info. I have about decided NOT to make a 914 Chump, we will probably go with a BMW or whatever my Chumpcar partner has laying around the shop. But I am still looking for a good 914 just to fart around with and maybe autocross it. By 911 is getting to be a decent road courser, but autocross is a little more difficult for her.

Last930

What about a 944? Cheap and reliable, a local wrench I know races one in the "LeMons" endurance races.

SiberianDVM

A 944 was my first thought as well. There are certainly enough of them out there and they have great suspensions and brakes, even stock. I just not sure I will be able to find someone to work on that complex motor when it grenades. A lot of them I have looked at mention timing belt "issues"which sounds like it could get expensive.

Still considering a 944, though.

Jamesr6967

A bunch of the 944 guys on here are doing that. As long as rubber belts aren't exposed to oil, they are good for 7 years, the rubber breaks down (same as the Harley final drive belts, even if it's only been 10k miles). Timing belt jobs run between $900-1500 , depending what you replace and if you replace the water pump. The pumps will generally last 100k miles, so usually every second time.