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Hi, I'm new to rennlist and new to Porsches so please forgive the ignorance on many subjects. I was recently and very fortunately gifted a 914 roller by another rennlist member JLJ11 (unstarted project of his). It's an Ex SCCA race car in rough shape but solid bones. I'm obviously thrilled to start on this ambitious project but lots of things will be obstacles to me, least of which is price. So this being said here is my highly up for debate / changeable / sacreligious plan. Loosely I am thinking a Subaru boxer engine, Boxter brake setup, restoration of aesthetics to a classic street level car. Here are a few pics, I'll post more. If anyone has any thoughts or links to people that have done similar or even just to tell me I'm crazy to think I can attempt such a project on a budget. Thanks in advance
I would get the car running first so you can know what needs to be addressed. A great running 914 is a real pleasure to drive no matter how bad the body may be (except for rust so bad that the right rear suspension console breaks or the car sags!!!) After that, if you have any questions someone here can certainly answer them
the problem is the car has no engine so getting it running is really starting with the question of what engine to source. On a budget i suggested a subaru swap as its a far cheaper route. not sure how much body modification would be required for that and if it prevented him from swapping to a porsche engine when he has the budget. I'm also lending him use of my garage so i'm sure he will have more specific questions when he gets it inside and pulled apart.
Terrific project. Please start with a full chassis assessment for rust and rot. That really will determine if your project is viable or not. If the chassis is sound, no major rust, then I think a Subaru boxer engine swap is a terrific plan. They are relatively inexpensive compared to sourcing a 911 motor and dropping that in. The Subie motors make a ton of great horsepower and as pointed out above, you will find a ton of subaru swaps over on 914World.Com.
Before you start cutting and stripping, do some research on the complete Subie swap so you have a grasp on the budget you are going to need. Nothing derails a project quicker than unexpected large expenses. Good luck and best wishes.
as expensive as it is to restore the 914 body and the fact that the cars are worth so much these days in their stock form, I would highly advise against wasting a bunch of time and money on a conversion that never really seems to work well, requires a lot of fabrication (of course the cars were never set up for water cooling!) and kills the value of the car. Might as well by a BOXSTER S for less money!
On the other hand, a 914-6 GT conversion is a nice project and since the factory made a car like this, that conversion is simple, keeps the spirit of the car, and retains its historic value if done correctly. Still though a lot of money and time to invest here.
Thank you everyone for what is in store. I was thinking, but not cemented on, a basic suby swap (being as there is no current motor or drivetrain) and restoring the body to a 914-6 GT. Goal being, the engine and conversion will hopefully be cheaper than the appropriate motor for the 914-6 GT. That being said, I will still need to review more about the issues the suby swaps cause and if they are game changers.
The car seems to be in pretty sound condition when speaking about metal, there is a small rust spot in the passenger floorboard which I'll replace. If anyone can point me to the threads where some of these swaps had issues, it would be a great help and could hopefully save time and money.
914-4 power plants are a dime a dozen and a direct bolt in that will get you running quickly with no fabrication. You can then have great fun with the car and if you want to butch it with a complicated and expensive suburu conversion then you would have time to plan it while you are enjoying your stock 914. You can buy a complete ready to bolt in running power plant for 950 (used of course) for the early car.
Was able to take some more pictures (below). The car had been sitting in a field for a while, therefore the tires on the stock rims experienced significant dry rot and couldn't hold any air. Next step is to order some tires to get this thing easily rolling around the shop while we start to further inspect the necessary body rehab. From what I can see, the rear engine bay and trunk seem fine as does the front under the bonnet. The problem areas lie in the floor tub on both the driver and passenger sides, without getting it on a lift it seems like we will be moving forward with this build.
If anyone knows of some used 165/80 15 tires laying around for purchase that will hold air - it would help to save the cost of purchasing new tires just to roll it.
If there is that much rot in the floors I'd find it hard to believe the hell hole and longitudionals are solid... but good for you if they are.
I'd also vote for a Type IV engine for the time being to at least get it running.
Thus far we haven't cleaned it entirely, but indeed the floors appear more dirty than rusty. There are some isolated pockets of rust, however with further investigation we hope to yield minimal rust issues. Will post pictures when further inspected.
01-10-2016, 10:17 PM
New '71 914 Build
