1972 Porsche 914 2.7L on BAT, General learning and 2.7L purchasing advice Options

[MM1]

Not feeling great after my 2nd Covid vaccination yesterday - perfect time to learn a bit from the Masters . . .

Can you veteran 'Teeners please teach me a bit about 2.7L's and pre-1973 914's (and a few things about 914 purchase in general)?

Btw -this is in no way criticism - only learning for me . . .if a well respected friend of ours here had not delivered a "knock out" bid recently, I'd have risked serious repercussions blowing the savings @ $15-$19k-ish if nobody wanted it ( (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) not likely) -even though, from the little I've learned, I'd far prefer to avoid mag cases at all costs (we'll get to that later) - Forrest's 3.0L would have been perfect for me).

Let's use the example below:


https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-porsche-914-38/

1972 Porsche 914 2.7L



Accident evidence: Gaps - left fender to door gap is bigger at the top than the bottom and the fender lip appears out in "Y" (width) vs the driver side. Seller says,

""

While the left front a-arm pivot shows some wrinkling above the mount, perhaps the seller meant that the right (passenger) side front mount cover was ripped back by a parking chock.










Driver's front triangle looks fairly well wrinkled to me - between that, the frunk floor and the passenger fender to door gap, I'd feel like the car should be measured on a proper rack (preferably with a cmm). Thoughts?

Rust repairs: Seller says rust repairs/rockers replaced:





Is this primer? Why would it be there after painting?




Why leave the sides black - to see the number (and "balance, I guess)?




Continued . . .

[MM1]

Bit of welding rod not removed?? Doen't that bolt mean the original sized holes for the cheeseheads are "much bigger/rougher" now?





Are these grounds? Are the ones near the firewall bare/rusty - or is that an oem brown coating?




Ground?





Are #140 pound springs good for a narrow 2.7L with no rear sway bar?
Seems like mis-matched shocks could lead to inconsistent handling - any testaments here?




Okay - big stuff : 2.7L vs ?

Thoughts on CIS vs carbs?

Mag cases vs aluminum . . .can they be made nearly as reliable/leak-free (for a flat engine with non-integral cylinders) as aluminum cases?

If so, what's required? Time-certs etc.?




Thanks, Maestri!

[MM1]

Almost forgot -

Early and late differences: besides tail vs side shifter what are the major differences?
Sounds like some triangular bracing in the front, steel door beams . . .what else?

[MM1]

BTW - just love seeing this . . .can't wait to learn something here (Mark et al.) . . .if I get lucky, that is . . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)

[Mikey914]

Lots of red flags here. Looks like you have picked up an a few big ones.
What caught my attention was "said to be a 2.7"
So any documentation? With what you can see work needs to be done. Personally 19k may be generous.
The devi is in the details and I can see enough right now to back away.

[Mikey914]

Double post

[lesorubcheek]

Hope you are feeling better from the covid shot soon! So, the few things I've read regarding 2.7s and mag cases are that they're most prone to pulling a head stud. Almost everything you read says to use time-certs and high quality studs when they're rebuilt. Seems you rarely hear people talking about 2.4s or smaller having head stud problems, but 2.7s pushed the edge a little much. Also, with a 2.7 and getting over the 170-180 hp range, this car may well need an external oil cooler, which I didn't see installed. My only hands on 911 experience is with a 2.4, so can't say much about this cars fuel injection. I wish ours had the original mechanical FI, but it was swapped with Webers.

Dan

[mepstein]

You have to realize with good running 3.0 engines going for 10-12k and 3.2’s going for 12-15, you probably won’t find many conversions with aluminum engines under 20k. Just the front oil cooler system will run $2-5k. I think the number is more like $40k + if you want a solid, big engine conversion with a good chassis.

There is nothing wrong with a good running 2.7 engine (or smaller). It’s just not the cheap alternative that people think it is.

One last comment. If I was buying a car, an auction site like bat is the last place I would buy it. Auctions work well for sellers but as a buyer, why would you want to be in competition with everyone else and pay top dollar for a car that you probably haven’t even seen in person.

[MM1]

Good points - all, thank you.

Thanks, Dan for well wishes - no big deal - I feel lucky, as a few people I know got hit hard after the 2nd shot - still I feel better that hopefully something's working - didn't want a shot that's been warm all day (and perhaps more . . . or saline etc.) -lol.

Yep -- would love to have had Forrest's 3.0 - I'm not a fan of red anymore though (my first 2 cars were red)- especially on a German car. Still, I'm sure the new owner got one of their dream cars - congrats to all!

Agreed about BAT - if it had stayed a few $k below 20, I would have looked at it tomorrow. Would want compression/leakdown numbers in any case though.


Are time-certs in the case enough to make a mag case as long-lasting as my buddy's '83 911 SC with 280k miles ("never been opened" according to him - only Carrera tensioners fitted)?

[sdthomas]

That car has been sold twice on here over the years. You can find out more about here:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=343768&hl=

[MM1]

That car has been sold twice on here over the years. You can find out more about here:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=343768&hl=

Thank you, Shawn - I read them all - which answered a few questions . . .laughed a bit at some of the cat-scratchin' too . . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

[DRPHIL914]

That car has been sold twice on here over the years. You can find out more about here:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=343768&hl=

Thank you, Shawn - I read them all - which answered a few questions . . .laughed a bit at some of the cat-scratchin' too . . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

if you havenot a
lready reached out to Billh1963, he can give you a good bit of info on it, but i think its pretty well been gone over in the preivous posts and F/S ads .


EDIT: oops its sold... NVM

[Root_Werks]

Sold for $30k which seems about right. I don't think it's a bad 914 or bad conversion. Needs to find a good owner who will keep it.

[MM1]

Sold for $30k which seems about right. I don't think it's a bad 914 or bad conversion. Needs to find a good owner who will keep it.

Agreed-thanks, all.