Thinking of adding a 912 to the fold, any recommendations? Options

[swood]

I've got a family of 4 and it sure would be nice to take them all when the need to drive a P-car comes up. I figgered a 912 would be a (reasonably) economical way to go. I could put in a hot /4 and away we go.

I see theres about 7 or 8 of em for sale in the recycler pretty cheap. I know, you get what you pay for.

[Gumby912]

Converting an early 912 to type 4 power is as easy as has been said. But you need to determine if that's why you are buying the car to begin with. Early 912's and even 912E's are starting to increase in value. Converting an early one to type 4 value may hurt it's future value. I purchased my 67 912 without and engine and did a type 4 conversion. If you are planning on using a 2.0 914 engine, the 912E sheetmetal will fit perfectly. You will only need to create an engine support mount, carb linkage, re-gear the trans, and fabricate an exhaust. I am using VW 411/412 heat exchangers just like the ones shown earlier in this thread (not as pretty as those!). I modified a 912E Bursch exhaust to fit these. I salvaged the gear set from an early 914 tail shifter and rebuilt my transmission with them. Pretty simple job and made a world of difference. Otherwise, you will have the wrong gears to match your type 4's torque curve and will run hot on the freeway at 80-90 mph. Not to mention lousy gas mileage. Once I regeared, I now pull around 36 mpg on the freeway running 80-90 mph with plenty of power.

On prices, if you choose to get an early 912 and want to keep the stock motor, parts are getting harder to find. Average rebuild cost is ~$5k for stock. I know someone who just had a "hot-rod" 912 engine built for $7k and it is about 115-125hp range. $7k on a type 4 will get you alot more hp than that!

912E's have always gotten a bad rap. They are basically a 76 911 S with the 914's 2.0 Type 4, and the 1.8's "L-Jet" fi. I have a friend who owns a 76 912E with well over 200,000 miles on the stock motor. I helped him do a tuneup a few weeks ago and we did a compression check. All 4 cyls were between 150-155 psi!! No, they are not hotrods but when the suspension is setup properly, they can give 911's and 914's a serious run in the autocrosses.

Just my $.02 worth. But don't ask me, I have both (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

--Tony
67 912 2.0 Type 4 "Gumby"
72 914 1.7