Engine upgrade options Options

[patssle]

I might be interesting in taking out the engine of my car and swapping with something better sometime down the road in the future. Currently it's an old VW bus motor, no horsepower, some ok torque in 1st and 2nd, but nothing after that.

I did some searching, and came across a few threads - but are there any good previous threads or articles out there that touch on each engine option available to upgrade to in the 914? Cost, benefits, pros/cons, etc. I know there was a poll once asking which upgrade to do - but could not find it.

Thanks!

[jmill]

I keep seeing posts where people are building their engines for $2k (like the post with pictures in this thread), 3k, 4k...but your initial post says to expect to pay 5k-10k for a conversion?

Why such a big difference? Or is most of the money spent outside of the engine?

First off, a conversion means "converting" you car to run with a different engine. Very different than upgrading your existing engine with performance parts. Converting to the Porsche 6 is the most costly. Especially if done cleanly. Other engines can be stuffed in much cheaper with more fab work required.

Upgrading your existing engine with you doing all the work costs the least. If you screw up you can easily double or triple the cost. If you build it right you save some serious coin.

Buying an engine kit or a turn key is less than a 6 but more than doing it yourself (if you did it right). It buys you piece of mind, tech support, more hp, and a warranty if you went with a good builder. They did the homework and dyno testing so you walk away with a quality product. There are only a few to chose from and only one I'd go to.