First post , First 914-8, Saying hello Options

[Sean_S]

Hello All !

My name is Sean and I've been lurking here for a few hours and figured I'd best register since I just purchased my first 914 V8 conversion.

I live in Coos Bay Oregon as a Los Angeles escapee.

In my former life I was a machinery dealer and thankfully this has provided me with a full machine shop (kept the cream for myself). Hopefully this will help with that trials of owning this conversion.

I also have a custom Lotus Esprit S1 and a Toyota FJ-40. I've owned and converted several FJ's to V8's so I'm comfortable with tweaking and re-tweaking. I may at some point convert the Lotus, but the engine is fresh so it will wait.

In any case, here is a photo of the 914 conversion. I haven't gotten into it yet, but basically it's a 5.0 EFI conversion...let me know what you think?

Also, I am interested in hearing from the V8 guys (and gals) about the performance of their cars and any 91(8) advice that a newbie must know.

All the Best
Sean

(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v500/twomarbles/914/DSC00714.jpg)

[Sean_S]

All good advice.
We are planning the delievery of the car for Friday or Saturday. Until then, I'm shy on custom requested photos.
After that, I'll probably still be a month deciphering the conversion. Remember, I didn't start this conversion, I'll just be finishing it.

Unknown what the distributer arrangement is...possibly crank or cam triggered... I'll know soon.

Sadly I'm not an engine builder and trannies bewilder me. My machine shop with me at the helm consists of making brackets, shaving a few thou' off this or that, fabrication/welding...etc.

I do know that none of the umpteen V8's I've owned would breath well enough, nor have enough RPM for what would make me happy in a little fiberglass car.

For example, I love Panteras and Mangustas (driven both)...the raw torque is a kick, but the Lotus with it's little 210hp N/A 2.0 springs to life with the vengence of a aggrevated wasp. This motor is nothing like the Pantera...the throttle response is absolutely crotch rocketesque (a new word). Yes, you will stall it if you don't hit a couple grand at a light before letting the clutch go, but it continues on winding from mild to wailing...you decide when to shift.

A much different experience indeed, and I like it. For twisties, this lets you hold a gear much longer and has a very long curve between gears as opposed to something that twists the chassis and and breaks loose the tires on shifts.

This is just my personal opinion...on driving. The thoughts derived here are from countless hours considering a V8 Lotus conversion. I wanted to (and still do) want to have a motor I can get minor parts for at Pep Boys, but not turn a a Lotus into a Pantera. The same now holds true for the 914. When the time (and money) comes to do an engine build, I would attempt to increase the bore, shorten the stroke, and use the lightest engine components possible to gain RPM and throttle response.

Of course this is not that unique. Super car builders do it all the time. Ever wonder why a $250,000 super car has 450hp and you can buy a 450hp crate engine for a few grand? This is two engines that will dyno at 450hp but that is where the similarities end.

The trick is not to get more horsepower, the trick is to get the maximum driveable horsepower that the car should have and then make that horsepower an extension of the car and operator. My experience is that this is not often done with V8's, and done even less in conversions since converters are often very HP minded ("mine goes to 11").
However, I don't see why an American V8 cannot be a decent platform for such a motor...at least for an economical compromise that makes a good attempt at it.


By the way, I just sold my Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo... 300hp stock, 400 with minor mod's. The car weighs a bit over 3200 as I recall. That 300hp even in that "heavy" car was darned fast and a pleasure to drive. 300hp in the little 914 must already be bordering on the point where you spend more thought trying to control the car than drive it...so realistically I'm sure I'd be happy with 300hp and probably *less* torque than the 5.0EFI comes with...if I could get that 5.0 to feel and respond more like a Porsche (or other supercar) engine as the tradeoff.

Humble opinions expressed above.

Please forgive me by the way if I accidentally re-hash ideas that have been gone over a zillion times on the board. I know how it is to moderate and I know how it is to be the newbie. I'll probably be doing the newbie thing for awhile here and I know it can be frustrating for the vetrans...again...please forgive.

Sean S