I've been cuttin' some more, rear end is just about gone Options

[URY914]

This weekend I welded the 1 1/4" tube that locates the rear tranny mount. After that I was able to cut out the left side sheet metal. I have a BIG pile of metal left over. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

[Mike T]

J. P.: It actually does handle pretty well if a bit ponderous. I can feel the extra weight of the V8 over the V6 even as I could feel the V6 added poundage over the 4 cyl. It's a bit more sluggish than I like but I think there is enough weight still in the car that, once removed, I can get it working well again. I still have steel doors and decklids... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

The 2.8 was a very good engine. Light weight and the way I had it built it made good power. The car weighed 2140lbs with driver and when launched in 2nd gear reached 7200rpm in Just under 6 seconds.
It was an early '80's block with stock bore and stroke. a Crower solid lifter cam of .485" lift and 225° @ .050 duration with 112° lobe center. I had a ported Edelbrock TorkerII intake manifold, a 390cfm holley 4bbl w/vacuum secondaries and modified S-10 pickup headers. basically that's it. Made 175 hp. Maybe a bit more. There isn't much in the way of speed equipment for the 2.8 but there is enough to make a decent motor.
I used a KEP adapter and 200mm 2700lb clutch. The 2.8 has a wretched reputation with most people but I never had a bit of trouble with any of the 60° V6's I've owned especially this one.

The current engine is a temporary powerplant so I could just get out on track this year. It's a mid 1980's 305 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon8.gif) with cast iron heads, a 4bbl and an unknown cam that I had under my bench slated for use in another project. I stuck it in the 914 just to get some autocross time again.
I started building an engine 2 years ago but tragedy struck when I lost my job in October of 2002. The engine project got tabled and the 914 lived on jackstands under a tarp in the garage for almost a year. I kept hope by reading this forum and researching the V8 swap. I've been working now since July of 2003 and started working on the car again in early summer. I used a lot of ideas and advice from here to build the car. I got back on track in July. I ran 8 events and garnered 4 FTD's which was nice but more importantly by the end of the season I got the car somewhat tuned in and actually got what I would consider a few fairly fast runs in.


The new engine is a rev happy 283 .030" over with aluminum heads. That will be in the car for next season. The current 305 is maybe 250hp and is wound tight at 5500rpm. I figure the 283 will be good for 7K easy if I want. The aluminum heads will take high weight off the engine where it needs to be taken off.

I'm looking forward to next season.

Mike T