914 GT 3.6 Ferrari Build, - Mechanicals coming along, electronics soon! Options

[tygaboy]

Hi 914 World -
A bit of an intro, if you'll indulge me.
I've always been a believer in fate and karma. A believer in serendipity. A believer that the universe presents thing to us for a reason. Sometimes good, sometimes not. Fortunately, the journey of adventure I'm about to begin is one of the good ones!

Maybe a year or so ago, @Krieger Andy calls and says he has a buddy looking to buy a rear valance for a 914 and do I have one I'd sell. I said that I do, give my contact info to your friend. A few days later, this guy calls and we arrange for him to come by the Red Barn and see if the valance meets his needs. He arrives and we start "the dance of the car guys"! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) He talks about his car experiences, I talk about mine. We talk 356s. We talk 911s. We talk 914s. Obviously, we have a ton in common, including a love for my LS build. He pours over my car, noticing not only the big stuff, but all the little things I've done, too. On this day, he buys the valance and we agree we'll stay in touch. And we do!
Over the course of the following months, he stops by pretty regularly, I visit his place and it's clear that beyond the car stuff, he's a good guy, we get along well and we're going to be friends.

So, one day, we're chatting about RacerBenz. my 2001 Mercedes CL500, Corvette suspension, mid engine, center seat track car build. Yes, I know, a horrific waste of time and money. But anyway, I say "What would be cool is to build "Benzo Ferrari! Find a Ferrari engine and trans and..." He interrupts and says "I have one! From a 360 Modena. And the trans, harnesses, ECUs, etc. I'd love to see it get used for something. Why don't you come get it?"

Wait, what? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Fast forward to last week where I do just that. Here's what's in the Red Barn now: 3.6 liters, 400 hp and 275 lb/ft of Italian automotive porn.

[tygaboy]

@shivers - I'm a newbie to all things Ferrari so I can only guess as to why a "two of everything" approach.
My guess is it was lower cost and quicker time-to-market to employ available, well proven 4-cyl tech (these are Bosch ECUs and used on other model cars) than to spec something unique.
Clearly it works! This same set up is used on both the street 360s and the Challenge Stradale (CS) model. The only difference being a reflash done on the CS units that give a 10 hp bump. And I'm assuming I'll have to reflash anyway to eliminate the immobilizer function. Maybe we go CS spec? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

My Ferrari buddy is, as mentioned, a MoTec dealer and he STRONGLY recommended staying with the factory ECUs, given how well the stock tune works. The induction system on this engine is pretty complex and he suspected it'd take a TON of dyno time/testing to even come close to what the stock set up delivers.

I'm going with the expert's advice.