alternative to six-ing it up..., turbo + waterboxer ??? Options

[dtravni]

hello, 914-ers - i'm sure this is not a new topic - the problem is that i'm new to 914club. anyways, here goes.

my son & i bought a pretty nice 'california car' coupla years ago & we're debating pros/cons of pushing in a 911 6 - not exactly a glide (& not exactly cheap, either). it seems to me that a worthy alternative might be
a 2 (or 2.1) 4 cylinder watercooled Vanagan engine (waterboxer) -
all things considered, a better alternative. in fact, if the aircooled 914 4
could take the thermal loading, adapting a turbo in IT would be even better. i'm of the opinion that the performance would be comparable to a
2.7+ 6, and a whole lot more agreeable in the installation (transmission, motor mounts, cabling, etc). the plumbing (exhaust, intake, & cooling seem to be more straightforward too, compared to the adaptation required for the 6-er).

i'm sure that there are some out there that have considered/done this
installation - i'd be most interested in hearing your advice & tales of joy/woe.

[ken914]

First, I am a purist (sort of) with 914's. I have a '70 factory 914/6 with 3.2 and wouldn't have it any other way.

On the other hand, if you are going to run water lines to a radiator I don't know why anyone would do anything other than an american V8. You can get a new crate motor for $1300 with a 50,000 mile warrantee! Block off 1st in the 901 transmission and it will run like hell all day long. The conversion has been done so many times that it is realitively straight forward, relatively cheap and there are lots of people to ask for advice. With the right aluminum V8 you can get close to if not below the weight of a factory /6.

Recap: straight forward, cost effective, LOTS of power, proven technique, plenty of people to ask for help/advice.

Seems like the obvious choice to me.

Just my 2 cents. What ever you do, have fun and be proud of it!