930 motor into 914, How to? Options

[team ftb]

Here's the question. Has anybody done this and what does it involve? A buddy owes me huge and he has a complete turnkey 930 motor to settle the debt. I have a 914 complete w/flares, suspension and brakes to handle this beast. I just know it will be a pain and would like some input and guidance.

The car will not be a daily driver. Sunday fun and track duty only. So I can cut the trunk and lid anyway needed for access, headers, exhaust, etc.

Issues I'm thinking about:

Exhaust (probably cut off at headers and mounted backwards to its current configuration. The rest custom made.

Tranny: It should be able to be rebuilt (ottos) it to take the heat as long as I warm it up, do not abuse it, install pump and coolers etc.

Intercooler mount: How about proper airflow to it?

CV's and Axles: How much can they take?


Any insights, advice, wisdom, cajoling etc. is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[campbellcj]

What specifically is the "weak link" on the 901 that is different on the 915, and likewise between the 915 and 930? Is it the R&P? The rigidity of the case itself?

It seems like if somebody like Paul Guard or the Wevo folks applied modern engineering and metallurgy to the problem, they could increase the reliability margin by quite a bit.

FTB -- one BIG difference between your proposed car and the race cars with 901's is that they are not usually subjected to brutal standing starts, or even nearly as many "gentle" starts compared to a car that is street driven. These cars that are pushing 200-400HP thru 901 boxes only roll off from a standing start a handful of times a month and spend most of their life in 3rd thru 5th gear...and are sometimes running trans coolers as well. And the the more extreme cars are regularly "freshened" too, they are not trying to go for a decade between teardowns.

The torque curve is the other huge difference. A turbo car might make monster torque from 2K rpm's (my chipped S4 makes probably 300ft-lbs from 1800 rpm's on up) while a high strung NA car might not come on hard until 5K rpms or higher. In that respect the advice to check with Renegade is probably a great idea, since a big turbo motor has more in common with a V8 in terms of the torque curve and overall output.