Autocross Options Options

[johnmhudson111]

Looking at setting up a 914 for autocrossing (PCA and SCCA mainly) with an eye toward DE and club racing. Is there a current set-up that is more competitive than another? As we are starting with a clean sheet of paper at this point our options are only limited by our wallets. Here is what I was thinking, take a clean 914 2.0 as a starting point and add any needed safety equipment (roll bar/cage) learning a bit with that. Buy a junker 911 with a good motor and suspension (thinking an SC) swap it over and go from there. In looking at the PCA club racing rules the 3L SC would put you in the "big boy" class so we had talked about taking it down to a 2.8L if that is even possible. What do you guys think?

[jhadler]

Looking at setting up a 914 for autocrossing (PCA and SCCA mainly) with an eye toward DE and club racing. Is there a current set-up that is more competitive than another?

For any class, there will be a better setup. The trick is, what class do you want to compete in? If you're really interested in the -competition- aspect, you need to prep the car to the limit of the rules for whatever class you choose. If not, and it's just for fun, then build what you want, and enjoy.

As we are starting with a clean sheet of paper at this point our options are only limited by our wallets. Here is what I was thinking, take a clean 914 2.0 as a starting point and add any needed safety equipment (roll bar/cage) learning a bit with that.

Sounds like a good starting point. I would seriously consider suspension upgrades right off the bat. The 914 in bone stock form is pretty soft, and if you plan on taking the car any further than bone stock, suspension will be the first, and best, place to put your money.

Buy a junker 911 with a good motor and suspension (thinking an SC) swap it over and go from there. In looking at the PCA club racing rules the 3L SC would put you in the "big boy" class so we had talked about taking it down to a 2.8L if that is even possible. What do you guys think?

Pretty much any class that allows motor swaps puts you into the land of the trailer-riding-fire-breathing-monsters, or "here there be dragons". So if a 6 conversion is what you ultimately want to do, read the rules for all the applicable classes, and decide what you want to do. And once you've read the rules, read 'em again.

Yes, a 6 can be a blast. And for an all around fun car, you could do pretty much anything and have a pretty high probability of having fun. But if you want to compete, then you need to build the car to the rules of whichever class you choose. In PCA, there's a class for nearly any variant of Porsche-powered Porsche's. I think there's even a class for Orange 1973-1974 914 2.0L's... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) In the SCCA, once you start doing things like engine swaps, you gotta open up that wallet...

-Josh2