914 baja? corvair or 2.0 Options

[amcmackin1]

So a neighbor that i bough a sterling(vw kit car) from also has a 914, and i wanna make a baja not anything crazy like rock crawling or racing. Just want something i can run around offroad and on road. i live in the country out by Reno and we get a decent amount of snow and a mid engine car would be great!

Anyways leave the body as stock as possible minus cutting out bad spots and making clearance for wheels and such. i am pretty handy with a tig welder so bajaing the fenders is a must.

For tires im thinking 235/75/r16's the same as on my CJ7 the rims would be steel rims like you see on most baja bugs.

For suspension im thinking a ball joint front end off of a vw bug? or would keeping same A arm design as stock just making new stronger arms that give a wider and higher stance?

Rear suspension would definitely have something like 3x3s on the back to give it stance and ride height.

as far as body goes fender flares keep it mostly stock maybe put in a set of racing seats and make the interior less luxury and more BAMF (diamond plate/aluminum? or the likes)

Engine is where i am confused because i want to have a good amount of power but i also wouldn't mind something that can get 20-30mpg. I dont want to deal with FI and only want one carb. so corvair and Porsche engines are left. i can get my hands on a 6 cylinder Porsche at my work but i want to keep my first born child.
Now would it be worth supping up a 2.0 and running that?
or trying to find a turbo corvair? i don't really care much about laying rubber but i like get up and go. also i would be using the stock tranny.
Also if i do use a 2.0 i would convert to a type 4 carburetor? maybe the more i think about it i would want to get more fuel economy but would like to see what the options are

I would also definately keep the targa top!

and i have no idea what i would do for brakes....

[Dave_Darling]

- For the Corvair motor, you would need to rebuild it with a reverse-rotation cam. Doable, but definitely extra work.

- There is no such thing as "a type 4 carburetor". The Type IV motors came with either fuel injection, or with dual carbs. All single-carb setups are aftermarket, and they pretty much all work like crap. You can get them to work decently, but tuning is a nightmare. I am told that if you heat up the intake, it does mitigate one of the worst problems with the setup...

--DD

[Chris H.]

There happens to be a Corvair engine in the classifieds that has already been reversed...check it out.

[rick 918-S]

Way too much work to install a bug beam. Too narrow, have to add a steering box, have to cut the frontend almost completely out. Better to redesign the control arms and the length of the tie rods. Rear suspension will need custom axles to achive a steep angle if your going to raise the car for tire fit.

[JRust]

There happens to be a Corvair engine in the classifieds that has already been reversed...check it out.

Yeah that is mine. Already reversed if you go that direction. I think it's a good overall setup & a solid motor. Also pretty cheap compared to the other options.

[damesandhotrods]

Anything “Baja” is going to require a lot of work. You might want to take more of a rally car approach.

[Eric_Shea]

One word (and a link):

Torque

See you in the dirt?

https://m.facebook.com/PMBPerformance/album...51659354348193/

[TeenerTim]

None of the above. Get something that isn't so rare. There are millions of bugs out there and plenty of parts to do exactly what you want to do. Baja Bug=Cool, Baja 914=Bad Idea.

[VaccaRabite]

Do what makes you happy.
For what you want, the Corviar plant is going to make more sense. A lot more sense.

Zach

[topatrout914]

I would vote for none of the above. If your handy with a TIG I would build a tube frame buggy aka a sandrail. You could probably find one pretty cheap. I would hate to see a decent tub get cut up, but that's just my opinion. You know what they say about opinions....