Questions? 3.6 Subaru in 914, Anybody completed a conversion like this????? Options

[robrob]

Got a great widebody 1971 that had a 1.7 in it. Car has a 916 look.
Anyway bought the 3.6 subaru motor w/ conversion package....all but the cradle. Will buy one or make one.
Would love to find some fellow 914ers for questions as we proceed.
Do have the wiring harness....also body stiffening kit.
Working with a mechanic that has completed several other conversions on other cars but not a 914.
thanks rob

[gryphon68]

Got a great widebody 1971 that had a 1.7 in it. Car has a 916 look.
Anyway bought the 3.6 subaru motor w/ conversion package....all but the cradle. Will buy one or make one.
Would love to find some fellow 914ers for questions as we proceed.
Do have the wiring harness....also body stiffening kit.
Working with a mechanic that has completed several other conversions on other cars but not a 914.
thanks rob

My guess the biggest issue on a 3.6 is the wiring, including drive-by-wire, cluster, anti-theft coded keys. It's possible the the Subaru ECU may not let the engine fire if any one piece is missing.

[robrob]

Got a great widebody 1971 that had a 1.7 in it. Car has a 916 look.
Anyway bought the 3.6 subaru motor w/ conversion package....all but the cradle. Will buy one or make one.
Would love to find some fellow 914ers for questions as we proceed.
Do have the wiring harness....also body stiffening kit.
Working with a mechanic that has completed several other conversions on other cars but not a 914.
thanks rob

My guess the biggest issue on a 3.6 is the wiring, including drive-by-wire, cluster, anti-theft coded keys. It's possible the the Subaru ECU may not let the engine fire if any one piece is missing.

Thanks ..will review w mechanic I'm working with.

[DBCooper]

That's only an issue if you're trying to use the donor Subaru's ECU. Our cars generally don't need to meet modern smog rules so we can use aftermarket ECU's. They're more expensive, but solve a lot of issues like that. The Subaru 3.6 is pretty much the same size as the 2.0 and 2.5 fours (heavier but just 3/4" longer) with the same mounting locations, so you should be able to use the same cradle and all. Check Coldwater914 for the cradle and more info for the 914 swap, and there are links there to Subaru sites for more specific info about the engines.

If you decide to use an aftermarket ECU try Outfront Motorsports. Most vendors are dealing with street cars, so they're trying to integrate the ECU into existing vehicle wiring. Outfront specializes in Subaru for offroad vehicles where there's no existing wiring, so they can make engine-side harnesses from scratch, and not that expensive. Tell them what engine you're using and the ECU will even have the appropriate base map installed to get you up and running. Not quite plug and play but not bad.

[CptTripps]

OutFront may not make a DBW harness. I'd talked to them at one point and he said there were issues with it. THAT being said, there are a lot of people out there that'll make up a harness for you. Go with a Stinger ECU or one of the many megasquirt options. Easy as pie.

I'm all for the 3.6 in a 914. That'd be a great combo.

Good luck! Keep us in the loop. There are a number of us that are doing Subie conversions, so there's quite a bit of support if you need it.

[76-914]

Easy as pie.

?????????????? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) Can't be that simple, Doug. IIRC, you enrolled the services of the good Dr Fart to come by and wire yours up. Anyone who could withstand that onslaught is desperate, indeed! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

[PotterPorsche]

Why not just do. Ez30d still a 6 cylinder with I believe 200 + hp

[CptTripps]

?????????????? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif) Can't be that simple, Doug. IIRC, you enrolled the services of the good Dr Fart to come by and wire yours up. Anyone who could withstand that onslaught is desperate, indeed! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

Dr. Fart: (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif)

I had the engine wiring 100% done in a few hours. He had to come in for the cluster-f$%k that I had with the REST of the car!

[matthepcat]

Always wanted to do the 3.6 swap. They are even developing a supercharger for the 3.0 & the 3.6. ( Not that a 914 would need that)

[robrob]

Thanks so far for the good info. Will keep all posted as we start.

[Mike Bellis]

You could swap in the dash cluster and steering column. It's easy! Ask me how I know...

I love my DBW throttle. It's always perfect.

[76-914]

Just reading the thread re: SSHE's for the P 6's makes me happy I went Suby. Their HE's cost as much as my conversion did. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) I'll second the EZ30 swap.

[matthepcat]

You could swap in the dash cluster and steering column. It's easy! Ask me how I know...

I love my DBW throttle. It's always perfect.

Easy....yea right....maybe for the guru.


In that's case you should consider engine conversion services for hire?

[edwin]

The new haltech elite ecu is released next month and has been proven to work as a standalone on the ez36 controlling dbw and cam control on all cams. Have a look at the Mighty Car Mods videos on youtube

[skeates]

I'm right in the middle of installing a 3.6L in my 914 as we type. As others have mentioned, it's only becomes troublesome if you are trying to use the original ECU. Since the all of the suby cars equipped with said motor are running CAN Bus communications, one must bring in ALL of the different modules to trick the system into thinking it's still in a Subaru. There are several different stand-alone ECU's out now that will work with the variable valve timing on the 3.6L, and while a little $$$ I'm not sure they would cost a heck-of-a-lot more than the complete wiring harness+computer modules from the original car.
If you talk with the guys down at Outfront they'll probably steer you towards an AEM Infinity system. Their new unit is priced in the $1,500 -$2,000 mark depending on what wire harness options you go for. All-in-all I'm pretty impressed with the AEM ECU and will be going that direction myself as soon as the funds materialize. After that, everything is pretty much identical to the EZ30D motors...except you'll have more horsepower/torque (IMG:style_emoticons/default/evilgrin.gif)

Also, something to consider regarding the 3.6L. It's really not a good platform for forced induction. In order to get the additional displacement, and keep the same footprint something had to give, and the crankshaft isn't quite as beefy as it is in the EZ3.0L variants. As such, the crank shaft is actually the weakest link (not the asymmetrical connecting rods) and will likely be the first thing to go with forced induction. This info comes from the guys at Outfront, not my own experience. Anyways, if you are seriously interested in forced induction now (or in the future) you might want to consider the EZ3.0R.

Let us know what you decide!