Welcome to the slippery slope..., Porsche 6-cylinder conversion Options

[Optimusglen]

15 months ago I bought a crusty old 1971 914-4 that had been sitting in a garage for 20 years getting peed and chewed on by all sorts of creatures.

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I started the project with a plan of it being driveable at the 1 year mark. Since then I've done an engine build, carb rebuild, brake rebuild with 5-lug swap, fuel system rebuild, interior rebuild, suspension rebuild, and some general freshening up. Oh, I forgot to mention that my wife and I had a baby too, safe to say it's been a pretty busy 15 months.

Here's the build thread if anyone's interested.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=277349&hl=

Anyway, the result is good. It's running and driving, the 1911 is strong and runs well. Handles great considering there are no sway bars. Tail shifter is as vague as you imagine though, and the engine is still sub 100hp so it's not incredibly fast.

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It's first real public appearance was at the June C&C that I attended with a good friend in his 911.

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Exiting a cloverleaf he pulled away like I was standing still. To add insult to injury a minivan pulled away too. This lit a little spark, I wanted more power. I started crunching numbers for building the type 4, goal is around 150hp. Can you get 150hp in a type 4 that's home built? Sure, lots of people have done it. But there's an even better, more expensive and headache inducing option...

A friend of mine owns Flat Six in Minneapolis, MN. About 40 minutes from me. Sent him a message inquiring about core 6 cylinders and ended up coming home with this.

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It's a 2.2 from a 911T, the 125hp version. On top are a pair of Zenith carbs that will work fine for my purposes after a complete rebuild. It turns over smoothly and you can feel when it comes up on compression. Good signs for an otherwise unknown engine. If you had followed along in my build thread you'll know that I got some amazing deals, both for parts and for the car itself. The 6 does not disappoint in that regard, but I wont be sharing the details here.

Perhaps the best part of the deal is that he said if I get into it and find that anything is FUBAR, I can get a no-charge replacement from him since he has Parted several 2.2's. Again, this is a friend, I don't expect him to do this for anyone.

With his help we laid out a build plan. Going to get the T cams reground to the E profiles paired with higher compression pistons. Cylinders are iron so I can bore those. Goal is around 150ish hp. It'll be a "budget" build in the sense that I'm not going for huge power and will be doing the assembly/cleaning myself. I won't be cutting corners with machine work and inspection though.

I will be mating it with a side-shift trans using the early 911 flywheel. flywheel and bulkhead weld-in mount already on order. It's not likely that I'll be doing a conventional 914-6 oil tank, it just seems like so much money for what you get. We will see though, as time progresses I may change my mind.

This will be a driver, not trying to make it a show queen or original to a real 914-6. I want to keep the utility of both trunks but I want the mechanicals to be functionally excellent.

Time frame is significantly longer than the original build. Planning at least a year or two considering the work and money involved. I'll update this thread moving forward and not my original build thread, kind of a new chapter if you will.

Fortunately the 914 is perfectly driveable while I collect and rebuild. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

So here's to the next chapeter, however expensive and time consuming it may be.
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[Optimusglen]

Thought I should update the thread.

I got my heads back from the shop, seats were virgin so that was nice. New valves, guides, seals. Springs were low mileage units I had found else ware, all were checked and were within spec. He had one exhaust stud that he had to drill/replace.

I love new parts.

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So now is where I am supposed to start saving for the case work, except I already had a few other things in the pipeline for the 914 so I'm finishing these off.

First things first, the front end needed a bit of an uplift. I liked the LE style front valence, and the non-foglight grills I had were warped badly. I found a page detailing the use of modern driving lights in place of the OE fog lights. It was good on my wallet so I went through with it.

Fit and finish isn't the best, but acceptable for a driver. Light output will be far greater than what I had. They are driving lights, so much brighter than fog lights. I will be aiming them so that they don't blind people.

LE replica valence is of great quality. I had to drill the mounting holes of course but it all lined up pretty well. Quick shot of satin black to tie it all in.

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After that I pulled the meatballs (roundells, number dots) off. they were ok for a season but I wasn't feeling them anymore.

This bumper has seen far better days. New, or even good condition used bumpers are out of my price range with the 6 build going on. So I'll either leave it as-is, or I may try to pound out some of the dents and then paint it gloss black... project for another time I think.


Next on the list is the side-shift trans swap. Rudedude set me up with just about all of the parts I needed. Ordered a couple soft parts since I was going to be in there anyway and I needed the conversion bushing. I got it all stripped down and was ready to start reassembly and that's when I discovered that the new conversion bushing I had ordered was the wrong part. I looked online where I ordered it and sure enough it's listed as a part for an early-late transmission conversion. Turns out it's just a stock replacement for an early car... so a new one is ordered and should be here this week.

The trans and bar are in at least. I'll be rebuilding the axles with new boots and grease, and might try to do something about my muffler.

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All in all, R&R of the transmission with the engine and exhaust still in place was easier than I anticipated. Using just a floor jack. To help line up the drive splines I grabbed both of the axle flanges and turned them back and fourth the same direction while simultaneously pushing the trans to the engine. Snicked right into place on the first try.

This weekend I am going to try and finish the swap and get the car tuned up. Might make it out to a local swap meet for another project of mine... a 2007 VW Passat...


Finally, next on the list is a new set of vinyl for the roll bar. It's been sitting in a box just waiting for it to be warmer. I have some new chrome trim I'll be mixing and matching with what I have to get the best possible set.