 Engine Mystery, No engine number, sold to me as a 1976 2.0 |
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| fiacra |
 Feb 26 2026, 11:30 PM
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#1
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Person.Woman.Man.Camera.TV. = MCI  Group: Members Posts: 690 Joined: 1-March 19 From: East Bay Region - California Member No.: 22,920 Region Association: Northern California 
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I bought this engine from another member a few years ago and had it shipped to me. The back story was that he removed it from a 1976 2.0 that he bought for a -6 conversion. Running when removed, but no other information. I had a project in mind for it, but it has sat in the crate it was shipped in for several years now and now somebody else is interested in buying it from me. The problem is it does not have an engine number where I would expect to find it near the oil tower. That area is completely blank. There's nothing where you would find a 1.7/1.8 engine number. I thought it probably was a factory replacement case, but today I opened up the crate and I've checked all over it and I can't find any clearly identifying marks on the visible areas of the case, such as the mark I've seen pictures of that VW used on a replacement/refurbished case. The oil dipstick is in the right place, the spark plug orientation is correct, it has green fuel injectors, a 2.0 air box for a 75/76, three bolt intake manifolds, and to the best of my ability to tell it is a Porsche 2.0 engine and not a modified 1.7/1.8, a 912 engine, or a bus engine. The only marks I could find were next to the plenum (see pictures), but I have no idea what these mean. No engine number on it anywhere, unless it is under the tin. If I made a mistake, didn't do my due diligence, and ended up with something that is not a 2.0, then I'll take the hit. What I really don't want to do is sell it to a fellow teener and board member, or really anyone at all, if I can't stand behind what I'm selling. I should say the member I bought it from did not seem at all as though they were trying to mislead me. I'm sure he'll be reading this and I'll let him weigh in if he has any more information. So, does anyone have any thoughts on how to figure out what this engine is? Is there somewhere on the case I should be looking? Any other clues? I think it's a 2.0 with a replacement case, but I'd like to be sure if I can before I sell it as such.
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| 914Sixer |
Feb 27 2026, 07:21 AM
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#2
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 9,427 Joined: 17-January 05 From: San Angelo Texas Member No.: 3,457 Region Association: Southwest Region
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Got through the system untouched. I have an unstamped case too.
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| 914werke |
Feb 27 2026, 08:09 AM
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#3
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"I got blisters on me fingers" Group: Members Posts: 11,568 Joined: 22-March 03 From: USofA Member No.: 453 Region Association: Pacific Northwest
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Check the impeller housing. 912E motors were 2.0L & the serialization was on the fan housing not the case. The FI systems "looked" similar but had specific differances
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| FlacaProductions |
Feb 27 2026, 10:05 AM
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#4
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 2,164 Joined: 24-November 17 From: LA Member No.: 21,628 Region Association: Southern California
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Probably not helpful but I've never seen a yellow oil cap on a 914 - unless that one has just been painted...
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| fiacra |
Feb 27 2026, 10:08 AM
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#5
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Person.Woman.Man.Camera.TV. = MCI Group: Members Posts: 690 Joined: 1-March 19 From: East Bay Region - California Member No.: 22,920 Region Association: Northern California
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QUOTE(FlacaProductions @ Feb 27 2026, 08:05 AM)  Probably not helpful but I've never seen a yellow oil cap on a 914 - unless that one has just been painted... Yes, it was painted. As was the top of the dipstick. Not sure why, but I suspect mind altering substances were involved (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) |
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| fiacra |
Feb 27 2026, 12:40 PM
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#6
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Person.Woman.Man.Camera.TV. = MCI Group: Members Posts: 690 Joined: 1-March 19 From: East Bay Region - California Member No.: 22,920 Region Association: Northern California
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QUOTE(914werke @ Feb 27 2026, 06:09 AM) Check the impeller housing. 912E motors were 2.0L & the serialization was on the fan housing not the case. The FI systems "looked" similar but had specific differances Nothing that I could find there. I'll be able to check again tomorrow. This is clearly a D-Jet system, and not the L-Jet that was on the 912E. No AFM, etc. It is definitely possible that I've missed a mark on the case somewhere. Anywhere else I should look? I know it is not always possible to solve a mystery, but I'd love to figure it out. |
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| Root_Werks |
Feb 27 2026, 01:22 PM
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#7
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Village Idiot Group: Members Posts: 8,899 Joined: 25-May 04 From: About 5NM from Canada Member No.: 2,105 Region Association: Pacific Northwest
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Could it just be a replacement case? Didn't dealers use unstamped cases to replace bad engines?
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