1.8 v 2.0 Options

[netwolf232]

I have been looking for a 914 now for a couple of months. I have around 4k to spend and I would like to get a nice condition car that I can Autox on the weekends. I don’t need the car to be competitive just as long as its not the slowest car out there. My problem is I have been looking at several publications each day trying to find a 73-74 914 with a 2.0L engine without any luck. I went and looked at a couple but the had too much rust and damage on them. Would I be happy with just a 1.8L? I am not too familiar with how the 914 engines are laid out. Did Porsche use different blocks for the 1.8 and 2.0 or were the bores just different? I am basically looking for a nice looking straight car with a strong engine and tranny. What are the major differences between the engines? Are there any performance possibilities with a 1.8? Should I just keep looking for a 2.0 until I find one that works for me. I am in the San Diego, CA area if anyone knows of any cars that might fit what I am looking for. Thanks for the help.
-Andrew

[Jake Raby]

All the cases were the same. The combo was changed with bore, stroke and rod length....and the heads.

[Andyrew]

too... many... andy/andrew's...


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I think you would be fine with any of them. Put some stiffer suspension and some sticky tires and you should whip all those old 911's. It's all driving.
Also fork out as much money as you can to get the best example you can, 4k should be able to get you a very very nice 1.7 or a very nice 2.0
I would stay under 74 year. after that you deal with smog and you have those big heavy *cough ugly* bumpers.

Good luck!
Andrew

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wavey.gif)

[netwolf232]

I wish I could find a very nice 2.0 for 4k but there just dont seem to be many. Either they have lots of rust or they have been in accidents. How do the cylinders on those engines work? Instead of boring them out did they just replace them depending on the displacement? I saw a picture of one and it looked like the cylinders almost screwed into the block. Anyways if anyone knows of a clean 2.0 or 1.8 in the San Diego, CA It would be much appreciated. I know I have always treated my cars with lots of care and respect and I am trying to find one where the owner has the same mentality. Thanks for the help guys. Is there anyone out there who has owned both a 1.8 and a 2.0 and can make comparisons.
-Andrew
-Andrew

[seanery]

I bought my 74 2.0 in LA in 99 for $3800. It's incredibly solid, but the paint is faded.

[netwolf232]

You want to sell it?
-Andrew

[Andyrew]

Andrew,
Not for sale.



Try autotrader, and ebay. Dont bid off ebay, just watch it for cars near you. I found my car off ebay, and I got 2 other parts cars and a shedfull of parts for 950.

I could sell my car for about 5k (once I paint it, have paint) and all the parts for another 1k..

The deals and half projects are out there. But I say you find the nicest example. Check your local paper as well.

Good luck
Andrew

[Brad Roberts]

I like the fact that you cant find a 73 2.0 for under 4k. That means the one I have that needs an engine rebuild with be worth 5500$ when I'm done. Its solid and never been wrecked.



B

[Curvie Roadlover]

and you have those big heavy *cough ugly* bumpers.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[ArtechnikA]

... trying to find a 73-74 914 with a 2.0L engine without any luck. ... Would I be happy with just a 1.8L? ... I am in the San Diego, CA

here's "some" issues...

'74 and older cars in CA are smog-inspection-exempt. this has tended to raise the prices on those cars and depress the value of '75-76 (which also had other issues ...

the incremental difference between 1,7 -> 1,8 -> 2,0 are pretty small, because as the engines got bigger, so did the smog equipment and 'creature comfort' packages get heavier.

1,8's used a different injection system that is generally believed to be superior (and more tunable) than the injection used in the 1,7 and 2,0 -- but it does have a couple of quirks and mostly - since it was basically produced just that one year (30 years ago) and some parts are getting difficult to find and/or pricey. fortunately, there aren't many "high-wear" parts.

IMO - you can be happy with a 1,8 (i was happy wih a 1,7 for a long time) unless you are fixated on a 2,0 in which case you need to decide for yourself what that's worth ...

[Queenie]

Andrew,

I found my '76 2.0 through this site last year. I paid $4k. The car was in Dana Point, which is quite a distance from where I live. Don't be afraid to look outside of your local area. If a single girl can pull it off, surely you can too! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

It takes time to find the right car. Be patient and keep looking. Because I was on the hunt for a daily driver to replace my wrecked GTI, I had a limited amount of time in which to find something; I had to have a car before school started. I searched every day for almost two months before I found what I was looking for, but I did find it and I'm very happy with what I got. Your car is out there somewhere!

[swood]

All the cases were the same. The combo was changed with bore, stroke and rod length....and the heads.

So, could you build a 2270 with a 1.8L case? or should a 2.0 be used?

[Charles Deutsch]

... trying to find a 73-74 914 with a 2.0L engine without any luck.  ... Would I be happy with just a 1.8L? ...  I am in the San Diego, CA

here's "some" issues...

'74 and older cars in CA are smog-inspection-exempt. this has tended to raise the prices on those cars and depress the value of '75-76 (which also had other issues ...

the incremental difference between 1,7 -> 1,8 -> 2,0 are pretty small, because as the engines got bigger, so did the smog equipment and 'creature comfort' packages get heavier.

1,8's used a different injection system that is generally believed to be superior (and more tunable) than the injection used in the 1,7 and 2,0 -- but it does have a couple of quirks and mostly - since it was basically produced just that one year (30 years ago) and some parts are getting difficult to find and/or pricey. fortunately, there aren't many "high-wear" parts.

IMO - you can be happy with a 1,8 (i was happy wih a 1,7 for a long time) unless you are fixated on a 2,0 in which case you need to decide for yourself what that's worth ...

This is some of what Car & Driver and Road & Track said about the 2.0-4 when it first came out in '73:

Car & Driver

"Okay, the price is pretty high," you say, "but the 914 is a true mid-engine sports car and a whole lot better now than it used to be." And with that we absolutely agree. In fact, we think that the new 2-liter model is such an improvement that it is now up to the level the 914 should have been when it was first introduced in 1970 ...

Road & Track

Even without the pressure for cleaner air, the larger but simpler engine would be a good choice on the basis of power for money alone. And the 2-liter engine is better than the figures show. It fired readily when cold and ran well for the first few miles, unlike most of the 1973 models. It's an eager engine as well, so willing to accelerate that the driver must guard against exceeding the redline - a modest 5600 rpm - in the lower three gears of five. The 914/2 is not a quiet car, not with an aircooled engine inches behind the cockpit, but the mechanical noise and the exhaust note somehow seem sportier than one would expect from an engine of such humble antecedents. Perhaps engines, like men, can rise to greatness if circumstances require it.

[Mockmaw]

swood, it doesn't matter.. all of the 914 cases are identical (or close enough that it doesn't matter). The bus cases, on the otherhand, are another story..

[Charles Deutsch]

All the cases were the same. The combo was changed with bore, stroke and rod length....and the heads.

So, could you build a 2270 with a 1.8L case? or should a 2.0 be used?

Leave the 2.0s original. That's what I'm doing with mine. Rather than modifying my '73 2.0, I've found a complete 1.8 that I'm going to use to build a 96 x 78 mm big-four. The 2.0s were very good engines stock. IMO, they should be left that way.

[thesey914]

So, could you build a 2270 with a 1.8L case? or should a 2.0 be used?

Uhuh- I'm not sure the combination of 2270 ( tried the math on 96 & 103 B+P, 66,71,74 and 78mm stroke) but yes any case will do. May have to machine heads for 96 index and you will have to machine case and heads for 103. Reckon the case will need some clearancing for 78mm stroke.

[Charles Deutsch]

2270 is 96 mm bore x 78.4 mm stroke. Not sure why some measure the crank as 78.4.

[netwolf232]

If i add exhaust and intake to the a 1.8 would that put it up in the same level as the 2.0?

[swood]

It'll help a little, but in answer to your question...No.
Your still short a couple hundred cc's. You can turn the 1.8 into just about anything you want with minor to major expense, but it does involve a total breakdown and rebuild.

[thesey914]

A decent cam helps loads and wakes up the engine (if you're using carbs or aftermarket EFI).
Don't think the L jet is too tolerant of lots of overlap.