ok, so i want this to be my next car. can anyone tell me anything about this?

i REALLY like how the turn signals are gone. that was my biggest gripe with the styling of the 914.. they stuck out like sore thumbs. if anyone could let me know what rebody or whatever that is.. i would be forever greatful. also, if you have any information to similar rebodies, im interested. i was looking at the aero 994 kit, but it doesn't seem to be the kit above, and i dobut i can get just the front of it...

along with this, any information on a v8 swap would be helpful, because that seems like it would be ungodly fun. it was done in the $2003 grassroots challenge, so it can't be too terribly expensive to pull off. i have been told i need to stiffen the chassis, but the problem that arises with that is that i don't know how to weld. i have also heard that the v8 tears through the 901 trans like nothing...

if anyone can help me out on piecing together a daily driver... that would be awesome

tia, and i hope to become a part of this community soon!

stay away from that car, unless you KNOW you're dealing with the real owner. That car was part of an ebay scam recently. Admire it, but unless you can touch it, don't believe a word about it.

to have a car similar to one posted, you'll need:

1) a ton of cash if paying someone else
or
2) a ton of talent and tools to do it yourself

according the owner of the car...the front fenders are one-off custom made parts, you cannot buy them from a catalog...

as to the V8 conversion, the $"2003" can be misleading since that includes selling off old parts, trading and bartering.

at least one of the V8 914s built for the Challange got most of his conversion parts for free or damn near close to that....from what I understand, he found a machine shop willing to "donate" the custom adapter plate and other parts.

budget yourself at a minimum, $15,000 to build a car like the one you posted

welcome ! i'm just over the river ...



it was for sale on Ebay just a bit ago; save your nickels and dimes...



me too, but lots of people like them. if it's your car, do what you want...



this car was just "discussed" here real recently - check back a week or so in the message base and you'll find everything you need to know...



check out the Renegade Hybrids site to start.



that's a 3-day event, and most people need their cars to last longer than 3 days. that was also done by experienced mechanics and parts scroungers.



we all have things we need to learn ...



yup.



there are drivers for sale all the time. get the best you can possibly afford. it probably won't be a V8. move up as you learn.



too late, you already are... !

wow, thanks for the quick replys.

ok, that cleared some things up for me. i think i might get a chalon front.. that eliminates the bulges for the blinkers.

as for the engine... maybe v8 isn't the best.... really, my goal is something that can deliver enough hp to satisfy my needs. that being-

i know it handles well. i plan to race it. i want to start mods with the engine and build it to 250hp territory. i will still kick some ass in the corners, but with that kind of hp, i can still keep up in the straights. plus, being a daily driver... i'll make for some fun on the streets... take care of some of the big boys... 250hp in a 914 should be good to take down ALOT from stoplight to stoplight.

250 HP from any Type 4, even one of Jake's massive type 4s, is a lot to ask from these engines. HP isnt easy to come by on older cars. Im going to be really happy if I get 120 out of my reworked 2.0 when its done. If you want those kinds of numbers, you might look at dropping a subaru ej20t in the car, which has been done and documented. I think the running figure for that is around 3 grand.

The VW Type 4 (found in the 914) has a good powerband with lots of usable HP and gets the really light bodied 914 going pretty quick. You would be suprised how 120 HP in a 2200lb car compares to 300 hp in a 3500lb car.

you need to do some research

250hp (from a Porsche engine, /4 or /6) is going to cost you $10,000 when everything is said and done

/4= Raby motor (bring cash)

/6= 911 engine conversion....3.6 (bring cash)

your other option is swaping in a turbo Subaru engine...do a search..tons of information on that swap available for your reading pleasure....

And not just the Subaru, tons of swap options are available and many haven't even been done yet.

Lots of engine swaps will give plenty-o-power for these lightweights.

Subaru flat 4s - Lots around and cheap $
Audi 1.8ts - Lots around, aftermarket hopups galore, reasonable $$

I'm planning a VW TDI swap - 130 hp 170 tq with chip and injectors- can't wait to smoke the tires getting 50 mpg on Bio diesel!


Still looking for a nice roller.......

The slant nose is easy. Any good body shop can do that. The silver car is just a cut, roll, and fill. No need or practical reason to go fiberglass.

250hp is either a Porsche flat 6 or a non-Porsche water pumper. Go to Kennedyeng.com for the adapter, pick a nice engine, and just fab/wire it in

My site has better pics than Renegade - My car on the work involved. Some engines are better choices than others. Right now the Subaru WRX type looks to be the best, several people here are in the process of making it work.

Oh yah, welcome to the group

Chris

""The VW Type 4 (found in the 914) has a good powerband with lots of usable HP and gets the really light bodied 914 going pretty quick. You would be suprised how 120 HP in a 2200lb car compares to 300 hp in a 3500lb car. """

exactly...
Pick up a honda if your looking to just find a fun cheap car to add some quick out the gate cheap mods...
If your looking at old Porsches, the handling comes wired in from birth, the quickness is something you can learn about from the freak-geniuses on this site, but a high end top speed is what germans seemed to be able to provide.
I think the 73 914 only has like 90 hp in its 1.7L engine, but if feels fine at 95+ on a California highway, very tight and it can and does cross the 100mph mark without really crying about it...so think about what a bigger engine with more love invested can do...
and yeah, my 0-60 is just capable of keeping up with today's SUV's but thats not bad for a 30 year old beautifully designed mid-engine one of a kind auto.

at the moment i have 220 in a 3200lb car (n/a 300zx with simple bolt ons)

hrm. anyone ever swap in a sr20det???

im really interested in all these swaps. 200hp in a little car like that would be sooo much fun.

edit: nevermind, the sr20det is too tall.

what direction does the nissan (4 banger) rotate?

I know the honda 4 bangers turn the wrong direction (thier V6 turns the correct way)

no reason for it not to work as long as it'll fit..

what you need to understand is that unless you do a Chevy V8, there is no kit to do the swap*....everything will have to be custom manufactured (with the exception of the adapter plate as long as KEP makes one, chances are they do)....sure people have done a few different engines such as the Subarus (4 and 6) and Nissan V6 (300zx as well as a Maxima engine) but as far as I know, there is not enough documentation for anyone to easily dupicate them without doing a lot of work or asking the owners a lot of questions

*you can buy a radiator kit that should work with almost any engine that'll fit into a 914 for about a grand

what it really comes down to do you have the money to pay someone to do what you cannot ???(this could add up to thousands of dollars really fast)......

or if not (or you don't want to spend money like me,LOL) do you the tools and machines at your disposal as well as a little bit of talent to use them to get the job done????

the sr20det is a sweet motor and has a lot of potential, but generally swaps are the Chevy V8 mostly since it has the best bang for the buck......

ok.. so no v8. its too much work and too expensive, espically cuz it'll eat transmissions and needs extra bracing.


so what are my other swap options? 200hp is a nice goal to look for... 200hp in a 2200lb car is nuts.

are there any swaps that are documented and pretty much bolt up?

no. The closest you're going to find is a flat-6 conversion. Not *exactly* bolt up, but fairly well documented. If you're happy with a "Quick-Six Bar", I think you can get away without any welding, but really you're better off just paying someone to weld in a real mount. Unfortunately the flat-6 conversion is way out of your budget, just the parts would probably eat up the $6500 you were thinking of spending for a complete car. Honestly 150hp in a ~2000lb car is pretty damn nice too, and may be doable if you shop wisely. My 914-6 with its tired 3.0 was probably making around 150hp and ran a 14.0@101 mph in the 1/4 on 15 year old tires, which is pretty close to what you said you were looking for (on the Vortex).

With a reasonable maintenance schedule you could make it a daily driver, although I cringe at the thought of a nice 914 being driven through east coast weather.

There are several guys running a SBC who have lots of miles on their stock trans. The popular consensus is it's torque and shock loading of the stock trans that kills them. If you keep the SBC under 400 hp and don't shock load they will work well enough till you can afford a pantera transaxel to power a bigger HP V8

I'm planning on using the 327/350 hp SBC I have in the garage for my 74 914 conversion.

I have also read that it's the GM V6's that you should stay away from because of vibration problems.

Turbo rotary, which I'm sure has been done, but I don't know if there's any ready information on how to do it. 200hp is pretty easy to reach, there are two factory turbo versions of the engine, and it would weigh less and fit much more easily than a V8. As others have said, however, you're mostly on your own on doing it. Not a small job.

As for weight, btw, it's been shown on this very board that some small-blocks weigh less than some 911 engines. They all weigh more than the Type IV.

btw, you can reach 200hp with the Type IV. 250 is hard, but 200 is doable. Jake Raby's your man.

what does the turbo subaru swap generally run?

adapter plate and flywheel is pretty much the only constant here at close to $900 I think

figure $2000 at a minimum if you do the work yourself and use parts from the autowreckers

eBay will give you an idea what the prices are for motors and other stuff.........it is not cheap or easy.....

I started in on a V8 conversion. Thought to make it reliable and fun. It's going to be upwards of $16,000 when all's said and done.

includes:
strong trans $$
proven radiator setup
ok brakes
decent suspension
good motor w/MPFI
cage

It's cost about the same as a rightly done flat 6. . . but in my personal cost/benefit estimations I come out with some impotant advantages:

can buy many used-to-be-expensive maintenance parts at Kragen
Can kinda afford to blow up a motor. . . not the trans but the motor.
very real possibility of exceeding 400 hp and all the yee-ha! that involves

You can't get better hp per dollar than with the Chevy small block. If I decided to go with a properly specced nitrous motor, it's not outside the realm of reason to be able to extract well upwards of 600hp . . . if you can get it to the ground in a 914.

So I chose SBC and with my limited fabricating capabilities, I liked having lotsa "kit" pieces I can buy from other people. . . and chances of failure are lower because the proceedure is well documented. Is it going to be too much car for me to handle? Yeah. . . Is it too expensive for me to take on? Yeah. . .

-'Chung

if its so difficult, maybe i'll stick with the annihilator....

here is the turbo 2 motor you want to use in a 914, about 325hp to the rear wheels.
We got it from Japan for $1500 out of a Cosmo. The money to make it work is going to set you back atleast another $5000 for everything.
If you want good over 200hp in a 914 this is the best cost benefit budget:
buy the best rust free 914 you can buy even one with dead motor-$4500
have Brad install a 911 3.2 FI motor in it with all new correct parts- $10,000

Drive it

lol. my budget is far from that. i looks like a great option, but im trying to keep this in the 5000, 6000 dollar range.

ok, buy the best 2.0l 914 you can find for $5-6k and drive it. Building a high hp car cost money and the return when you sell it is $.10 on the dollar.

or find a project car that is half done and finish it.

Geoff

Honda 4 bangers and Corvair are the only reverse rotation motors out.

The Chevy V-6's vibrate at 900 and 2500rpm, it's fine the rest of the range. It has something to do with frequency harmonics at those rpms. (might be the wrong term, I'm not an educated car builder )

The sr20det is a bitch'n motor. $1500 complete running any day of the week. Aftermarket up the ying-yang.
Sure it won't fit??

Actually my next motor, maybe, is so rare in the USA that I'm not going to tell you what it is but then neither did the Max technically

Chris

Skyline GTR?

Even though a 914 is a budget Porsche, no classic car is something you want if you are on a strict budget. There was a topic recently on the cost of ownership. For a stock 914, figure on average $1K/year if you do everything yourself and $2K/year+ if you have a wrench do the work for you.

For any kind of horsepower - even stock horsepower when you need a rebuild, you need to bring big $$$. You might be able to shave the cost of a stock rebuild to $2K if you could do it yourself but figure on $4-5K to have it done right.

At first I was shocked at the cost of Jake's engines but now I'm thinking that one of his 150hp $7000 represents a lot of bang for the buck. Especially, when you consider that you don't have to do any fabrication and you have a 100K mile motor that is built correctly.

Beyond that, it would be a tough choice on whether to spend $10K on a type 4 with nickies or go for the 3.2L six conversion (you get a used engine with probably a good amount of mileage on it).



Jbell, your best bet would go and see if that v8 conversion is still for sale. You probably can't duplicate it for what you can buy it for.

I have a buick 3.8 liter V6, which is 3/4 of a 350 chevy. yes, there are some vibrations at some rpms, but it isn't bad enough for me. The car is extremely fast, and unlike some V8 conversions, no need to cut into the rear trunk. radiator installation is not to difficult, and the V6 used the renegrade V8 mounting plate.

My V6 has a high rise manifold, lumpy cam, four barrel carb, (yeah it gets half the milage, maybe even slightly less than the stock motor) headers, and makes a very neat hot rod sound. As I said, very fast. Off the line it beats most cars. I now of others with some very nice V8 conversions also. Also with the powerband, I can drive in third or fourth gear all day (yes, start from a dead stop in fourth!, although this is not recommneded, it is possible)

The American V6 or V8 engines are inexpensive, tons of aftermarket speed parts are also cheap. down side is they are a bit heavy, and raise the CG if the car a bit (unless you go with aluminum heads, or even an aluminum block, but that ads to the cost)

V6/V8 = cheap torque and HP.

a more ideal engine might be a lighter wieght subaru flat motor, or even a rotory mazda, but he cost would normally be higher.


My stock tranny is holding up , just do not abuse it, it all comes down to driver foot control. There are possibilities of different gear ratios, wish it had an overdrive for the freeway, but that can wait.

set a budget, and decide which way to go,

WARNING: Tons of torque, and speed is highly addicting!


good luck in your choice.


dave

Straight six, way no fit. But a potent TT with 500hp easily. It's also about $5500. Good guess.

-------
The 4.3L is 3/4 the 350 Chevy V-8. You were right on everything else

300zx engine.