Here's one way to add rear tire capacity without changing the overall appearance of the car too much. The rear flares are 2 1/2" wider than stock.
This car has a '95 3.6 with a chip, producing 250whp, and has excellent manners around town.
The owner has already suggested the engine isn't powerful enough.
Click to view attachment

Nominally 245mm / 25.4 = 9.65" but in reality you have to check the specs for each particular tire as mounted on a certain size wheel. They vary a lot...

...............................
perhaps "mr contrair"
could explain the economic feasability of a build up of a 2.7 on a tired ole mag case that has seen more milage/streses as opposed to a tough alum block...

the job of supporting a chassis/rear suspension is really not that much work when a motor is out...be it on a four w big slicks, or a big six

but i do agree that even a early 3.0 has a lot of torque, and i cant see myself needing any more, torque helps streetablility, as opposed to a peaky small bore screamer. but the simplicity of the install of 3.2 with motronics, would be my pick for an install now over a 3.0 w cis, unless going with carbs (the cis clearance being the issue)

but then there are divlar studs......

There are tons of advantages with the 3.2. It uses an early fan shroud, so all the 914-6 heat exchanger plumbing bolts right up. Same thing with the engine sheet metal. The wiring is also a joke. Most of the colors match up with the stock wiring. You can even dump the relay board in the engine compartment. Just get a haynes manual for the 914 and a a haynes manual for the same 911 and your done or do a search in the archives. I am using stock 914-6 heat exchangers and everything bolted right up. Still have plenty of power and the engine runs great. However I agree with Paul, you can never have enought HP and not having to adjust the valves anymore would be a plus. The downside with a 3.6 is the aftermarket heat exchangers suck. Notice he went with heated seats instead. Probably fine for our wimpy winters in California anyway. There is also more initial work with the tin around the engine and with either a 3.2 or a 3.6 you are better off with a properly built 915 with a wevo versus a 901 used as a four speed and skipping first gear. I also agree with Paul's statement, do it once and do it right so you don't have buyer regret and want to touch it again later. When I bought my 3.2 back in 2000, it was only $5200.00. The 3.6 back then was around $12k. The 3.2 price is still around $5k and the 3.6 has dropped to around $8k. IMHO the 3.6 is a better deal right now, just a little more initial work and money over the 3.2, but you will be much more happier in the long run. Also since the economy sucks right now there is some nice 3.6 conversions selling for around $25k. It could cost up to twice this price to build one from scratch!!

Sure... they're cheap. Done properly, it should cost any more than a 3.0 or 3.6

I didn't say "I" would do it... I just said I probably wouldn't go any bigger than that. Mine's a 2.5 built on a tired ole sand cast AL case.

Again, torque is cool... I just have my opinions, right or wrong.

Mine was 4K. I still need a DME and harness ~500. But it did come with a Steve Wong custom chip since PO built it with euro compression. and 964 cams. He told me it was shy of 3.6 power but more kick than stock.

i just remeber somewhere long ago, someone talking about a 2.5 with s cams...saying driveablity on the street was an issue
peaky high reving lil screamers might be good for the track..
but a dual porpose, or straight street car, i think that "grunt" puts a bit of a smile on ones face at stop lights
yet i tend to agree with your thought process and hope to build a a 3.2ss with 964s on cis...

It can be a pain in the ass to drive on the street. That's why I opted for the "Airport" torque multipliers (and that's why I mentioned E-Cams above).

Sure does sound good though...

Steve,
I have experienced those seat heaters first hand in Paul's car. HEAVENLY!
I am not sure I would want to drive a 914 in anything worse than a wimpy California winter though...

As you price compare the differences keep in mind that if you get a complete 3.6 from a dismantler demand EVERYTHING!!! Things like the exhaust, flywheel, cruise module, air box, starter etc gets good prices on eBay. I made back almost $1000.00 by selling off the items I didn't need. You should be able to buy a 95 3.6 for around $75-$7800. Sell off $1k and you are now at $6800 or less.

Heat on a 6? If you want the stock heat exchanger for a 6 you'll pay dearly for them and the diameter is too small for a 3.2 or 3.6 and I would question their use on even a stock 2.7. That leaves aftermarket.....or just regular headers and the cost is not much different on any size you want.....

The tin for a 3.6 is not tough to fabricate but takes an afternoon of patience

Oil cooling.....A 3.6 will need more cooling than a 3.2 as there is no engine mounted cooler. On the other hand unless you live in Alaska, anything above a 2.4 will need a cooler. While those might argue they have no cooler on their 2.7, the magnesium cases warp like butter when hot and it only takes once to ruin it! Bottom line.....Most 6's need a cooler and require one in a state like California.....Yeah, Yeah there will be those that say they have no cooler and you don't need one but any power producing 6 needs one in a 914. To upgrade from a cheap cooler to a larger cooler is only a couple of hundred. The other expenses are there anyway.

One of the big expenses is the clutch and flywheel. A 3.6 conversion flywheel and clutch will add $500.

So what am I trying to say? A 3.6 will cost a few grand more to build but gives you a better engine, no valves to adjust, more fun to drive, a killer torque monster, less oil leaks, factory twin plug and less interest in modification when finished. If you later spent that $2k on a smaller engine what would you get? Perhaps the performance of a stock 3.6 but without the factory engineering? Get the point?

Bottom line....save more and pay it up front and be done with it, the benefits are worth it. However, that's just my opinion......

Thanks Paul for the additional feedback. All good points and valuable feed back. Love your Project 914 3.6 articles in Excellence. If I was going to build one today It would be exactly like yours. Still debating about Black though!! When can we expect the next article? It would also be nice if you came out with a book with more details and pictures. I have all of the articles so far and put them in a binder. Good point about the stock 914-6 heat exchangers. I would not suggest that anyone go out and buy them for a big six conversion. I got mine for free back in 1988 from a concours buff that bought a new set for his real 914-6. From what I have read a 3.2 should be running 1 5/8" headers and a 3.6 should be running 1 3/4" headers. I think the 914-6 heat exchangers are 1 3/8". My 3.2 runs fine on the stock heat exchangers and from what I have read I am losing about 8-10 hp over 1 5/8" headers. My car also has no catalytic converter like its 911 counterpart and i'm running a bursch muffler, so I doubt its worse than the 911 it came from. My motor also came with everything you mentioned including the oil tank and all the lines. I also got back around $800.00 for the stuff I didn't need. I love the heat with my heat exchangers, but I am temped to sell them to help fund the WEVO trans, paint job, etc.... If i get rid of them I will go with headers and get heated seats like you did.
Regarding oil leaks, my 3.2 has never been rebuilt. The only thing I added was 930 lower valve covers and replaced the oil return tubes. My car now barely leaks a drop once a week from one of the oil lines not the engine, however my 1996 993 is a mess. My 993 only has 95k miles on it, compared to 150k on the 1984 Euro 3.2. The 993 is leaking from the cheasy lower valve covers and is also leaking really bad from the cam chain covers. When I pull up to the light people think the car is on fire. If anyone is planning on putting a 3.6 motor in there 914, I would suggest replacing all these seals first whether there leaking or not. I talked to Hergesheimers and they said they are resealing quite a few 993's. They wanted $1400.00 to reseal my 993. Mainly because its a pain in the ass to get to the seals with the engine in the car.

Black.....Tough decision. Looks awesome when it's clean....Dirty in minutes...I still love it! It's a lot of work though.

The next Excellence should have Part 17 in it.

Oil leaks.....Do you have a 964 or 993? I agree, change any seal you can get to before installation regardless of mileage. That should be done with all engines. The 993/964's were tortured with all that A/C, weight, traffic and pan that trapped heat. It tortured the valve guides on those engines as well and is something that should be automatically assumed as needed and built into the price. My engine had 43k miles and the valve guides were shot (you'll get to read a story about that incident). Guides is one area that a used 3.2 might do better than a 3.6 but a lot depends on where and how the car was operated.....I would look into a top end on any of these engines before installation, that way you get fresh guides and seals at the most leak prone areas. Yes, it's never ending wallet draining fun.

It took 10 years for my 914's 3.6 valve covers to start leaking , and the timing covers weren't far behind. Except that the covers are a PITA to clean, they really aren't too much of a pain to replace. Timing covers need attention now as well as the front (pulley) crankshaft seal, but I have a much bigger issue with that otherwise great motor. Cracking insulation on nearly all of the engine wiring. It's all over the harness.

This car is a daily driver since 1994. What caused me to notice was the rain. Before I finally saw that the injector wires were bare, I thought I was having water problems in the intake or that the O2 sensor was getting over-cooled by the water jetting from the right rear tire. The engine missed like crazy. It can be dangerous when you only run smoothly over 4500 rpm with NO power below that. Imagine modulating that on wet pavement. Stopped or sideways throwing rooster-tails. Hmmm, OT here. Back on the topic.

I haven't had this problem on my '84 911's 3.2 motor. It's more protected under that engine cover than the exposed 914 lid, but it's 11 years older too! Dang!

There was a Porsche recall on the wiring harnesses for the 993. Poor insulation that caused fires. Don't know if you had one of the bad years but if you have the engine # a Porsche dealer can match the # to a chassis and tell you if it was repaired under the recall.

Get a replacement NOW!!!

I actually found a dealer who got me the replacement harness for the recall price. The full sales price is out of this world ...

My harness fried to a crisp. That could have easily burnt the car to the ground.

There's a thread here somewhere with pictures, it's not pretty.

Found the thread:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=80793

I will second that - 2.2 with webers and S cams. Sometimes I wish it had a honda motor. Then I wind up second and third, and it is all worth it...

Reckon I'll get right on it. I've taped up the (visible) offending little beggars, and followed them up into the harness as much as possible. But it's obvious that it's crappy up where I can't see it.

Easier to drop the motor, check the exhaust valve guides/seals, replace the harness and a few other seals and stick it back in there.

Thanks guys!

he needs to sell me that car and build a new one.
Or, sell him that white V8 car...BTW, did you sort him out? he has had alot of bad experiences with shops...I steered him to you...

Rich

This is an interesting thread because Mercedes is having the same problem. My Merc. mechanic showed me a ten year old Mercedes wiring harness that had breaks in the harness with copper showing EVERY THREE INCHES. There has been talk of Mercedes suing it's vendor.
Cheers, Elliot

I could have written that exact sentence.

I'm sure come March when I want to go for an early Sunday drive my neighbors will enjoy the Motronic as much as me. I'd guess they got pretty tired of listening to me feathering the throttle in my driveway at 6:30 am . . . . . .

My 3.2 is also an 84 and has been in my 914 for over 10 years. No leaks except for the oil return tubes which was a simple fix. However my 1996 993 has exactly the same problems you mentioned. As soon as I fix the leaks on the engine the car is going up for sale. Anyone want to buy an Adventurine Green 1996 993 C2 Cabriolet Tiptronic? The tiptronic also adds additional leaks and you lose two gears and a whole second 0-60. However it's quite the cruiser going down bumper to bumper PCH with the top down. Zero stress versus shifting the 914 in bumper to bumper traffic sucks.