I know you copied & pasted from Wikipedia, so it's not your error, but methinks there's a decimal point missing here...

EDIT: Ooops, nevermind. That's the weight of the car, not the weight of the engine.

Wish I had the weight of the motor. It should be very light.

-- brett

Does anyone have weight comparisons between the Rover, all aluminum LS chevy series, and the dohc v6 300hp from the new Camaro?

It may be rated at 300ftlbs (I seriously doubt it), but try dropping the clutch more than once with a wide set of sticky tires and you will splatter the guts everywhere. Besides why risk it and deal with the unsatisfactory shifting of the 901? At least if you are going to the trouble of swapping in a reasonable engine at least put a modern transaxle behind it.

For the record Getrag rates the Boxster gearbox at 380nm of torque.SO I doubt the 901 was rated anywhere near that number.

I thought that I read somewhere that the audi v8s bolt right up to a 901. Not sure about flywheel sensor location, starter, etc. but if I were looking to do a fun swap, that would be the first one that I would research.

Someone earlier mentioned the ford 4.6 - that motor is a behemoth. I don't think that you could ever fit it in a 914, but it is a nice engine.

http://www.35pickup.com/mulligan/weight.txt

your o/p stated that there wasnt a v8 that would work with a 901.

now i dare you to drop the clutch on a 2.7 or + six and see what happens to 1st gear!

and now you are stating that the 901 shifts poorly.

so what is it the 901 cant handle the power or you dont like the 901 cause it shifts bad?

porsche doesnt build trannys for drop the clutch drag race launches, and they omitted the "1st" gear in the 930 tranny because of the limits of the "5 speed" design of the box.

Well, I think I know a thing or two about 901 boxes And, unless you have detonated a gear box, you are talking out your backside. I have driven in and seen plenty of happy 901 on V8. Axle broke before the box did on one of them.

If a 901 is rebuilt by me, it shifts like a dream

Hey, Evil.

If you want to explore the Rover option. I have a friend in DE that just recently decided to change directions on his Locost build and he's putting his Rover 3.5 and trans up for sale.

Just contact me for his info if you like.

Didn't The good old Doctor Ferry Make one of the first implemented Syncro setups? If memory serves me IT was widely used until borg warner designed a more effective setup many years later?

Dang, I hope my doctor doesn't whine.

I wouldn't abuse a 901 with anything more than a small four banger. The bigger engines just put too much stress on the 901. I don't think it is a very strong design. The 901 does shift poorly as does any other Porsche gearbox that uses friction syncros instead of a more modern cone style syncro. Add forty miles of linkage and a half dozen joints, unions, bushings, etc and you can't get it as nice as a modern gear box. I have driven very nice shifting 901s for 901s, but you still have to drive it like a 901 not a modern gearbox. Drive a new Vette or New Boxster/996/997, etc and you will feel the better transmission right away.

There are gearboxes out there that can handle hard driving, that lists just doesn't include the 901 or 915. I have never broken a transmission of any kind and yet I am still afraid to push a 901 to 100% because of what I have seen when I have been inside them.

I don't like 901s because they don't shift good and aren't strong enough for powerful engines.

No way, man. I got too much to do right now.

you do realize that a transaxle thatis going to handle "abuse" is going to cost you $9k or more?!

i can use up many many 901 for that kind of change

I just wanted to on Doc's thread so... I decided to try something really whacky.

I'm going with an aluminum block with 3 cylinders sticking out of each side. There seems to be all sorts of parts available and a good knowledge bank on conversions etc. Should do ok with the 901 and be able to get above 6500 rpm ok.

End of

901 is fine on the street behind a v8.

I put 2k miles on mine in the last 3 months.... Daily driven.

IMHO Here are the options as I see it.

#1: LS1 Mild build for 7.5k rpms
#2: Audi 4.2 (lower end of the HP, More $$$, but sits behind a Audi 5 speed nicely)
#3: Rover v8
#4 SBC 302

I have 2 V8 914's in my shop right now. One was done in the early 90's the other 5-6 years ago. NIETHER of these trannies had ANY mods done and neither of them was blown up. Yes Jim's had some serious issues that were not showing, and this other one may also. But your statements about a 901 not being able to hold up are just plain false. Properly built and driven they will hold up to 300 min. FWIW I have a 727 out of a Chrysler with a 440 behind it sitting in the floor that took a dump on me last spring. Are you going to do like all the Mopar guys and tell me a 727 is indestructable too ?

You also try to compare a 40 year old gearbox with 40 year old tech to a brand new gearbox with new tech. Not a fair fight, Kind of like putting Joe Frazier in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko today. Ask Renegade how the 901 and 915 holds up, they seem to have done one or two of these setups

No a 901/915 is not meant for burnouts and clutch dumping any more than a Beetle was meant for towing or four wheeling, but that doesn't mean it can't be done without issues

sorry - doc - what was your question?

my only point on the m60 is that a later one would be more desirable as bmw found replacing the motor more economical than pressing in new liners. i do like the idea and also have toyed with the idea of m5 dohc that a buddy has sitting around.

with one addition +305 with a 901 and a flipped H
This only follows Evil's desire to have cheap, but reliable power in a 914.

I'm going on 3 years now and I'm very happy with my 305 sbc v8. I don't have anything fancy on it, just carbed and a few bolt-ons. It's high reving and ready for a fun kick-in-the-pants drive or just a trip to the beach. I do have a perfect ready-to-go 901 spare sitting in my garage....I don't think I'll ever need it.

My 901 does shift the best it can coupled with a Renshifter, but if I was going to do it again I would really think about the suby transaxle. Someone said that the 901 shifted like a "dump truck"...I wouldn't agree with that, but when you have all that power in fun car like a 914....the shifting iis what brings you back to the reality you have a 70ish car with the tech of day.
Mark

We took a 301 Chevy (2 bolt mains) to 9K rpms back in the 60s wih a flat tappet cam & steel HD rockers. Push rods suffered a bit. Today's light weight valve gear was not available back then.

Mr. Yunick said he could get an iron SBC (with aluminum heads) to within 40 lbs of the all aluminum SBC with extensive work with a grinder.....& make more power than the alloy job. Never tried, but I belive it.

The Borg Warner (GM) syncros were developed in the 50s.

The 901 will take a lot of abuse even using first gear. Side step launches at 6K were never a problem with the trans with over 200ft/lbs torque (10 inch slicks & 2.7L....CVs were the weakest point). 1st got eliminated before Brit went to over 300 ft/lbs (12 inch slicks...... smoked).

BTDT......or you can take other opinions.

283 2bbl or small 4bbl with high revving cam and alluminum heads. cheap and 200-300 hp .plenty of aftermarket support.Buick 215 v8 with 64 300 aluminum heads .

I know that chevy motors, and even ford motors are easy to buy, cheap to build etc.
BUT
Its still push rod engineering from the 50's...

For an overhead cam V8 I would look at all the options...and see what you find that is the most common.

Volvo has a cool motor...also Toyota/Lexus
Both have some decent aftermarket support now for upgrades.
Porsche/Audi is also an easy option...one that you can find trannies for also...
Rich

Those engines are not compact packages, the sbc runs very close to the fire wall as it is. trying to put a ohc motor with the taller valve cover height will surely run in to the fire wall. Not to mwntion that the lenght would most likely be an issue also.

There is a reason that the sbc is the most popular engine. Its compact, light, well configured, and parts are much more interchangable through out the different displacements, years, and cofigurations. The after market proves the adaptabilty of the sbc.

The sbc can be built with stock factory part from 263 - 400 cid. With after market parts cid up to 454 cid.

The Lexus will require two bumps in order to clear the cam gears. They are far from low profile and if you decide to use the cam gear mounted distributors, the bumps will need to be even bigger. I suspect you will have issues pushing the seat back far enough with the bumps required to clear the cam gears, maybe not. I was building a race car chassis so I set the motor pretty high up in the engine bay.

There is nothing wrong with pushrods. They make for a very compact package. You can get an LSX down to around 350lbs in race trim. Try that with any of the other OHC engines. Its just not going to happen. The LSX makes plenty of power or torque. Pick your poison. I know you don't like pushrods for some reason, but they get the job done so well that GM hasn't seen fit to change them. Plus they have won a whole bunch of races with that pushrod lump.

If you are only looking for 300hp why bother with a V8? The Buick is the only engine I know that isn't a boat anchor, so if you have to add 250lbs to your car, why only have 300hp? It just doesn't make any sense to go with a V8 for that low HP number. There are plenty of other options that make more sense. If you want huge power a V8 is your best bet, but with huge power comes the super expensive transmissions.

For price alone, the suby motors make more sense. For sound, I would do a VQ35 or 37 from the Nissan 350Z. With minimal exhaust they sound amazing. But I doubt you could get one of those cheap, now is the hardware to control it cheap. At that point just put a Porsche 6 in there.

Don't get me wrong, V-8s have their place, they make all kind of nice noises if the exhaust is right. But for such low HP levels I wouldn't bother with one.

Well said. Or the Hartley, that thing is amazing. If it was actually reasonably priced I would have one in every car I drive. Corolla included.