Okay so I have a Buick 215 v8 in my 70 914. It is a low mileage rebuild & is putting out 260hp supposedly. That is what I was told when I bought it. Going by my foot I think a little closer to 2-220hp realistically. IT had a few thousand miles on the rebuild when I bought it. I had some issues with the radiator & overheating. I blew a head gasket & when I had it replaced the mechanic said it looked like a fresh build. I probably have a few thousand miles. I love the weight of it as I still sit just under 2200lbs. It really feels like a good area to be in with it. Problem is it is such a deep motor & it comes into my cabin a few inches because of the water pump. There are ways to get around it by going with a remote electric water pump. I have extra parts for it. A spare frozen 215 along with a complete FI system off a 3.5 rover. It is supposed to be a bolt on deal but when I finally got my motor back in I didn't feel like screwing with it. Okay far to much information for this post.

Here is what I am wondering. I like my car & the other upgrades I have made to it. Should I try to sell my motor complete with everything for the conversion? Should I just sell my car complete as is & start over? I do have a nice 74 I was going to put a Suby in. I could just do the LS1 in it instead. Thing is I will need some cash to get the LS1 & a bunch of the parts for the conversion.

I voted to start over with the 74. Sell me the 914 trailer so you can have some extra cash!

Jamie, put the LS1 in it. Vrrroooooommmmmmm

LS1 is the way to go. Hands down.

I could have gone LS1 with all the crap ive done with my engine, and its not as nice as it could be with an LS1...

Yep. LS1

Yeah my poll needs a little work. If I start over with my 74 I will need to sell my v8 conversion to fund it. Which is fine too I suppose. Of course that also means my current suby setup for the 74 would go unused & probably be up for sale too

I say LS1 but buy one completed for instant gratification.

Concentrate on one car & do it well. None of your stated options look all that great to me but I voted for the 215 Buick. If that chassis is good get to work & sell off everything else. IMO, going hither & yon on multiple cars guarantees multiple pieces of crap......am I too blunt?

A *nice* mid 6 conversion would cure what ails you.

My last option on the poll really isn't good either. I won't be happy with it like it is. It just bugs the hell out of me how it comes into the cab. Also the way the firewall was cutout to make it work. So if I keep the 215 I will still be putting some more work into making it all fit. Fit behind the new firewall I need to put in. I would be buying a remote electric water pump. I would also be putting the FI system off the rover on it. Well hopefully as I am not sure if that system will take up more room? The other option for making it fit is shifting the whole drivetrain back another 3 inches. I don't like that as that puts the cv's at such a different angle. It would be to hard on them in my opinion. Maybe if I bought longer cv's it would be okay? Damn I am rambling a bit now. Guess I got up to early this morning for work

I would put the LS1 in your current chassis. You've already done everything else for the conversion... why go through all that again?

Of course I'm probably in the wrong crowd here, but I don't want to see a fresh 914 cut up for a water cooled conversion.

Actually I wouldn't be cutting up a fresh 914. My 74 was a mazda rotary conversion. So it allready has a radiator & such in it. Really I would just need to do a 5-lug conversion on that car. While I am obviously no purist I would not cut up a nice stock 914. Once one has been changed I have no problem doing what I want

Oh. Carry on, then.

let me get this straight.

you car is running fine now?

you do know that - there is ALWAYS something better out there : ))

do you have cabin heat in yours?

what are the problems with your car currently?

engine encroaching into cabin area does not count unless it is effecting driver comfort.

jim

Hey Jim my car is running now after a 2 year stint on jack stands. There are no real problems as it sits. I do have an oil leak from somewhere on the back of the motor. Not a huge deal I just haven't worried about it since I got it back on the road. I did a sideshift conversion & my rear linkage needs a little work. Wants to hit the engine bar. I want to do a cable shift eventually there.

I don't have heat set up currently. I typically don't drive it during winter anyway. So I haven't worried about setting it up.

Very true there is always something better out there.

The engine does not encroach on the drivers seat at all. It just annoys the hell out of me the way it was done . Even though nobody can see it. It just bugs me

Drive your car.

How much of the suby stuff do you have? Im going to be pulling a 302 chevy MO with injection??

But to answer the poll Suby!

jcl

See now I know the hole story SUBY. The frankenmotor is a tork monster!! there should be 180-190 lbs under 2500 rpms. Dont forget the speed sensor from Small-Car. even the early ecus seem to work better with it. Use long primary header for even more tork.(stock sucks!)

ya suby!!

Okay I am not going to buy this LS1! I still think I may end up putting my v8 up for sale. Good thing is there is no rush & it is a crappy time to sell. Winter is here & I have plenty of projects without adding another one. I am going to pull out a card I don't play much. I'll be a little sensible this time .

As usual thanks for all the good advice. I can be a bit of an inpulse shopper when it comes to anything 914