so what are the pros cons for a home build?

my car runs great, handles great and needs nothing but some cosmetic stuff and a bit of body work/paint to deal with a couple of rust bubbles. that being said, i want to tear it apart and mess with it.

lacking a nice tub here is the north - rust - east, i must mess with what i got. so starting with an engine, i can find a rebuildable sbc lying on the side of the road depending on the neighborhood. a good ga case T4 is another story. ya ya ya, the conversion stuff and all that but there would appear to be a number of helpful folks right here.

not planning on doing anything in the near future. gotta buy some other toys first (bigger compressor, welder) then build an engine and convert if needed.

won't be doing any pca only race porsche powered stuff. just want to have big bang and long term stability. both platforms will provide i am certain, just want to hear the stories from both sides....


muchas gracias....

why a GA case, theyre all the same cept bore

well there is one thing i did not know! thanks!

i heard, thought, dreamed or otherwise imagined that a ga case was the way to go. all others be damned.

so that beiing said, the cost is now less for a T4 project. but the question remains, given i am not entirely a purist, why not an sbc? jake may have a comment here i would imagine.....

A SBC can be expensive to do... And will require you do do drastic changes to your car... I'd say go for a t4 till you get bored with it..

You could always have a porsche V8.... Seriously, If it ain't broke don't fix it! Get another roller and build a hotrod! I had a perfectly good driving 914 and wanted more power. I went with out a driving car for years when I decided to tear back into mine for the conversion.

Check with "B" He's coming to the FFC and hauling stuff. If his trailer isn't full he would probably get a roller as far as the middle of the country for ya!

Scott, I'm struggling with the same decision right now myself.. I even bought a rebuilt SBC 283 to put in my car. I haven't driven the 2.0L that I bought a couple of months ago because I've been converting it back to a streetable car - removing racing fuel cell, racing seat, etc.. Lately however, I've been considering keeping the 2.0L that's in it for awhile for several reasons. I have never been so undecided on something before. Here are some of the considerations I've been going over:

1) Occasional track use (type 4 is probably better for a novice like me).
2) Engine Cooling (less problems with the type 4) (atleast initially).
3) Originality of the Porsche marque (a plus for the type4- not a biggie for me though).
4) Transmission worries from torque (not a real problem w/mild V8).
5) Engine weight (type4 has a lower center of gravity) (SBC is also slightly heavier).
6) Fuel delivery (Webers on type4 would sound better than the Edelbrocks,etc.).
7) A/C - I gotta have it! (probably easier/more efficient on the SBC).
8) Street Car (SBC would have about 3 times the HP - a big plus for the SBC!).
9) mods (trunk cutting) for the V8 would be a pain (but worth it in the end -I'm sure).
10) V8 Conversion parts are not cheap (seems to be a misconception here).

I already have sufficient brakes and suspension for either but that's also a consideration if you're going V8.

Doug C

Oh, I also wanted to mention, and someone correct me if I'm wrong - but it seems like you have to pay alot of money for the good cooling parts only to inevitably have a cooling struggle before getting all the air out of your system anyway. I definately wouldn't consider the V8 conversion without getting 'the good' radiator and cooling system from RH. Man as I write this I feel myself shifting back to the V8 side, it's funny!

Doug C

After building a number of cars over the years.....I have found that it is easier and cheaper to take over someone else's project.

One advantage is that if someone gives ya crap over a modification you can always blame the dumb ass previous owner....

Secondly...parts that are on the car will cost 20-50% of what it would have cost YOU to buy yourself....

Frankensteen is the only car that I started on from scratch in 10 years.....but hey, I admit to the mods on this one....plus everything on it is used...scrounged from parts in my garage collected over the years and bought from friends on the net and in the neighborhood.

I got a lot of positive comments from folks at GAF on the work...even though Frank was built primarily to piss off the 356 crowd.....it's now gotten to the point that I'm gonna mold in the fender flares and give it a REAL paint job.....

Anyhow....bottom line....find someone else's project and ship it if you have to....

Keep in mind here that I bought this car 95% dialed in, but:

I have been driving my 400hp 350 SBC for just under a week now, and I still drive my TIV regularly, but I look for excuses to drive the SBC anywhere, for any reason. I cannot say enough for how much fun this car is to drive.

The business about the center of gravity is imperceptable in daily street driving. The car still takes corners like it is on rails. The only difference I find is due to the V8 being lower than my TIV, I have to be more concerned about rough pavement in a fast turn.

As far as the cooling, this car has the RH cooling system. I took my time filling it on install, but I have it full and running w/o any issues after maybe an additional 5 minutes of burping after the first several drives. Today it is 90' & 90% humidity here, and with the AC on in city driving, my temp never got over 190'. Did I mention WITH THE MODERN AC SYSTEM ON. I knew the AC was on because I was cool as a cucumber in a wool suit on a very hot day, but I couldn't tell by the way the throttle responded. I'm not sure if even Jake's best TIV could say that.

In the sound department, with intake by Edlebrock and carb by Holley, the sound this car makes is damn near as good a sex. Rich deep but mannered rumble at idle, head turning growl at normal acceleration, and a "you don't want to fu@& with me" roar if you get on it. And that's all with me keeping under 4k, and not really hitting it very hard.

I still love my well sorted out 1.7, and it still feels like an accomplishment when you get her through the gears quickly, but I gotta tell ya, this V8 is everything I was hoping it would be in the power and driving departments. I am running a stock 901 which I will send to Renegarde this winter for a taller gear transplant, but that is for highway cruising. I'm not dumping the clutch obviously, but if I was only going to be driving in the city 80% of the time or more, I would be perfectly happy with the 901 as is.

Don't do anything to it. Man that thing is GREAT!
Maybe a bigger amp to drive that sub and shake the flares.

Bob