hey folks,

some years ago i restored a '74 2.0. sweet car. loved it. moved to the mountains (snow) and got rid of it. since then? broke spine, can't walk. this means mostly i can't drive a clutch. but i got the 'itch' again!

someone have, or know of, a 914/subaru conversion with an automatic? i called renegade and they suggested this place...maybe someone knows something...

anyhow? thought i'd throw that out there. if you know something? heck, let me know.

thanks!


chris

Sorry to hear about your back. Are you looking to buy the one you build and then sold or any Subaru Conversion?
If you know your old VIN number you may be able to find it using member vin lookup

Member VIN

Iam building suby conversion right now and think it could b done.
Only problem would b 1 wheel drive.no limited slip for auto transmission.

Do you have money. Anything can be built for a price. I'm not trying to be smart. There are plenty of people who can build it for the right amount of cash.

one wheel drive? doesn't matter. in the real world? i'm using a left side hand control, and i'm 47...how much of a wild ass can i be? and i don't want a race car- just a tight little road car where i can roar around the county on the twisties- money? yea...ok but still? it's like at some point? i could just go find some old boxter with tiptronic- but man- that 914 had the old 'lotus' formula going on- 'we can't make more H.P. but we can built it light'. i hope all that makes sense. thanks for the quick response.


Iam building suby conversion right now and think it could b done.
Only problem would b 1 wheel drive.no limited slip for auto transmission.
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yea i get that 'build anything' with money - but it would have to able to be worked on, and it would have to make sense engineering-wise. it would kind of suck to spend a bunch of dough and end up with some frankenstein thing that 'just isn't quite right'...know what i mean?

oh no- my old car is long gone- it went to san diego in a trade for an automatic jeep. do you guys know how much trouble you can get into with one of those? ha ha! but it's all good. cool tool that vin number tool!

That's why I mentioned money. Too little and it will be cheap and never done. Enough money to finance and pay the builder properly and you will have a great car. I'm not talking a fortune here but enough so a qualified builder is enthoused about the project.
You also need to spend the money for a "needs nothing" kind of car so your not screwing around with rust repair, paint, ect.

Ian at coldwater seems to be a can do and do it now kind of guy. I would suggest talking to him about what kind of money it would take to build and provide him a real profit. I would imagine he could build something that looks and works right.

I looked pretty seriously at what you are describing. It can be done fairly easily with a Subaru engine and an older front wheel drive Subaru transmission as long as you are OK with a pretty standard "unsporty" trans feel. Almost any Subaru engine will bolt to almost any Subaru trans but you have to find a front wheel drive automatic since the AWD automatics are much longer and would be hard to convert to 2WD. Ian and I chatted about this quite a bit. Really wouldn't cost too much for the trans.

Another option would be an Audi/VW FWD trans which is very similar to the Boxster trans. Kennedy can make an adapter for a Subie engine for that one, or you could use an Audi/VW engine.

The all Subie setup would be easiest. You would just need a different set of trans hangers, which Ian at Coldwater or someone else could make for you. You might want to post this in the garage for more feedback...PM me if you have any other questions...

Buy a Boxster you will be way ahead and save some money to boot.

Bob

I'll build you one. I've even got the chassis and engine engine to start with.

http://www.originalcustoms.com

NAPA really? We live up at Lake Almanor. Maybe I can come talk to you about it? we should be in the bay area in about two weeks- and sorry guys for my 'awkward' posting style- i'm not quite sure how to respond so it looks like i'm not drunk or something- i can't seem to direct reply to all you guys- note that it's all very appreciated!

chris

No worries Chris. Go see McMark for sure or give him a call. All you'd need to source (Mark can do this for you) is a FWD Subaru automatic trans which can be had on Craigslist or a junkyard very cheaply. In 1996 they switched to all AWD vehicles, but there are still tons of pre-'96 Legacys out there running around so the transes are pretty strong. You could probably use a '70's/'80's VW or Audi shifter to make it look a little more period correct. Mark has done all sorts of cool stuff. This would be an easy project for him.

Here's a picture of a Subaru auto transaxle in a 914 its pretty big
Click to view attachment

let me just you guys are the best- thanks for the support- this is going to be fun! there such bitchin' cars! thanks again!