Hello Friends,

The restoration of my 1970 914-6 matching numbers, etc. has been slow... but good.
The body work is almost ready and we'll start to assemble all the interiors, electrical, etc.

BUT... the engine is going slow, my mechanic is a pretty good one and he "takes his time"... so I asked him... Is it too crazy to put in one of your 2.7L you have around while the original is finished?... not surprisingly he answered "That's the attitude!" let's do it!...

I confess I may've been watching too many Magnus Walker videos and stuff that have inspired the idea of pumping up a little bit the performance of my car while keeping all the originality focus of the restoration... although I know I'm entering "the dark side of the force" here... I might never come back!... What do you guys think?!

Thanks and have a great weekend,
H.

Go for it. A stock 2.0 -6 is only a slight increase in power over a four. Sounds like you will keep the original engine which adds value if the car is sold.

Sounds like a plan, allowing you to drive and enjoy the car keeping another classic on the road.

Whatever you do though, never let that engine case out of your sight! Show us some pics when it's done

I had a 2.7 in my 75, you will get throttle induced oversteer. I would recommend a limited slip if you don't have one already, otherwise I ended up flaring my car to put bigger meats in the back to help with the problem. Of course this was back in the mid 80's when tires were so so. Maybe you will have better luck. Bigger motors turn into a slippery slope.

I wouldn't exactly call this an "outlaw" since you're keeping the original engine which can be swapped back at any time.



When i saw the thread title i thought you had done unspeakable things to the tub, like installing a shalom kit ...

LOL Sir Andy!... Great answers from all of you!... Thanks a lot!
The oversteer problem makes sense... I'll choose some good tires but my original 14" Fuchs might have an issue there...
From what I've seen, the extra power could be solved or controlled by the suspension... Fortunately it is not a 911!

I'll send some pics soon!

H.

I played that game to with the suspension. I put in a 22mm front sway bar and 21mm torsion bars with 140 lb springs in the rear. This induced understeer, which helped with the throttle induced oversteer. The ticket is to not jump on the gas in a corner, which was hard for me not to do at the time, since I was in my 20's and had no self control!! The 2.7 was a stock US carrera motor with webers, MSDS headers and muffler. It was allot fun!! I now have a stock euro 3.2 with 916 trans and GT flairs. No issues with throttle induced oversteer now unless its raining.

Does the 2.7 require an external oil cooler?

When Porsche first put the 2.7 in the 911, they did not put a front oil cooler on the U.S. cars, though they did on the European 911s. Hence, many aftermarket cooler kits were sold! It can live without one, but will be happier with one (especially if it's not a stock 2.7). I can tell you that it does really make for a great car when it's in a 914.

Squealing tires are happy tires !

I loved my 2.7!! Super reliable and felt great with the stock 901 gearing. With the 3.2 the gearing felt all wrong on the street and I ended up going with a 916. A stock 3.0 with injection also felt fine to me with the stock 901. With a 3.6 there is enough power to just start out in 2nd and not bother with 1st gear, but you end up with a four speed.

It seems like the "car of the month" in the home page of the website is the way to go!... Mine won't have the GT flares either.
Does anyone know a way to this car info?

Thanks again,
H.

I like the "Safety net" of a front oil cooler...handy on those 100° days, in stop and go traffic.
My mag case 2.7 used to leak oil after a hot drive, finally pulled a stud as well.
Front oil cooler + Troutman oilstat took care of that.
Marty

Those conditions apply very much to Mexico City (where I live) Marty!
Thanks for the advice,
H.

if it were me I would build a nasty mean 2.5-2.7 to hot rod around in and have the 2.0 restored and saved off to the side for the originality value.

I have original 916/6 cars with engines on both sides of what you are considering. I have a 2.2 911S engine in my signal orange and a 3.6 911 twin plug in my red. Both have all of the upgrades sensible for the extra power. As others have added, keep the original engines close. I keep mine on a pallet in my dry & secure warehouse.

I believe the 2.2 is a much more enjoyable choice with plenty of power. The 3.6 is an animal but .....it is fun for sure, but I love the feel of the 2.2 S engine. It has 200 HP and the 3.6 brings 300 HP.

Maybe the 2.7 is the ultimate choice for power and drivability. Good luck.

"never come back"???? you won't even look back!

Just don't cut up the body. Maybe an oil cooler over the tranny, since you're in a hot climate. That would only require a few holes in the trunk floor to hang it.

make some brackets to mount it off the tranny plenty of air moving around under there

Hector, do you have any pic's we can see?

I don't agree.

Put a real cooler up front.
Metal is simple to replace if you ever sell it to someone who cares.
A six with a cooler makes perfect sense in your climate, and it will work.

Put the bigger motor in, save the original and store it properly.....do research on how to store it so it does not seize up over time...


Enjoy the car..

I have a cooler in the back in AZ. Works totally fine. And my trunk isn't cut up. FWIW.

Thats great! Congrats on your cars they seem like a lot of fun... I'll keep my 2.0 in sight and have fun!

Well I have the restoration process blog which is not updated but I'll go to the shop this weekend and take some new pics for you guys... It should be all primer around the body now.

Here's the blog with some pics of the process... A long one... Has been in my family since new and spent more than 15 years in a garage... Rusting unfortunately.
But I'm close. I have some original pics in a family album with its silver metallic original paint... i'll scan them. BTW it'll be silver metallic again... I don't know why my father painted it red in the 80's... Mid-life crisis?! Haha

Blog:
http://porsche914-6.blogspot.mx

I agree with the 2.7. It is good motivation without having to re-engineer the car. Don't fall into the power trap - there are just so many modern, fast cars out there. Not to mention all sorts of kids with N2O'd, turbo'd tuner cars. On the other hand, getting blown off by a Prius wouldn't give me the warm&fuzzies. Might happen with a 2.0. If your engine guy is good, he'll know how to build a stout 2.7. Maybe top it off with ITB/efi for classic looks and modern drivabiilty.

I went with a 3.2. Not for the power, but to get away from the annoyances of the earlier engines. Carbs? Nice to look at, but annoying. CIS? awful to look at, difficult to install. Fire hazard. Still kind of annoying. 3.2 DME is ok. Looking back, I kinda wish I had done a top notch 2.7.

Great insight!... Yes, the 2.7 might be the good balance for keeping it classic but powerful!

H.

You will like it! My six went from the 2.0T, to a 2.0S, to a built 2.7, and finally a cammy 3.0 with RSR pistons; I was happier each time. Ran it for many years, and raced as well, and the 901 was never an issue. It had around 240hp, and a lot of torque. When it finally went up for sale, the two guy's who came a long way to drive it both passed, as it was "too fast". I still don't understand that!

I still wonder why no one goes with a simple loop cooler in the front fender. Granted it's not as efficient as a front mounted cooler and fan setup but it saves you from cutting up the car. For a 2.7 in an original 6 it seems like just the ticket.

The difference is airflow. Without airflow, you just have a heat sink. For some engines, this might be enough.

But in order to really cool your oil, you need air-flow. Fender mounted with a fan won't get you any air flow.

I've know several 3.2L 914s that only run the stock cooler on the engine and are running OK.
None of them is used for anything other than street driving.

My 2.7 ran a lot hotter than my 3.2. I figured it was the over stressed magnesium block versus the aluminum block 3.2.