For Sale: 1974 Porsche 914
Hate to do it, but I’ve decided to sell my car mainly due to lack of interest. I simply can’t dedicate the time, effort and (most important) money into this car/project anymore. I’d really like to keep it, drive it… but I have to draw the line at some point and we just have too many other commitments.

A bit of History:
I’ve owned this car for about ten years and it has always been garaged. FWIW, I have previous owner records to prove this car was originally from Arizona so it has VERY little rust. Here’s a list of items I’ve done during the time I’ve owned the car:

No particular order:
• Rebuilt the 2.0 liter stock motor to a 2270 with a Raby kit. Jenvey TB’s and SDS EFI. With Tangerine Racing Exhaust.
• While motor was out, I had both trunks and engine bay Rhino lined.
• Replaced all four brake rotors, calipers, pads with PMB Performance parts and ATE Superblue Brake Fluid.
• 5 Lug upgrade and 16” Phone Dial wheels.
• Stripped interior and lined with Por-15
• Cleaned and reconditioned the fuel tank with Por-15
• Updated fuse panel
• Aluminum pedal board
• Swepco 201 gear lube

Current State of Car:
After I built the 2270 kit I started collecting parts to build a big turbo motor, 2576 to be exact. After about 3-4 years I had all the parts acquired but did not have the time to assemble so I solicited the expertise of Mark of Original Customs to build the beast. Here is a list of components that make up the build:
• Custom machined/clearance GA case. Clearance work done by Jake at Aircooled Technology.
• TDC (Thermal Displacement Coating) Engine case.
• Rotating assembly balanced by Jake at Aircooled Technology
• DPR 82mm Crank
• 9540 Cam
• Revmaster 38mm oil pump, full flow
• 100mm Turbo Nickies
• JE 100mm Piston, dished and coated
• 5.5” Type 1 H-Beam Rods
• Pauter Roller Rockers
• ChroMoly Pushrods
• Custom Billet Taco Plate
• DTM
• Garrett T3/T4 Ball-Bearing Turbo, TDC coated
• TurboSmart BOV
• TurboSmart Boost Tee
• Tial Wastegate
• Turbo prep’d LE 200 Heads
• Custom Exhaust, Tangerine Racing
• Custom intake plenums, M-Spec Racing
• Custom Fuel Rails, Extrudabody
• SDS EFI
• 70mm Ford Throttle body
• Kennedy Stage II clutch with six puck pressure plate
• Custom surround tin, Original Customs
• Setrab oil cooler with fan
• Motor build complete in July of 2012
• Install complete in August of 2013

The car is an absolute blast to drive!

What’s left to do:
While I had no plans of racing the car, it was destined to be my daily driver. So I had plans of installing a water/meth intake injection system to keep the intake temps in check. The car is drivable without this system in place due to the cooler weather we have around here but I wouldn’t push it until some sort of intake cooling system is in place. Like I said… daily driver.

I know that I will never get the amount I put into this car but we all know we are not in the hobby to make money, right. Just the turbo motor alone, in parts, I’ve spent at least $15,000. So, I’d like to sell the whole package for $18,500 $15k.

Thanks for looking. Pictures of the motor build can be found here, http://www.originalcustoms.com/invoice/images.php?p=143.
EDIT: Mark @ Original Customs has offered a discount to the buyer. See his post here.
-Rob

Over 200 views and no interest? Any questions about the car please let me know.

Thanks for looking.

-Rob

Sweet car. What kind of power do you think it is putting down? Has it seen a dyno?

Got any videos of it running?

How many miles since it is running?


Just needs meth kit to be a reliable driver?

I don't know the numbers but it has been estimated that it should be in the 300's. Although I'm not sure its that high at the moment because I have the boost turned down. I have it set so that max boost is less than 10. I did take it to the dyno right after I got it running. But the dyno flushed out some issues that I needed to take care of before going back. The main one was that the clutch was too weak and kept slipping so I never did get any meaningful HP numbers. The clutch would slip really bad once it got into boost. Since I replaced with the Stage II clutch and six puck PP I do not get any slippage.

I have a couple of YouTube videos of when I first got the motor running. Just do a search in YouTube for '2576 Turbo'. I don't have any of me driving (yet) because I have not had a chance to have someone ride with me to do the filming. But as soon as I do, I will post!!

Not sure on the mileage... but I'd say less than 2000. And that is being pretty conservative.

As far as the meth kit. I've been told (as a 'rule of thumb' mostly) and have done some research, as long as you keep the boost turned down below 10 you should not 'need' a meth kit or intercooler. Here in the PNW (Pacific Northwest) we are pretty lucky/fortunate to have such pleasant weather.

IMHO, it is a great daily driver as it is.

Thanks,
Rob

They are probably all mine slobbering on the screen wishing I had the dough.

GLWTS.

Hey Rob,

do you know what the compression ratio is? I got a little confused by the specs. Its currently a 2576, and not the Raby 2270 setup yes?

What were your plans for intercooling? air - water or air-air? Looks like a tight fit. and realistically a meth kit wouldnt be best for a daily as you would probably run out of meth on a regular basis.

Im just thinking out loud. Is there anything else that it would need in order to be a daily besides sorting out the "cooling"?

Any interest in trading for a solid reliable daily thats fun as hell? (AND registered in WA still?)

edit: In the future turn your "camera" ie iphone Im guessing, sideways. Those upright videos drive me bananas

Look at it this way folks. You would be buying a discounted monster $$$$ engine that's pretty well sorted and rob is throwing in a nice chassis with the 5 lug wheel package as part of the deal. It would prob be well north of $10k as a stock 4 cyl car in my book.

Static compression ratio is 7.73. Yes, it is a 2576.

I'm no expert on this but as far as limited space is concerned and lack of air flow, a meth kit, IMHO, would be the best for this application. The only time water is injected is when your on boost. The only time that occurs is when you accelerate or pass people on the freeway.

Like I said in the previous post... it is and could be a daily driver as is because the boost is turned down.




Thanks Kevin!!

Or buy the car, go to a less performance engine, SELL the turbo, and get a nice stock car on the WAY cheap. Lots of different ways to look at it....

this really is a great looking car and I would be very interested in a trade, or if these potential buyers come through I would be ready to throw cash your way. either way, Im here and watching. I really think its time for me to get into a teener

Buy it Simon!

Thanks Simon! It really is a nice car! Sorry, but no trades please. I appologize for not answering earlier.

Me LIKE. A LOT!

Bump and here are some more pics...

a few more pics...

Such a sweet engine.

Would love to see some recent videos of it driving ( In car and drive by)

EDIT: Through internet stalking I found one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyPBms7AgU8

Hahaha... kind of hard to hold the phone (video device), hold on and shift at the same time. I will try and get a better video posted this weekend.

I don't see an asking price.....

Nevermind...found it.

Bump and price reduction... $15k

Honestly... what is 'scaring' people away from even making offers on my car? I don't get it. Compared to some of these other cars that are posted... I know $15k might be too much for some people, but look at what you'd be getting. Offers? No jokers please. You can't even buy the motor alone for this price!!

Thanks for looking.

I think people are scared off by the complexity and the fact that it is a great build which is perhaps 85% finished...and with a car like this, the last 15% is the hardest.
The concept is killer, but can it actually be made to be a "DD" with this big four AND a turbo?

I have turbo experience (Miata's) and in a Miata, you can turbo under 6psi without an intercooler...but no one would ever recommend it or say it is the right way to go. You need the intercooler to lower the intake charge to prevent detonation and melting your pistons. The killer in a turbo engine is excess heat and a poor tune...too lean and you are bending rods. It appears that these are two problems that have not been figured out here (no intercooler and no real dyno time) and they are big question marks, and since you asked, this is what is scaring people off.

I myself think there is room for an intercooler somewhere, and might suggest a water to air intercooler, maybe mounting the heat exchanger in the front trunk and intercooler in the engine bay.

Is the intake charge really the issue? Or does the whole engine get too hot? These are probably the questions on other people's minds, I am trying to help by voicing them...so you can get your very very very cool car sold.

What would a Miata owner, that didn't break the bank, use for some sort of intercooler that is readily available?

Agree with the above posts. 15k is a great price, but I think people(myself included) are worried that engine needs careful tuning and meth injection to make it safe. If you mess it up there are costly consequences. It's simply the fear of the unknown, as that engine and trunk have lots of hoses and wires to learn and sort out. Spend another 2k on it to get cooling and a tune...you can sell for full asking price. Especially on eBay.

Might help to offer the buyer some assistance on sorting the last needed details out.

I totally get where you are coming from and anyone with turbo experience (or mechanically inclined for that matter) should not be scared off by the ‘complexity’ of a turbo motor. There really isn’t anything complex about it. It’s simply just an induction system. Honestly, I think carbs are way more complex, but that’s just me because I’ve never messed around with them. But if I were to do my research and dive into them, I’m pretty sure I can figure it out. Same goes for this motor.

As far as being 85% complete… IMHO, that’s just a matter of opinion I guess at best. When I can, I’ve driven this car to work and it’s a blast!! It’s about 40 miles round trip, so it is drivable as it is. I guess the most important thing that people need to understand is that this motor (and I can’t say it’s true for all turbo’d engines) is not on boost all the time and so therefore does not generate the heat they are stereotyped for. The only time you see any boost is when you are moderately to aggressively accelerating from a stop and/or passing someone on the freeway. In any other circumstance it behaves and drives like any NA motor.

As far as maximum boost… you said it yourself and I’ve read/researched mainly air-cooled motors, a lot of useful information on shoptalkforums, if you keep the boost low (below 10 as a rule of thumb) you really don’t need any sort of intercooling or meth setup. If you want to see the full potential of this motor and most likely shorten its life span then go ahead and turn up the boost to whatever you like, but only then will you need to add intercooling and/or meth. But that was not my intention for this motor. It is completely drivable as it is and should live a long happy life! It’s probably similar to driving a car with nitrous (I never have but it’s what I imagine it to be like)… it drives and behaves like a NA 2.6 liter motor until you press on the go pedal, build up some boost, and it goes!! The go pedal is like the nitrous button and 8 or 9 psi is enough for me.

Tuning this motor is no different than tuning any other air-cooled motor. You must have an AFR meter/gauge, which I do. I did have it on a dyno and professionally tuned but my dyno time and results were cut short and inconclusive because the clutch I had in there kept slipping when I built up any boost. I since put in a stage II clutch with a more aggressive PP and got rid of the slippage. But since my only goal for the dyno was to get a decent tune I never went back to see what my actual HP numbers were.

Great discussion so far… keep the comments/questions coming. Something to also keep in mind and may be helpful/useful information to some. I had nothing to do with architecting this motor combination. I completely left that all up to Jake. From the turbo prep’d LE200 heads to the 100mm turbo V2 nickies. The only thing I told him was that I had a set of Pauter ratio roller rockers and a T3/T4 Garrett ball bearing turbo. And he put together a killer combo like he always does!! And then I had it built by another reputable person, Mark from Original Customs.

Hope this helps ease the minds...

Great explanation. Seems like a type 4 that has the best of both worlds and was designed and built by Pros. I like it

We have a pt cruiser turbo gt ho. In the world of turbo chargers the one on the car is 'smallish'. Plain old driving around and freeway cruising it's about the same as any other na car. It wakes up at about 3.2k. People tend be a bit surprised at a charge thru 4th. Not like an on/off switch. With robs civilized boost level I imagine the car is predictable. Rob, take the car to the upcoming car show in snoqualmie. Detail it and put a for sale sign on it. Start @ $18.2k. At least your car will be out there. East side $$$.

But...more informative photos might help the cause. Rob could prob make out more than fine if he afford to put in a 2.0 fi with heat and sell the engine solo after a session on an engine dyno. But...that's more money

I'll see about getting out to the car show!! If we aren't camping that weekend.

if you're going to busy i can show it for you. just give me the key.

"There really isn’t anything complex about it."

I disagree. In theory it is simple but in practice it is not, really. Tune a carb wrong, and your car gets horrible gas mileage. Tune a turbo wrong and your rods bend or you burn pistons and blow a hole in your block.

"I guess the most important thing that people need to understand is that this motor (and I can’t say it’s true for all turbo’d engines) is not on boost all the time and so therefore does not generate the heat they are stereotyped for.

I'm actually just talking about the amount of heat that a large flat four generates, minus the turbo system. Heat is your enemy with any engine, and the turbo just complicates things.

"The only time you see any boost is when you are moderately to aggressively accelerating from a stop and/or passing someone on the freeway. In any other circumstance it behaves and drives like any NA motor.

I guess the most important thing that people need to understand is that this motor (and I can’t say it’s true for all turbo’d engines) is not on boost all the time and so therefore does not generate the heat they are stereotyped for."

Yes, that is generally true for all turbo motors, depending on how small or large the turbo is and what the goal for the engine is. Many modern turbo engines have very small turbos and begin building boost at 1200rpm, full boost by 2000rpm. This is to generate a lot of torque off the line which is what fat Americans like. It makes a slow car feel fast, but then runs out of steam at higher speeds.

My Miata started boosting at 200rpm, made full boost by 3400rpm and made power through 6500rpm. This was at 12psi, low to medium for a Miata. Without an intercooler, the intake charge would have been too hot, and the engine would have detonated and burnt my pistons, ruining the engine. OR, the computer would have retarded the timing, and my engine would have made no power. Either way, no fun to drive.

As far as maximum boost… you said it yourself and I’ve read/researched mainly air-cooled motors, a lot of useful information on shoptalkforums, if you keep the boost low (below 10 as a rule of thumb) you really don’t need any sort of intercooling or meth setup.

I'm not sure where you read this, but what psi you stuff into the engine really doesn't matter. That is just a gross generalization. You really need to worry about your IAC temps and the ability of your fuel system (computer) to maintain the correct A/F ratios to prevent detonation from running rich, or bending your rods from running lean. The problem with turbos is that there is a lot of misinformation out there, a lot of "I heard this" etc. and that leads to generalizations, and that leads to blown up engines. Yes, in a Miata, you can run 6psi of boost without intercooling. It can be done and is done. It's good up to about 160hp. I ran a supercharger for awhile at 6psi without an intercooler. It sucked though, at full boost in hot weather, the engine would ping (detonate) and if I drove it like that all the time, I would have blown the engine, in spite of what everybody said...with the turbo, intercooler, and a GOOD TUNE (not a "safe" tune, "aggressive" or "conservative" tune) the car made 247whp and 222tq with AFR of 11.5 at full boost, 14.7 on the highway and no knock. It was dead reliable. Took 1.5 hours by a known good tuner to do it.

dyno time and results were cut short and inconclusive because the clutch I had in there kept slipping when I built up any boost.

Then you don't have a good tune. You need 5-6 pulls to redline to get it right, at minimum, and then some street driving to round everything out. I am not familiar with your computer (aren't they used in airplanes?) but it has datalogging and mapping and that is all you need.

What is the point of me saying all this? The point is, I think your car is ABSOLUTELY BADASS and awesome. The engine is completely great, built correctly it seems by people who know what they are doing. I think it could absolutely be made to be moderately reliable and super quick. It is simply missing some sort of intake charge cooler, and a good tune. Do that, and prove it works, post the dyno results, and boom, I would be asking $20K for this car. I want you to get what you deserve out of this car.

And to anyone thinking of going turbo or buying this car, I would say go for it. The build looks good, you couldn't do this yourself, but you need cooling and a tune, and Corky Bell's book Maxumum Boost, and then you should be free to absolutely destroy Porsche Boxster S's on any road... GLWS

Intercoolers are dime a dozen on Ebay, expect to pay about $150 new aftermarket. Or go used OEM like Saab, Nissan or Subaru for $50+. Rule of thumb is around 8 psi is when temps get into trouble area. But given the 914s poor airflow around back it would be tough to get it to contribute much.

My opinion is not that $15k is too high for the car, it's the $15k engine on a timer, and not a cheap rebuild if/when it happens.

The right buyer might be outside the forum.

Smaller and easier choice might be a good water to air intercooler. Ebay intercoolers, well, sometimes you get what you pay for, sometime they are actually good...you just don't know. I still love the car...

Looking at some of these other ads (I'm not going to be specific...) it's sort of amazing, really, the condition of some of these cars that people are trying to sell. I'm not saying mine is perfect, but it is in really great shape and I'm having such a hard time selling it just because it has a kick ass turbo motor. Not sure of the logic here. And the above comment about it having a $15k engine on a timer really does not make sense either. Are you saying turbo motors are time bombs? I drive a Ford F-250 Super Duty PU with a 7.3 Turbo Diesel motor... that on a timer as well?



That may be the case... sad but true...



Yes. The kits from Frozenboost.com would work pretty well I think. But I will say it again... keep the boost low, like it is, you should not need to add any IC'ers.

Here is a quick video I just took. Sorry for the poor quality as I had no copilot. I just wanted to capture a quick shot going thru a tunnel. Shifting from second to third you can hear boost build up then the blow off valve go off while shifting. Then in third it starts to build up boost again.

http://youtu.be/uz6Z9UoU7Cw

I'll be completely honest, it seems to run pretty well. It doesn't die at idle, builds boost around 3300rpm, sounds good, obviously pulls nicely..

For anyone looking to buy this...I haven't seen the car in person or driven it...but I think with two hours on the dyno...this car could be one quick ticket. With a water to air intercooler and 12psi...Carrera fast...

no snapping no popping no nothing. as noted nice idle. all i hear is power waiting to be unleashed. i think it's best left as is. my guess is it has plenty of go. why turn it in to a grenade and try to blow up $9k+ worth of parts (in boxes)? raise the price back up rob. oh…wipe the dust off the dash.

Thought I'd try this again. Slight update since my original post... I've installed a front mount cooler from Patricks Motorsports. Install information here: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...ooler&st=40

Still looking to get $15,000, or best reasonable offer and no trades.

-Rob

I really like this car. Did you end up installing a new lower front valence and shroud for the front mount oil cooler? Didn't see a picture of that.

Yes. I have installed a new lower front valence for the front cooler. I have the shrouds and louvered sheet metal that have not been installed yet.

What about the dust? remember?

I'm willing to offer 10% off my normal labor rate for anyone who buys this car and has me finish the intercooler install and do the dyno tuning.

I would jump at it if I had the cash on hand.

Hello

I have been trying to follow this thread

I see where Rob (Rtalich) is adding what seems to be a front oil cooler.

Would this help with the induction cooling (water/meth intake injection system to keep the intake temps in check)

Or would the buyer need to add this and a tune as well?

Thanks for any explanation

Regards

Mike

SOLD!!

I was wondering if the shop talk forums guy was going to come through. Someone got a steal.

What a steal!!! I would have bought this if I didn't have two already.

Yes, it was a steal!! However, here is the kicker and thought I'd throw this out there. With the permission of the now new owner...

He is willing to sell the motor at a price yet to be determined by him and the potential buyer. He really wants to replace it and put in a 2056 or 2270. So, shoot me a PM and I'll get you two hooked up if interested.

is this car still available