So I'll be looking at a car this weekend that has a large rebuilt engine. I'm told it's a 2.0L rebuilt to 2.39 by Gervais Engines (gemvw.com) in CA in 2010. I've never heard of this size engine in a 914 and was just looking for general feedback from anyone here in regards to drive-ability and reliability. Any major issues or concerns I need to be aware of? I like the idea of the larger engine but I also want to be able to put some regular miles on the car. Thanks!

-Nick

That's a good question. My last TypeIV was a Raby Kit 2432 or should I say the only Raby Kit 2432. He quit doing kits a short time after that and mine was the only one built. It was very drivable. But here are some questions you need to ask. About the cylinders: is it bored? The cylinders on a TypeIV carry away heat. The thinner the cylinder wall the less heat it can carry. What cam? The wilder the cam the less good behavior you get out of the engine. I've never heard of this combo so bore and stroke would be interesting.

74x101.5 gets 2399cc in a T4. And I just confused that with a 2188 and a 2387, both common T1 stroker engine sizes.

Raby built a 3l type four for his blue bug.... I dont think hes built a bigger one to my knowledge.

2390 size is probably 82 stroke and 96 mm bore or 71 stroke and 103 bore ?

82x96 would be the better setup for the lifespan of the engine.

I asked the seller for some clarification (who is a member here btw). Below is an excerpt of an invoice from the shop showing a 2413cc rebuilt kit which is why I was initially confused. It seems like this could just be the 103mm pistons and cylinder heads. With a 71mm stroke that would get you close to 2.39.

If that's correct, the real question I'm after is how reliable this setup is.

Click to view attachment

103mm pistons, they have a short lifespan with iron cylinders.
melling pump...yuck...
Change the headstuds to 10mm???WTF?
Special cam grind. Well what's special about it?
straight rocker shafts...I guess that's better than bent shafts

I calculate that to 2366cc (2.36L but who says that??) ... With such a large bore and a short stroke it should be a motor that likes RPMs. I wonder if the cam and valvetrain are setup to handle that

I contacted the shop owner and he said he would get back to me with whatever info he has on the build. I asked him about his Type 4 engine experience and he said while they've done thousands of Type 1 they've probably only done around 2 dozen of these Type 4's. That could perhaps be a bad sign, but I don't know. I'll also mention that this particular car has had an electric oil cooler installed and apparently has an oil leak believed to be from a push rod tube oring.