My mid-life crisis 914 has a very tired 1.8, that I was planning on rebuilding to a 2056. With that in mind, I purchased a 1.7 with unknown history that I was planning on putting in the car while rebuilding the 1.8.

The 1.7 came from an uncompleted project car, and has heads that look suspiciously clean from the outside. I am now wondering if there's a chance that somebody has already rebuilt this engine into something better than a stock 1.7.

So... should I take the 1.7 apart to some degree to inspect, or just throw it into the car and run it per my original plan?

Here's the 1.7:

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I can say with 100% confidence that your engine case was opened, just from looking at the color of the sealant.

Keep the engine out and clean, replace, fix all those little things that are easier with the engine out........fuel lines.
You live in Canada so you will be snowed in for the next 5 months so what’s the rush in driving your car....

The 1.8 is still in the car.

The problem with winter, is that I put my DD in the garage, which doesn't leave much room for working on the 914. I think I cleared just enough room for an engine stand though!

I decided I might as well at least take off one of the heads. No use building up my other engine on the off chance that this one has already been upgraded.

Starting with the serial numbers, what do these indicate?

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The EA engine code means it started out as a 72 or 73 1.7L with F-jet.

Good starting point for a build, good case with the windage tray.

You won't know condition or engine size until you open it up.

Jim

If the 1.8 is original to the car I’d save it and build the 1.7. That way if you should decide to sell the car in the future you can advertise it with the original numbers matching engine and the hot rod engine.

Hmm, that's an interesting thought. I'm not even sure how to check if the engine is original.

I was going to use the 1.8 for the rebuild because I understood the ports were larger, and the larger pistons would fit onto the heads without any machining.

Stick with your plan. The best plan is to always have a driving car.

If you are lucky you will have at least a couple of years of driving the car before the 1.7 gives up..... if ever.

Well, I didn't quite get one of the heads off today, so no actual update. But I did want to say that using an engine stand is very nice. Somebody should have told me that last summer when I 'rebuilt' the 1.8 on my workbench.

Here's the fun stuff! I'm pretty pleased.

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Awesome! I thought it all looked pretty new.

It's so nice, I've already lost motivation to rebuild the other one! I guess I can just take my time with it now.

if this 1.7 leaks down well, and the oil is clean, use it!