I have finally convinced my dad that his '74 914 project belongs in my garage. Years ago, he replaced the engine with an Olds aluminum engine (same as a modern Range Rover) with a 4-barrel. Everything mated together with the help of Kennedy Engineering adapters and such.

I've owned a bevvy of classic and german cars, but this is my first 914. I'm look for advice, best places to go for parts, advice on body kits if available, things to look for when getting the little guy going ...

We need pictures of this project so some people here that know about 914s (I don't know shit about them) can give their expert opinion.

And....

A new member in the DC area. Nice.

Welcome aboard! This is DEFINITELY the place for help, tips and such (including new acronyms and such). Have a '74 (original owner) and couldn't keep it running without all the helpful folks and knowledge. Amazing how many new posts each day, eh?

Same engine as the Triumph TR8! Nice!

And then we need to find him those experts ...

I'm sure a few will check in (not me, I'm still learning) and give him help....?

I won't comment anymore until I learn more about Porsche automobiles.

A Rover / Buick aluminum V8 is an interesting little motor with decent potential.

Pics please

Yes to a point but very old design and thirsty even in EFI form ,RR ditched these years ago,not really a good choice of engine IMO as what ever the Brits fitted them to (Stag,TR8 or RR) they still had issues.
The Buick 3.8 v6 is a way better engine in latter form and will most likely be the cheapest replacement engine you could buy.

The Triumph Stag V8 was an in house developed engine. It was not the Buick derived motor.

<laugh> Ok ok, pics coming in short order :)

First thing that comes to mind is how much power the native tranny can take. Am I going to have to worry about stripping the gears during a hard acceleration?

Thanks you are correct,another fairly awful engine however,some folks have found ways to stop them overheating.

Sweet beer Jesus someone is trigger happy today ...

Don't worry about the fuel mileage. Goes with the territory.

OK, these are the only three pics I have of the car. At some point in the future, when it gets here, I'll take more.

I'm now in search of a transport company ... I freakin hate this part.

Early bumpers on a 74? Or are those 73 bumpers on a 74?

Wait, this is a Porsche Forum? Uhhh, my apologies to any who have taken my advice in the past 16 years. I thought this was a Big Block Trans Am forum!

BTW, Larmo is lying...

Either late-71 through 73 rear bumper, or a 74 with the bumperette holes welded up.

Either way, it has some interesting license plate lights added onto the middle...

--DD

My knowledge of the 914 pedigree is exactly zero ... How does one tell the year of the car through the bumper?

I'm betting Larwrence our resident 914 "non expert" can answer this one...

I believe DD our resident psuedo expert is correct...they are not 74 bumpers unless the "bumperette" holes have been welded up and the license plate light are not stock.

So if it is a MY74....those are not the original bumpers.

We'll see if Larwrence chimes in.

1970-72 had steel bumpers that were chrome, with no ‘bumperettes’ front or rear.

1973 had steel bumpers that were chrome, but the front bumper had ‘bumperettes’ to help it pass the 5mph tests required at the time.

1974 had steel bumpers that were painted black with ‘bumperettes’ on the front AND rear.

1975 and 1976 has large rubber bumpers. Actually they were covers that covered a steel bumper under the cover. The steel bumper was attached to shock absorbing units that were bolted to the body.

So...when you say the car is a 1974, we look at the bumpers and see no holes in the bumpers that would be used to bolt the bumperettes to the bumper. So we assume that they’re bumpers from an earlier car (1970-1972 with no bumperettes and hence no holes in the bumper) OR they’re 1973 or 1974 bumpers where the holes have been welded up and the bumper possibly rechromed.

Rob,
74 had available chrome bumpers also.

Clay

and 73 had available black painted bumpers.

Look at that Clay....he was politically correct and didn't call them Tits.

So...

Knew about the ‘74’s and chrome, forgot to put that in. I didn’t know the ‘73’s were available in black.

I’m surprised nobody mentioned that the early bumpers were also available painted the same color as the body of the car. I forgot to put that down as well!

you don't tell the year of the car by the bumpers. many were changed due to backdating (later cars) damage, rust etc. vin number will tell you year if the the tag is gone. you really can only tell the year of the bumper by the bumper.

Agreed....so the OP should look inside the drivers side door where is says what year the chassis is.

Those aluminum 215 ci V8’s were really great in an MGB.
Add 100 hp and drop 100lbs of weight over the cast iron 4.
There is an old Hot Rod Magazine that shows how to take
the 215 Ci displacement and bring it up to 350 ci.
Makes a GREAT lightweight engine for a lot of applications.

Welcome! You've definitely come to the right place, and will be spending lots of time in this forum.

JRust had a 914 with that engine a few years ago.

I sure hope he comes back after we have claimed to know nothing about Porsche’s, and then piled onto welded bolt holes in the bumper. Honest, this is a great group of folks who only rarely get held up by the details when you ask a general question. How did Andy’s thing go? Sweet Jesus in a chicken basket? No, that was the moon landing. I digress.

I stayed on topic! Well, I at least answered why we all thought what we thought about the bumpers. Imagine all the info he’ll get as he asks more questions! To say nothing of the search function.

I suppose I look forward to the time when the new guys search a subject and then come back and ask us who Cap’N Krusty was...

Oh man, that thread was made 2 days after I created my account.

Rest in peace Cap'n.

You can estimate the year that a particular bumper came off of, but as was said earlier it's not terribly difficult to change around the bumpers.

Front bumpers: 70-72 cars had either body-colored bumpers or chrome.
73-74 cars had black bumpers or chrome. (Or was the non-chrome option in 73 body colored as well?) The front bumper had rubber "tits" on it.
75-76 cars had the large black rubber-covered bumpers.

Rear bumpers: 70-early 71 had either chrome or body colored. The recess for the license plate had beveled edges with straight-line corners. This bumper was also the type used on the 914-6, and can be worth some money because of that.
Mid-71-72 cars had body colored or chrome, but the edge of the license plate recess was curved.
73 cars had bumpers that were identical to the 72 bumpers, except the non-chrome option might have been black instead of body color. Again, I'm not sure on that.
74 cars had either black or chrome bumpers, but had the rubber bumper "tits" on them as well as on the front.
75-76 cars had the large black rubber-covered bumpers.

--DD

Props Curt.

Not to bag on @Larmo63 , but his speciality is actually mirrors!

If you ever need an unbiased opinion on the aesthetic value of a 914, just ping Lawrence and he will be happy to tell you how it is.

Okay, I know mirrors.

I'll take that. Anything else, not so much.

OK, so great turorial on bumpers. I frankly like the look of the chrome ones better, year of origin be damned.

How much horsepower can the transmission take? I was unaware my engine could be bumped to a 350, which of course interests the hell out of me. I'm just concerned that I'd grenade the transmission, thus wondering how stout the thing is.

I think you can get transmission HP and TQU capacity from KEP (Kennedy Engineered Products) . I remember seeing it in one of their catalogs

I tried that - I think I clicked on every part of their site, to no avail