I recently posted a thread about lost compression on my 72 1.7 liter 914. I am currently seeking to drop the motor and replace the head gasket where I believe the leak is at however I came across this motor and wanted to know what your guys and (gals) thoughts are. Here is the 914 I have and this is the race motor I’m thinking about putting into it. (If I can get it for the right price). All comments are appreciated these are the motor specs..92x74 Race Engine. I have the build sheet. It's never been ran. It has 12.5: 1 Compression and FK-8 Engle Cam. Big Valve 42x37.5 heads with Dual 48 Dellortos.

That looks like a type 1 engine
Very much more easy to come by parts wise
But durability ???.... And. Not really the pancake style cooling

What do you mean “pancake style cooking” ? It’s an air cooled motor and would do fine don’t you think? This motor has a lot done to it. I’ll add list. So you say also its not durable? Or a strong motor?

12.5:1 for the street? You prepared to constantly feed it 110 Leaded at ~$75/5 gallons? If not you're gonna frag it. Driveability is gonna suck, too; that's a high-RPM build, shitty low-end.

Wait...didn't we already have this conversation not too long ago? Same engine?

@Willisbegood

0 compression on one cyl? What are the numbers on all four?
Might be time for a rebuild.
These motors do not use head gaskets. They were used at the factory but discontinued use.
Before you drop the engine check the valve train for problems that could cause the compression loss.

Forget the race motor. It is a type I and does not fit a 914.
And t b.f at is not a good street motor.

It's cheaper to just fix the 1.7. What is the ask on that race motor?

If you keep it down to
1/8 or 1/4 mile .... This could work .
But no more then that

Okay so I take it that ratio is for 1/4 mile dragging lol. No I want something to drive on the street.

Thanks very much on the input for the race motor. Think I’m gonna scratch that one off. So It won’t stay running on its own so I did a compression test and I’m getting 60lbs in cylinder 1&2 and about 115lbs on 3&4. Also getting a lot more backfire than usual. It’s always had a little backfire when I got in earlier in the year and I was told it was just an exhaust leak.

2500

- The exhaust is pointing the wrong way

- There's absolutely NO cooling setup on that engine

Half way to a 2056 or 1911. One of those will work.

Seem to remember the head gaskets were deleted as per service letter around 1990,my point was that there will be people that fitted them because they are in the gasket sets and not all know they are not suitable.

The service bulletin you refer to was for the VW bus, it has nothing to do with any 914. It does not even mention the 914 in the bulletin.

Most of us do not have the skills needed to properly setup a Type IV without the head gaskets. To do so requires lapping the cylinders into the head, and making sure the deck height is exactly the same on both cylinders so they seal correctly. Using the head gaskets insures a good seal between the head and the cylinders when the deck height is not perfect between the two cylinders.

I know someone is going to say Jake Raby doesn't use them. But Jake has a huge machine shop, all the correct tools, and is very, very picky when doing the machine work.

Do you have the same facilities, tools, and skills as Jake? I know I don't. I use the head gaskets, and I have for all 410K miles in Betty's car.

It's a T1 beetle motor, it could be done with a T3 fan/shroud, but it would take machining know how, custom exhaust and T3 surround, etc...
It would be a step backwards, one of the big conversions in the T3 crowd is to swap in a T4 engine.

Our shop owner purchased a 911 GT3R. It’s like a cup car but even more race developed. He drove it home one day. Total nightmare. Stalling at every stop light. Never getting into the engine power band. Not very smart when you only get 80 hours between engine rebuilds.

Could be fun.
You'd most likely have to run race gas (110 octane min), which runs $8-1x per gal, and can be hard to find. In some states (ours) it's illegal for the gas station to put it directly into a car - especially one that's got license plates on it. So... If you're willing to go through that, as said... could be fun...
Race motors are fun, but can be a bit twitchy to run on the street.