Earlier today @Robarabian and I set out to Malibu to settle once and for all which 914 platform is best: stock versus conversion in an all out head to head road test comparison.

So follow along to see what we are working with and you may be shocked at the results….

Testing Grounds

Mulholland Hwy to Decker Canyon down to PCH. PCH to Malibu Canyon, Piuma to Scheuren & Stunt and back to the 101 Fwy.


Meet the contenders:

1974 914 Porscharoo

Renegade Subaru WRX 2.0 Turbo conversion
Upgraded STI Turbocharger and Injectors
Air to Water Intercooler
289 HP, 248 Ft. Lbs. Torque
911 SC Front suspension and brakes
901 Transmission with upgraded CV’s and axles
Rennshift shifter
5 Lug 15 inch Fuchs with 205’s front, 225’s rear



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1973 Stock 2.0 Porsche 914

Bone Stock 2.0 VW Air Cooled Type 4
94mm Kolben Schmidt Piston & Cylinders with new Bosch Injectors
91 HP, 1971 cc
Stock Suspension with Koni Adjustable Sport Shocks & Turbo Tie Rods
901 Transmission with NOS Lobro CV’s and axles
Stock shifter
4 Lug 15 inch Fuchs with 195’s on all corners


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Appearance:

You can’t help but notice the stunning look of the 1974 Porscharoo in its vibrant Olympic Blue and sharp contrast of the Orange Gulf Livery. The Targa top is smooth in a black gloss finish. Combined with the black 5 Lug Fuchs and custom front valence, the Porscharoo is an absolute stunner!

Rating 9/10


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Next up the 1973 2.0 is sporting a fresh bare metal repaint in its original Marathon Blue Metallic. The metallic blue looks awesome in the bright Southern Cali sunshine and really highlights the stock look. The absence of the targa top is perfect for today’s 66 degree and sunny day.

Rating 9/10



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Performance Test


Acceleration:

The Porscharoo was an absolute beast pulling up and over the hills and through the canyons. It performed well in the slalom as well snaking around Priuses on PCH. However, the STI turbo showed what it was made of in outright passing of a Ferrari on PCH!

Rating 9/10


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The stock 2.0 performed admirably in attempting to keep up and was at its best in the slalom. Let’s face it, Priuses barely move in a forward motion anyway so it seemed like a rocket. The 2.0 pulled strong and worked well with 199 Hp less. Style points count for a lot here so therefore:

Rating 9/10



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Cornering and Overall Handling


The Porscharoo with wider tires and upgraded suspension was great through the canyons and had plenty of traction.

Rating: You guessed it 9/10



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The stock 2.0 with perfect weight distribution had plenty of grip and was like Velcro in the twisties.

Rating: Amazingly another 9/10




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Final Results

This road test comparison finished in a Tie! Both cars performed flawlessly in their native habitat with precision and grace on a perfect California Day. The extra performance offered by the 1974 Porscharoo was balanced out by the stock originality of the time warp 1973 2.0. We emerged without a clear winner and decided to attempt this again in the near future.


Stay Tuned for the Results!


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Editor's Note: The 911 SC could not be included in this comparison due to its oddly configured engine location design.

Fun day today. Christmas Miracle. Good times. I knew it was gonna be a tie before we left the gas station!!

This is an invalid apples and oranges comparison, so the only value is that it sounds like a good time was had by all!

When you guys post pics of your beautiful cars in the southern California sunshine, we're all winners. BTW, I give the idea for this post a 9/10.

@914_7T3 & @Robarabian - What a great day and cool post. Maybe the next time you decide to do this you would consider adding a 6 to the mix? Thanks for posting the pics, two beautiful cars.

Jeffrey @914_7T3 Great pictures! Christmas Day and probably lighter traffic. Time for another So Cal drive!

Thanks

Fabulous. And a great time was had by all! Thanks for sharing; two of my most favorite colors, too!

Well done!

What a great way to spend the day.

Good stuff, Gents!

Glad to see you got the Porscharoo back Rob . . .and that it passed the tests!

Awesome stuff...

Maybe next drive I'll have Chucky ready.

Most likely next year

Oscar

Nice test drive!!
Jeffrey, your engine is actually a 1971cc, not 1911 per your description.
That on its own is extra moped power!

Typical crappy weather and crappy roads in So Cal....

Sounds like a confession this contest was rigged by illegal early voting.

Please let me say this....I saw the 2.0 at the gas station and boy oh boy it looks so correct that I need to get some elbow grease for my car....a clean 914 like that one really looks like new and is absolutely a fine Porsche...no questions about it....catching up is going to take some hours.....
All the best,
gg

this is so much fun and love the write up ! no doubt we are not passing a Ferrari on PCH with our stock 2.0 unless he were braking hard for a turn off lol!

but in all seriousness it shows how fun the stock 2.0 car can be ,and add just a bit of suspension mods and tires and it evens the score quickly! i think an autocross would be a great comparison for these two cars you might be amazed and how close the results are. Last month i ran a Autocross and there were just 2 914's, a '74 with the same suby motor your competitor had, turbo etc and flared car with 9's and 8's. on the last day after 2 days and 8 runs, he bested me by less than 1 second on a 1.2mile course. I have a stock tired 2.0 , 200wear rating tires, 6" front and 7" rear fuchs, bilitein sport shocks and Tarret front drop links on stock anti-sway bar. at times you could see his extra HP was not an improvement, but at times on longer part and slalom i was wishing for a few my hp and RPM before redline, but it was very close! and big smiles and lots of fun were had by all!! we dont have mountain roads within 4 hours of here so i am stuch with the occasional AX, - BTW those are both beautiful cars!!!!! glad they are out and running in the wild!

Phil

Fun Fun!! Great comparison!

Thanks for the pics and post!

The Porscharoo only has 148 ft lb's of torque????? Is that a typo or more literary license?

How did I miss this thread until now - fantastic!

@FlacaProductions SORRY, YES TYPO and I fat fingered it to Jeffrey. It dyno'd 289 HP and 248 Torque...


quote name='76-914' date='Dec 28 2020, 04:18 PM' post='2878635']
The Porscharoo only has 148 ft lb's of torque????? Is that a typo or more literary license?
[/quote]

Tech Specs have been corrected. As with Playboy, I know everyone reads this for the articles and not the pictures!

Fun read brother...More pictures please.

The Prius being the cones in an autocross is "Totally a Visual" in the description on PCH 1 ! Be careful though when near them...they are as unpredictable as can be !
#badpriusdrivers

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The only real Porsche I saw in this thread was the white 911 Targa.

Funny, I saw that car too, but it was only in my rear view mirror. I seem to recall him trying to play with me, but when I smoked past that Ferrari, he wouldn't even pull up next to me. And I would add that that Porsche looked great in my mirrors...

You mean like this?

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Your cars both look great, really nice write up!

Beautiful looking cars! job well done My car build feels to be at par with Chucky's build


Nacho

That's IT!!!