Hi All,
I’m sure this has been discussed in other posts here, but I’m not having luck finding them…. I’m building a Suby-swapped 914. I’m using the 2.2L motor and 5MT from a ‘99 Legacy. I want to build my own engine cradle and I might make my own engine mounts that are tied into the rear suspension ears similar to what @tygaboy is doing on his Ferrari swap. I don’t mind cutting into the trunk for clearance, but I still want a functional trunk and storage for the targa top.

I’m at the point now of trying to find the optimum position for the engine/tranny and I have the following questions:
1. Crankshaft angle; I’ve seen others try to keep the angle parallel to the ground. If I do this, the engine will be very low unless I make big cuts into the trunk floor for the transmission. What should I be looking for relative to engine height and crankshaft angle?
2. CV angle; I know that less angle is better, but the output shafts on the Suby transmission are very far forward. If I align these to the trailing arms, the whole engine/transmission ends up very far back leaving no room for a muffler, making intake plumbing tricky and shifting the CG of the car rearwards. I’m planning to get custom axles that will use the Subaru inner cv joints and the 914 cv joints at the wheels. With the mock-up I am doing now, i have things in a position where there is just enough room to fit a muffler behind the tranny and gives me enough room between the stock intake manifold and the rear of the engine bay. However, this position has the cv axles sweeping backwards at about 15.5 degrees when the trailing arms are horizontal. Does this seem like too much?

Anything else I should be considering here?

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I can't comment on crankshaft angle but there've been so many Subbie conversions, I can't help but think you'll get a bunch of comments on what works.
But on the CVs: You should be able to get info on the operating angle range of the CVs. Just be sure you stay within that range. And you don't need to have the output shafts even with the trailing arm inputs. My LS car's axles still point forward, even after I moved the drive train forward 1.5". They also angle up from the trans to the trailing arms.
Again, so long as you're "in range", you should be fine.

1) Engine should be a low as possible while allowing for reasonable ground clearance to the lowest point on the engine. Unless running a dry sump engine, it is likely that your oil pan will limit how low the engine can go. Wet sump engines are at a serious disadvantage here. Keeping the engine low, lowers the vehicle Cg and aids handling. Whether or not crank should be parallel to the ground is more dependent on oil pickup and how your oil pan is designed.

2) Positioning the engine to package the muffler as a priority is a very bad plan. Let the driveline angles dictate where the engine goes. Don’t forget about driveline angles in full jounce and rebound.

I can tell you when OEMs package the muffler - they are fit into what ever space remains after the suspension and driveline are packaged. This is why so many modern cars now have odd shaped mufflers that are essentially shrink wrapped up behind the rear fascia in the leftover spacial voids.

Better to have to custom fabricate exhaust and mufflers than have a driveline that tears itself to shreds because CV joint angles weren’t respected.

@Superhawk996 , Good advice here, thanks. There are a few good reasons for pushing the engine forward, other than muffler clearance, but I'm now starting to consider dual mufflers on either side of the trans rather than one behind.

The inner CV joints I am using have a 22 deg maximum. I'll never reach this point, but I'm thinking it will be much better if I'm not running at 15-16 deg all the time. Moving the engine rearward just half an inch reduces my CV angle by almost 5 degrees.

With respect to engine height, the stock subaru oil pan definitely causes some limitations. I am probably going to shorten the stock pan or buy one of the cast aluminum pans from Smallcar performance.

I was hoping to hear from some of the Suby guys here, but I think I'm starting to narrow in on the optimum position now.

Flip the intake so the throttle body faces forward. My turbo setup is that way and it allows more room cause the plumbing then goes forward.... Will give you space...They flip as they are symmetrical..

@Robarabian , Thanks. What electrical and/or plumbing changes are required when I flip the intake? I assume that the plug wires stay with their respective cylinders. What should I use for an air cleaner? This engine did not come with any of the fresh air ducting. Can I simply attach an air filter straight onto the throttle body? Are there any air flow sensors that I need on the inlet side of the throttle body?

So. Many. Questions!

Glad I came to the right place!

I would verify the crankshaft angle in the oem engine placement and do not exceed that. Oil pump starvation or issues would concern me with regards to the crank angle.

I would verify the crankshaft angle in the oem engine placement and do not exceed that. Oil pump starvation or issues would concern me with regards to the crank angle.

I assume you are not a turbo? I had to have plumbing of the intake piping for the intercooler and turbo.. if you don't need all that, then air filter sky is the limit. Just make sure each wire stays with each cylinder / same for injectors... exactly. For your application, look at an aftermarket intake tube, like SPectre, they make universal pipes etc... you can run the air filter to a location it fits best.

IDK what setup you are running to answer the intake sensor side of your question.... some have a mass air type setup, some are more speed density. I cant be sure. Maybe ask Jamie Rust... @jrust

Talk to Ken he is the Subaru expert

Your best bet is to go here. Over 900 conversion loving members there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/119994415313695

I see a ton of mentions of flipping the intake but haven’t seen any details (especially for normally aspirated engines). The intake is symmetrical and it will easily physically flip, but then there are issues to deal with such as fuel hard lines under manifold, wiring harness reach/routing issues, and alternator mounting. I’m not sure why these details seem to be left out of everyone’s info on manifold flips. I’ll be flipping mine and I’ll try to document these issues and their resolutions when I get to that part of my build. In the mean time……good luck with yours!

Scott Amenson is flipping the intake on my SVX build. He feels it’s worth the trouble for the better position in the engine compartment.

Quick tip I've seen shared before for finding things on 914World; Use Google search with the "site" option - copy & paste this into a google search:

site:914world.com subaru

Replace "subaru" with what your looking for. Works much better than the search function here on the site. But Andy is still killing it with 914World!