Sorry for multiple threads. I'm obviously doing something wrong

My Dad has been a Porsche fan/owner his whole adult life. In the 90's, He'd take me to HSR races at Sebring and we'd always pick out the 914's to cheer for. We all know the mid-engine layout is superior to all others.

He eventually picked up a 914 project of his own. He attached fiberglass flares and nice wide Fuchs. But as he aged, the car just sat in his driveway rusting. He never got to install the 6 that he really wanted to. He has developed Alzheimers, and a few years ago, he gifted his car to me. It sat in my garage for a year while I contemplated what I wanted to do.

His car was in need of a lot more rust repair than I wanted to deal with, so I bought a better condition chassis and moved over all of the cool bits from his: 911 5 lug, flares, Fuchs, sway bars, boxster brakes, etc. The car was fun, but the engine was finicky and I didn't care for the transmission at all. Over the last year, I've swapped in a Honda K24a2 (from a 2007 Acura TSX - 205 hp) and a Boxster S 6-speed. I got it all up and running a couple of weeks ago.

Last Saturday was his 69th birthday, so I decided to leave home early and take the long/scenic route down Anna Maria Island down into Sarasota. Traffic was light and the cruise was very enjoyable. I got down to Englewood and took Dad for a ride. He seemed to genuinely enjoy it, although I don't think he really remembers the significance the 914 had to us years ago. He got in the passenger seat and I pulled out of the neighborhood. I ripped it through the first 3 gears and then spotted a cop ahead in the median. Seems I got out of it early enough and he didn't come after me. Dad said "wow. That's wild!" He doesn't have much to say about anything these days, so that response was a win in my book

I hung out with the fam for a few hours and decided to take the interstate home, as rain was starting to threaten. The car is totally smooth and happy at an 85 mph cruise. The car worked flawlessly all day. It was a blast! I put 138 miles on it. Excellent day!









914 K24 rip video

Anyway, I'm relatively new here, but I've already received some excellent guidance and bought several items from the classifieds. This is a great site. Thanks for having me and for keeping these great cars alive!

Haltech ecu and dash

Very cool. Could we get a wider pic that shows more the the dash and how the IC7 looks in there? I've been considering a uC10 but wonder if that'd look too big.
Thanks. And again, cool build.

Thanks!

Thanks for the pic! That looks really nice and seems a perfect fit and look for your build. I'm thinking that if I keep my LS 914, it may get a re-power with all Haltech electronics. I really like their products. Did you do your own wiring and tune? Any tips/tricks you think would be helpful?

I appreciate the kind words! I bought the wiring harness from Wiring Specialties, who I used previously on an e36/LS1 project. I was very pleased in both cases. I did not do the tune either. I've got a local buddy who did all of the software setup and tuning. The setup/tune process didn't seem too terrible (as I watched a guy who is an expert do it). But I did not have the time/patience to familiarize myself with it all and go through the trial and error to become an expert myself. In my case, paying the expert was the better call, but I know you like to do as much as possible yourself.

SO very cool you got to take your Dad for a drive!

What a great project and I am so glad you got your dad's car and were able to take him for a spin. I would like to see more pictures of the engine bay and underneath. That engine and transaxle should really make a fun driving car. It sure sounds good in the video.

Thanks for. sharing Great story

Nice project! Let's see the transaxle set up.

would love to see more pics of the engine/trans setup, engine mount setup, etc.

Also

You'll fit in very well here! Plenty of conversion cars and every other flavor from stock to wild track beast.

I saw your build on Facebook. Very cool car and I love that K24....soooooo smooth!

Great story... Great car . Superb powertrain

Killer set up!

Did you leave the balance shafts in the K24?

Have you done anything to it yet?

I'd be hunting a K20Z1 or A2 head for that...

Folks have gotten 500 NA and over 1K blown out of that engine.

300 NA is not real difficult...

The whole "taking your dad for a ride" thing is awesome!

Enjoy him while you can!

Mine didn't make the car returning to the road...

Sweet build and that's a huge accomplishment. I believe we connected on Facebook. Welcome to the Club. Would love to meet up to see the car in person next time I down that way. My parents live near Ocala.

What kept you from running the Stock ECU?

Congrats getting it on the road! That looks like a very smooth and reliable engine/tranny combo.

Great stuff, and thanks for sharing. I bet your dad got more out of it than he can express.

Internally, the engine is all stock, incuding the balance shafts. Externally, its got a center feed intake manifold (for packaging purposes) and a free-flowing exhaust. Its a K24a2, so its got the head you're describing already. Its a ton of fun in stock form, but maybe down the road, I may consider boost.

Yes, we've traded some emails before. Your car was a big inspiration! Feel free to reach out when you're in Florida. I would love to have used the stock ecu, but in my research, that didn't seem like it was feasible. I forget exactly why, but I was pushed toward the standalone route instead of the stock ecu.

More Pics

Entire Build Thread Here





Kennedy Engineering Adapter and Flywheel
Renegade Hybrids transmission mount with some aluminum spacers added.

Nicely done!

Keep those balance shafts!!!!!
That engine is one of the most heavily swapped engines in history. Remove the shafts and it still functions. It just beats EVERYTHING attached to the engine to DEATH without them. The 2.0l is better about vibrations but the K24 is where "the beef" is!
That K20 head is the same as the K24 but with a smaller chamber.

Jumps compression up 1.5

That is a COOL license plate.

It should be on a M3 V8 swapped 3 series wagons (Touring).

Oops sorry double post!

What transaxle.is that

Boxster 6

That engine, in basically stock form (hi flow intake/exhaust) in a Miata with a performance tune always made more than 200 at the wheels.
Most of the time they remove the balance shafts/change oil pump and don't last long at all...

I'd expect similar results in a 914.

Stock K24s (with the shafts) have the longest lifespan of any 4cyl I know of.

I do have a question!

Did you weight it?
Compare it to the T4 stuff you removed?

I think the engine IS lighter than the T4.

I did not weigh the driveline but the finished car weighs 2120 lbs with a full tank of gas.

That engine and trans combo is hard to beat. Super dependable and all the power you need...had some friends I worked with at Honda who boosted theirs and tuned to a reliable 650hp. The Boxster trans really lets it run, too. Inspiring story with your father as well...it's good to see your tribute come to life! The yellow with those wheels really makes it pop...what treatment did you use to make the wheels that color?

Looks like about 300 lbs loaded for the engine and 175 lbs for the BoxS trans.

Doesn't include wiring, exhaust, adapter bits or cooling.

Good news is the trans will handle a good amount of boost when you get bored with 200hp...

I need to dig out a 914 engine complete and weigh it someday. Flat and aircooled makes for a heavy powerplant.
My vq30de swap came in at 374 lbs for EVERYTHING swapped.

Thanks! It’s just rustoleum spray paint. lol! I’ve done it before on several sets of wheels and works very well. The Fuchs are fakes, so nothing lost by painting them.

Love it! Thanks for sharing the build info. If I ever change my EG33 out I'll go this way. I have a 2006 TSX and it still runs like a top with 185k. I also just made a near exact copy of your radiator outlet shroud in fiberglass. I'm a little worried the air flow will be too much but if so I'll make one out of metal like yours.

I live in HELL!

You CAN NEVER have "too much" airflow IMO...

I'd make mine "full depth" and include a top plate pre radiator to force all of the air through the radiator...

One NICE thing about that style of front radiator.

Plenty of room in front for extra coolers!

Like a big-assed condenser for AC...

Previous pic didn't show the intake portion of the shroud. The setup works great. I've yet to get it hotter than 188 degrees, in Florida. The gaps beside the end tanks are filled with foam strips, to force the air through the radiator. I added insulation to the exhaust duct after this photo to reduce radiant heat into the frunk/fuel tank area as well.

Looks KICK ASS!

Even has the edges sealed!



This car may be reshaping my conversion plans!

A K20 with a snail would work well...

350lbs./ft and 400 hp would be EASY!

And it would be a bit smaller (at least in the height department).

Swap doesn't gain nearly as much weight as either a Porsche water cooled six or the LGX engine...

Honda is definitely Ninja style!

I rebuilt my first engine and transmission at 14-15 years old!
A 1.6l CVCC Honda Accord with a 5 speed...

Even stock K24a2 is probably a wonderful swap!

Oh, as long as it was done correctly almost ZERO maintenance.

Plugs/valve adjustments at 100K intervals!

Most K24s NEVER have the valves adjusted. They always go 250K plus...

Yeah I should probably clarify... my description was bad. Sorry about that. What I meant was I am a little concerned that the fiberglass might not be strong enough to withstand the air blowing through the shroud at higher speeds. The air flow would be the same either way, but might cause the shroud to deform or crack with fiberglass. Hope not. I used epoxy resin so it should be pretty strong but we'll see. Also adding some short strand filler with kevlar in it.

@Lof8 …. When you get a minute, would you please post some close up pics of your shifter setup? Also, do you recall what year Boxster trans that you are using?

@Craigers17 Here's an early pic (shift cables just laying loose). Its a 2001 Boxster S 6-speed transmission. I'm using a stock boxster shifter and shift cables and a shifter mount from Renegade Hybrids.

Engine is tilted but trans is still level - what is the reason for the that? I assumed to keep the height lower but KEP adapter looks made to account for the tilt.

That’s the tilt of the engine in factory Honda applications. I don’t know Honda’s exact reasoning, but keeping the factory tilt maintains correct function of the oil pan/pickup etc. lower overall height is certainly a benefit too.

Love it... great build. Hot rod 914 with some modern reliable power.

That looks like a sanitary engine swap and a way to get great performance and reliability with almost zero maintenance issues. I love that you put the Boxster S 6 speed in it.

So is it now a Honda/ Nissan swap

My dad was an old gear head with dementia also. As the dementia got worse he kinda disappeared. His body was there, but he was just missing. However, with the top down, at speed, he would come back for a little while. I imagined myself explaining it to the cop. 'Well, its for health reasons'
You can see something similar in Tony Bennet's final concert. Back stage, he was absent, but as soon as he was on the stage and the lights came up, he was right there. He remembered the songs, where he was, and peoples names. As once as the lights went down - gone again.

I'm not sure what you mean? There are no Nissan parts used in the swap.

yeah, he's definitely not himself anymore. I can chat "to" him a bit, but there's really not much there in response. It's tough, but I try to do what I can to "bring him back". The Porsche ride seemed to get him there for a little bit.

I found some 15x8 and 15x9 BBS Mahle wheels for sale down in Miami, got them powdercoated, and I'm really digging how they look.

I like those too!

The Fuch wheels didn't look bad at all!

yeah, I love both sets. I'll be swapping them around from time to time.

I think it was just a joke.

Honda and nissan are merging as of a couple of weeks ago. Mitsubishi a part of the merger also.

I heard that honda had control of the board, although the press release was dancing around whom was in charge of whom....

but the merger to give honda a bump in electric vehicle technology.



pretty car
nice job!
brant

Very handsome car.. Excellent build