I am a big nissan fan. And very familaer with the sr20. I could get a 914 without a motor for dirt cheap. I was wondering as I am not familer with the 914, if it is possible to swap in a nissan sr20det. I know people do Subie engine swaps. but that is completely different.

Someone must have done one at some time, since KEP makes an adapter kit for it. This will get you an adapter plate to bolt the 914 gearbox to the engine, a flywheel, and some misc. hardware. The rest, like exhaust, engine mounts, and wiring, are up to you.

first, welcome !

be careful - dirt-cheap engine-less 914's often come with more than their share of rust, especially in the salt belt ...

anything can be done with enough time, effort, and money. not to discourage your ingenuity, but you'll have to add up the costs and benefits. you'll probably find that for the same level of effort and less money, you can do a V8.

I am looking to do something different. I have heard of a lot of v-8 powered 914, but not many with a sr20det. I looked over the 914 I could get and looks rust free to the eye. One major question I have is how much can the 914 transmission handle. I can push the sr20det to 350hp. Can the gearbox handle that?

Torque is generally the gearbox killer. If you don't do burnouts and the like, the 914 gearbox seems to survive behind a V8, at least for awhile. While you can no doubt turbo the Nissan engine up to 350hp, this probably requires an intercooler big enough that getting it to fit and work in a 914 would be a major challenge. If you kept the boost down to a reasonable figure (say, 200-250hp), the 914 gearbox shouldn't have any trouble.

Make some measurements to see if the engine is short enough to fit (lengthwise). The V8 guys commonly move the drivetrain back about 1.5" for more clearance, so you have a bit more room. Check sump clearance, too. A lot of inline engines have pretty deep sumps.

You'll be entirely on your own for engine mount design, of course.

If you haven't already, search here and get all the usual details on where 914s rust. Finding a rust free car in the upper Midwest would be a major accomplishment.