I would appreciate any input from those of you who know these motors best.

3.2

Pretty much a bullet proof engine as far as air cooled flat 6's go. The 86' on eBay is the later more hp version. I think around 214hp or so. Certainly a great engine for a 914.

They do weigh more and I think, not sure, but think you have to use a 915 trans with them?

3.2L is a fairly bullet proof motor. some of them did have valve guide seal problems.
The motor will work with a 901 tranny but be very careful.
Lots of torque....too much power at a 1-2 shift, may lead to ripping 2nd gear off of the main shaft. How do I know this? Well, my 2.7RS motor did just that 4 times in 5 years. I just figured it was tranny rebuild about once per year. A good buddy of mine had the same issues with his 3.2L conversion on his 914. I will say that both cars were track/AX cars and therefore got used pretty hard.

In general great motor for a 914.

It looks very nice in the photos and he has good positive feedback. The only red flag I see is his method of attaching to the engine stand....shouldn't a good Porsche shop have a proper adaptor? If you decide to go with a 3.0 or larger, be sure to budget around 600 for a clutch set-up...the 2.7 clutch won't work with a 901. Also, I bet those big Webers of yours would work well on a 3.2 if you don't want to use the injection.

QUOTE (Root_Werks @ Dec 9 2005, 09:44 AM)

Pretty much a bullet proof engine as far as air cooled flat 6's go. The 86' on eBay is the later more hp version. I think around 214hp or so. Certainly a great engine for a 914. They do weigh more and I think, not sure, but think you have to use a 915 trans with them?

Nope you can run a 901, i'm just easy untill i'm in second.

So far so good with mine.

Ferg.

QUOTE (Dan (Almaden Valley) @ Dec 9 2005, 10:52 AM)

3.2L is a fairly bullet proof motor. some of them did have valve guide seal problems. The motor will work with a 901 tranny but be very careful. Lots of torque....too much power at a 1-2 shift, may lead to ripping 2nd gear off of the main shaft. How do I know this? Well, my 2.7RS motor did just that 4 times in 5 years. I just figured it was tranny rebuild about once per year. A good buddy of mine had the same issues with his 3.2L conversion on his 914. I will say that both cars were track/AX cars and therefore got used pretty hard. In general great motor for a 914.

Dan,

did you actually rip 2nd off of the shaft...
or was it ripping 1st gear apart?

Agree on the above. Valve guide issue is a common issue with the 3.2. If you plan on using a 915 expect to spend at least $5000.
That auction looks really familiar. Has it been up on ebay before? Just be careful, I almost got scammed on a 3.2, good thing I used a credit card and it saved me. If someone is in the area have them just do a general check on it.

Come on Allan, get out there and blow that 2.7 up so that you have an excuse for
MORE HORSEPOWER






You know you want to

Brant,
Yes, 2nd gear off the main shaft...4 times.
No body can accuse me of babying my cars.
2.7RS motor had lots of torque

Permanent fix would have been to find a 904 main shaft or $$$915 conversion.

3.2L with stock injection is a very reliable, easy to maintain setup.
Forget the carbs if it comes with injection, ECU and harness.

3.2's are a great motor, with Motronic just stick the key in the ignition and it goes every time, no hassles, very reliable.

They do wear valve guides and at 110k miles that ones prolly due for a valve job. These engines do consume oil @ 3/4 to 1 quart of oil per 1k miles, when they start consuming more and the exhaust gets a bit smokey the guides really need to be done.

A light flywheel and an MAF with a good chip really wakes these motors up. When I put my MAF on it was night and day difference, it felt like a bunch more HP but more importantly the throttle response then became instantanious, it looses the "barn door" air flow meter throttle lag the 3.2's are known for.

They're the last of the air cooled engines with the oil cooler on the engine i/e easier to swap. I would highly recommend that you go 1 5/8" headers and talk to Steve Wong about a chip. @ 911chips.com. You won't be dissapointed.

So ther than a clutch set-up, this would be a bolt in and go?

How difficult is it to get the FI wired in correctly?

QUOTE (Dan (Almaden Valley) @ Dec 9 2005, 11:50 AM)

Brant, Yes, 2nd gear off the main shaft...4 times. No body can accuse me of babying my cars. 2.7RS motor had lots of torque Permanent fix would have been to find a 904 main shaft or $$$915 conversion.

Dan,

I'm confused.
the main shaft has the 2nd gear forged onto it (or at least cast as an intrugal unit).
is it the other shaft that is destructing and not the main shaft?

because cutting the 2nd gear off of the main shaft is nearly impossible, so how does it rip apart?

If its actually ripping apart, I doubt that a 904 main shaft would do any better for you. I don't believe that the 904 is stronger, in fact probably weaker since its gear is designed to be removeable unlike a stock teener F or GA mainshaft.

Perhaps the intermediate plate flex allows a 2nd gear to slip and tear a tooth off?
Is that how they fail?

brant

QUOTE

How difficult is it to get the FI wired in correctly?

Piece of cake. If you wired your 2.7 you will have no problems with this. All you really do is supply power to the brain and fuel pump. If you get the engine buy the bentley manual, it helps with trouble shooting. Or you can borrow mine.

3.2ebay ; I would find one closer to home (ask eddie914) you live in california porsche capitol of the country, then you can check it out and save shipping. Run the injection and be happy ,
Just be ready, now that your car runs you have some time.

QUOTE (sixnotfour @ Dec 10 2005, 10:34 AM)

Just be ready, now that your car runs you have some time.

That's what I think I'll do. Took the car out yesterday for awhile and it seems to be holding together so far. I figure it should be good for maybe 1 or 2 more re-torques if it comes to that.

Hell, for all I know it may stay together.

QUOTE (brant @ Dec 10 2005, 09:04 AM)

QUOTE (Dan (Almaden Valley) @ Dec 9 2005, 11:50 AM) Brant, Yes, 2nd gear off the main shaft...4 times. No body can accuse me of babying my cars. 2.7RS motor had lots of torque Permanent fix would have been to find a 904 main shaft or $$$915 conversion. Dan, I'm confused. the main shaft has the 2nd gear forged onto it (or at least cast as an intrugal unit). is it the other shaft that is destructing and not the main shaft? because cutting the 2nd gear off of the main shaft is nearly impossible, so how does it rip apart? If its actually ripping apart, I doubt that a 904 main shaft would do any better for you. I don't believe that the 904 is stronger, in fact probably weaker since its gear is designed to be removeable unlike a stock teener F or GA mainshaft. Perhaps the intermediate plate flex allows a 2nd gear to slip and tear a tooth off? Is that how they fail? brant

agree with brant...

pretty hard to rip a fixed gear mainshaft

I wouldn't buy a used engine like this that I didn't see run and didn't have the mechanic of my choice do a compression/leakdown check on. There are too many risks with these engines to buy one on ebay.

There is nothing wrong with buying one.....as long as you pay "core" prices.....about $2500 in this case.

QUOTE (J P Stein @ Dec 10 2005, 05:17 PM)

about $2500 in this case.

Then it's already overpriced.

Thanks...

I think a guy can safely buy an engine from one of the *regular* worshippers here or on Pelican.

Other than that, they're all cores...unless, as Andrew says, you can get your grubby mitts on em'. Guys that come to both places just sell stuff fall into the latter catagory....unless spoken for by one of the faithful.

Just my .02.

Okay then, here's the deal...

Any body that can find me a solid running 3.0 w/FI or larger for under 2k, intake to exhaust gets a $500.00 finders fee....

Allan, not a bad price--but if you add truck freight, say $500.00 , you are up around $4K.
The '86 had the early notorious cyl head temp sensor , and if this one wasn't upgraded , that's another $300. I'd also like someone (trusted 3rd party) to do a cyl leakage test before I'd buy from a G-U-D place that far away (geographically un-desireable). The exhaust system on the 3.2 won't fetch much at Pomona, the AC may fetch $250.00...so not much to recover either.
Marty