I am doing a long-term rebuild on m 914 after the bus gets running....

what I was thinking was aircooled options--the type4 and the 911....

but somebody who owns a shop ( and a buddy of mine) recommended the VR6--it's a VW engine.....

I'm seriosuly thinking about the VR6 too....

I thought about a VR6 as well, just to keep it in the "family". But, if you are going to go through the trouble to put a radiator up front and run the lines, why not go Subaru and get MUCH more power. I don't think that the cost would be that much more.

I think I know who you are talking about. Was his name Ryan? I remember that there was a guy in Louisville that was ramming VR6s into any hole they would fit in. He had some cars in HOT VWs and European Car if I am not mistaken. I talked to him once when I was thinking about doing an early Jetta with a VR6. Very smart guy.

What does he think it would cost to do a VR6?

Ken

I think a VR6 in the 914 would be a really sweet combination but you would have to cut the rear firewall and fabricate an engine cradle and motor mounts etc. The VR6 I bought to try to do this swap came from a '97 Passat (OBD II) and has 172 hp but you can swap in an aftermarket chip to make another 10 whp or so. There are also turbo kits available for the VR6 if 180 hp isn't enough for you.

A Porsche 6 fits in there very well, almost like it was made for that.
It doesn't need any brass water fittings from the local hardware store, any custom soon to break aluminum plates to mount the alternator, you can get parts for it, and they're available with almost any amount of horsepower that you can afford. Or you can chop up another 914, try to keep a prototype running, and take a list to the FLAPS of what kinds of cars all these weird parts are from whenever something breaks.
Oh, and good luck with the heater, if you scab something weird in there.

How about 290HP in the new 3.6L VR6: Cayenne specs. 276HP in the Touareg or Passat.

Hey Britt Wwaaazzzzuuuupppp.

They problem with the VR6 is its size, and hieght. I think it was Meuller that tryed a long time ago, and I had tooken a serious look myself. It can be done, just more work then I was willing to do.

I have seen a VW Waserboxer Van that was converted to a regular VW 4 cyl (1.8) and they actually tillted the motor, and modified the pan and oil pickup tube, to reduce the hieght. Might be an option....

Later

sounds like the 911 just slips in there

2.2-6 would be a great engine in a bus. Almost bullet proof and you can get em cheap.

If your looking at a high dollar 4 vs a 911, I would go 911. b/c it will increase the value and originality of the car.

I would say to keep your eyes out for a good running aluminum case motor, they will also last a long time. The bad part with 911's is you have to spend an additional 2-3k for other parts needed. But what's really cool is that the car is not a hybrid like most other conversion cars, its a 914-6.

Yeah, so look for what case?

problem is that damn chain drive for the cams scares me

i know zero about /6s, but they sound awesome and are very strong!

Here ya go bro and think Nikies with pump gas compression...........

http://www.tunacan.net/t4/elnef.shtml

DOOD

talk about Civic killer!

with dual 44s or MS!!!

If you did the VR6 out of a Cayenna you'd still be able to run in PCA, right?

Most 3.0's and above are aluminum, although I have heard of an aluminum 2.5L case. (I think they are pretty rare though).

Mag case engines are ok (I have one), they just aren't as bulletproof (need to keep them cool). But I have seen alot of people racing mag case motors and they are fine...sorry that probably doesn't help.

I just learned about the chain drives for the 911 motors in the last month, they're not all that bad. You just have to make sure that the chains have good tension and the cams are timed. Bad part is you can spend alot of dough rebuilding that area (or any area on a 911 motor)

Bottom line is to just get a good running motor with minimal oil leaks...

yep, the VR6 motor is a tall sucker, I cut the rear trunk which I might have been able to avoid if I "bumped" the front firewall for clearance.

problem with the VR6 is you'll need the $500 adapter plate/flywheel, there are no kits for mounting the motor, no kits or instructions for doing the wiring so you'll be treading new waters which takes time and money to achieve.

The small /6 motors are a proven swap....

If you are afraid of chain driven cams you should note the VR6 cam's are also chain driven. The tensioners typically last about 100K or so. I had to replace the one on my GTi at about 115K since they were whining pretty bad. So if you pull one of those motors out of the junk yard you should at least plan on replacing them while the engine is out. It was hard enough getting at them in the GTi let alone in a 914!

If you want to go the watercooled "family" route if you use the 1.8T you can use the passat 5sp tranny FWD version create some mounts and some cable linkages possibly the boxster trans is very close to the passat transmissions are Audi derived

If your not going to go porsche, you could take over this guys project, or use his parts...


http://sacramento.craigslist.org/car/314939802.html

The SHO motors do NOT fit (i have tried) they hit the rear trunk firewall, engine lid and rear trunk lid. The 03 SHO motors are a wiring NITEMARE (fuel temp sensor???) and I ended up putting a standalone on it to make it work.

BJH