I have two 914's, a 75 and a 76. I got sick and tired of screwing around with the valve eating VW Type IV piece of sh*t engine in them both so decided to replace both with Buick V6 engines, a fairly straight forward swap as engine swaps go in a 914 (no way I can afford any Porsche 6 cyl motor).

The red 75 was the first recipient of a basically stock 3.8 liter, only mods were an Edelbrock intake, small Holley 4bbl, MSD distributor and ignition, and headers. Plenty of power even in that basically stock configuration. The white 76 is awaiting an already built 4.1 liter (now 4.2 liter) Buick V6 with JE 9 1/2 to 1 forged pistons, cc'd and flowed heads, Isky cam, Manley stainless valves, Isky springs, retainers, lifters, etc. The White 76 will be basically gutted to reduce weight but will remain a street ride.

On the 914club.com forum that weird haircut Andy guy hated Buicks and few people would talk to me. Is it any different here?

Regards,

Don

You have a 914 right? Your good in our book. Just don't go ruining your car by puting some weird hood with a big nose on it . So do you have any pics of your cars?

FYI- that weird haircut guy is a major player here on the 914world. Lot's of Chevy & Subaru guys here & I'm sure one or two Buick people. Enjoy!

I like your V-6, but I like my type-IV too. What happened with your valves that pissed you off so much ?

Yes I do. How many do ya want?

This one is the engine.

db

Welcome, nice ride.

They broke and ate my pistons, typically on the way to or from work. Three motors with valve heads driven vertically into the piston hasn't made for good mojo with me and the Type 4 motor. I have 20K miles on the Buick V6 with not a problem, and the 914 still handles like a 914.

db

I know for most of you he is a great source of info but for me, bummer. I Can't escape him can I?


Since a 914 is a NARP then why should my BV6 914 be any less of a NARP? In fact it should be the ultimate NARP... or am I wrong?

db

You have to understand, it's not that Andy hates Buicks, it's just he was scared by one when he was little (hence the hair).......he's away and this thread will be 4 pages back by the time he gets back, so I have no worries about him hitting me with a fish.......


nice looking car BTW

If it's a 'teener....It's all good baby....

We won't get into that right now, swap looks nice.

Don: Your hart is is the right place.

I own a 914 with a buick V8 215, so welcome!!! I had a 914 with porsche 4 but wanted a little more, hence the V8....


Glad to meet ya!

Michael

Don't worry about other people's usually uneducated opinions...

But I have to toss mine in here...

My dad is a hardcore Buick guy for as long as I can remember (he owns a real GSX and a real GNX) and he has decades of experience with all GM brands, Ford, Chrysler, etc and he swears by Buick all the way. The quality of design and parts is among the best, and that is reflected in the performance numbers and maintainability of Buick engines...and they sound real cool too!

You've obviously found that out yourself haha.

Good luck!

No one but purists here...

I rode in a Buick once

I saved some of the pictures of your engine conversion from the club site.... very nice installation.

Tolerance is ONLY spoken here !!!!!!!

Porsche 6's, & V-8's, chevy's,fords,Buicks,Subies and any thing else you can

squeeze in there . As long as it starts as a 914.

I do take issue with your use of " piece of shit " toward the type four engine

most here run them ,withoutstanding success, and longevity.

Most droped valve issues are from worn out ,and poorly maintained engines!!!

Also there is a Guy in Georgia Jake Raby who builds Type 4's, that will hand you
your Hat, and out live your Buick .

Any way And Happy Fathers day all

Dave

Don- I'm not the person to have this discussion with. To me a NARP is a 924, 928, 944, 996, Cayenne... or in other words it has to have an air cooled, boxer engine to be a "real" Porsche. This little issue has bothered me since I was a kid which is why I own 2 914s'- a real 4 & a real 6 . They're Porsches', period. This, of couse, is just my opinion. I'm the last of the old dinosaurs .

As for the Buick power in your Teener- I am very familiar w/ the 3.8 & think it's a bad ass engine. When that puppy came out in the late 70s' it rocked. There were many Buick V6 powered race cars, both open wheeled & closed & it was a very dominant engine. Mom had a 3.8 in her Century station wagon & I worked on that engine all the time (maintenance). It was one of the 1st engines made in the USA w/ extensive research into turbocharging & fuel injection systems from the factory.

Just relax & enjoy the "world" brother- your teener could be hamster powered here, it's still a teener.

Don It's all good! I vaguely remember your conversion on the 914club...I love the look and simplicity...how about some more pictures.

As far as others opinions..."we all have them," but I think you'll find the atmosphere here at 914world refreshing. Here we can agree to disagree without personal attacks. Andy is a great guy and was a major player in saving our 914 playground when the club when nuclear in December.
Looking forward to hearing more about your conversions!

Hi Don,
Remeber me? As it has been said, the Buick V6 rocks and welcome, mine is finally assembled and ready to mate up to the tranny. Here's a pic of the engine.
3.8L .030 over
9.5:1 pistons
double roller timing chain
ported heads
Harland Sharp roller rockers
Lunati cam
Holley Intake
Sanderson Headers
Holley TBI fuel system

Click to view attachment

wow. how do you fit that in the car? do you have to take off the rear trunk?

Nope, they fit quite nice, no major surgery of the engine comparment to slip the V6 in.

Paul

Sweeeet!

Holy schmoley thats gotta be fun, Batman.

As said to most of you porsche perv types,"I gots ta get me onea dem ther!"

How many ponies homeskillet? Looks sickly good by the way.

Purist here. You already know what I'd say. Welcome.

Why would anyone want to 'improve' a 914?

How many horsepower? Weight? Does this thing eat up transaxles like a V8?

At least you didnt put a TIV in a Buick!

You are certainly welcome here. I'm a purist, but I am also envious of the HP advantage you have over me!
Konrad
72/4 with a 2.3

Hello Paul,

Wow that is a sweet looking engine. I too bought a set of the TA Performance valve covers for my 4.1. Best looking valve covers I've seen.

With regards to your alternator mount, did you fabricate it? That's the only thing that has given me a problem, I need to find a mount like your that mounts the alternator down lower left (driver side) solidly.

Here's a pic of me after a day spent defunking the underneath with degreaser, paint stripper, steel wool, and pressure washing.

Don

He's harmless. Just tell him you hate weird haircuts and you'll be even

No offense meant to anyone with a Type IV engine. I was only referring to my piece of s*** Type IV engines. I have long followed Jake Raby's work on the Type IV. He is a master with them.

Don

Here's my engine/trans setup before installation (this is the 3.8L engine).

This is a pic from below just after installation.

This was the last valve that went in my Type IV.

Sorry that car can't be clean....your not dirty or wet enough



*Edit: Ok looks clean from here

Radiator, fans, battery relocation, etc.

It was a very hot day. I dried out quickly.

After installation and off the jack stands... minus glass front bumper.

"Hello Paul,

Wow that is a sweet looking engine. I too bought a set of the TA Performance valve covers for my 4.1. Best looking valve covers I've seen.

With regards to your alternator mount, did you fabricate it? That's the only thing that has given me a problem, I need to find a mount like your that mounts the alternator down lower left (driver side) solidly.

Here's a pic of me after a day spent defunking the underneath with degreaser, paint stripper, steel wool, and pressure washing.

Don"

Don,
I sort-of copied the alt mount fron the Champion site and fabricated the parts my self.
http://www.championgn1.com/gn1/products_altbracket-gn1.html
I didn't make any drawings for it, just "carved the aluminum as I went along. I could trace the parts for you if you want to take a stab at it. Let me know

Paul

huh?

you must have met my evil twin over there ... i don't hate Buicks. or any other conversion for that matter.

i do have a personal preference for porsche engines, but's that's just me. don't let that bother you.

as far as i'm concerned, everybody is welcome here, regardless of what engine drives their 914 ...
Andy

Running, first road trip to Lucky Peak Lake, Idaho.

Paul, if it's not too much trouble I could definitely use the tracings, at your convenience. I need to fabricate two alternator mounts (one for the 3.8 and one for the 4.1).

I'm using the original Type IV alternator bolted to the head with a spacer to align it with the engine pulley, and I know it is not going to last as the summer comes on here since it has no cooling. I've been wanting to switch to a GM alternator but couldn't find a proper mount to position the alternator correctly.

Thank you for the kind offer of the tracings.

Don

Welcome, Don! I find that 914 folks tend to be more accepting of a variety of different cars than some other groups. (Except if you own a 911, be prepared to get your fair share of abuse. )

914s are all good, no matter what powerplant you use. I'm a T4 fan myself, but I also think that one should build a car not for the masses but for the guy who pays the bills. You've got a sweet ride... I can't say that I've ever seen a 901 that looked good enough to eat off of before I saw your pictures.

Oops! Sorry Andy. I remember you once posted on the other site that you hated Buicks. Maybe you meant the Roadmaster.

Don

Ken,

Thank you for the kind words.

re: the 901, I sealed off all openings and seals thoroughly then blasted the 901 with silica sand then replaced the seals just to be sure. It has turned a darker gray patina since then but still looks very clean.

Don

I dunno Don, your car sure looks fine to me...

Very clean and tidy conversion. And I've always liked Buick V6s!

pete

(hat wear'n pick-up truck drive'n *^%#&)