I am in the planning stages of a rustoration and powerplant conversion. The questions are which conversion has the better bang to the buck, more resale value if I ever decide to sell her and finally which conversion is the easiest to perform? I am leaning towards the V8 because I already have a crate 350/300hp engine sitting in storage. I also have a 911 oil tank but am unsure if I can use that in a 6 conversion. Thanks Paul

3.0 or a 928S4 V8. Purists unite !

a STRONG vote for the V8 but then, I wrote the book on V8 conversions that's for sale on eBay ( and here ) so I am WAY biased.

To me the determining factors include ...

1) If you intend to do track events with the Porsche club, you MUST go Porsche or they won't let you run ... sometimes not even in exhibition class.

2) Initially, it's WAY cheaper to do the V8 conversion and consider the expense for each car AFTER the conversion if you had to rebuild the engine ... WAY more for the Porsche ... and yet it doesn't provide the same torque.

3) Realistically, you would be better off selling that 350 and buying a pro-built 327 or 302 which is more suitable to the stock 901 box ( with an H gear ). If you stick with the 350, you should consider moving to an early 930 with flipped R&P which, after all is said and done, will cost you about $10K.

I've had a V8 conversion for 20+ years and also have a full race 914-6 ... in terms of just plain pure FUN, I would take the V8 any day of the week ... but, after all is said and done, it's a matter of personal preference.

If you want more cost estimates, installation tips, etc., refer to my book.

Good luck in whichever you choose ... Ed ( ProPricer ) Ducey

While searching I have found that this topic has been covered recently Link I am leaning towards the V-8 and have been considering your book Ed. Thanks for the post.

If your 74 2.0 is original and cherry, I would suggest you set it aside to preserve its originality and beauty and look for a later 72 which is lighter, has a movable passenger seat, a sideshifter ... and a bigger interior mirror !!!

The 73 and 74 2.0's are just too rare and desirable to mess with - IMHO !!!

If you do buy the book, buy it from the vendor forum here - it's cheaper ... or just send me an email with your zip !!!

Good luck ... Ed

PM Sent

It is original but not cherry-I never really considered keeping it original, is it really something that is rare?

Is this something I could regret in 20 years?

Ask the experts ( i.e., the guys on this board ) what they think a 74 2.0L is worth in the condition as you describe it and what it would be worth restored and what they think it will be worth in 10 years ... that should stimulate some conversation !!!

IMHO, it could be worth $6K-8K today where a 72 would run you $2-4K !!!

Your call ... Ed

You can have a V8, I have had 6 of them and they are great. I would like another..
I don't now what makes the 73-74 2.0 anymore desirable than any of the other 914s other than the 2.0, and the sideshift trans. and with a 350 in place, The 2.0 is a thing of the past, and you will be having a blast.
Do it, there is so much information out their to help. Eds book and the Rengade kit is IMHO the best on the market.
You won't be sorry. Well yes you will. You will be sorry you didn't do it sooner.
The pic is a 413 HP 350 SBC, Brembo front brakes, very clean 75, added front flares before it was sold. Now located in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., Scott is the new owner, let me know when you get tired of it Scott.
CCLIN914NATION

i say sell that 350 and get yourself a nice big flat /6 !!!

for more info, read through my conversion thread in my sig ...
Andy

if it's that nice & numbers matching leave it alone. Go find a tub & start building whatever is right for you, 6 or V8, & leave the 74 to restoration.

It's your deal. If you want to get the most HP for the least amount of money, then the V8 is probably the way to go. If you want the least molested car, then go with the air cooled Porsche engine.

As for opinions, mine is air cooled Porsche power. You can do it so it looks like it came off the assembly line, without losing your front trunk too, which IMHO is one of the cool features of a 914.

Don't defile that which is chast and................undefiled. Drive this one and get another one to work on. You can find some already converted at killer prices if you just use a little patience brother!


I do not speak from the purist's point of view, just as of one who is ate up.

3.0

think it through - you put all that time and money into an old car that will be useless except for occasional wknd drives. Yeah, the fiirst few drives were a thrill, but then you get used to it. Meanwhile you gotta insure and register it. So now you gotta sell it for a huge loss. And if you look at ones for sale, they often come with trashed gearboxes. So much for the conventional bs, er conventional wisdom about 901 boxes handling all that power. Just buy a modern V8 car or sportbike if you need all that power. IMO real driving fun is expertly carving a canyon or road course - thats what 914 is all about, and it doesn't require v8 power.

If your looking for Hp go V8 a 3.0 wont be enough unless you turbo it, then you fall into the money pit.

Another thing to look at is resale too. I always see nice /6 cars going for $15K, but I always see the V8 cars selling for ~$8K...

Now don't flame me I haven't went searching it out or anything, it's just a casual observation.

I think I would want one of each, but do you really need that much torque with a car that weighs 2K lbs. Sport bikes dont have much torque either because they don't need it...

My thinking. The 3.0 is the way to go. 200 HP in a reliable car one that you will not have to dick with as with the V-8 and you will not have hot air pouring into your car in the summer. It will be a real Porsche and handle like a 914-6 and all I can say is I have owned both cars. And while it is nice to hot rod around in the V-8 screwing around with stuff all the time is no fun. You will spend a lot of money getting it right where you will not snap CVs and you will trash the 901 box with too much HP.

Bang for your buck the V-8 but get one that is done and some one is selling cheep. Drive it fix it and then sell it over.

Before I built my 3.0 – for my 73 I got a ride in my first real 6 with a 3.0 - 25 years ago. It not only handles great with 200HP and this is with 6s but it sounded great. A real Porsche that will always be worth real money as a conversion. Done well you will never have to unload it cheep.

Brp914 makes a great point. IMO real driving fun is expertly carving a canyon or road course - thats what 914 is all about, and it doesn't require v8 power.

Drag racing will do nothing but brake your car and as you where born in 64 you are not a kid laying rubber anymore.

Bob

I vote 3.0 but I'm biased because that is what I am useing in my /6 conversion. The 3.0 without any internal changes with Weber/PMO carbs and decent exhaust is good for 210-220 horsepower with good torque curve and will last a long time. And the sound of that boxer six at 6000 rpm's is sooooooo sweeeeeet !!!

Not going to be long winded...3.0...easy! More $$ out in the end and easy to do....after all the car was designed for a six too.

I'd like to have some fun & .

Be nice to get this beast into a 914 .

I must be doing something wrong, because I NEVER have any of those problems. I have a completely sorted, properly built V8 w/ 901, and at 25,000 miles my "dicking around" has been limited to changing oil, adding gasoline, and tightening header bolts once a month or so. Oh ya, I have to top off the AC with freon every spring, and I wash it when it is dirty. Beyond that, I enjoy the hell out of driving it every day, and watching the looks on faces when I get in the throttle a bit and leave people in the rear view like they're going backwards. I have driven many a flat 6, and as far as I am concerned, the stuff about a big handling difference is crap.

If you are going to enjoy it and keep it for ever than I'd put in the V8....

But if you ever want to sell it...and get any investment back... there is no other way to go but a PORSCHE flat six.

my $0.02 worth....

Sounds like you could sum it up as:

Nice street car = V8

Nice Track car = /6

This is simplified of course and there are always exceptions...

How funny, I would see it as just the opposite I think a really nice, streetable 914 would be a 3.0+L six as realistically, you will not need 300+HP in a 914 on the street. And I's luvs me some horsepower, so don't get me wrong, but ON THE STREET the only thing a 300+HP 914 can do that a 200HP six can't is get you a ticket faster. That IMO just a fact. The six won't get you the looks you will with the right exhaust on a V8 car, but again that gets you noticed by the Police as well. I had a cop tell me one time that he heard my (previous car) before he actually ever saw it, so he knew to watch for his future ticket.

On the track however, I am all about the HP and torque. I can damn near drive my car with my right foot and do so all the time. If it plows a little, dump the gas to upset the rear and hit the go pedal for some oversteer. Keep in mind I am full tube chassis now and so forth to handle the power...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uWGQBUHNZA

About halfway thru you will see a couple silver Subies behind me, then I think only 2 laps passed that you don't see due to editing, and then you see I have "caught" them again. Watch me come out of 4 and absolutely chew up the back one That kind of HP cost me around $10-12K with the V8 and would be around $30K+ with a six. That is where the bang for the buck comes in for me. I used the other $28K to build the tube chassis, buy the 930 transaxle, 930 turbo brakes, floating rotors, etc etc etc.

first of all - byndbad914 - niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee video : )

man - a 914 with a v8 has been a dream of mine since i was young.

bang for buck - v8 can not be beat.

people look at 914's no matter what - but when they hear the V8 the engine running - the can not stop looking and wondering - what the xxxx?

i will say this - advice that I have not taken myself - make sure you take care of suspension and brakes first - because once you get big power in your car you will not want to put it on jack stands ever again !!!

ideally - you'd have one with v8, one aircooled type 4 and maybe a third with a 6.

jim

Exactly!

I think the perfect answer is both!!

The reason i put the /6 as the track car and the V8 as the street car is someone posted that they will let you run at PCA events with the /6, but not the V8. And the extra torque for the street seems like a no brainer for the V8, but I guess you won't really have a torque problem with either engine because of the light weight of the car...

Wow, great replies! I read the replies for the 3.0 and start leanig that way, then the V8 guys chime in and then I am leaning that way. Of course we have the restore it like it is chiming in...and that not a bad idea either. It is alot of fun like it is! Crap still thinking...

If you go 3 liter, you'll ask yourself later why you didn't have a V8!

Or, you could go with option C and put in a Subaru flat four. The turbocharged Subie motor is as light or lighter than the original 4 (and considerably lighter than either the 6 or the V8), is more efficient, is cheaper than a 6 and is still a Porsche design (although a Fuji Heavy Industries build). Also, if you go with the turbocharged version, they have quite a bit of horsepower and can be given quite a bit more. If money were no object, I'd have one of all 4 (stocker, 6, V8, subie). However, I only have one car and mine is getting the Subie transplant.

3.0 vs V8 all comes down to YOU. I understand both sides and don't need to go into what I think. Just sit down in a quiet place and determine which one would give you what YOU want....

The nicer your car, the more I say go with the Porsche 6.

My car is not a nice candidate. I got it uber cheap and it has required a lot of rustoration work. It's not going to be a track car, or a competitive AX car, or anything close to a concourse 914. It's a pure pleasure street driver.

So for me, considering MY car.... I still lean most to v8 because it's the cheapest power solution, and is the most fun package when you show up at the local drive-in or car show with the other car guys, and it still handles well if you beef up the rear springs and dial it in.

If my car didn't have the hell-hole from hell, I would keep it Porsche powered for sure. But my frame structure has reinforcements and a semi-tube setup to stiffen it up. So for me it's all about bang for buck. As for powerplants with that in mind, there is no argument about the cheapest horsepower. Chevy clearly wins.

Nothing sounds quite lilke a Porsche six... Whether that be with your ears as you hear it drive away, or whether it be in conversation as you talk about it.

I think "which way to go" boils down to YOU and YOUR car.

For me, the 3.2 has it. Motronic is a HUGE selling point, to me. And since we're talking about spending theoretical money, I'll take mine with a 915 gearbox from a 3.2 Carrera as well!

The V8 thing has never really floated my boat. I can appreciate them to a certain extent, but I'm not into them.

The Scooby with the radiator in the engine bay does have some real appeal to me, though... Just not as much as the 3.2 does!

--DD