Jalopnik
Perhaps you breathed a sigh of relief after Chevy-Powered Porsche Hell was over with, figuring that (with the small-block-motivated 911 winning so decisively) you would be spared the temptation of a hacked-up Porsche sporting a non-Stuttgart engine for quite a while. However Project Car Hell doesn't work that way; just because you were able to walk past the fiery gates once doesn't mean you won't be lured right back in by the same kind of bait! That's why we're returning to Porsche Engine Swap Hell today, this time going for six cylinders instead of eight.
914 owners often talk about the 914-6 when that starts-with-a-V car manufacturer is brought up. Yes, if it has a Porsche emblem on the hood and a six-cylinder engine in back, it's got to be a real Porsche, right? Not so fast, though- what if you were to put a Volkswagen six-cylinder in your 914? What would you have then? We're not sure, but you'll be sure to come up with an answer to that question soon after buying this 1974 Porsche 914 with Volkswagen VR6 engine (go here if the ad disappears). Yes, someone has gone ahead and swapped the VR6 engine out of a '93 Corrado into a Porsche 914, then slapped on a fiberglass body kit for good measure. Don't worry about the quality of the swap, because the seller assures us that a "30 year professional" (professional beekeeper? bathysphere repairman? ocarina player?) did the work; however, you should be aware that this project "needs alot, but its a great start." There's no cooling system, but you'll sort that out right after you figure out where to put the fuel tank. Hey, how about adding the supercharger off a G60 Corrado while you're at it?
When you hear the name "Porsche," what comes to mind? Aside from Ferdinand's ripoff of Tatra's patents, that is? That's right, you think of the 911 (and its identical-looking sibling, the 912)! So why beat yourself senseless trying to get a crazy engine-swapped 914 working when you could just as easily push a crazy engine-swapped 912 project up that infinitely high mountain? And we're going to make it even easier on you by giving you a shot at a 912 with an engine using the same boxer-six configuration as the Porsche powerplant that fit just fine in the 911. That's right, we've got a 1966 Porsche 912 with a turbocharged Chevy Corvair engine (go here if the ad disappears) for you, and the price is only four grand! You'll have to spend some time fixing the rust "underneath," then get to work on making the engine run again. And no worries about getting a Powerglide, because this car comes with what must be the Porsche 5-speed and perhaps an adapter plate from JC Whitney.
Comments
Which one with the Northstar V8 fit in?
912, because I plan to drive through the gates of hell upside down, backwards, on fire, and painted Viper Green.
No Vote. Both are POS's
kinda like buying a box of chocolate because you like cardboard.
The 914-(VR)6 for sure. For starters, it doesn't look like much other than wide fenders and and the VR6 sitting there. Other than that, it ALL needs to be done. On top of that, I do believe that it has been modified to use VW Rabbit rear tail lamps.
If you ever managed to get that thing rolling under it's own power, the VR6 is more the capable and with a modest turbo can push out 350hp+. So it would still be a bucket, but a fast one at least.
912. I'd finish the paint job and give it some sweet graphics emblazoned with the name "Nader Gator."
@PatFromGundo: 914, because I plan on pushing my car through the gates of hell.
I've been tempted to take the Bathysphere Repairman course when I've seen it offered on late night TV. Unfortunately, I chose "data wrangler" which led to be being chained in a cube all day.
I went with the 914 as the seller comments that completing the project may require another 914 to complete the project.
The 912 is just makes me sad that this effort seems to have ruined two interesting cars- the 912 and a corvair monza.
If I got a 912, I would just want to restore it until it looked just like that DOTS one we had a while back. Nothing more, really. Cars are hellish when they lure you back into their fiery embrace. You get burned and you swear off of them, but, but, you just can't turn away. Sure it's stupid. Sure it's a waste of your life and money and time and family and friends and sanity, but just look at it!
912 - there are some interesting things that can be done to that engine - too bad about the rust. I figure all new floors.
VR6 FTW
The sound of a VR6 wins this one hands down.
I'll take the 912, If you're going to hell in a bucket baby at least you can enjoy the ride.
No.
New engine Old car gets me hot to trot.
914. It's so much more worthless by the time it nears 50% completion, and it's not nearly as interesting!
Plus, who knows what devils lie beneath that "professional" glass job.
I'm a sucker for modern engines, so make mine the 914
VR6 in the three box Porsche all the way. Weld in stupid looking radiator in front and add some stupid wheels and get stupid. It's 600 dollars, come on already!!!
@marc2068: Yeah, that's kindof the point.
I say 911, b/c the relative completeness is a perfect siren song. Sure...it "just" needs a few things to get running.
...until the floor pan welds crack.
...and then the trans mounts tear through the body
...and then the turbo melts
...and then your wife leaves you
...and then your dog eats what's left of the interior.
914. It's so much more butchered, yet the (very strictly) hypothetical payoff is enormous. Said hypothetical payoff is also less likely to have you sliding sideways into various objects and geographical features next to the road.
Admittedly, the 912 is pretty awful, but it's got an air-cooled engine. What fun can you possibly have when you don't even have to re-engineer the car to make then engine swap work?
@marc2068: I'm with you brother. I can't cast a vote for fear it might come true.
914, because it had a Corrado donor, and come on, if anything is going to cause you hell, it's anything you take from a Corrado. You're right, you really wanna make it hellish, add a G60, because nothing would make an evil project positively satanic like adding an explosive, high-boost miniature blower. Bonus points for making artwork out of the supercharger shrapnel when it goes violently wrong.
914 + VR6 + open exhaust + T3/T04E turbo = pure bliss.
That is if you got it to work. And didn't die.
Think about just how hard it would be to work on a VR6 through a mail slot.
That's assuming you ever got it together enough to worry about servicing it in the first place.
914, looks more hell. It will be hell because Pinochio is the seller. "The fabrication work is very clean and proper, done by a 30 year professional, over 200 hours of fabrication, all steel panels and wide body fenders"
@graverobber- Same great taste, new low price!:I'm with you. 914 for the nightmare. If you need to buy another 914 to complete a 914, why not just skip the first 914 and go for the second one? Otherwise I see an infinite regress of 914 after 914 after 914 to infinity + 914.
The 912, becouse I could give em' a serious ROD. . .
Git yer mind outta the gutter.
912. because ass matters.
Just once I'd like to drive this 912. I'm assuming they've got blocks under the rear to make it look like that 500 lb behemoth is being supported by the original suspension. The reason I voted is the possibility of having to replace the clutch (remove the engine / trans) AND the infamous belt of death (remove the engine / trans) at the same time. How much easier can things get?
Now - what was the comparative between EU 90 hp and US 140 in those days?
Wait just a minute. Let me get this straight. Everyone seems to be overlooking a very vital bit of information. i.e. There are professional ocarina players?
Hell hath come to meet us.
Anybody who's been a professional for 30 years at anything gets my vote.
That 912 looks way too close to be an actual driver.
Unfortate combinations. 19xx with Corvair engine=towtruck heaven.
@graverobber- Same great taste, new low price!: Probably the donor Vair was even rustier. Many Spyders and Corsas were ragtops, thus facilitating the car rusting from the inside and outside at the same time.
914 owners often talk about the 914-6 when that starts-with-a-V car manufacturer is brought up.
Volvo
[\italics]
Oh, this is terrible. Both cars were just arrogant VWs when new, and these swaps just make everything worse. Our 912 broke constantly (my stepdad had to buy a beetle to drive while the 912 was in the shop). Mom thought about buying a 914 once, and i talked her out of it. I voted 914 because this poor little car is such a hopeless ugly hack job that it embodies PCH. The 912 is close to being that bad. It's kind of like pulling the six out of a 240Z and replacing it with a Dodge flathead six. I have a headache.
I friggin' hate you guys. Seriously. That goddamn 914 is less than an hour from me.
Stop tempting me. Not that it's much of a temptation, but Jesus... I love the combination in theory, but MAN, that's Hell right there. So I voted for it, to make myself forget then and there about even possibly, remotely considering it.
That's two PCH candidates from New Hampshire so far, right? This one and the ambulance?
Good luck with that card board box... I wouldn't get myself into that.
This might be the first time I have to say 'neither'. They're both positively awful...each unproven engine swaps into red-headded stepchildren of the Porsche family. If pressed, I supposed i'd have to say 912, because at least you could still find folks interested in the VR6 engine.. Any 'Vair (let alone turbo-Corvair) fanatics tend to resemble that weird old guy in suspenders milling around talking to himself.
Looking forward to the 2017 PCH with 5th-owner Boxsters + Subaru engine swaps.
912, no question.
A Porsche with an American engine that came straight out of an airplane? With a turbocharger, no less? Sign me up. I'll go run down Ralph Nader.
I'll take the 912.
(I've got to go finish my Corvair implanted VW Westfalia...)
Start a discussion:
Login with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?