914 drivetrain

Ouch - $6k for stock 76 hp.

That's not bad for what is there.

Not to steal thread but think it was just informational.  I have a '74 1.8L complete block with a pair (think and a spare) dual Solex carbs (has exhaust stubs for making custom exhaust).  Also have a '75 2L complete block with dual Holey Weber carbs and SS heat exchangers.  Both have 914 flywheels and I think clutch pressure plates.  I have one T4 bus flywheel which is needed to mate to T1 trans/starter.  Also have the last engine cross hanger for the '75.  Have extra cooling tin to do the Joe Cali cooling tin conversion along with his book.  Never heard these run - they came from rusted out 914's (NJ and VA).  Last I checked they turned over with a socket - stored with oil in cylinders.   These are cores but T4 have strong bottom ends (on a light car) so a refresh might be all thats needs for years of service.  Fellow SOCer has the tail shift 5 speed trans, shifter and starter in N. VA. Greatly prefer PU in NW FL - close to AL line near Pensacola. PM me for details.

Old photos -

That 914 drivetrain in Hemmings is a great deal, imho. All clean, all done, all stock: exactly the correct thing to put a mussed-with 914 back on the road to collectability.

I thought so too Ed. Also the "negotiable" tag is tempting too.  

You know.....It would fit a Speedster/Coupe, too, if you really really wanted to have an aircooled back there.   And with all that space at the rear of the Speedster engine bay, it shouldn't be hard to put in some decent heat shields and leave the 914 pancake cooling and that Bosch Jetronic EFI alone (because we already know that it works).  You'd need to convert the nosecone, but it's a 5-speed!  for the price of a new Type 1 engine alone, and it's ALL NEW!

Ahhh ... if only I needed it.  :-)

AND swap the R&P in the 914 901-version trans so you actually have 5 speeds forward and NOT in reverse!  In the 914, the trans is at the tail of the car and the engine is in the middle.  You'd need 5 speed shift linkage too. The pan cake cooling does work or go with a Raby DTM or the DIY Joe Calli NextGen conversion (which uses T4 and T1 cooling pieces like shroud and over cylinders cooling tins).  NextGen shown (it keeps the thermostat and flaps).

The 1.7L is still only 79 hp - but throw in a non-EFI cam and big bore pistons and you have 120+ dependable hp.  The 2L with stock 98 hp has a different crank with longer throw (stroked) and heads with bigger valves so more potential for mods.  Easy to do that for maybe $3k (with little or no machining).

The stock EFI back then  was strictly for emissions NOT performance.  It has little tuning capabilities for accommodating increased displacement. Plus parts are hard to come by - a small vacuum leak in a rubber piece is hard to track down.  My '72 914 had a recall for rubber fuel lines to injectors which could leak and spray fuel at 35 psi on the hot engine.

Yeah, I agree, the factory EFI back then was good for a stocker only. And the cams were horrid. Change the cam and go carb or a modern injection system.

And leave that 901 alone in it's proper configuration: mid-engine.

@WOLFGANG It's a shame you don't put all your knowledge to work and finish on of the many projects you've been hording!

A mid-engine Outlaw coupe would be the bomb!

Here ya go! (If I were 15 years younger and single).  The single would be easy - buy them and get the divorce while picking them up.  Two (2) 914s from Nevada so no rust!) for $500! I think I have near all the parts. 

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/cl...etail.php?id=2145235

She'd get the better half and you'd end up with another project to be unfinished!