13bt ftw do it

 

I went so far as to get a Porsche 914 for basically the same swap, but decided to work on other stuff instead. I still have the adaptor plate, flywheel, counterweight, pressure plate, starter, etc. sitting in the shop doing nothing. I will sell everything for $450 plus shipping, if you need it. The counterweight is for an old-school 4-port 13B, but I can get you another counterweight if needed for a bit more.

I really like the 914, but it is one SMALL car. Make sure you fit behind the wheel and are comfortable with the awkward, angled seating position. Whatever car you get, check it thoroughly for rust! Take off the targa roof, open both doors, and stand on the sills to measure if the top of the door opening changes distance and if the doors will even close. Rust hits those sills very hard.

If anyone in the NW wants to do the swap, I know a guy in Auburn, WA with a very good condition 1970 914 with *two* engines and transmissions (both good; one 1.8L and one 2.0L) for just a couple grand. You could turn around and sell both the engines and get the chassis for a steal.

 

the car is in realy good condition we are replacing the floor panels though

 

I have gone through two 12As in my super beetle and am upgrading to a 13B mated to a Porsche 901 trans (this is the same trans that is in the 914 and early 911s) after blowing my stock VW trans.
First gear is the weak link on the 901s. 2-5 are supported at both ends of the shafts, reverse and first hang off the end in the nose cone with bearing support only at one end. No burnouts or hard launches. Check out pelicanparts.com and see how expensive transaxle parts are... you do not want to break that box. The 915 box is the one that came with a lsd and was in the 911s which means that to run it in a 914 you need to flip the diff. The 901 box was designed to be able to flip the diff for mid or rear engine use, I don't know if the 915 was.
Make reeeealy damn sure you purge the long cooling system of air. I blew my first engine that way. I was dickin around with stuff trying to get the timing and carb adjusted and it overheated real bad when small air pockets formed one big one. Engine popped the next day. Keep and eye on the temps, let it warm up/cool down multiple times and keep topping off the overflow tank. Put purge valves at the high points in the system.
All that and have a hell of a lot of fun with one awesome combination

 

their is a guy that works at a shop in duluth, ga. called euroasia motorsports (i think thats it), he installed a chevrolet 4.3L vortec v6 in his 914... it is a monster!!!! and his plumbing ran under the car in flat square tubing, he said it worked out just fine...

 

thares actualy a lot more room under the car than people think. we used 1.25 eletrical conduit for under the car. just a few bends in it and it fit nice and flat

 

I can't find the link right now, but there is a place on the web where you can get 1-2 inch in .25 increments, corogated stainless pipe for around 3 dollars per foot.

 

http://www.turbo914.com


^I'm a pretty hardcore rotary lover but after checking this out I've gotta say that the Subaru EJ20T or EJ25T would be the ultimate set-up in any old air cooled Porshe or Volkswagon, especially a 914.

You get to keep true to the boxer engine design plus get all the good modern reliabilty, power, fuel injection, and the simplicity of a Subaru engine. Oh yeah, and that great boxer exhaust rumble with unequal length headers too!!!

IMHO even a NA SOHC EJ25 out of 2.5 Impereza or Forester would still make a faster car than a NA rotary swap. Much better torque on those SOHC engines. The NA Subaru engines sell for cheap too nowdays!

 

I used some conduit bends to get the coolant pipes routed over my half shafts. Some advice... Dip the ends in acid like muriatic acid before welding it. It's only like $5 a gallon. Conduit is galvanized and if you weld it the zinc burns off and you get zinc poisoning. Bad headache and nauseous, it's not fun.

 

Mmmmm i love 914's!!!!! OMG and with a rotary!! ******* AWESOME!!!