Suby-engined rustoration, 21-Sep-2024 update: more racing-related carnage! Options

[strawman]

Hi All --

This is my second post, but I've been lurking on this fine website for a while now. I've wanted a 914 since I was in high school, but always seemed to stumble upon other projects... until recently.

My neighbor gave me this 1973 Porsche 914 about a month ago. He told me he blew a head gasket and parked it in his parents' driveway in 1992. When his parents finally told him to move it or they were calling a local junkyard, he offered it to me since he knows I'm a gearhead. In for a penny, in for a pound...

I hauled it home, knowing that it has some rust issues in the battery area and rear trunk. But it appears to have never been in a wreck and it is complete. It turns out that an exhaust stud pulled, so he coulda fixed it for a couple hundred and probably kept another 914 from languishing but I guess all things happen for a reason (namely, so I would undertake this project!).

I sold the engine to a local Craigslister for use in his Meyers Manx dune buggy, and bought a wrecked but running 1993 Subaru Legacy turbo wagon. This is the closed-deck 2.2 liter engine, and 250 hp is easy with boost control and an open exhaust. I've already done a Subaru into a VW Vanagon and my daily driver is a 1992 Suby Legacy, so this won't be too much of a stretch for me. I plan to use the Suby 5-speed transmission (out of a 1998 Suby Forester) with the Aussie-sourced RWD elimination coupler and custom-mated 914/Suby axles.

I've got a suburban home with a crowded two-car garage (my 125 shifter kart and my daughter's FJA kart will likely get lonely!), a MIG welder, and a wide assortment of air/power/hand tools -- so the adventure begins! This project will likely take a year to finish, so please be patient.

I've attached some pics of the car as found in the driveway, some rust areas and the rear trunk repairs I've started. I'll chronicle the build as I go, so feel free to chime in!

Geoff

[strawman]

Been a while since I last posted, but I've been tinkering in the garage...

I'm reversing the intake on my EJ22T engine to permit a bit more room between the throttle body and trunk firewall. It also will permit fewer bends for the intercooler connections.

First off, the 2.0, 2.2 and early 2.5 engines feature the intake-to-head bolt holes in a line, which makes this a relatively straightforward modification. In short, the intake manifold bolts on facing backward or forward, but it ain't quite a bolt-on and walk away affair...

Reversing the intake points the throttle body right at the backside of the alternator. Since I won't be using the air conditioning compressor or power steering pump, I relocated the alternator to where the AC compressor used to sit. Here is a pic of the factory bracket, modified to clear the Idle Air Control solenoid. You can also see where I welded on the alternator mounts and support crossbar.



This took a lot of measuring, cutting, more measuring, grinding, more measuring... you get the idea. But it lines up perfectly with the crank pulley. Here is a pic of the alternator as mounted (I still have to fabricate a top mount).



Here is the front and rear views of the engine, not including the wiring harness, coil or fuel rails/injectors.