Out with the old...in with the new...Britain's Racecar Development, Subaru Engine, Lotus Suspension! Time to go racing! Options

[Britain Smith]

For those who don't know me or the car, I have a '74 914 that is a dedicated AX car. It previously had a high compression 2.7 6-cylinder motor and made 205hp/205ft-lbs at the wheels. This set-up wasn't all that bad considering that it won the 2008 and 2009 914 Shootout events, however the quest for more speed continues.

Here is the car in the 2010 season trim.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/dragracevws.com-364-1291656786.1.jpg)

I have recently sold the 2.7L 6-cylinder engine and all the remaining 914/6 conversion parts. I have used the proceeds to fund the conversion to Subaru power. Now most would say that a Subaru conversion can be done on a budget, however I have found that the money goes flying out the window when doing something like this.

Regarding the engine...logical choice would be to go for a EJ257 2.5L USDM STi engine. However, all the SCCA rules for AX are built around displacement which in turn dictates the minimum weight. Therefore, I have gone with a JDM STi version8 Spec-C engine which is a 2.0L, twin-scroll, hand ported/polished, 8500rpm animal. I will get slightly less hp and torque numbers than the 2.5L, but save 150lbs of weight.

[Britain Smith]

Now that I have an idea where the turbo will fit and how the headers route around the engine, I could fab up the engine mount bar. The bar attaches to the Vanagon mount that I showed earlier and extends to the frame rails. At the frame rails, there are rubber bushings. Here is the engine suspended in the car for the first time.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656988.1.jpg)

Now I just have to connect the dots between the exhaust ports and the turbo...

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656988.2.jpg)

Here is the turbo hard mounted to the engine mount bar. I had two threaded bungs machined that the turbos mounts to.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656989.3.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656989.4.jpg)

I found it difficult to source JDM uppipe and downpipe flanges for my use, therefore I just had them waterjet at a place down the street. I am running external wastegates so the internal wastegate port was blocked off. They turned out fantastic and if anyone needs a pair, just let me know and I can get them cut for you.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656989.5.jpg)

Using left over piping that I had cut off the header, I fab'ed up the connecting pieces for the header to the turbo.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656990.6.jpg)

Here it is mounted in the car...everything fits like a glove.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656990.7.jpg)

With the turbo mounted in this location, the gravity drain has no where to go to get back to the oil pan. I was very restricted on space, so I had to fab up a custom drain pipe using the oil coolant hard lines off the engine.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656990.8.jpg)

It is all downhill back to the oil pan...just barely.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-364-1291656990.9.jpg)