914 Subaru engine cradle? Options

[IanJ]

OK...I thought about putting this in the wanted thread (Apologies to the mods if this breaches rules, please delete if inappropriate)

Does anyone know where I can get an engine cradle for converting my 914 using the WRX engine and transmission?

I know you can buy from a few sources and mod to suit but my fabrication skills are lacking and i'd need to pass an engineering check here in Aus.

Any info/leads appreciated.

[IM101]

i have emails from RH that say the suby trans won't fit - they are closed minded to the fact that it does fit - thus this thread/vendor is very welcomed - i am disapointed in RH, and for RH, for dropping the ball on this. kudos to IM101 : ))

Hey, Thank you for the kudos =), I don’t know the reason RH didn’t do this and is deigning its possibility (though I feel like it would be better just to say, we are not going to offer that, than stick your head in the sand), but a guess would be that the ROI of the 914 Subaru market is not very high, too many industrious guys who love to do work themselves and do things as cheap as possible. Kind of like Jake not offering air-cooled kits anymore, too much headache not enough return. The difference for me however is I’m not trying to make this a career, I’m just a 914 guy building the parts I need for my conversion, and doing it in a way that if others want them I can help them out too. I care less about ROI and more about sweet 914’s and contributing/growing a community that is pretty damn cool…

I think you're in for a lot of extra work and cost if you intend to re-position the turbo, that plumbing is more complicated than it might seem. Your cradle looks a lot like mine, so if you have any questions about clearances, dimensions, or want photos of anything specific let me know.

Build thread is in my signature.

And this is why the 914 community is awesome, thanks DB Cooper I would love to get some insight; I will send you a PM. It does seem like there would be a bit more work involved, but some people really don’t like cutting the 914 to make it fit, I was more of saying it could be done. I should add to the above options, you can just cut the rear trunk, or a custom up/down pipe would probably be easiest.

Also, I am familiar with your thread, it and a handfull of otheres were the original inspiration for this project (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) . Yes our cradles are very similar, there are only so many ways to mount the Subaru engine efficiently, I actually really like the design of your transmission mount, very smart. I was going to go a similar direction but with the added variable of needing a 901 to work I put the isolators at the body mounts (like the original mounts) and made the trans/engine mounts solid.
-Ian M.