914 Alfa conversion Options

[Powaqqatsi]

Hello there I'm new to the forum and I would like to start of with a basic question about the feasibility of my (hopefully) 914-project.
I want to buy a 914 in the coming 1 or 2 months and to fix it up to a reasonable state. And afterwards I want to start on a custom interior including A/C for this machine (and an up-to-date electrical system, I don't trust that old stuff).
The problem is: I'm a student who is on a limited budget (around €11.000/US$13250 can expand to around €14000/US$16875). The original 914 engines seem a bit old for my tastes (gas guzzlers and a tax/insurance problem for a young student like me who lives in Belgium since we have very high taxes and fuel prices) so I would like to be able to exchange the engine and transmission for a newer 1.8 or 1.6 twin spark Alfa Romeo 4-banger (around 144 and 120 bhp respectively). I could use the original VW/Porsche engines but I want this to be my daily driver so I want an engine which is a bit up-to-date and passes car and emission-control here in belgium. And uses less gas and costs me less in tax. More bang for the buck as they say. Now would it be possible to do this ? (these engines come out of an Alfa 145 or 155 which are FWD cars) Would it be possible with my budget (I don't want to invest the entire budget, if it costs less it's better of course) ?

thanks in advance,
powaq

[Powaqqatsi]

it has the 3 liter V6 in it and it flat moves out and gets pretty good mileage.

unfortunately, in most countries in europe, you pay car taxes by the displacement of your engine.
a 3.0L would cost you a fortune in taxes! that's why all the new european cars have those tiny engines ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

secondly, what you consider a "good" gas-milage here is NOT exactly what europeans would consider good.
30 miles/gallon is NOT a good gas-milage for any european country. gas is MUCH more expensive over there.

1.1 Euro for 1 Liter = 4.16 Euro for 1 US Gallon = $5.12 USD per US Gallon


just keep that in mind (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

that said, i think a modern 1.8L Audi or VW engine might be the way to go.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif) Andy

Exactly, thanks for explaining that problem. If the taxes and fuel prices weren't a problem like that I would go with a 911 or some other newer car with a bigger engine.

The 1.8T Audi engine sounds a good idea, but only the 150 bhp version, I am not going over 150bhp (taxes and insurance problem again). If I could find a 914/6, could I modify the engine to make it a bit more "modern" and fuel-efficient, or is the only thing I could add a fuel injection system ? I don't think I want to fiddle with things like new cylinder-heads and advanced electronic stuff like engine management (unless these are easy to implement, I know nothing about this stuff).

PS: The 1.7 flat-4 Alfa engine would be ideal but I'm afraid it's a bit of a beast with fuel (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
PPS: V8 is NOT an option (for reasons stated above) and I will not go over 2.0 liters of displacement.

thanks for the response already !