911 and 914 engine questions Options

[86motoman]

I have two questions in regards to engines:

1.) Is the '73 2.4L 911 engine any good?

2.) Where is the best place to get a basic rebuild kit? (i.e. rering and guides) Also what is the prices for this?

Still looking for some low cost 914 projects. Found a guy with a 911 2.4L for sale. I know nothing about Porsche's. Need your help.

[lapuwali]

There are several different '73 2.4 911 engines, so you've not really provided enough data.

The 911T engine is the lowest spec: iron cylinders, mildest cam, smallest ports. About 140hp. Came in two forms in the US: early has MFI, late has CIS. (MFI = Bosch mechanical fuel injection, CIS = Bosch Continuous fuel injection, aka K-Jet). Most common and cheapest engine from '73.

The 911S engine is the highest spec: pretty wild cams and about 190hp. All US spec engines had MFI.

The 911E engine falls in between: 165hp and MFI.

MFI has lots of street cred, but is quite expensive to service and rebuild. There are very few shops in the US (like two) that can rebuild these, and the pricetag was $1500 5 years ago. CIS is milder and basically requires little in the way of rebuilding, but something of a pain to fit into a 914. The CIS on the 73 was the first fitting of this fuel injection to any US spec car, and differs from all other K-Jet fittings, so there are some unique and unreplaceable parts.

Many people fit carbs (Weber 40IDA3s, or Zeniths) to replace the fuel injection, esp. when swapping into a 914. If you look at the casting number on the bottom of the case (just beneath the oil return tubes), check to see if the last two digits are 7R. If so, this indicates one of the later, stronger cases, and is generally more desireable.

I had a '73 914 with a '73 911T CIS engine in it for about a year. Nice engine with a great torque curve, and it sounded great. Sold it as a new job demanded too much time to do work on it myself, and the rebuild it required ran $10K, which I didn't want to spend. Motor Meister does low-quality rebuilds; this really is something where you get what you pay for.

You can build up a Four to roughly the same power levels as one of the smaller Sixes for about the same amount of money, and a lot less hassle.