Porscheru Engine Choices, 2.2, 2.5, or 3.0 ?? Options

[R_u_dd]

Added a poll Here

Building a Porsche 914 with Subaru power and transmission Porscheru. Looking for a donor car with a 5mt transmission. I've considered many engine combos. The 2.0 wrx turbo is very popular for this build at 227 hp but I want NA power without the turbo lag. I've narrowed it down to these combos:

EJ22 99-2001 142 horsepower. Less power than I would like, but easy to find a car with a stick shift and fewer head gasket problems. Good potential for additional power. Strong motor.

SOHC 2.5 1990-2004 165 HP. This is a good power range for the lightweight 914 (2,400lbs). Easy electronics. The negative is frequent HG problems. The donor car is hard to find with a stick shift. If I buy a donor car with an automatic tranny, which 5mt will fit, just match the year?

EZ30D 2000-2003 212 HP. The donor car will need a tranny. Which should I buy?

So the big question is which donor would you buy and why? I don't want to buy individual parts if I can avoid it because it's much more expensive and the combinations might not work well together. Individual parts are about $2,000 but I think I can get a donor for around $1500.

[76-914]

The EZ30 is only 1.5" longer than the 2.5L 4 cyl. and slightly heavier. If buying from CoPart, search for "running" vehicles. 2 reasons; 1st you know it's a runner and 2nd, a running vehicle is cheaper to ship. I choose to shop the upper line model Legacy/Outback LL Bean model for my 6 because I figured this model was likely to have been "well cared for".

[R_u_dd]

The EZ30 is only 1.5" longer than the 2.5L 4 cyl. and slightly heavier. If buying from CoPart, search for "running" vehicles. 2 reasons; 1st you know it's a runner and 2nd, a running vehicle is cheaper to ship. I choose to shop the upper line model Legacy/Outback LL Bean model for my 6 because I figured this model was likely to have been "well cared for".

The one thing holding me back thus far from buying the donor with the EZ30D is the auto transmission. Is this an easy swap to put a 5mt tranny in, using the ECU and wiring from the donor car? I have read that its the same ecu for the auto tranny car and manual tranny from 1999-2004 with cars running the EJ25. Another poster once mentioned that you just have to cut one wire to get the ecu to work with the manual transmission. So is it easy to just swap in a manual tranny?

[rnellums]

The EZ30 is only 1.5" longer than the 2.5L 4 cyl. and slightly heavier. If buying from CoPart, search for "running" vehicles. 2 reasons; 1st you know it's a runner and 2nd, a running vehicle is cheaper to ship. I choose to shop the upper line model Legacy/Outback LL Bean model for my 6 because I figured this model was likely to have been "well cared for".

The one thing holding me back thus far from buying the donor with the EZ30D is the auto transmission. Is this an easy swap to put a 5mt tranny in, using the ECU and wiring from the donor car? I have read that its the same ecu for the auto tranny car and manual tranny from 1999-2004 with cars running the EJ25. Another poster once mentioned that you just have to cut one wire to get the ecu to work with the manual transmission. So is it easy to just swap in a manual tranny?

Its really simple. bolt up a manual flywheel, attach the pressure plate, and bolt on the transmission. The ECU will throw a code for a missing auto (no ez30D's were offered in the US with a stick) but it will not affect performance, driveability, or reliability. there are only a few plugs that go to the auto and you can just leave them unplugged or remove them.

There is no cut one wire and fix the codes though, because the ECU was only made for auto cars.