914 vs. 912, need input Options

[Z Driver]

I've been looking at 914's for a while as an auto-x car/fun driver. I receltly saw a 912 (pretty beat up) in my auto-x region and have fallen in love with that car. I like the idea of the early 911 styling with a four cylinder. I think the 911 shape up to the 993 generation are just so classy. There's a nice 912 I might take a look at but I need to know if I'll be walking into a car that will not compete well in auto-x. I know the 914 is a proven auto-x winner, but what about the 912 in HS or FSP? I just love the 912 and the extra power is nice but I don't want something I'd have to pour much money into and not have it at the level of a stock 914.

[Cap'n Krusty]

QUOTE (Z Driver @ Jun 16 2005, 11:35 PM)

I've been looking at 914's for a while as an auto-x car/fun driver. I receltly saw a 912 (pretty beat up) in my auto-x region and have fallen in love with that car. I like the idea of the early 911 styling with a four cylinder. I think the 911 shape up to the 993 generation are just so classy. There's a nice 912 I might take a look at but I need to know if I'll be walking into a car that will not compete well in auto-x. I know the 914 is a proven auto-x winner, but what about the 912 in HS or FSP? I just love the 912 and the extra power is nice but I don't want something I'd have to pour much money into and not have it at the level of a stock 914.

"Extra power"? What extra power? The 912 had about 90 HP, the 2 litre 914 about the same. 1.7s are down a bit, but there aren't a lot of stock 1.7s around anymore. The 912 is peaky enough that you'd never notice any extra power. Major rebuild time is at about 100K miles, the cranks are fragile, the cases are usually worn enough to need a reconditioning (or they're cracked), the heads are fragile, the valves are major dollars, and there are VERY few machine shops that ate really qualified to do the work. VERY few. Start at around $4k to do a motor, add more if the crank is bad ($1200, give or take), and the heads or the case are in need of major work. Try $400 for an oil cooler, and they DO go bad. I can do a 2 litre 911 for close to that, and they last twice as long. That said, I've owned a number of them, and like 'em a lot. Just sold one, matter of fact. The SWB 911 is a keeper, though. The Cap'n