Subaru Fever, Choices, choices--2.5 or 2.0 T.... Options

[tgbo]

Okay, all you avid Subaru converts, my 914 1.8 is up on stands for rust removal and re-engining...I'm mostly a Fiat guy who has wanted a 914 for years and finally acquired a one owner from a friend who just gave up! Been searching the Suby threads ( wow, some nice work) and made the decision to go with more modern power--sooo, what I have gleaned is this: the 2.5 (ala Scott T., etc) will allow radiator in the engine room, the turbos won't--correct? (Fiid's pix show way more cutting than I want to have to do). The Suby ecu will work fine, with minor fiddling--Fiid, are you willing to share some MS knowledge from your conversion? (yes, I have studied the squirter and may put it on the Datsun, too).

That said, motor mounting--Scott's bar or something like the Downunder bar seems the way to go. Scott, have you decided to make copies for sale, or are you allowing reproduction by members for personal use?

Last question for today: engine vendors -- lots on Ebay, any recs on non-ebay vendors for JDM or NA motors ( and price ranges on recent buys if you don't mind)

Yes, pix will come as the work starts!

Thanks,
John

[airsix]

I'm thinking about this conversion as well. Here are my thoughts on engine choice and vendor:
EJ25 vs. EJ20T - I have a 140-ish hp 914 and while it's a lot more fun than 80hp it's not enough for me. I would only go with the EJ20T because it's 240hp out of the box, and very simple to get out another 60-100hp when you get itchy.

Vendor - to me this comes down to what ECU will be used. Subaru ECU - use a domestic motor. Aftermarket ECU - Get a JDM motor for $650 from Nippon Motors. Everyone says the JDM motors are set up to run on higher octane (94? 96 maybe?) I haven't been able to find anyone who can tell me if that means there is a mechanical difference (ie. higher compression) or just a tuning difference (more ignition advance). Regardless, using an aftermarket ECU on a JDM motor should give the flexibility to make a JDM motor run fine on our fuel.

If I do this it will be a JDM EJ20T with aftermarket ECU (MS w/ wideband, or the MIC3 I'm already running)

-Ben M.