How do you guys feel about 2.7's?, Tell me the good and bad. Options

[speed metal army]

Looking at a 2.7.Is there some things(besides the obvious wear,compression etc.)that I should look for?Is it a worthwhile swap?Thanks guys!

[pcar916]

Lots of discussion on this board about these. Search under things like the "best conversion" or "best engine". Stuff like that.

I loved the 2.7 I had but it had been rebuilt like a tank and was very strong. They often cost a lot to rebuild because of the machine work on the cases. If given the choice between that or paying a little more for a later engine, I'd always go later. That said they are incredibly light (mag case) and sound wonderful.

[Dr Evil]

I like mine. 74 is best. If it is CIS you will need to swap pistons and cams to run carbs and get more power.

[J P Stein]

I bought a rebuilt (9 years previously then sat on a shelf) long block with some minor missing bits for 500 bucks.
Rebuilt it about 3600. Ran the hell out of it for 7 years, then rebuilt it again (with NOS RSR PCs) for another 3500 bucks...inflation?).

Anyone putting big bucks into a 7R case is a ......er...not very smart. Decent cases are readly available for 400 bucks. Locally, case savers for the head studs will run a couple hunderd bucks installed.

All this entailed doing the work myself. If you're a checkbook mechanic, any 911 motor is VERY pricey to have built.....the labor alone can be around 8K plus you'll pay full retail for bits.....bend over.

BTW, I sold all my "special tools" (& some not so special) needed to work on the motors for about 1200 bucks. A good investment, me thinks.

The motor ran great when it was sold ( 205hp/tq at the wheels) I hear the fella that bought it has made some "improvements"...swapped carbs & ignition....the 2 things I told him to leave alone.(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

The 76 & later have the oiling mods/later oil pump which will save you some machining bucks.

[brp986s]

Powerwise I think the 2.7 is in the sweetspot for a 914. Built right they have proven to be reliable in this application. Problem is, webers and CIS leave alot to be desired. For that reason I went 3.2. Not so much for power but for Motronic injection. Ideally itb efi set up would be great for a 914, but that is serious $$$.

Side note - Anybody use ARP austenitic head studs? I paid $32/ea for 993 dilivars! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[J P Stein]

Powerwise I think the 2.7 is in the sweetspot for a 914. Built right they have proven to be reliable in this application. Problem is, webers and CIS leave alot to be desired. For that reason I went 3.2. Not so much for power but for Motronic injection. Ideally itb efi set up would be great for a 914, but that is serious $$$.

Side note - Anybody use ARP austenitic head studs? I paid $32/ea for 993 dilivars! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

I got a better buy on the studs from a guy that wasn't rebuilding his turbo.... before the price for em' went thru the roof. Super Performance sells some these days for a reasonable price. I would use ONLY ones that have a nearly equal expansion rate of aluminum. I don't like re-torquing heads nor what is going on in there to make it necessary. The debate rages on........

[JmuRiz]

The motor ran great when it was sold ( 205hp/tq at the wheels) I hear the fella that bought it has made some "improvements"...swapped carbs & ignition....the 2 things I told him to leave alone.

Hey, I ended up with those carbs (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
Wish I'd have known about the ignition for sale, oh well.

Where on earth did you get that rebuild for that price?!
Maybe PM me if you like.
I think a motor done up like JP's or Chris Campbell's should be awesome for a street+some track car...at least that's what I'm hoping for with my build.

[J P Stein]

The motor ran great when it was sold ( 205hp/tq at the wheels) I hear the fella that bought it has made some "improvements"...swapped carbs & ignition....the 2 things I told him to leave alone.

Hey, I ended up with those carbs (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
Wish I'd have known about the ignition for sale, oh well.

Where on earth did you get that rebuild for that price?!
Maybe PM me if you like.
I think a motor done up like JP's or Chris Campbell's should be awesome for a street+some track car...at least that's what I'm hoping for with my build.

I have no problem PM'in you but someone here might like the tale.

I bought the books, bought the tools, asked a lot of questions of people I trust, tore apart a couple 911 engines...one I bought huntin', did a lot of shopping for good prices (like NOS Solex cams for 400 bucks:-), found a good machine shop locally that doesn't have an expensive sounding name (under 500 for all needed), Sent the heads to EBS (800 bucks) and new Shasta 9.5:1 pistons machined on JE blanks (full retail 1000 bucks....auggh!)
800 bucks for a rebuild kit ......with everything needed and then some.
Then did the assembly work myself.

Fairly typical rebuild at a shop is 80 hours at up to 100 bucks an hour.
It took me a lot longer than that........

The next time around cost me 2300 bucks for NOS RSR P/Cs, a rebuild kit, and some crank work. I needed to pull one off the shelf ad have it checked out & polished. The original one had been turned .010 under and looked nice but the price of rod & main sets for that was ungodly....unlike the first time around.
This one took me 3 good weekends.

Do the carbs still have the long auxiliary venturi? If so guard them with your life. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) The dizzy when I bought it.....74 Euro Carrera (same as the RS) was around 300-350....nowdays I hear it is worth a grand.

[sww914]

I found it would be cheaper to buy a good used 3.2 than to do a nice rebuild on the 2.7 just for the parts and machine work. That was to build a 2.7RS with new cams and new pistons & cylinders. The case didn't need very much.

[DanT]

I had a nice 2.7 in this car... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
7R case was shuffle pinned and time certed, squirters on back side of pistons.
Carrera tensioners, 964 cams, 40IDFs that had been massaged by Jerry Woods,
Carrera 2.7RS pistons and cylinders...
worked wonderfully with as much or more torque than a stockish 3.2L. Ran headers and twin pipe sport muffler...

After 5 trouble free years of running I ended up spinning a crank bearing and breaking the crank between the 3rd and 4th main bearings....going into turn 8 at Laguna....down shift break......bang....that is not supposed to happen....shut off the motor and coast down the hill into the pits...(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
Was hoping that the fly wheel had come lose from the crank, but no deal...
Ended up putting an original 2.0L 914-6 motor in, selling the case for good $$$ and had the car back on the road in two weeks...
Ended up selling the car a few months later for an '87 Carrera....
Should have kept the 6......oh well.

[turboman808]

Bought mine with a 2.7rs motor and I think a little work done to it. It's had all the work done on the case to make it more reliable. Also has ITBs with fuel injection. So it's got some power and once above 7k it really just starts to haul ass.

The Haltech engine management isn't so great, hopefully I will get around to having that replaced in a year or 2.

Although I would love to have 400hp in my car I think it's got just enough power already to make me dangerous.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[carr914]

2.7s are Great motors. Any of the Original Problems ( Studs/Heat problems from the Thermal Reactors) by now will have been taken care of.

2.7 Cores are pretty cheap

[Rav914]

It seems that most of the 911 crowd has bought into the myth that they're bad engines, hence their low prices for initial purchase. I have a '74S with its original 2.7. I love that motor.

[Dave_Darling]

Cons:
- Many were overheated, in some cases pretty badly
- The mag cases were pretty marginal for the displacement and power that was made with them
- They like to pull studs
- The case halves like to move around with you get to good power levels
- They love to leak oil, even more than other 911 engines
- They have one of the earlier chain-tensioner designs which is neither the "almost never fail" hydraulic version nor a fail-safe version

Pros:
- All of the above can be fixed. It just takes money; in some cases a lot of money
- The 911 guys don't like them, so they tend to go for cheap
- Most of the ones that are running around today have had at least some of the problems fixed; many have had most of them fixed
- The mag case means they are lighter than the later aluminum-cased motors
- You can build a pretty stout engine from them, if you're good and if you're careful

Not all of the 2.7s around today have had all of the problems fixed. You have to be careful if you just want to stuff one into a car and run it. If you're rebuilding anyway, it may not be all that much more to fix the typical 2.7 issues than the basic rebuild.

The 74 2.7s tend to be a little less beat-up than the 76-77 ones, because they didn't have the STUPID FRACKING thermal reactors on them.

Heat can be a real killer. I have a friend who bought a 75 911S that had a recently-rebuilt motor. He time trialed it and saw the oil get up to 260F. It started losing compression and oil pressure immediately after that. He sold the car at a (sizeable) loss to someone who could rebuild the engine themselves.

--DD

[jt914-6]

Replaced the stock 2.0 in my factory six with a 2.7.....ended up pulling three head studs....used it as a core for my 3.0.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Steve]

I bought a 1974 2.7 in 1986 that had a top end overhaul, with no case work. I ran it with webers and it sounded awesome. It was just enough HP that the stock gearing still felt right. You can also use an early flywheel and clutch, so the clutch also feels like the 4 setup. I ran that motor for 14 years until it started to pull the head studs. At the time they wanted $8k to over haul it, so i sold it and bought a 84 euro 3.2 for $5200. The 3.2 dme injection is awesome and the extra power is nice, but the downside is the gearing is messed up. 1st and 5th is to low, so I try to start off in 2nd and the Kennedy clutch also sucks compared to the 2.7 with an early clutch and flywheel. I am now saving up for a 915 trans and will install a hydraulic clutch. The infamous slippery slope to do it right!!