69 911E Engine project
Building the engine...
In the fall of 200, I (like most people who own 914's) was struck by the disease that causes people to want to put 911 engines in their cars. The upgrade may "appear" simple, but in truth it is a lot more complex than people realize.
The first step of course is to decide what you want to do. After thinking it over, I decided that I wanted to install a 2.0 6 engine, and keep the rest of the car as stock as possible. Thus this means no flares, 5 point fuchs, 911 suspension, etc...
My thoughts on this are as follows: I have the 2.0 Fuchs on Tina right now, and I like their look a lot more than the 911 style fuchs. The suspension on a 914 and a 911 are basically the same in terms of quality, and the brakes on the 914 are *not* as bad as people say. The front calipers are a bit small, but I have had Tina up to 130mph (yep) and she still brakes and handles within safe margains.
The big reason (IMHO) to go to 911 fornt end is for the 911 calipers and brakes. And although bigger brakes won't stop you faster, they *do* resist fade a lot better than smaller calipers.
However by sticking with a 911 2.0 engine, I will be limiting the power that Tina has, and as a result limit the size of the brakes. If I was going to a much bigger engine (say a 2.4 or 3.0) I would be adding a lot of weight and the ability to go from slow to fast to slow very quickly. This would increase the heat load on the brakes, and would probably require larger calipers.
Besides, it's quite possible that I won't like the 911 engine upgrade. In that case I want to be able to go back to the little 1.9 engine and not have to deal with having a reall odd hybrid. Stock 914's are getting rare; why
change it if I don't have to?
The engine:
Anyway, in the fall of 2000, I started looking for an engine. Found a 69 911E motor with the MFI up in Conneticuit, paid $600 for it (complete, but a mess) and loaded it into the back of our Minivan for the trip home. I thought about using the 914 to carry the engine back.
Forget it.
The 911 engines weigh a LOT. As in over 300 lbs as opposed to the 200lbs or so that a 914 core weights. Two people can move a 914 engine; the 911 engine is too heavy for anything more than boosting it around. And it is BIG. Too big to wedge into a 914 passenger seat.
So into the van it went. Once home, I had to move it into the shed, which required a massive engineering effort. Got it in via the tractor, 2 hoists, a winch, and a railroad built out of 2*4's. I wish I had taken pictures. However since I will have to do the same thing when it comes out, I will document it then :-)
The Rebuild!
Well, after getting the engine installed, it was time to rebuild it. Pulling one of the plugs and checking inside revealed a LOT of carbon on the heads and valves. I decided to do a top-end overhaul and see how things looked on the inside.
First step was to figure out what I needed. MotorMeister has a "top end rebuild kit" that includes most of the gaskets and other things, so I decided to try that first.
Next step was to pull the heads and see how bad things were. As it turns out, the heads and pistons were completely encrusted in carbon build-up. My guess is the car had 2 problems:
On a 911E, there is a hose that brings hot air from the heat exchangers to the MFI thermostat. If that hose is broken or missing, the engine will always run as if it was cold; an extremely over-rich condition.
Currently the rebuild is pretty far along. I decided to send the heads out to be rebuilt (probably $500 total). This will get me new valve guides, seals, and cleaned valves+heads. Once that is done, the rest of the engine should just fall together.
Side note: 911 engines are FILTHY. As in disgustingly so. Running with air and road grit and leaking oil and all the other crud that is under, above, and inside the engine room will lead to deposits of crap that can be several millimeters deep. No wonder these engines run hot; all that sludge is a complete insulator... Cleaning the engine is of course critical, as once it's opened none of that crap can be allowed to fall inside the motor. I've found that carb dip is a good cleaner, but is incredibly caustic. Better thing to use is a wire brush and lots of brake cleaner spray. Brake cleaner is good, doesn't burn out my hands/gloves, and best of all is pretty inexpensive. Wire brushes are also cheap; get a bunch of them. A bit of gasket remover (methyl chloride in a can) is handy to scrub off that sealant garbage some previous moron put on the valve cover gaskets.
Then again maybe I could use a blowtorch....
A few pictures are below.
Another view of the engine
And a view of the pistons.
