original engine on the shelf!!

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Bill Lawless
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original engine on the shelf!!

#1 Post by Bill Lawless »

I know some, maybe a lot of people like to put there nicely rebuilt Original Engine under a sheet on the shelf and put something else in there 356 to drive around with.. Has anybody put something different in there car?? Like a Subaru Engine... Don't shoot me I'm original all the way..

Last winter I put a 2015 Forester engine in my 1981 VW Vanagon Camper Bus (Westfalia). Put 14,000 mi in 3mo. on a cross country trip this summer.. Got me thinking!!!!!

Bill
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Bill
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Doug McDonnell
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#2 Post by Doug McDonnell »

I remember reading of a 356 with a VW TDI engine.
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Dan Epperly
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#3 Post by Dan Epperly »

Bill Lawless wrote:I know some, maybe a lot of people like to put there nicely rebuilt Original Engine under a sheet on the shelf and put something else in there 356 to drive around with.. Has anybody put something different in there car?? Like a Subaru Engine... Don't shoot me I'm original all the way..

Last winter I put a 2015 Forester engine in my 1981 VW Vanagon Camper Bus (Westfalia). Put 14,000 mi in 3mo. on a cross country trip this summer.. Got me thinking!!!!!

Bill
A guy I knew put a suby engine in a Ghia, crazy fast but,he had to butcher the hell out of that car to make it work.
I imagine you could build an aircooled VW engine for much less money and with much less carnage. Or do like the 912 guys and build a type 4 VW engine with the upright kit.

Martin Bruechle
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#4 Post by Martin Bruechle »

In my 53 I'm keeping the split case trans and the 2 piece motor on the shelf.
Putting in a built VW trans and a 912 motor I have with a mild/hot Norris cam and some Shasta P&Ls.
Some head work, headers ect.
Not sure if I'm going to run Webers or 40P11s.
Rancho Transmissions make a nose cone that will allow a VW trans.
Then you can haul ass, do burnouts or whatever and not have to worry about breaking the expensive 356 trans.

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Bruce Smith
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#5 Post by Bruce Smith »

Bill Lawless wrote:Last winter I put a 2015 Forester engine in my 1981 VW Vanagon Camper Bus (Westfalia). Put 14,000 mi in 3mo. on a cross country trip this summer.. Got me thinking!!!!!
The Beck guys have put Subaru motors in theirs. I've wondered how they drive.
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Adam Wright
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#6 Post by Adam Wright »

The 914 guys have done it all, Suburu, Buick, Chevy. Lots of ingenuity over there in 914 World.

The easiest thing to do to get a lot of power is a Type IV.
1. Fairly Cheap.
2. Been done hundreds of times, so you don't have to re-invent the wheel.
3. Still Air-Cooled so no radiators
4. Still Porsche, so less angering of the Porsche Gods.

This is what I'm doing for the 550 build. I'm using a skinned chassis from a rolled over C Coupe, and using the rear suspension, engine and gearbox out of a 914. Once I have it fully operational I'll probably upgrade from the 1.7 that I have in the 914 currently.
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Martin Benade
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#7 Post by Martin Benade »

Do you have an engineer friend that can offer suggestions on joining the two structures in a rigid way? I doubt that the C body is presently strong enough in all the places you need it to be.
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Adam Wright
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#8 Post by Adam Wright »

Martin Benade wrote:Do you have an engineer friend that can offer suggestions on joining the two structures in a rigid way? I doubt that the C body is presently strong enough in all the places you need it to be.
Still a couple of years out on that end of it, still making the body, which is slow....
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Jay Wiener
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#9 Post by Jay Wiener »

I'd opt for the polo engine aka 911 engine with 2 cylinders chopped off

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Jim Liberty
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#10 Post by Jim Liberty »

Contact Chris Toy in Laguna Beach, CA. He put a 930 in his C Coupe. Talk about scary fast.
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M Penta
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#11 Post by M Penta »

[quote="Bill Lawless"]I know some, maybe a lot of people like to put there nicely rebuilt Original Engine under a sheet on the shelf and put something else in there 356 to drive around with.. Has anybody put something different in there car?? Like a Subaru Engine... Don't shoot me I'm original all the way..

Last winter I put a 2015 Forester engine in my 1981 VW Vanagon Camper Bus (Westfalia). Put 14,000 mi in 3mo. on a cross country trip this summer.. Got me thinking!!!!!

Bill[/quote

Hi Bill,

I can see why Subaru's are popular in van swaps, but would not do it in a 356. The other engines listed above are good options, but can be very pricey.

Why not a T1? A good T1 build can provide excellent reliability and performance and practically bolt right in. While your at it you can install a built VW trans

with minimal modifications.

You can have a drivetrain you can run very hard for pretty reasonable money, if you want to keep the original stuff on the shelf.



Mark

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John Lindstrom
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Re: original engine on the shelf!!

#12 Post by John Lindstrom »

I have an extra engine and transmission out of a 2010 GT3RS that would give you one or two extra horses..

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