1974 Porsche 914 V8 Conversion

OK, first of all, this is being offered on a motorcycle club website called BARF, Bay Area Riders Forum. How can you not like a group of people who choose the acronym of BARF? You know right away that they don't take themselves too seriously.

I saw one of these at Lime Rock this year. It was the first time I had seen a 914 V8 conversion in the flesh. It was impressive, but it looked a little crude and not like something you'd want to drive very often. I didn't think much of it until I saw this car...

This car looks good and appears to have been done right. It's not a car you'd want to commute to work in everyday, but it would be fun to take for a blast through the mountains on the weekend.

The engine in this car is a Chevrolet motor that, with a Holley carb and headers, puts out around 365 HP. The transaxle, front suspension and brakes are from a 1970s 911. The wheels are 15x6 Fuchs in the front, and 16x7 Fuchs in the rear. The chassis has had the rear upper strut mounts tied together and triangulated to the transaxle mount. The trailing arms have been reinforced. The body has been modified, but not overdone.

No matter how much work you do, anytime you put a big V8 into a car that was designed to have a small 4 in it, you're going to change the dynamics of the car. I can imagine that this car is a handful to drive. That's not bad... With new cars you don't really "drive", you just sort of "aim". There's very little skill involved. Every now and then getting behind the wheel of a car that's a bit of a challenge to drive can be an enjoyable change of pace.

Click here to see the listing on The BARF website.(There's more info about the car in the listing.)