Three years ago, Dana Stokes came across an old 1973 Porsche abandoned in the middle of a field. “Sure enough, this poor little 914 had been sitting out in the middle of nowhere since 1982, and I knew that I had to save it,” he thought. With a lot of hard work, he swapped the engine with a 2004 Subaru WRX boxer engine and managed to turn the old car into an astounding beast.
The project involved a lot of modifications to the original car. First, he had to stiffen up the chassis. Next, he sewed the entire interior. Then, before performing the engine swap, he had to upgrade the car’s suspension, replacing it by a Bilstein 911 Carrera suspension. Working at Renegade Hybrids in Las Vegas, a shop that specializes in engine swap in various models of Porsche, it made it easier to perform the swap. He was ready to replace the Porsche’s stock 72 hp flat-four boxer engine by the 227 hp Subaru boxer engine.
The engine swap was a success. The power of a 227 hp Subaru engine is pretty impressive in a 3000 pounds Subaru Impreza WRX car: imagine what it can do to a 1973 Porsche 914 that weights only 2200 pounds. Plus, the car is a rear-wheel drive: remove all the drivetrain power loss of Subaru’s AWD system, the Porsche is a little demon on the road. From 0 to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds.
The Porsche with the Subaru engine is Dana Strokes’ daily driver. He’s not done with the mods yet, in fact he’s just getting started. He wants to turn the Porsche into a full-on track car. For pictures and videos of the car, visit turbo914.
Here’s the list of modifications Dana has made to the old Porsche 914:
Engine / Transmission
- 2004 Subaru EJ20
- Custom up-pipe
- Custom exhaust 2.5-inch
- Custom auger style muffler
- Custom intercooler mount
- Custom Renegade Hybrids radiator
- Custom stage 2 pressure plate
- Custom 9-inch Kevlar clutch disk
- Custom billet aluminum adapter plate
Suspension
- Renegade Hybrids high power axles
- 911 Carrera front suspension
- Bilstein adjustable rear struts, 200-pound springs
Wheels
- 2002 Porsche 911 rims 17 x 7-inch front 17 x 9-inch rear
- Kumho 712 tires 205/50/17zr front, 255/40/17zr rear
- Steel 914GT fender flares
Interior
- Custom roll cage
- Custom interior
- Custom tachometer with integrated boost gauge
Audio
- Pioneer DEH-P9600MP head unit
- Alpine 6.5-inch type S front speakers
- Alpine 6 x 9-inch type S rear speakers
- Arc audio 8-inch sub
- Helix B4 600 watt amp
Source: Subie speed, Porsche style