Porsche Industrial Engines

I can remember seeing Porsche Industrial Engines for sale in the shop window of a parts distributor in Murray Street or Hay Street in Perth in the 1960s. They looked like VW Beetle engines. I assume that they were based on the Porsche 356 engine. Can anyone tell me more about them? Would it be worth getting hold of one? Can it be adapted for a car? Etc., etc., etc..

I can recall an article form Wheels (?) magazine back in the '60s where a Beetle had its 1200/1300 replaced with a Porsche industrial engine, resulting in a "genuine 90 m.p.h." B
Beetle. I'm vague on the detail, but the bones of it were as stated. These must have been fairly unusual industrail engines to be producing that sort of HP.

hth

Porsche 356-based industrial engines were used for a variety of purposes, including back up power generators, auxiliary power units (APUs), ski lift power plants, fire pumps, and other industrial applications. Many have found there way into cars. They must be modified for car use - as industrial engines, they don't rev very high, have lower compression, less carburetion (single carb), magneto instead of distributor, and other minor differences. These can easily be changed, and because industrial applications were often under-worked and well maintained, they make a great basis for a rebuild for use in a 356.

Have a look at this link,

http://www.356a.com/industrial.htm

Thanks Mark Mark. I suppose that even if you could get one it would probably be better to convert a Type 3 or 4 to an upright. Oh well. It seemed like a good idea for a while.

I had a look around for you but didn't see any for sale at the moment. I think it would be good for what you want to do. If you can find one that is🥲