Kuma

I have had so many problems with my 944 sence the day i bought it. I was in such a hurry to grab one that i payed too much for it. Then at the time I did not know enough about them that what i thought to be a 944S turned out to be a 944 n/a. The dealership from which i bought it gave me awsome payment plans though, $200 a month, 0% finance charges. Well non the less the car was said to have a bad Slave Cylinder. OH BOY did it have a bad Slave Cylinder. When the Texas summer hit it, i would some times have problems getting over 20 mph. A real bummer. The car would inch away and would eventually get up and go. Then the Electrical problems hit in. The car would kill brand new batteries, or rather drain them. I had the starter worked on the first time it happend, and it didn't do it again for some time. Then she started again. So i eventually broke down and bought a new Alternator. She still kills charges, even once did it in a matter of 2 minutes.

I realy don't want to deal with it anymore, but i feel so bad just neglecting her. i have a reliable car already that I drive all the time, so i don't want to just give her up and buy a Honda like moronic people have told me in the past. I'm set on keeping her, but i want to do something great with her. My thoughts were spinning around an engine swap from a 968.

I have already seen http://www.944968.com/ and think it's an awsome Idea. I don't want Crazy amounts of power "right now" But something like this would give me enough power to zoom down the freeway and streets with confidence once more. Some where down the line i'd love to try the 944 16v to turbo conversion or someting radical, but for now i need to know how to accomplish this task. What needs to be purchased. I have heard bits and pieces about this swap, someing about a longer or short torque tube, and bell housing.

Any walk thoughs of this process are wanted or places where i can find this information. Any other suggestions welcome.

josephsc

There's plenty of info right on this board about it (do a search on 'engine swap'). Also look for Matt Olde's website and posts -- he's working on it right now, and is doing a good job documenting the process. Bryan Gunn's website is also nice (he did a S2 engine swap).

BUT, an engine swap is not going to be the solution to your problems -- unless your electrical troubles happens to be due to the engine harness or something like that. If you're truly committed to the car, I'd get the vehicle well sorted out first: you want to start out with a good base.

icat

If you want a 968, buy one. A conversion will cost far more than a 92 968 will run you. In the end you'll have a newer car for less bucks. Same for a turbo or an "S" swap. There is no way to cost justify this as an upgrade path. Nothing in the 944 n/a will be ready for the additional power of the turbo or the 968. If you had told me that you've had the car since new and just can't bare to part with it, then there might be some validity to the swap. But that's not the case here. This is a "been there, done that" piece of advise. I had almost $10k in restoration work on an 83 944 before I finally pulled the plug. Car brought a whopping $2k on resale. It looks good, but ran like crap. I bought my 951 for $250 more than I had invested in the 944 n/a.

Peckster

A bad slave cylinder won't cause acceleration problems, it just makes it hard to change gears. A car that kills charge in two minutes has something close to a direct short that should be fixed asap.

I agree you should sort things out before sinking way too much money into that car. If you already overpaid you'd just be throwing good money after bad installing a new motor.

BruceWard

Buy a 968, it will be a lot cheaper than building one.

jaibeiber

BS. at far most it will cost him $7000 for a 968 engine and all the work assuming he does it himself. you tell me where to find a 968 for $7000 and i will be there with my checkbook.

Blue S2

Yeah the engine is $7000, but you are going to need suspension work, bigger brakes, and better suited transmission to be worth it. The 968 is almost 100hp over the 2.5 N/A isnt it?

jaibeiber

what did Matt Olde all do? i dont think he did all that. and sure you would need to upgrade all that to bring it up to 968 Specs, but that isnt what he said he wanted to do. why upgrade suspension and brakes if you arent going to race. perhaps a new transmission would be needed eventually but lets say that is $3000. now find me a $10,000 968.

pete944

If you shop around you could find a decent 968 motor for $4-5K. You will need the complete engine wiring harness, DME, and flywheel also.
You could get by with the NA trans if you baby it, but what's the fun in that? A 951 or S2 trans would be plenty strong.

ERAU-944

why upgrade the engine if you arnen't going to race?

if you do it, do it right. i have no qualms about a quality porsche-porsche conversion.

-Mike-

BruceWard

I think the engine price is more likely to be $5K or less than $7K. But there have been some 968 Coupes go for less than $10K especially if they have a few issues. It sounds like his 944 already has some problems and he is having difficulty keeping on top of them. A $10 - $12K spent on a higher mileage but well serviced 968 would be a good option. After you acquiring a 968 engine there would be some nontrivial issues with the dual mass flywheel and torque tube as well as the need to upgrade all the suspension, brakes, and possibly transmission to handle the increased power.

It has been done, it can be done but a 944 with a 968 engine in it is not a good investment. A buyer down the road will not pay the cost of the engine swap and it is likely that the 944 + swap costs will be higher than buying the 968 to begin with.

Matt O.

Sorry guys, I beg to differ.

I'm out $1,700 on this conversion and we are ready to crank her up. And that's with a $1,000 exhaust system ($450 group buy SFR and $450 custom downpipe/test pipe and $100 jet hot coated headers), and $200 for used S2 clutch/flywheel. Shop around. Call George at 944 Ecology for used parts at awesome prices.

THE KEY is being able to make back your money by selling the leftover parts from the conversion.

Also, the brakes on the 944 NA are perfectly fine for normal use (however, if you plan on racing upgrade). I plan on upgrading in the future. The front suspension of my 89 is perfectly suited for the 968 engine. However, I am still looking to track down M030 sway bars (or better).

Anyway, that's my take. Seeing how I'm at the end of the process, I think it should be relatively valid.

AGAIN, the KEY is being able to make back your money through the sale of leftover parts on eBay, as well as finding a GOOD DEAL for a COMPLETE 968 engine. That is imperative. If all you can find is a $5000 or so 968 engine, then you are going to be spending alot more then what I spent. I was lucky enough to find the complete engine for a ridiculously low price. Shop around.

-Matt

Matt O.

BTW, www.944s3.com

WITH THAT SAID,

If you can't find a good engine for low cost, and if you price it out and it's more economical to sell and buy a 968, then shoot - do it. The 968 is a sweet car and if I was in the position financially to have a choice, I can't say I wouldn't have gone that route!

Shutemup

damn, that was one expensive exaust......

Matt O.

Adam, you have no idea.

BTW, it's gold plated.

Or at least it should be.

It's all good though, it's very well done, excellent craftsmanship and will last a good while.