RoyaleWithCheese

Today I went by the pick&pull and got the entire front suspension off an '87 NA for cheap! I'm going back tomorrow to pull the rear suspension too so that my offsets will match.

I really lucked out because I needed the beefier '87 NA spindle and hub specifically to do the big brake swap with the adapters I got from xschop. I got the control arms, tie rods, and struts too so that I can just swap the whole thing over without worrying about camber issues or crazy mods.

My question is, what all I will need to grab to change to the late offset rear on my '83?

Do I just need the trailing arms, axles and hubs or should I grab the entire torsion bar assembly too?

If it's easier to just drop the whole thing out than try to remove the trailing arms, I would prefer that route to reduce the time working in the dirt and weeds.

wildcat077

I did the swap on my 83 and you will need the rear arms,hubs,stub axles and drive axles as they are 3 inches longer than the early axles, the brakes are the same ...
The spring plates are different so you will need those as well !

Cheers
Phil

V2Rocket

It's worth it to take the entire assembly since it's got alignment dialed in already.

Van

Phil is right, because you need the spring plates, you'll have to pull the whole torsion bar carrier. Unless you're swapping torsion bars, you might as well swap it as a unit.

Also, the lower shock mounts are a little different between early and late shocks (because of the steel vs aluminum control arms), so grab those, too (or replace them).


Due to manufacturing variances in the bodies, the alignment will be off. Plan on having a good 4-wheel alignment done.

V2Rocket

that's probably true, but i'd still suggest getting the whole assembly off the parts car since its easier to drop the 8 bolts holding it to the car than mess with the giant nuts/bolts of the spring plates - not something id want to do on my back in the dirt.

Van

Yes, we're in agreement there, Spencer! I just think, even with doing it that way, the alignment will be a little bit off once the whole assembly is bolted to the new car.

Pilk

Not to threadjack, but for those of us that are still learning what is the benefit of this mod?

Van

The cast aluminum control arms have a few benefits, in my mind: they are more rigid; they don't rust and potentially weaken; they are a little lighter; and they change the wheel offset (which gives you a greater choice of late-model Porsche wheels that will fit).

wildcat077

Other benefits are that you can use coilover shocks and that you can delete the torsion bars which makes ride height adjustments and corner balancing a whole lot easier !

It's a must for racing applications as you can change the spring rate just by installing a heavier
rated spring in your rear coilovers ...

Cheers
Phil

RoyaleWithCheese

The only reason I am doing it is because I needed the '87 NA front spindles and hubs which, from what I understand, are the strongest that were made for the 944.

I bought some brake adapters from xschop to put Audi calipers and bigger rotors on my car since it will be a track car. The adapters required me to use the stronger spindles.

From a general perspective for road driven cars, there isn't much benefit to swapping in a late suspension system. The early system is actually cheaper to upgrade for road based performance because the front struts have swappable shocks and replaceable ball-joints.

I'm going to be swapping out all of the bushings in the whole system, rebuilding the ball-joints, and doing the mod to the late struts to fit the Koni inserts and coilover conversion. The rear will be getting either new shocks and stiffer torsion bars, or coilovers depending on how my funds are looking at the time.

Either way I will need an alignment once I'm done. I'm just going to grab the whole rear system while I'm there today to save myself some time. Thanks for all the advice!

RoyaleWithCheese

Looking into how to remove the rear suspension, it looks like I'll need the 8mm "cheese-head" tool to remove the axles.

Is there any other tips or tools to get it out smoothly? Aside from 50 cans of PB blaster and a big hammer, of course lol.

Chuck Henry

If it's not too big of a pain to get the car and stuff over here you are welcome to use my lift. I would think it would make a suspension swap a whole lot easier. As well as a second set of hands.

RoyaleWithCheese

Ya sounds good!

That would make things so much easier especially when it comes to final ride height adjustment.

It's going to take me a while to accumulate all the suspension parts, brakes, and new wheels/tires to fit over the big brakes, so it may be a bit before I'll be ready.

Van

A pick tool and spray can of brake clean to make sure the cheese heads are clean before inserting the tool. If you have a cordless drill, bring that in case you have to drill one or two stripped ones out... Undo the transmission side of the axles first, because you can hold the tire to prevent them from spinning.

You'll need to remove the parking brake cable, flexible brake lines and brake pad sensor wires - so bring cutters of some kind - that'll make it quick and easy.

Then the rest is just unbolting.

Pilk

Thanks for the input (really everyone). I need to rebuild my 83 as well and had my eyes on Lindsey's tubed control arms since I want something I can seriously abuse, but wasn't sure what else would need to be swapped. I'm going to keep an eye on your build for certain.