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The deep-end getting deeper, introducing Project FRANKY (Pict heavy)
This thread will most likely be picture heavy and I also get a bit wordy, so sorry in advance for the novel.
This build/thread will not be for everyone. I fully understand the purist aspect of things having owned older, harder to find cars before and how tough they can be to find in good shape and preserve. Porsche designed an built a great little car, if they had not I would not be basing this project off of it. However, this car imho is well past the point of restoring to be a stock/purist car. This car was abandoned in a field for many years with windows open, then some tweakers tried to work on it before it was hauled off for scrap. It was a week from being crushed and is being given a new lease on life with plans to be put back on the road, driven and enjoyed for many years to come.
Some of you have been following our "Right into the deepend thread" covering the slow and sometimes painful entry into Porsche ownership when we bought my youngest son an '87 944NA (that car is being maintained as stock vehicle). A couple of the many issues it needed fixed were that the car had a cracked windshield (with antenna) and dented fender when we bought it, so I was always skimming Craigslist and local places for parts. Mid Oct I found a car in a tow yard that looked like it had a good red fender. My youngest son had a half day at school so we hopped in the suburban with a bag of tools and went to take a look.
I saw the car also had a good windshield and the fender was solid but was trashed otherwise. All the Accy missing on motor, driver's window was down and interior was soaked. There were also signs both in the engine bay and the interior of animals/birds nesting it it. Drivers door had no interior panel, etc. The car was just a complete wreck, but it had two hard parts we needed, so offered the guy $550 for the whole car and he took it. DOH! Quick scramble and I rented a uhaul trailer and got it loaded up and ran home.
Once at home we also found out that the steering rack was not connected to the cross member, it made getting it off the trailer and tucked out of the way a bit interesting.
Temporary home
Smells great in there. probably need hazmat suit to clean it out.
I started researching how to get the windshield out and the more I looked, the l more I found that it was pretty much impossible to remove one without cracking it. DOH In the meantime we had pulled the fender off and put it on his car only to find that the reds did not match. I think both cars were Guards red from the factory, but different mileage and time in the sun had made them significantly different colors. Well I went 0 for 2 on that purchase. There was nothing else on the car I thought we needed so I began wondering what to do with it. As mentioned in the Deep end thread, wife is not having a junkyard of cars sitting around.
During this time of buying and working on my kids car I had been researching my next project car. The Wife and oldest son both have small fun to drive cars (Miata & RX8) and have taken trips into the Mtns to cruise the twisty back roads. Now the youngest with his 944 will join in the fun so I wanted a car all my own. The plan was to take our '95 mustang GT and really max it out into a hotrod / canyon carver with bigger engine, exh, suspension, brakes, wheels, tires etc. Initial plan was 408stroker, air-ride suspension, 18" wheels and wide sticky tires. When I got talking with my wife and oldest son about what to do with the "carcass Porsche" as it had become known, both said lets make it a project car.
I was not sure at 1st, my son's 944 is definitely fun to drive, but severely lacking on power that I want for a project car for myself, I am a bit of a motorhead, I wanted more power and audible sound from my project. So I looked around at a few options. A 951 conversion was of course an option, however skimming threads in numerous places the expense to build a reliable turbo motor in the high output range was quite high and still open to durability issues. I looked at Electric conversion as we have really cheap electric here and all love Electric cars like the Tesla. E conversion definitely had my interest in regards to torque. However the drive we would be doing would put the car at the ragged edge for its range if I was driving in Econo mode which which was exactly what I did not want the car for. Having done it in the past I started looking at V8's. Quick search showed numerous people running them, and a few companies even building kits for them. Light-years better than when I did my MGB V8 conversion 16yrs ago! The downside is that they all use the Chevy LS series motor and not my beloved SBF that I have lots of parts for on the shelf. However, the LS motors are extremely plentiful, have more base power than the sbf and by using the alum block car version weigh about the same (less according to some) than the stock iron block 944 motor. The kits now are pretty much bolt in and go and all fit under the stock hood (I love a good sleeper)
I roughed up a budget talked to the family about what my budget plans had been for the mustang, and that the Porsche would double that number (due to condition), even given $550 base cost of the vehicle. I told them that neither one of the projects would we get half the $ out of if we ever sold. The Porsche was going to need full interior, body work, paint, all ontop of the performance mods. My wife chimed right in and said no problem, I will pay for paint, as long as it is obnoxious/unique, we have both wanted a "bright" car (yellow/orange/green) for a while so now was the time. SOLD!
I looked at a few colors for the car. Initially I was sold on Yellow, but the more I looked around at conversion info the more yellow 944's I saw, we even had two LS conversions I saw in my area that were Yellow, one was for sale. hrmm pass on yellow. Orange I looked at briefly but just did not speak to me for a 944. Then I searched green, and saw a couple that caught my eye, also did a search on "Porsche green" and found a thread covering all the various greens Porsche had used over the years. The GT3RS/Signal Green color caught my eye and looks about perfect. I found a few pictures of 944 with it and they looked good with easy ability to use black to add contrast and make things pop, so right now that is the plan. It is also the catalyst for the project name, Green goblin is too long, so I am just calling it Goblin. Like any good project thing change, originally I was goig to call it Goblin, but the wife called it the Frankenstien car a few weeks ago. Then last 2 days she just called it ""Franky", it rolls off the toungue and just sort of stuck. A quick google search I see a number of pictures of Frankenstien are green, so there we have it! The project is now Project Franky.
This is not my car, but here is an example of one I found in a google search with the same color.
So now I am at the start of a long, long road. I know many here are not fans of the LS conversion as many have been started and abandoned, I cannot say it will 100% not happen with this car, but having been thru a V8 conversion before I am aware of the complexity and that it will be a long process. It is also why I am starting it with a "rescue" car and not an all original running car, plus I am going with a conversion many have done before and there are bolt in kits available for. Right now I am planning to get the conversion/upgrade process rolling, probably get an engine in and running and work out the bugs, then strip it to a bare chassis for paint down the road.
I will have lots of questions for you 944 pros as I go. Other than the engine, I plan to keep it as much Porsche as possible, not looking to hack her to pieces so it is just a shell over another car chassis. I hope to stick with typical Porsche upgrades for the most part. I will post my 1st performance oriented question in another post in this thread.
Nice project !
You got a whole car for the same price i paid for a used front clip for my race car.
I'm also considering going to another shade of green, something like the car above but it will be 2017 Honda Energy Green !
Seems like you got the whole family on board , have fun !!!
If you think this one looks bad..you shoulda seen mine when I dragged it outa the field it had been sitting in for 10 years! Seats still look good but are probably hard as a rock! Sooo..are you driving the 83 yet?
#1 - To hell with the purists. The car was going to be crushed. Even as 'lawn art', it's a better end than that.
#2 - Search out the 928 known as "Marvin". Dean Fuller built it for his son, IIRC.
#3 - Where in the world did you find your wife? Does she have a sister?
#4 - You do realize that this is how it starts, right? First you get one. Then you go for a couple parts and the whole car 'follows you home'. Next, your wife will want a 'family SUV' and you find out how affordable (to buy) older Cayennes can be. Once you start down the slope, you just pick up speed.
If you think this one looks bad..you shoulda seen mine when I dragged it outa the field it had been sitting in for 10 years! Seats still look good but are probably hard as a rock! Sooo..are you driving the 83 yet?
83? My son has an '87. Yes we are driving that one. If I had not had the pleasure of driving one I would not be basing a project on a 944. In fact since I gave him the 951 shocks/struts I had planned for my car I just "had" to drive his car to work today to make sure and give it a proper shake down without him observing my bad behavior. I must say the handling on his is much improved with just the shock & struts. Bit of body roll under heavy duress, but it feels very balanced and composed, no sever understeer or any oversteer ,so it should be perfect for a newer driver.
Yeah I have seen a couple barn/field finds. There is another pair of early cars available in the area, but they look REALLY gone including rust. This car surprisingly so far I am not finding any rust in, just have to get the water out of the back footwells, leaks so bad there is sitting water so I just gave up my daily driver's spot. and rolled the project into the garage. Seats in this car are saturated with water and moldy, leather is all cracked in the seams, foam is still soft though. I am afraid they are likely a total loss, might be lucky if the frames are not rusted up to bad underneath, really lucky maybe the foam is good too once dried and sanitized.
#1 - To hell with the purists. The car was going to be crushed. Even as 'lawn art', it's a better end than that.
#2 - Search out the 928 known as "Marvin". Dean Fuller built it for his son, IIRC.
#3 - Where in the world did you find your wife? Does she have a sister?
#4 - You do realize that this is how it starts, right? First you get one. Then you go for a couple parts and the whole car 'follows you home'. Next, your wife will want a 'family SUV' and you find out how affordable (to buy) older Cayennes can be. Once you start down the slope, you just pick up speed.
#1 Thanks, just giving them a nod that I understand so hopefully they do not jump in and muddy the thread.
#2 I will have to check that out. THIS car is mine, ALL mine (well and the wife's too)
#3 No sister and trust me, I married well out of my league, knew it from start hence putting a ring on it within 6mos of dating, gonna be 25yrs in June! She really did not want me molesting the mustang for some reason, so this bought it a reprieve. I think that was more motivation than anything..
#4 Yeah that is exactly how it started. One driver for kid, then a parts car I thought I could use and turns out nothing we needed/wanted worked, so now it is a "rescue". We already got the big SUV, '03 suburban I used to tow the Goblin home, it is our 3rd suburban. Next "truck" will be a pickup of some sort, they are easier to haul donor car parts home in!!
Have to start someplace with the techincal questions, and thins one I have been looking around at and spun myself in a circle a bit, plus I thin there is much conflicting info and terminology in various threads I have found. this one will directly affect engine performance/build so want to hit it 1st, even though I may wait and address it later, even after the car hits the road.
Rear transaxle gearing. My parts car I have not driven, so I have no idea what it has, but I have little reason to believe it has anything other than a std stock 87+ 944NA transaxle and gearing. I do want this car to be able to cruise comfortably on the highway. My concern however is that my son's stock 944NA car is running every bit of 3000rpm cruising @ 70mph on the freeway, that is higher than I want to be spinning the LS for long periods of time cruising. I think it would also be a good idea to have LSD in it given the power.
I found this link in a thread, but looking at the chart it does not look right? I know that my son's '87 is not doing 80mph @ 3000rpm, it is doing 70mph which matches the 88+ 944 section?
From some of the threads I found in my research it seems I should look for a 944T/951 gearbox for the LSD and better R&P ratio? Then swap the 5th gear from my NA box into it? Or are there other "magical combo's? I will have plenty of torque from low down, so taller 1st is not a concern and probably even preferred?
Awesome color. Waaaayy more dedicated than me. I know my limitations, never gonna do bodywork myself. Basic body prep sure, but not finish shape/sand/paint.
Yeah it is a good color. We always like the "old school" muscle car colors Yellow, green, orange from 60's, and like on newer dodges. That is why we are looking at the green from the GT3-RS, it is in that same wheelhouse, and a factory Porsche color.
Hey Larry,
This is what I have on my '88 DD / Track Day car. It has 350 lb springs on the front and 200 lb helper springs on the rear (kept the torsion bars). Let me know if you have any questions or anything.
Thanks Clark!
I was thinking a full coil over setup (ditching torsions) or maybe even an air ride.
I am not seeing any kits though for air-ride, though I know people have done it. I like the idea of being able to adjust ride height on the fly given the variation in roads around here. I also hear air-ride work very well for performance. BUT lot of work and complexity so.......?
I will def keep that Paragon kit in mind, as I have seen it recommended a few times. Can those be set for stock ride height? I have tried lowering on 3 cars over the years and the roads around here are just too rough to lose any stock suspension travel 100% of the time. Last kit was a very highly recommended kit that people around the country swear by, I made it 6mos and yanked them out, just not feasible for any significant driving.
[QUOTE=lamrith;15536441]Thanks Clark!
I was thinking a full coil over setup (ditching torsions) Can those be set for stock ride height?
Sure thing Larry!
No they cannot be set to stock ride height. Mine is set to the highest setting and is still pretty low. Thank God the roads around here are smoooooooth
Something you should talk to Jason at Paragon about I would say.
Clark
This is the Weltmeister sway bar I put on the rear
12-31-2018, 03:31 PM
The deep-end getting deeper, introducing Project FRANKY (Pict heavy)
