Noahs944

CyClone, I support your direction with the V8 conversion (lets be honest, it'll be night and day compared to the 16v).
I haven't driven a V8 944 but I have driven the 16v 2.5 & 3.0 and they weren't near as fun as my turbo 2.5 engine, which isn't near as powerful as the V8.
Having wide tires will be appropriate match to handle all that torque.

Q: I noticed you mention "early LS" conversion. What do you mean?

CyCloNe!

Ya I have debated it for a long time but even when I had my 2 turbos I still thought about swapping and I was 380bhp already. Boosted cars are fun no doubt but all engine with less varibles and cheaper maintenance is very nice as well each has a benefit. I've talked to many people that have done the swap and say they wish they did it sooner, only a few have I heard the opposite. Most were guys with turbo cars and a few with the s2 motor. The early may have been a typo, I am looking at the 5.3 lm7 and 6.0 lq4 motors. I know they will add extra weight due to the iron block and plan to pull some weight from the front to assist the difference. I may keep the S motor as it is one of the rare ones and if I ever sell the car I can always have it for the new owner.

CyCloNe!

Well new update... Just found out the wife is pregnant with our second child this past month. Very excited as we are in our mid 30's and about done with the baby game lol, but makes me question the time, money and energy for the v8 swap at this point. Considering a basic modded RS 944 at the moment, this may change but may be cheaper to build a nicer car than a fast one at this point. I don't know tough decision.

will951

Congrats....that's great new!

You could also consider the benefit of added time at home with the kids.....allowing you to work on the V8 swap!

Noahs944

My 2 cents: Don't do the engine swap & just make it nice. These are great cars when everything is working as Porsche intended.

CyCloNe!

Installed a replacement shifter today, which made a world of difference. The PO had the Only944 thrust bearings, washers and bolt replacement in there. It did ok except it would come undone over time (no sweat loctite) but to get in first and second gear the shift would touch the side there was so much slop. I think it was the plastic bushing in the shifter base combined with less travel due to the nut from the replacement shifter modification. Changing it out with a factory placement fixed it all around, feels great now.

CyCloNe!

Well wife gave permission for the v8 swap soooo do I be a responsible adult and use the money for other things or take hold of the opportunity at hand lol.

Zirconocene

Do it! Once the kids grow up and start eating more you'll have even less opportunity for this kind of V8 goodness.

I'm quite fond of the 16V engine but you won't go wrong with a V8.

CyCloNe!

Picked something up yesterday. As I posted earlier the wife has given me the go ahead to do a v8 install in the 944S. I originally bought this car for this purpose but after driving it a bit I was pretty surprised by its natural state and debated this project.
After reviewing my costs to get the maintenance up to date on the stock motor vs the v8 it became more clear to jump right into v8 territory.
I will start a new thread aimed at the purpose of providing cost of a budget v8 build to assist the community. This thread will include litterally the cost and parts for just the v8 install. I do have plans for brakes and eventually a 951 trans but they will not be listed in the thread.
I will also add pics in this thread but the main info of the swap may be in the new thread.

Noahs944

Congratulations Conrad! I'm very excited about your project. I love love love a V8 sportscar.

CyCloNe!

Not much done today. After work spent about a hour taking off the torque converter, a/c compressor, idle pulley, power steering pump, alternator, ignition coils and motor mounts. I took off the valve covers to inspect the valve train and everything looks good. Motor spins fairly easy with a wrench on the crank bolt. I had planned to get the motor on my engine stand but it doesn't fit my mount which makes me want to set it on fire but I am currently out of gas @_@

CyCloNe!

Just saw this method on the LS forums, I think I can get it that way. I was worried about it being balanced enough but seems others had success with this method.

V2Rocket

color me curious - the LS series is entirely a metric engine but that picture has grade 8 inch bolts holding the block to the stand?

CyCloNe!

Interesting... I just got my bolts yesterday for my engine and they were 10m 1.5 x 100mm (could of used 80mm probably).

V2Rocket

3/8-16 will thread into a 10-1.5 hole...it might even hang on....but sketchy.