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This one's different. It runs!
To answer the obvious question, that's been asked and answered a bunch already: Why the 1.8t?
Thought about various Japanese engines, but wanted to keep it all German. It's a race car, and I'm planning to run NASA GTS. The car weighed 2300lbs with the 944t engine, and it's a power/weight ratio class,so the 1.8t will have ample HP. Thought about a VR6, but the 4 seemed to package better.
It was already in the planning stages before I saw the MWR cars, but damn! Their pix sure helped out.
Didn't think about the 5 cyl that's being discussed in the 944T forum... would have been a lot easier to use their parts!
Been working on this for a darned long time. It was ready to run about 2 months ago, but I couldn't get the AEM ECU to function. Finally got it synched up (thanks, AEM tech support). The jury is still out whether I stay with AEM, but so far it's done the same thing 3 days in a row, and that's a new record.
It's still a work in progress, but it's just the minor details that remain. This is just the stock mock up engine, still assembling the race motor.
I'll post more details of the project... I wanted to see it run before I made an *** of myself with yet another started-but-never-finished swap thread!
This one's different. It runs!
To answer the obvious question, that's been asked and answered a bunch already: Why the 1.8t?
Thought about various Japanese engines, but wanted to keep it all German. It's a race car, and I'm planning to run NASA GTS. The car weighed 2300lbs with the 944t engine, and it's a power/weight ratio class,so the 1.8t will have ample HP. Thought about a VR6, but the 4 seemed to package better.
It was already in the planning stages before I saw the MWR cars, but damn! Their pix sure helped out.
Didn't think about the 5 cyl that's being discussed in the 944T forum... would have been a lot easier to use their parts!
Been working on this for a darned long time. It was ready to run about 2 months ago, but I couldn't get the AEM ECU to function. Finally got it synched up (thanks, AEM tech support). The jury is still out whether I stay with AEM, but so far it's done the same thing 3 days in a row, and that's a new record.
It's still a work in progress, but it's just the minor details that remain. This is just the stock mock up engine, still assembling the race motor.
I'll post more details of the project... I wanted to see it run before I made an *** of myself with yet another started-but-never-finished swap thread!
Radiator is a generic Griffin hot rod radiator from Summit... from a long time ago. Cooled 350HP no sweat.
Got no idea what application it was for. Made some aluminum brackets, slipped in to essentially the stock loca.
I have no idea about how to do this kind of thing but I'd like to learn and, should the worst ever come to pass, I have dreams of plopping in a nice V6 from a Macan. And I know that the engines have issues but when they're running well, those 3.0L supercharged Audi V6es are also very, very sweet.
I have no idea about how to do this kind of thing but I'd like to learn and, should the worst ever come to pass, I have dreams of plopping in a nice V6 from a Macan. And I know that the engines have issues but when they're running well, those 3.0L supercharged Audi V6es are also very, very sweet.
I don't even know where to find the specs on size (physical dimensions) for the Macan engine, to be perfectly honest, but I know from reading that there are builds out there that have put the flat 6 from a 911 in a 944 engine bay, so I don't think it would be a huge issue length-wise. The rest, I have no idea about, but that's why I'm interested in how you approached this build because I'm sure there's a ton of problem solving that you had to do to make it work.
Edit: Just clicked over the the 944 specific forum and there's this: https://rennlist.com/forums/944-and-...che-944-a.html, which further plays into my thinking that the V6 mill from the Macan can probably be put in (but, again, I have no ACTUAL idea).
That doesn't even get into the sourcing of the engine, ECU integration, mounting points, etc. I'm mostly in love with the idea, with no actual experience of anything like it.
Last edited by Zirconocene; 08-31-2019 at 08:43 AM.
Reason: Timely update on a different post
As swaps go, the 1.8t motor must be about the easiest one possible. It's tiny in the engine bay.... Regardless, it was not an easy task, in spite of finding info on other completed ones, especially the pix from MWR.
There's a reason most swaps go unfinished.
It ranks right up there with the dumbest automotive ideas I've had... 2nd perhaps only to building a 944T into a race car in the first place! It is awesome when it runs, tho...
First step was some research. 1.8t motors (and now 2.0t) come in a bunch of different flavors. Later ones put the oil pump at the front of the engine, which would interfere with the cross member. The 'AEB' designation looked the best, 99-01(?) Passat or A4.
Copart is a great source... I got 2 running Passats, $550 for the pair, out the door.
The other running examples I found used an adapter to the stock bellhousing, or an adapter from either a cut down Golf or Passat bellhousing directly to the torque tube.
A Golf bellhousing places the starter to the rear, which interferes with the pedal box, so that one was out for sure. The examples with that scheme were all RHD, and modifying the LH footwell wasn't so much of an issue.
Passats mount the starter to the front, so using that was an option. I had a trans from one of my donors, but I just couldn't hack up a good trans like that! Turned out that the starter might have messed up my turbo location anyway.
I settled on an adapter to the stock bellhousing.
If I had a DMM, dimensioning it would have been a lot easier, but instead I made a lot of careful measurements and mockups to test fit.
It's critical that the input shaft is concentric to the pilot bearing, so I made some mandrels to check.
Next up was the flywheel/clutch/starter. Seemed like my best 2 options were a custom flywheel, with the stock clutch and starter, or a VW setup with a custom clutch disc. Turns out that a stock disc from a Ford Courier is correct.
I chose Golf stuff because of the rear mounted starter, but if I was planning to do it over, I would have gone with the custom flywheel and 944 stuff.
Using the VW flywheel and starter required cutting the 944 starter boss out of the B/H, and now I'm skeptical about its integrity... Corvette C5s use a B/H with a much larger hole, and they don't look any more robust. Time will tell!
Made an adapter for the VW annular release bearing to the 944 B/H.
Had no idea whether the 944 master would supply enough fluid or too much fluid for it, but figured I could adapt an aftermarket master if needed.
It has no bleeder, so I oriented it with the supply tube sloped up for self bleeding. Finally got to try it last week... clutch travel is perfect!
08-29-2019, 12:16 PM
Not another 1.8t swap!
