btups

Ok, a nissan guy new to the porsche scene (i know, i know). I'm eyeing a 944S at a good price, and I've read up on all of the maintenance and problem areas. I was looking at the engine specs between the S and S2, and it seems that the only difference between the two is that the S2's block is bored out 4mm, though the stroke is increased by a significant 8.9mm. CR seems to be the same, as does the head. So..... is it possible to bore out the 944S's block, and swap in some S2 pistons, rods, etc. to make an S2 conversion? The 944 S2's I've found are generally in the same price range as a 951 in good condition, so I don't really want to go the S2/951 route. TIA for your input.

MoonBoy

This is the standard reply you'll get from a lot of people: Any conversion will usually cost you more than just selling the current car and buying the "upgraded" model. Be it 951(944 Turbo), 944S2, or 968, etc... I'm not that knowledgable about the specifics of modifying the 944 blocks but they are made out of Nickle-Silicon(i think) and are very expensive to bore/modify because special attention is needed (think, chemicals). And above all of my innacurate information can quickly be put to shame by other, more knowledgable folks:

DO A SEARCH!


Welcome to the boards!

Z-man

There was an article in Excellence magazine a few years back on one such a project. IIRC, one of the more difficult parts of the conversion was to get the air filter positioned underneath the nose panel.

A 944S to 944S2 swap is a big conversion. The motor doesn't just bolt up. Plus there are other things that should be considered like upgrading the brakes and tranny!

A friend of mine is in the process of transplanting a 968 motor into his 924S. We've all told him it is not worth it. He estimates that it is going to cost him around $15000.00 to do it. For that kinda $$, one can easily buy a 944S2 or a 951, and if you're lucky, you can even buy a 968 coupe!

The swap can be done, but it will be difficult and expensive.

My $0.42,
-Z-man.

icat

Not to mention the difference in look - the S2 having the "tubo" nose and the S having the NA look. Personally, I like the S over the S2, but then again, I already have a turbo. Might be different if I could only have one.

Peckster

Total waste of money, especially if you are buying it intending to do this. Buy what you want.

Jfrahm

If you fell backwards into an S2 motor I think it could be swapped without much drama. To convert an S motor would require boring and sleeving and new pistons, an S2 crank, S2 pistons, and block clearancing for the longer stroke. You could very easily buy a running S2 for what all that would cost.

However the S and S2 DME inputs are the same, I think. The both have 2 knock sensors, the same flywheel pickup pattern, etc. The S and S2 also use the same AFM. If you happened to find an S2 long block I bet you could toss it in there and it'd run pretty well (better with some software tweaks i.e. Motoronic Editor, Link or Mafterburner.)

Generally I'm against swaps. If you want a faster car and they are available at a reasonable extra cost, just buy one. However if you had a 944S with a bad motor you really wanted to keep running, the S2 swap would not be too bad. I even suspect (from what I have seen) a replacement used S2 motor is easier to find and perhaps cheaper than an S motor.

-Joel.

josephsc

Don't do a conversion if money is a concern. It only makes sense financially if the hole in your pocket just isn't big enough from ownership and you need to start burning money at a faster rate.

If you want to know what's involved just for the engine part, check out Bryan Gunn's website.

btups

Thanks for the input guys. My previous car was a 93 300ZX NA, but I put nearly $7800 in her building the engine up. Might be just me, but nothing can match a NA engine on full boil. Anyway, I made the mistake of driving my friend's 86 951, and now I'm hooked... Nothing quite like it. I was afraid the costs of a swap would be prohibitive, and the fact that I couldn't find much on the swap wasn't a good sign either. Still might go through with it, but will probably go the 951/944S2 route. Any advice or info on the quirks of the S2?

joseph mitro

i totally agree with all the advice here. a rebuild to S2 specs doesn't make any financial sense at all. i recently rebuilt my S engine back to stock specs after spinning a rod bearing. after considering the cost of swapping in a used S2 engine with unknown history, then replacing all the gaskets, bearings, sensors, etc, i came out cheaper with my rebuilt stock engine (all labor done myself except machine shop work.) i didn't want to just trash the car because i already had some money in the suspension, and it was basically a no-loss situation to attempt rebuilding it myself.

you can definitely find a good S2 or even a 968 if you look hard enough. i've never driven a 968, but with power and acceleration comparable to my M3 and the legendary handling of the 944 series, a 968 has gotta be a great car!!