i posted a link in a thread about ls1 swaps of a ford brake booster that uses the power steerign pump in conjunction to save space.

 

I've got both these cars...and a tape measure!

Looks to me like the 944 has about 1/2 inch more space at the top of the strut towers. (29.5" vs 29") The problem is that the 944 towers slope inwards slightly. The in the 928 the 16v engine has about 1.5" clearance between the two sides so the tightness in the 944 bay is going to be a problem.

(Shoulda started this thread last week when the 928 engine was out. Oh well.)

The solution from Kelly-Moss is a bit extreme, or maybe they wanted a tube-frame and it wasn't really required to accomodate the 928 engine. It looks to me like the fitment might be workable but very tight. If it's too close it'd be solveable. Gotta have some room for the engine to rock.

Looks like there could be up to an inch added with some less radical work on the stiffening bosses on the outside of the strut tower. Cut those pieces vertically and then reinforce, and maybe augment, them.

 

What was the reason the that guy would not fit a boxter engine into a 944 again? How feasible is this idea? Boxter tranny, position engine perpendicular to lateral frame or would it not fit without a tube frame?

 

Or grind off part of the engine where it would contact the body of the car.

 

From what I understand, it's not that the engine is too tall, it's because it's too wide. IIRC, the 928 engine is a 90 degree V8. I'm unsure as to what the LT1 is, but as someone posted pics back there, the LT1 is much more compact...

 

The "Kelly-Moss" car started life as a Porsche factory GTO class race car. FABCAR cut everything off firewall-forward to make a V8 front end. The work was done in such a way the original front end could be reattached since the historical value of that car is huge. Fact is, they could not get enough power out of the 944 engine to reach the performance the owner wanted from the car, so they turned to a 928 engine. It’s a shame the car is sitting high on a storage shelf in Madison ready to run, with no plans to ever use it by the owner. I stop in whenever I’m in Madison to catch a glimpse of one of the most unique Porsche’s I’ve ever seen.

 

We all said that its too wide and were talking about how to make it fit and how much too wide it is exactly.

 

LOL. Yeah, I can be dumb sometimes...

 

The LT1 and all SBC engines are 60 degree. The 928 on the other hand is a 90 degree V8. The SBC and other 60 degree V8s are physically not that much wider than a large 4 cylinder engine.

 

I looked at subaru EJ20 (WRX) and it was a few cm too wide to fit between the frame rails. The caddy northstar was too big in every dim.

 

I think the biggest reason overall was that the price to upkeep a 928 engine defeats the price and mods to make it fit. Then the power/reliability is not up to that of the Lt/Ls engine.

Many 928 owners have converted to a LT/LS engine for these reasons.

Its definately doable but you would have to carefully weigh these factors when deciding which route to take. Substituting a 928 engine for a 944 engine could slam you back into the same place you were before the conversion; just alot poorer.

Like I say, theres alot of 928 owners who have converted. Best thing would be to get their reasoning here. Why did they do it?

Nevertheless, i would really be interested (in about 10 years) in doing an "all porsche" conversion with a Cayenne engine or a 996TT. Theres a guy on Ebay right now selling his 914 with a 996 engine...pretty damn good lookin. But right now the prices are too high for feasibility.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...31249642QQrdZ1

 

I wouldn't say there are a lot of converted 928s. A dozen or so doesn't really constitute as a lot.

If you ask, most of them will say that there are a lot of hidden costs that will make this conversion not as cost efficient as it first seems. Vast majority of the converted 928 I’ve seen so far have a stock or near stock engine. This might be a good indication that the conversion ate up all the funds and very little was left over for upgrading.

I have an ’85 32V 5-speed 928 and a ’93 LT1 Trans Am 6-speed. When comparing the engine outputs, I don’t feel any real difference between the two. The LT1 is strong but not stronger than a 32V 928. Some people think that the LT1 engine is a lot more powerful than a 32V Porsche, but that is not the case.

I’m not sure where you got the idea that to maintain a 928 engine costs that much. It reality it’s not worst than a 944. The only time you have to buy twice as many parts is during tune up (plugs and wires) and that’s about it. Injector replacements are cheap. The Ford Mustang injectors are a direct plug in and they only cost $200 for a set of 8.

The best way to upgrade a 928 is by boosting it. It will cost less than a straight LT1/LS1 conversion and the final output will be anywhere at least 350rwhp – up.

 

Well, Im strictly speaking on past posts from our 928 conversion members. Not from personal experience.

Here again we would need someone who has done the conversion to be sure.
Nonetheless, its a good idea. I would do it if it would have fit in directly and was as known reliable as a Chevrolet V8. But in all my findings, its not.

I do understand that repairing a Porsche engine of any model will cost more because of supply and demand. Theres just more chevy water pumps on the shelf than Porsche water pumps and that goes for most all parts. They're just hard to get physically and financially. If my car fails, I can simply walk into any autoparts chain and grab a replacement with little to no down time whereas with the 944 engine it was always 5-7 from UPS and a burning sensation on my butt LOL.

As for the power...I dont know of the reliability of the 928 engine up to what power mark, but I do know that the LT/LS engines can reliably handle 450-500 hp daily and that makes me smile

 

The initial cost of a conversion "done right" is higher than the vendors in the conversion world want you to believe. If you do everything yourself including machine work and shop smartly the best you can hope for is around $5K plus the cost of the car. If you are happy with the performance as is leave it alone, be happy and take the $5k and have a hell of a time at the local gentelmens club! Oh yeah change the oil in your current car as well. $4980 in ones looks like a lot of money! As i said before the package size / configuration of the 28 engine does not lend itself well in the 44 chassis. The engine bay on the 28 is taller than the 44 for lack of better term. Same width, give or take, just taller than the 44. The main areas for concern is exhaust and oil pan. Again as before I have seen 2 one well done, on hillbilly style.

 

Are there other engines with the same profile as the LT1? While purists may frown upon this, has anyone done a VR6, say from an A4 GTI or R32, into the 944? Not a far stretch since the 944 shared some history with VW.