jyoon

1) $4-6k
2) $5-7k

you're way better off just buying a turbo if you want more power. you're gonna spend alot of money and headaches installing an ls1. with the turbo, you'll get close to what you paid for it on resale and it will be together and running.

MyBlackCar

It should be $3K for the conversion parts not including the block. The LS1 blocks are going for about $2K ish. Estimate labor to be $5K. Yes, DanG said it best when he said it will run you $10K.

Legoland951

The blocks for 2k probably wont come with all the wiring, computers, and smog equipment to make your car smog legal. I would estimate about $3500 for all that stuff unless you buy a parts car. This ain't going to be cheap and you won't make money doing conversions depending on what your time is worth. The emissions referee will cost you more time to make your car legal than anything else. I know the 944 end of it and some of the LS1 side but not enough for me to be comfortable with building a street car. I am working on a full caged 350CI carbureted version though its a very slow process.

M758

5 to 6k Is my guess, but alot depends on the rest of the car.

I would just fix the S motor. Figure it this way. 4k is good deal for 944S that should provide years of trouble free use. Most of the 4k 944S cars you find need work to make them mechanically sound at similar level this car would be.

What kind or work does th engine need?

flosho

Id say drop a v8 in it. Its always cool to have something different. You have a 951, so now all you need is a Porschev.

FRporscheman

The conversion won't be cheap, but it will be worth it. After buying the renegade hybrids kit, and the chevy engine, you'll have everything mechanical you need to put it all together (exhaust and stuff will be needed). It would be advisable to get a turbo or S2 tranny becuase the the 944 and I think 944S trannies are not strong enough for SBC power. But that should be it.

If the idea is to fix the 944S and sell it, then fixing the original engine is a better idea. If the idea is to make a mean machine, then I'd say get a 924 or 914 for the V8 swap, because they're smog exempt.

I've seen a 914 with a big block chevy 454 stroker. AMAZING.

bleucamaro

Go with the V8. Although your costs will be more than you posted (I'd estimate in the $6-7 k range), but it will still be more fun than about any other car in that price range.

Serge944

The misinformation on this thread is giving me a headache. I think you should take the advice with a grain of salt and use your own judgement. Either way you go, you wont make any money off the car. It comes down to whether you want/need the extra power and whether you have the spare money to go for the ls1.

I personally wouldn't dump $3200 into the car only to be left with "just another 944."

944bucky

I saw a 944 with the ls1 conversion on ebay and it didn't look to be fetching to much $. Porsche put a lot of time into these cars to make them as balanced as possible. I'd stay with a rebuild S motor.

Serge944

I'm confused by this mentality and I hear it often. Is this what people with stock cars say to justify themselves? If by balanced, you mean slow, then by all means, yes!

alordofchaos

Heck, for $3200, you could buy another 944

Because if you take that 400lb lump of Porsche metal out the front and replace it with a 400lb lump of Chevy metal, the car becomes unbalanced! must be the lack of the Porsche crest that throws off the balance...

Your car, do watchoo wanna do. If you go to the V8, ome guy will have your car 20 years from now and spend $30,000 to turn it back to original

hacker-pschorr

What's wrong with it?

expuppy

as an owner of an ls1 944, Dan R. is right. You will probably be out of pocket close to 10 grand depending on what you want to do with the car. Running and street legal;

car
2500 ls1
2500 RH kit
1500 RH headers and radiator
500 computer programming and incidentals
you do the labor or its quite a few hours labor

SO you are 7500 there .... to make it so that you can use the torque;

951 tranny with lsd- $3200
17 or 18" wheels- $1000

Now you are at $11,700 ( i know where my money is going now, thanks, lol)

To be safe on track and lose the added weight for the front (keep the balance);

$700- Fiberwerks EVO 2 nose & GT Racing Blank to get rid of pop ups
$600- Roll Bar
$500- Harnesses
$700- Koni front height adjustables and new A-Arms (arms breaking at the track can mess up yours and others day)
$ 900- Wilwood Brakes ( YOU WILL BE GOING FASTER than before but not that much faster, some of the NA's did REALLY well at the fest)
$900- ABSPowerbrakes electrical boost assist.

SO, for $16k or so, plus the cost of the car if you dont have it, you can have a torquey, street legal race car. Others are also right that your resale will NEVER be close to what you have in it. Having said all that, i love mine, and would do it all over again. You wont smoke every other 944 ever built, but you will have an interesting fast car to drive. Its your time and money. I agree with the previous poster, do what your mind, heart and wallet tell you.

jyoon

i would have bought this if i didn't already have two cars. gives you an idea of what this kind of stuff is worth.

i'd say you could get a lsd 951 tranny for $1500 easy.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/36807...QQcmdZViewItem

89951DREAMER

The problem with the stock engine is that the timing chain broke after the tensioner wore out. This snapped off the mounting point that is cast into the head for the tensioner. I doubt that it could be welded back on accurately. I have been quoted $1700 for a good used head and $450 each for the cams (used). I need both cams because each has teeth broken off the sprockets. These prices could be totally inflated, and I haven't spent a lot of time looking for a replacement head/cams. The block is perfect as far as I can tell without pulling the oil pan. I'm assuming that the bearings are OK since it was running when the damage occured.

I have spent a bit of time looking at LS1's on ebay. I have seen them as low as $2200 and as high a $6k with a tranny I don't need. The Renegade kit is $2100 for the basic kit. I have a full shop at home with a lift and fabricating tools and I can do almost anything in that respect. My dad has a full machine shop, so I could probably make my own coversion kit if I had the time. That is why I'm looking at the lower end of the price for the conversion. I'm not including my labor since this is a hobby and something I do in my spare time for fun.

Also, I'm not looking to sell the car after fixing it. Either I or my wife will drive it. I just wondered how bad of a hit I would take on the value.

Jyoon, that 928 is totally not my style. Wrong color, hood scoop, carburated, it's just wrong. I'm into the stealth look. I want the car to look like a nice 944 that is lowered with 18's. Little do they know that it will spank a C5 Z06. I'd also make the exhaust quiet. I don't like to give away the fact that I'm packing a V8 in a car that came w/a 4 cylinder. Also, it has to pass Cali emissions. That means I will have to make the car OBDII. To me, that will be the biggest challenge. I think I've pretty much decided that the car will get the LS1. Thanks for the help, guys!

Ian