I've read that to pass smog you have to take it to a special department of the DMV (at least in California) and have them look at the car and approve it...

 

in CA engine swaps are legal so long as the new engine is designed for a car of a later model year than the car you are installing it in. which means if you have a MY85 944 you need a MY86 or newer engine for it to be legal.

the CA emissions numbers are pretty much set in stone, but a modern engine probably is designed well enough to be 50-state legal.

 

Thankfully we don't have smog testing in Ohio anymore. I'm all for saving the environment and planet but I know it just didn't work here. I always saw cars that were newer than 25 years old (the cut-off for the test) that spewed tons of black smoke out the back. How they were still on the road with the testing was something I could never figure out.

That being said, an LS-? swap has been something I have had in the back of my head for years. Its not that I am so greatly disappointed with the power output of my car, its just that the job and end result just seem so interesting.

 

i love how it only adds a few pounds to the total weight of the car. iirc, doesnt the 944 have weight distribution of 49/51? if so the sbc swap just helps

 

I think I would just buy a Corvette. This whole sordid affair leaves me feeling dirty. That motor might feel more at home in a "67 chevy II wagon. Anyway, It has to handle poorly - I bet any old 951 would take it at the track, at least in the twisties on the backside of any garden variety road coarse.

 

it doesn't reall affect the handling of the car, the aluminum LS-motors weigh only a handful of pounds more than the 2.5 Porsche engine. a simple adaptor plate from the bellhousing to the chevy engine (or chevy bellhousing to porsche TT?) is all you really need.

 

I guess I am just a purist insomuch that I really like a good running 951. It seems like there would be a lot of work in putting a chevy v8 in a porsche, and I cannot imagine a huge gain in performance. I know the LS1 has gobs of torque but the Porsche motor is remarkably flexible and drivable. Also, I think there is more than just an adapter plate involved with the deal. I worked on a project to put 2 928 S4 motors in a 28 foot Cigarette boat and after a little research found that small-block Chevys were lighter AND more powerful. The guy(can't remember his name) from 928 International was willing to sell us marine manifolds for the 928 motors at dealer cost as he could not find anybody who wanted to put 928 v8s into a boat. Its been done, but chevys are the way to go for boats. It is conceivable that the latest generation GM v8s are lighter and more powerful than ever. I just don't like the Idea of having one in the front of my Porsche.

 

to each his own

for $10,000 you can get god (ST?) knows how much power out of the 4-popper. however, for the same money or less you can get 400+ out of the big 8 and it will work forever. the 4-banger, who knows about the reliability of an engine pushing 500 or 600HP out of a 2.5 motor.

now if you took a stock 951 engine vs a LS-engine and put $10,000 into each, i'd bet there was more power to be had from the LS-engine without entirely sacrificing driveability.

 

I would have to agree. The numbers are hard to argue with. Again I am a purist and that is my being emotional.

 

in that case, get your cutting and welding tools ready so we can drop a 928GTS motor in the bay of a 944.

 

i live in ohio and my ls1 powered 944 passed emissions with flying colours. as to the costs;

engine
2500 for conversion kit
750 or so for custom headers from renegade or sanderson
200 or so for wiring harness
150 to reprogramm the ls1 module to talk to your gauges and disable antitheft stuff
most guys are putting an $800 Ron Davis radiator in for better cooling
thats about it for streetable car, so figure 4 grand plus the engine and the car.

to get on the track and keep up, you probably want to do some of the following.

better brakes- wilwoods, or big reds
alternative brake booster, electric or hydroboost
roll bar- top speed on stock engine is around 160
turbo tranny with lsd
replace heavy electric seats with lighter ones
if your car is higher mileage, replace the control arms and tie rods
bigger sway bars, front and back
coilovers front and back.

i have most of this stuff and the car is low 12 or high 11 on a drag strip. i attended the rennfest in 06 and kept up fine with most of the cars there, even in the corners.

i appreciate the purists as i am also the owner of a bone stock 993, but the converted 944 is a blast to drive too.

 

ok guys. I went to lunch and had stuff to do this afternoon and was just able to reply. Now I'm hooked -screw my earlier post - I want that power. The 928 motor sounds really cool. I can be a purist and have my cake too. I have seen those early 944 for low$$$ and think what a POS. Now I'm thinking I could strip one to the gills, put a cage in and two great big straight pipes out the back! What fun. And Lapex; you got the idea. A nice air cooled 911(I recently sold my 1973 911s coupe) is really my idea of purism. An old "Audi hatchback" might like a pavement peeling v8.

 

this makes more sense than the $10-$15k that everyone says...

 

the reason i said to get your cutters ready is because the GTS motor has 4 cams and is too wide to fit in the 944 engine bay. you'd have to cut into the wheelwells/fenders to make that ****er fit in. then you might have to remount the suspension and put a widebody kit on it.

be easier to buy a chevy motor and make the valve covers say porsche..

 

Man, Spencer watch your language.

Whalebird, the 928 motor is too wide. It won't fit in the 944 engine bay.

I wouldn't have too much reservation about putting a different motor in a 944. Granted it is a great piece of Porsche engineering just the way it is. But if you read about the development of the car, Porsche at one time or another played around with Volvo and BMW powerplants for it. Now personally I wouldn't go throw an old skool iron block V8 with a Holley quad and subsequent hood scoop in one, but a well done installation of a modern alu V8 would be nice.

(I'm not saying that a V8 is better than a well-tuned 951 motor, just commenting on it as a project. I'm a car guy first, a porsche enthusiast second.)