m73m95

How hard would it be to put in a 928 V-8 into the 944?

I've never been up close to a 928, but they look similar to the 944. Would the 928 engine be a bolt in (change of ECU as well)? Both used the rear transaxle.

Just a thought. Has anyone tried it? Are 928 engines as easy to come by as the 2.5 in our cars?

turbobrat930

The question remains.....Why? Why would you want to go that? Just to keep the car a true P-car? If it were mine...and I do have a N/A late model 944...which this is why I bought the car... I would put in a all aluminum LS-1 series engine. The cost would be a quarter of what you would spend on a 928 motor and would net you more HP and with low cost options out there to increase that number significantly, I would look no further.
Even though, I would agree that a 928 GTS engine would be very cool... I could not justify the cost. 944's are a hell of a car for the money. And being that you can find some that need work (clutch job, etc) that the cost to fix is more than the car is worth, there are bargains to be had.... pick one up for 2 grand or so.... then a LS-1 engine...about 2 grand with all belt driven accessories, ecu, wiring harness, etc. Then if you are a fabricator, this part will be fun...and not cost allot of money... If you are not a fabber..you can go to several places that make motor mounts, trans adapters, etc

You could have a true 330 to 350 HP 944 V-8 conversion for 10 grand or under...and that is with the purchase price of the car included... I suppose the 928 conversion could be dione for a few thousand more.. but what kind of Hp numbers would you have? and what about the price of parts, etc?? Nope... not for me...

m73m95

Well, that I guess is another good question.

Would the LS1 really be cheaper than the 928 engine? There are several 928 motors on ebay from $500 to $2500. I don't think you can do the LS1 for that...could you?

I would like to keep it all Porsche, but mostly I was thinking of the ease of installation. The 4.7L 928 looks like 2 of our 2.5's bolted together....so motor mounts might be the same... bell housing and clutch the same??

It just popped into my head as a possibility so I thought I would ask around.

BeerBurner

I vaguely recall reading snippits about how the engine is too wide to fit into the engine bay, or something to that effect. Beyond that, I have nothing useful to add.

BB.

turbobrat930

Mark, I agree that the motor would probably fit better ( I dont know if it shares the same bellhousing bolt pattern or not). I would think that any of the 928 motors for sale in that price range are going to be either run out ( time for a rebuild) or out of an older car... like late 70's and will not have near the HP that a comparable LS-1 motor would have. I too wished that a mid 90's 928 GTS motor could be had for 2 grand or so...but thats just not the case. They did not produce very many of those, and the cost of the motor...if we could find one...would be pretty high up there.

google porschehybrids .... there is a site out there that is just for this... all about putting different motors in all P-cars..but has a very dedicated 944 site.

The problem I have with most of the v-8 swaps is this...

And maybe I am just being way to ****...

Most people put the swaps together like crap. They chop the wiring harness, instead of taking time to properly chase each wife, eliminating the ones you dont need...wire by wire... Then they duct tape it together, bolt on some huge Holley 4-barrel... even though they really should have kept it fuel injected. They hack up the firewall, cut this, chop that...and when the final product is ready, it looks HORRIBLE...

There is a guy on the P hybrids site that had a post 85.5 944. He dropped a LS-1 in it.. looked AWESOME. Then he put a Magnuson blower on it... 600HP at the crank... and had less than 20 grand into the whole setup. and the most important part.. It looked like it came from the factory that way... incredible car... One of the only swaps I really approved of.

I am just trying to give you options to think about. But which ever way you go... please do the swap some justice... and do it right... the first time!!!

Wallace

The short answer is, it can't be done. The engine is too wide.

The long answer is, if you have enough money, any problem can be solved.

lovemyp-car

dammit he beat me^^^^well here's the original post anyways

hopefully dvc will chime in here and post some pictures of his car, you will be amazed if you haven't seen them already...

the last thing you should be worrying about with a 928 motor is the mounts and bellhousing, that stuff is easy compared to the other fab work needed...the motor is WAYYYY to wide to fit in our engine bay, you would need to have the shock towers cut out and a tube frame welded in...if you think about it, out engine sits almost dead center in the engine bay with not much space on either side, try doubling it. The chevy v8's are a very narrow and compact v8 (hence the name small block?) And are only slightly larger in width than the stock motor, and only a little longer. Unfortunately a lot of other popular v8's are too wide, like the hemi's and ford 5.0's. the ford 4.6 fits, but as i recall it's a very tight fit.

I'm actually going to be performing the swap sometime this spring. I purchased a 1997 LT1 engine, and quite a few goodies for it for around 1300 total out the door. I did buy the engine disassembled, so that cut down on cost, but it was perfect since i'm rebuilding it anyways. My plan will be 1.6 roller rockers, an lt4 hot cam, dual 58mm matched throttle body and intake, and some ported heads. That should get me close to 400 with some well matched valves and a good exhaust system.

You can go online and there are several places that now sell bellhousings for the LT1, as well as some that fit pretty much every chevy engine in existence, some adapter kits, the list goes on and on for the parts you can find for these cars and these engines and for putting them together.

Sorry for the long post!
Ethan

Kburke

you need the conversion kit radiator from here http://www.renegadehybrids.com/, bigger brakes, and a new trans right? for the LS1. The Ls1 is an awesome conversion. If I could get a 928 or 968 engine for cheap I would as long as it is a direct fit.

turbobrat930

Ethan...good post!! Good luck on your swap. I have a 96 LT-1 in my Jeep rock crawler... its a very good motor. I really like the Ls series motor, all Al...you know...but alais..it costs more as well. here is a pic of the Lt in my Jeep.

Mark, this should give you a vantage point as to how wide the Lt is... very narrow as Ethan was saying....

944-LT1

Porschehybrids.com is down right now.

The 928 engine is too wide. You would need to build a front tubular frame to make it fit which has been done for a chevy twin turbo set-up in a 944. You would need to find out if the 928 TT is the same as the 944 length wise and if the rear flange that mates to the 928 gearbox is the same as the 944 TT flange...you could not use the 928 tranny (diff is at rear of transaxle whereas on a 944 the diff is at front = torsion tube clearance problems and CV location). If not, this would mean the TT would have to be cut and spiced to a 944 TT to use the 944 tranny or a custom adapter wold need to be made to mate the 928 TT to the 944 tranny.

You also may be able to simply bolt the 928 bellhousing to the 944 TT and if thats possible, all you have to really contend with is the width of the 928 engine. Pretty much everything would be custom made and nothing would go untouched in the engine bay. reverting back to the original power plant would be impossible at this point. Lots of cutting and welding, design along with trial and error. You would be basically reinventing the wheel but with a bit of originality. It would be a glorious outcome if you made it work!

But then after the engine is in and running, hows the power to dollar ratio looking? The real question is what do you want from this hybrid? If its the glory of having a 944 as it was meant to be I say do it! But if youre looking for power, ease of maintenance, ease of modification etc. the chevy is the way to go here. But since prices were brought up first, im guessing that your tired of the 4 cylinder and want a more thrilling power plant???

944-LT1

No, I dont think youre being **** at all. Alot of us got a bad rap because of these. One comes to mind....early red 944, ford V8, side pipes, wiring hanging like the dash had a beard, wire nuts everywhere and counted like 40-50 hose clamps with house plumbing-ware used in the coolant system.

Yeah, we all take some heat for this stuff even though we have no idea who the person is. But most of us do very well--enough to win some awards at car shows and events.

BTW: Nice YJ???? We just put in a 350 into our 93. Wanted to keep manual but was forced to use a th400. Daily driven and wow what a difference! If it wasnt for the damn gas problems, I think all Jeep wranglers wouldve had a V8 just like the CJ's. I wonder if ****** are considered wranglers as well. hmm.

m73m95

OK OK, I give lol..... you guys win.

I'm pretty **** about how my stuff looks too. I know people like to hack and chop things to "make them work"...and in the end, it usually doesn't work. Thats why I was thinking another porsche engine would work, but if its to wide, then it too wide.

For some reason, I'm not big on the LS1 idea. Its not natural. I do however, like the Audi 5 cylinder swap. I've seen it, and looks nice.

I guess I shall stick to my supercharger though.

Thanks everyone!!

VOoDOoGTX

cut the car down the center and widen it. that would be SICK

saw someone do it with a VW and threw a 2.7tt in it widened the car like 5 inches and threw in the S4 interior in the car. it was sick. makes me wonder if a newer porsche interior or Audi interior would fit into the 944

Dougs951

Hmm the widening idea sounds possible but VERY expensive....anyone here care to attempt it?

VOoDOoGTX

iit cant be that expencive, if you do it yourself it really easy and all you need it sheet metal everything fairly strait folward the cuts made right down the center.

only problem would be getting a widdend wind**** and hatch everything else is just metal.