86 951 Driver

I don't want this to turn into a flame war about its wrong to do it. I am in the beginning process of thinking about converting my trusty 924S. I can't justify the 2,500 to rebuild the motor. The car is by no means a looker. It looks okay, but could use a little body work and a decent respray. I have been thinking about a v8 conversion for the simple fact it could be a fun project. I have never ever done anything like this in my life. I'm about to graduate college and think this would be fun to do on the weekends. So I was looking for some info like how long did it take to complete, and what engine choice did you use. Stock gauges, things like that. Do you have A/C, power brakes, power steering? Stuff like that.

V2Rocket

talk to username TonyG. He has a modded LS1 swapped into his 951. ive seen it in person and it looks like it belongs in there. and it is ridiculously fast and sounds excellent

to quote him, "i did this maybe 4 years ago and right afterwards i wondered why i didnt do it sooner" and "this is the engine it should have had from the factory"

Johnny Johnny

Good Day!

There are a bunch of us currently working on converting our cars right now. Some of us are using the 5.3l Chevy LS-based motor, one I know is swapping in a big LS6, and others are using the older small block Chevy and LT1 motors. We're doing most of the R&D ourselves rather than going the "kit" route, for various reasons.

I actually have some of the conversion parts available for sale, if you want to go the SBC/LT1 route - bellhousing, clutch release bearing, adapter plates to attach the bellhousing to the Porsche Torque Tube. Check out our forum and the various options at http://944hybrids.forumotion.com/forum.htm.

The conversions are pretty straightfoward and retain all the stock gauges and conveniences - AC, PS, etc. All depends what you want to do. I started mine in January, and I've got a couple more months to go. Of course, I only work on it a few hours a week. Costs can vary as well, depending on the motor you choose and how good you are at scrounging for parts.

Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions. This has been a great project and I've learned quite a lot.

Ross.

86 951 Driver

If I did this I would need a kit type deal basically whatever would be required to drop it in. I understand the A/C and the brakes can't be a drop in kit, but I could maybe try to get that to work with the research that has been done like the hydroboost brakes. Do you make motor mounts for the LT1? I have been looking at the 5.3l LS motor just because its really cheap compared to a 5.7 which I would like to have just 300 hp for a while becuase this is a 924S so rubber is limited.

Jfrahm

I have been interested in this subject for some time. Nice to see it come up again.

There seems to be some junkyard dogs, and some really nice conversions that cost $15k-$25k. If $10k is too much you might not be looking at the right project. It's probably one of those things where if everything works the way you want it to it can be done for $5k but it never does and the price doubles. Car projects, heh.

I would not not try this swap on a car you expected to use anytime soon (like 3-6 months) and a Turbo/S2/968 chassis would be a better starting point also IMO. Turbos with engine issues are not hard to come by and you can sell off the turbo engine parts that are still good to recoup some costs.

Issues I am aware of:

Radiator/cooling
Ground clearance
Power brakes
Smog testing
Insuring for anywhere near the value
DE/Track events/Autox classification

On an NA you also have the transmission that is not quite up to the power of the 8v motor.

Since I have a 968 I could probably meet my HP goals with just a $4300 swipe of my credit card now that there is a reasonably priced SC kit, so I am still thinking...

-Joel.

alex

Is that the vortec? If so, how is the height on that, will it fit or does it need a different oil pan or hood scoop?

V2Rocket

the LS4 is a 300HP 5.3 all aluminum designed for use in the monte carlo SS, impala SS and pontiac grand prix gxp (FWD, its actually a little bit shorter than a normal LS)

xschop

I still can't believe how much work room I have in the hood. The Chevy V8 is easier to work on than 5 of the 944's I've owned over the years....here's The 5.3l Truck motor with the Corvette LS1 intake. I will have less than $2500 in the swap parts including the Engine and Lexus Big Brakes. Like JJ said a few of us are making parts. I am developing a dual master setup as we speek because the valve cover on the driver's side doesn't allow for the vacuum booster. Check us out at the URL JJ put up. Nothing but talent over there... The LS/4.8/5.3/6.0 engines need at least 3/4" X-member drop for the stock hood to close
Bump steer kit has been worked out and Headers are the last code to crack....almost there...


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Potomac-Greg

Just out of curiosity, I wonder if anyone has looked at marine engines (crate). They still crank out small block Chebby's in Mexico destined for use in boats, using port fuel injection and fairly "hot" cams. I wonder if these would be less expensive that automotive crate engines. In the fine state of MD, a 21 year old car registered as "classic" does not need to undergo emissions inspections.

86 951 Driver

Did you fab up your own mounts and stuff or did you buy them from somebody?

alex

sweet, so you are using the truck engine, that was my plan as well. Looking good!

Jfrahm

Dropping the crossmember 3/4" might be a dealbreaker for me. I hate scraping and bashing stuff and I would not want to run the stiff springs needed to keep from bottoming out on the whoops around here.

Looks like it'd be good for a track car though.
-Joel.

xschop

I fabbed up a Cradle mount because I want to be able to drop the Xmember for access to the oil pan without using an engine lift and I am building custom control arms and other things. But I also designed a set of left and right uprights that mount to the Xmember. They fit an SBC/LT1 and an LS/4.8/5.3/6.0 engines with an extended engine plate.....




The C5 bellhousing is the way to go because ANY Chevy V8 can be installed

86 951 Driver

So could someone buy those mounts to work with an LSx motor for my car. Any idea what they run? I'm very interested now looks very simple.

xschop

I dropped mine a total of 1" and here's what I did to bring it back from the bottom out zone. I still don't see why people want to drop the car, It sits low enough for my taste already.....
With the Truck motor and a Cam and heads = 425 hp all for less than $2k