for a little background, im 18 and am currently working on a twin turbo 5.0 67 mustang project. It's taking FOREVER (basically have to do all the restoration stuff, paint, interior, etc).

Today i got the crazy notion of getting a cheap porsche, and putting in a 2.3 turbo ford engine in it. THey litter the yards like weeds, are very commonly modified, and are very durable engines.

The basic idea is to have something custom, fast, still handles well, etc. I figure the 2.3 will weigh significantly less than the 5.0, to maintain the handling of the car, yet have much more power than the stock 944 engine.

Am I crazy? This isnt the question for the purist, obviously. I'm just wondering if this could be done and meet my objectives.

Thanks for the space!

 

Why?


nh3

 

yea why?
just keep the 2.5l turbo and u can upgrade it easily too

 

AMAF are you in there?

 

[quote]Originally posted by nh3:
<strong>Why?


nh3</strong><hr></blockquote>

Why not??

 

For what you would spend, why not a 951?

 

OK, ignoring the "Why?" issue, consider one thing.. is the Furd engine an upright or a slant? It it's an upright, it'll fit, but you're not gonna be able to close the hood... if you lay an upright engine over, you're going to have to redesign the oil pan & pickup, and every time you get it wrong, you find out by frying an engine.

Even it it fits spacewise, who's gonna make up the necessary adapters for bellhousing, motor mounts, flywheel, etc?

Just buy a 951; you get the suspension & brakes to go with the power.

Jim, "Other than that, Mrs. Hitler, how was the honeymoon?"

 

I must be the expert at this topic.

 

I was thinking of a Cat 3208 myself w/ 2 chrome stacks beyond the doors.

nh3

 

Con-1: The Ford 2.3 sits upright, not slanted so hood clearance might be a problem.

Con-2: Any conversion is tuff especially with a torque tube setup.

Con-3: The engine is ugly and would be like putting a terd in cherry pie.

Con-4: Not so sure about the reliable part. I remember the XR4 ti's usually didn't make it much past 80-90k miles.

Con-5: The engine is still butt ugly.

Pros-1: Engine and parts are cheap and plentiful.

If you must convert a 944, at least put a decent motor in it. For weight and balance, an all aluminum 3.5 Buick/Rover V8 would be great. It may be a bit heavy but a 300hp LT1 would be cool. The reason I mention V8's is because I really think you'll need the low profile of a slant engine or V8 to fit under the hood. God help us all if you would even consider putting a hood scoop on it! I am only a purist when it comes to keeping the original look of the body. Besides, it makes the car a sleeper on the street. Below is a pic of my first car at the age of 15. It's an 80 Triumph TR7 conv. that I put a 350TPI with a 700R4 in from an 88 Vette. I was able to pull it off without any modifications to the look of the car except for the unusually low ride height up front (heh). It made one hell of a sleeper, Vettes, Mustang's, Camaro's, 928's, 951's, and 911's were very surprised when they challenged me or........um......when I challenged them. Anyway, it'll be your car so do what ya like but try to do it tastefully.

This is of course just my opinion and I could be wrong.

Dave

 

Hey, my first car was an '80 TR7 convertible also!
Actually, I've had 2 of them.

- but the V8 (Ford 302) was in my TR6!

 

Keith

Seems like British roadsters were the first cars for a lot of people. I'm building another TR7 right now but this time i'm going with the LT1 massaged to about 400HP with a 6speed and a custom engineered Jag rear suspension and diff. A guy in the UK did body conversions for the TR7/8 back in the early 90's and I have been talking with him to try to find one the the kits he sold but no luck yet. I have even offered to buy the molds from him but he is not compelled to sell just yet but I'm going to keep trying.

 

Here in town there are two 944's with LT1 transplants, the purist's frown but if you could see the cars in person your jaw would drop. These are some of nicest 944's I've ever seen inside and out. Both of these are were done by renegade hybrids so you should check out their site. I'm not affiliated with them at all but it's kind of different approach. One of them has a custom rear bumper and 3-way adjustable 968 wing which looks looks awesome. Hopefully I can talk him into selling me one of the prototypes they made when they first tried out the mold. The blue one at their website is the one in town.

 

The 2.3L Ford engine isn't unreliable..My dad had an '87 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe and it lasted 170k miles before he sold it. Granted the next week the guy who bought it blew the turbo up from "normal driving"..yeah right.

It's still running around town too..probably had an engine rebuild by now but still..if you take care of things even cheap American iron can last a while..

 

Has any one actually looked at the real costs of a renegade hybrid? I have spoken to 2 people and both admitted that they had well over 20K in the conversion...... and the front/back weight distrobution is way off.... car understeers like crazy.