Im trying to price out the cost of converting a 951 to a 948. I have no intent on performing the swap, curiosity is inevitable. What is the dollar amount you spent building your 944 LT1, LT4, LS!, LS2 etc.

 

If I was doing this (and since I have wife kids mortgage etc) It would be on the cheep.

I would get a 951 with a bad motor and put a LM4 in it. Out of the box you have 325 HP. Add a cam and you have just south of 400 Hp that will idle all day long. The price difference between the LS and the LM motors is huge.

Since I would do most of the work my self parts are where I would save $$$$$. If I was "paying to have it done" I would not actually do that. I would look for one already completed that an owner needs to sell. You will pay $.50 on the dollar on labor at least. The down side to this is making sure what you are getting is a well engineered conversion. You will have to research it and if possible contact the original builder for info on the car.

My $.02 Sorry I dont have hard numbers. I have seen quotes of as little as 10K (no labor) and number approaching $35-40K. Your question is not easy to answer.

 

it depends on how far you want to go, do you want an engine swap or are you going to basically renew the brakes, suspension, transmission, wheels, tires, driveshaft, axles...performance parts for the v8 like a cam or heads? etc. all that costs labor.

nice thing with the V8 manual if you get a copy is all the dimensions of parts are in it so if you are handy you can make many of the bits and save some money..

sometime down the line i will be following this path too, likely going down a path no one has gone before...fabrication will all be done here though.

 

The big items are inexpensive but you'll find it's little things that add up and there's lots of those. Mind you there are some of those that you don't absolutely have to have but once you are into the project it takes on a life of it's own. For example I bought a 968 rolling chassis for $4500, a long block for $1500. Sold the 6 speed for $3000 and bought a turbo 5 speed AOR box for $1300. But I was concerned about over revving so bought PAC Racing valve springs and titantium retainers for $900 and ARP and Katech fasteners for $400. You start getting the drift. As far as how much I've got into it, I haven't added it up, but the parts receipts is in a thick and growing file folder.

 

I've still got less than $5K in my swap not including the car which needs some pretty still. It is the little things that add up, like brake set-up choice if you don't already have 951 brakes and tranny. I still haven't busted my NA trans and I don't take it easy, even when Christmas light strollin LOL. The V8 swap adds a better heater too!

 

Do you have a LSD N/A trans? I'm shocked it has handled up to the abuse. Did you do anything at all to the trans before really getting on it.

 

No LSD, the whole aft kicks to the right when I drop the hammer launching in Second. I've got the clutch feathering down to zero chatter on take off and I can be up to speed very quick before taching out and having to hit 3rd. Poly-trans mount keeps it from busting CV's and no increase in cabin noise.

 

Oh and I just re-calc the 5.3/NA trans MPG's at 29. I was getting 30-31 on the first tank as I babied it during clutch break in. I am in search of an Audi 100 trans 5th gear set as it is a 0.6 ratio and fits our boxes too.

 

Not everyone has access to a machine shop like xschop does....

I think $7-10k is pretty average for a swap, beginning to end. You can save some money here and there but results may vary.

 

must take a reaaaally light foot to get that kind of mileage with those gears and that displacement. nice thing is that even with the light foot the 5.3 still chucks out enough power to keep the car moving.

i would like to see how you do the .6 5th gear, i would throw that into my turbo box for awesome cruising

 

the 968 Cabriolet that sold recently for $13 k. was the most insane supercar deal of all time but,

i didn't want that incredible effort inside a "Cab" so, it didn't work for me.


then i changed my mind, but i missed it by a few hours.

 

I'm using Mobile-1 synthetic on a 47K mile engine and I run 1:640 ratio of acetone with 100% petrol gas in every tank. The engine idles so smooth sometimes I think it has quit at the stoplight.

 

what size wheels/tires xschop? also how much does your car weigh?

 

@2950 lbs. now that I removed the back seat rest and rear carpet pad.
225-18 up front and 285-18 rears. I am looking for a good Turbo tranny with LSD as well. I would like to get a better bite on launch and get the 5th gear hiway RPM down as well. Right now @3150 RPM is 70mph with 5th gear NA trans.

 

this is very interesting...my early NA is over 200lbs lighter than your car, has a rebuilt motor with maybe 30k miles, and got like 30mpg when i still had the NA box. not to mention i have lightweight 15" wheels and tires 60mm narrower than yours...with the 951 box now i can get like 34 if i reeeaaaaaallly go easy

do you have a lean-mode tune for cruising? or is all this really just attributable to the all-day chunky torque of the v8 and some acetone?