well, I have decided to put the supercharger on hold for now. My auto tranny is having problems, the mechanic thinks that the torque tube's rubber shredded out. I have decided that this would be an opportune time to do a project that would be more reliable/fun. I am going to convert from auto to manual tranny. I contacted parts heaven and they told me that I would need the following parts: clutch, 5 speed tranny, torque tube, linkage, boot, bell housing, flywheel, pilot bearing, pilot fork, master cylinder, slave cylinder, lines, pedals, and throttle cable. Can anyone think of anything else I would need? Also, I know that this will be a very expensive project like almost 5 grand, but I am too attached to my car to let it go, so don't tell me to buy another one. At the same time that I do this, I am also going to upgrade headers, test pipe, chip, and cone filter. I'm estimating a 0-60 time of around mid 6's. I will do the supercharger, Its just on hold for now. Any info would be appreciated. ALso, how many shop hours will I need? Thanks.

 

If your car is as fresh as you indicate with such low miles, why hack it apart? Sell it as is, or repair the trans and then sell it for top dollar and then by a somewhat older or less pristine car to mess around with.

 

because it is such low mileage, I want to keep it. I don't plan to re-sell this car, I'm going to have it till its dead. I'm going to have it for a while, so why not do some things that make it more fun to drive.

 

What year is the car?

You also need interior console panels, DME, some wiring, and possibly more.

It doesn't make too much sense to do what you want to do, but if you DO go ahead wiht it, please document it well, there's always somebody interested in doing the same conversion.

I'd look into finding a junk manual 944 for this job, for parts.

PS: I'd guess around 26 hours of total work for the job, but troubleshooting could take some more time.
Ahmet

 

why would I need the console panels??? Also, I am looking at getting a new chip anyway, should I just order a manual chip??? My car is an 87 944na. Also, what would you like me to do in order to document it?

[ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: daly944 ]

[ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: daly944 ]

 

you need to email Al Nelson. He has done this conversion. Eme and I'll give you his email address.

 

I don't see why this is concidered to be a bad idea to the poeple on this board. You should be able to get everything from the engine to the wheels for less than $2000. Then you just need pedals and a hydrolic cylinder, and some lines.

Hint: You can make your own lines for much less than buying Porsche ones.

Why do you need a new DME and wiring harness?

 

all the parts will cost me around 2600 plus shipping from parts heaven. Most of them are new, the 5 speed is used. some of them are rebuilt. It includes the new spring centered clutch. Do this price sound reasonable for the quality of the parts, they are all inspected and whatnot.

 

For: clutch, 5 speed tranny, torque tube, linkage, boot, bell housing, flywheel, pilot bearing, pilot fork, master cylinder, slave cylinder, lines, pedals, and throttle cable

That price sounds reasonable. I am assuming that they will include a pressure plate for you clutch.

 

Tabor, I personally don't think it's worth it to sink $2k in parts, and almost 30 hours in a 944 period. Now if the car is in exceptional shape, has sentimental value, etc. then ofcourse that can justfy all the trouble. I'm not particularly against this, I just wouldn't recommend it, as you can probably pick up another 944 that's already a manual for much less hassle, but as I said earlier there can be exceptions.

The interior panels needed will be the tach fuel/temp gauge, so you get rid of the shift selection indicator, perhaps a bit of wiring (that could be A LOT of wiring between DME, engine controls, and gauges, but I'm not certain), the panels around the shifter (that are different for manual compared to auto), the shifter **** itself, and the linkage are other parts that I can think of.

I don't think you can just replace the chip, I believe the DME contstruction is different.

I recommend you talk to somebody who's done this conversion before (to note things to watch out for, and stuff that may not be too obvious at first), and try to make a deal with either a dismantler like Partsheaven, or get a parts car.

Hope this helps, and good luck to you.
Ahmet

 

I've gone into parts heaven (you should see the wreckage in their yard!).. They definitely know what they are talking about, what they are selling, and are quite respectable. they are pretty hardcore porsche people. i'm sure they gave you PLENTY of information re: your conversion.
please document the steps you take (hint: usea pen & a notepad).. aside from simply being p-car fanatics, we are also information junkies...

 

Ahmet: Call me nieve, but I don't think the conversion will take sugnifigantly longer than changing the clutch in a 944.

The hardest part (that I anticipate) will be getting the new torque tube in. This will require dropping the rear suspension. But who cares? Eventually it would have needed to be replaced anyway.

daly944: $2,600 sounds a little steep. But if they have all the parts, and give you their word that they are all you will need, I would take it.

 

If you get this done for less that 4K in parts I will be suprised. a clutch kit alone will cost you 767.00 (add another 471.00 if you want a sport disc), then try a flywheel on for size at 448.10. I would not use junker slave and master cylinders, so add another 76.93 and 102.50. I think the manual shift ***** are about 100.00 for a reproduction. I only looked up 4 of the clutch lines you need and they came up to 425.00. The rest of the stuff you can probably use junkyard parts. Thats over 1900.00 alone, if you shop the parts you may do a little better, but the point is it's not worth it (looking at it from the outside).

Now, if I look at what I dumped into my car I am sure you could say the same thing about what I have done.

 

parts heaven included all the shifter ***** and pedals and whatnot in the price. Why would I need a different tach/fuel temp gauge because I already have them. The gear indicator could stay in place, I would just disconnect it. All the parts that I have mentioned come to 2600dollars, and most of thema are new. Parts heaven has really good prices. The only used things are the 5 speed, pedals, and the throttle cable

[ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: daly944 ]

 

Clutch kit from Pelican Parts with slave and master cylinder: $653.30

Clutch lines: As I mentioned earlier, don't buy them from Porsche. You buy the copper tubing and run your own. You will need a $20 flaring tool and the flare nuts. There is a possibility that you will need to get the flare nuts off of a car from a junk yard.

Everything else can be purchased used. Purchasing new parts would be foolish. This included a flywheel. However, if he did want to buy a new flywheel he could get it for $302 at pelicanparts.

[ 07-05-2001: Message edited by: Tabor Kelly ]