Malibu310

I was also sold on the bullet proof 928 engine, as I had 5 stock powered 928's before. However the torque on our supercharged Chevy 928 is awsome, it's more like sledgehammer. That said, the 928 I bought first had its stock engine overhauled at 45,000 miles, and at 97,000 miles, that overhauled engine was going bad. In the end going Chevy power and keeping it simple (no computers or fuel injection) will make it less to maintain. I'm not sure however, at the cost if what I ended up with is torquier (a new word) than a supercharged 928 engine... I have to compare if I can find someone in Minneapolis with a modified 928 this summer.

Nicole

That is an argument I never understood. In allm y 22 years of driving, I have only once had a real life problem with a fuel injector (on my RX-7, one was leaking), and have had the ones on the 928 cleaned as a preventive measure while chasing an idle problem (the injectors were not the cause).

Compare that to the time to adjust carburators and ignition timing... I'd take the reliable modern and computerized ignition and fuel injection any day. In fact, I think one of the positive side effects of emissions control was that we did get these things at an affordable cost. It is a mystery to me why anyone would want to go back.

docmirror

Nicole, I'm with you on the FI + Elec Ignition. The answer to your question is found in post 61. Strangely enough, he saved $2000 over an all electronic setup. This seems about right. I looked into EFI and TEC3 systems for my boat SBC engine, and $2300 was my finding. A decent used carb is a few hundred, and a dizzy is less than $100. Now, the emmisions, and economy, and reliability of a carb vs FI+EI is another debate.

Penny wise, pound foolish? That would push the total for the conversion over $30k, that might have been a bitter pill to swallow. I'm investigating the conversion cost to TEC3 for the Lambo V12 right now and it's at $3500 and climbing, with me doing all the wrench work. For a car that only travels <1000 miles per year, I think I'll stick with the six Webers, and 4 point, dual circuit dizzy. I can tune it in my sleep after the first 40 tries......

Malibu310

I guess what scared me off was the number of "experts" needed for a Chevy "race" engine to set it up correctly. This is assuming the local "experts" here in Minneapolis actually know what they are doing. When comparing to a factory engine with their billions of dollars behind them and the best in technology and engineering, to local shops, especially in this town, I decided to play it safe. The only mechanic I trust is Jeff Cheney, but he is not a fuel injection expert. At this point spending another $2,000 was not the main concern. My experience in this city for expert repair has been awful... keep in mind that maintaining my Aston Martin here is a literal nightmare. When we first bought the Yellow 928, it was a home-built Chevy conversion gone bad... we blew $2,000 on bad shops just to hook up the electrics and exhaust which no one knew what they were doing (the advertised supposed experts). Cheney got everything right in a day, less than $500. Then when we supercharged the 928, it was 7 months back and forth to the shop before we got it right... it takes the "fun" out of building. When I asked for the engine to be built with no cam lope at idle and have more low end torque than high end power, we were approaching the territory of new combinations of head porting, cams, compression, etc. This out of the box building meant we would need a custom tuned fuel injection and computer. That is not a good idea in the Minneapolis area, at least in my opinion based upon experience.

rob rossitto

very good point - local talent is a big factor if you're not turning your own wrenches/mashing your own knuckles... that's why I kept an old 73 GMC 2500 (built 454/ lifted /etc) surburban at my baja beachhouse for years - no way I'd find a local that could work on anything but a carb powered beast that burned regular (83 octane) or whatever crap they were selling out of a 55 gal drum that day.....

but in the land of milk & honey(CA), we've got an armada of exotic on & off road stuff prowling all year/round the clock feasting on 93/103 stuff at full serve pumps - hence, lots of top choices for all forms of motorsports (a good thing)... makes a big difference in parts access/downtime too... IMO you at least need to have breakerless ignition though... messing w/points is a real PITA/cuts into beer time (a bad thing)...

Malibu310

Yes sir bob... I've got a electronic ignition! What I don't have (I recently found out yesterday) is a choke... in cold weather I've got to feather the throttle the first few minutes. They installed a racing carb... no choke!

Jim bailey - 928 International

Malibu310 ....... that leaves me nearly speechless and that is unusual ......no choke is no joke

Gretch

I could understand why someone might attempt a conversion for all (or at least some) of the reasons you have previously mentioned. I guess I miss the motivation behind actually paying (a premium) to someone else to get it done to a standard that you didn't even set........

Nope, I can't relate to that at all......still, what ever floats your boat......Yer a car guy, and that, I can relate to.......

Rob M Budd

,,,,reading this thread with great interest. I did a Chevy conversion 4 years ago (LT1 368 HP) and after 30,000 trouble free miles I decided it was time for more power.
An LT1 is at the machine shop and the stoker kit and manifolds are on the way. I guess I have way to much time on my hands.
If memory serves me right the original conversion ran about 6-7K with a lot of WYAI stuff. This latest project will run about 4K. The engine builder at the shop says I can get 500+ HP and close to 500 torque with the configuration I've chosen, so I may scale it back and shoot for 450-480 HP. After all its a daily driver.
With the exception of the machine work I'll do all the labor myself.

BTW, the LS1 has a higher intake manifold and won't clear the hood or else I'd go that route.

Malibu310

It makes a huge difference for those that have the talent to do the work themselves! I actually changed the tail light myself yesterday... a major accomplishment!

T_MaX

I've done two Jag conversions with kits from John. The only reason I would not do it again is the rest of the Jag needs to be re-wired to make them reliable daily drivers and thats a true PITA (LUCUS SUCKS).

http://www.johnscars.com/default.htm

Before you buy a British sports car, know the 5 basic laws beyond Newton's.

http://www.johnscars.com/home/britcars.htm

Gretch

You have my sympathies T-max. I bought a 74 TR6 I have been playing with. Cute little car, but what a bucket of bolts..........and the electrical system is shameful. The switches are mechanical with dozens of pieces in some cases. Case in point is the heater fan switch. It came apart and dumped springs, plastic bits and contact pieces all over the floor. The engineer who designed that POS should lose his license.

And the repair manual shows parts that are not on the car, and does not show parts that are.......You gotta be a saint to work on these cars......

DFWX

Installing an SBC Chevy motor... how original.

m21sniper

"What a nice car it used to be. It had issues? Couldn't have been as hard to fix as it was to put a new motor in."

Oh i'm QUITE sure that to put a 928 V-8 motor of equal output in would've required far more time and effort.

400hp N/A SBCs grow on trees. The same cannot be said of Porsche V-8s.

sublimate

Man, who 'Gretched' your cornflakes this morning?