danglerb

Recent threads have me wondering about how practical it might be to make a track only Chevy powered 928. I know a couple people have actually done it, but I am thinking more about a strictly having fun cheap version.

Cheapest has to be a gutted OB with an automatic transmission. I don't see a way around this, manual transmission cars cost more to buy, break with a lot of HP, and are expensive to fix. Is there any real problem in making an automatic race safe?

383 sbc seems like the king of bang per buck, with no great amount of cost required to put 500 hp to the rear wheels. I'd like to see this stay fuel injected for practical tuning etc. reasons.

Is this a recipe for track fun, or not?

Is this going to be too much car for most people to handle safely?

What elements would need to be controlled to make this some kind of spec class?

Adrian_

Automatic OB and racing? Huh?

You'd need to upgrade the brakes to S4 ones (at least), to change the crappy 3 speed auto, plus the Chevy conversion. You do the math.

Maybe if you can find a manual 87-88 with a broken engine and buy it cheap, you'd have a resonable starting point.

kccampro

I've giving this A LOT of thought... there are a lot of reasons to go Chevy for a dedicated track car including 400hp for pennies compared to a Porsche engine and when you blow it up... it's only a few more pennies to rebuild. What stopped me is the $3,500 or so in total conversion parts from RH not including the motor. So even though the engine is cheap, I'd still need to invest a fair amount to get it into the 928. For the same $3,500 - I can freshen up my Euro S motor... but then again it's not 400hp and it's 30+ years old... and I can defray the cost of those conversion parts by selling off mu Euro S motor... here we go again... Damn this thread!

hacker-pschorr

I love 928's but I would buy a used C5 Corvette before even thinking about a conversion like this.

Friend of mine picked up a used 405hp ZO6 for $15k a couple of years ago. His average lap times at Road America is 2:28 with a 100% stock engine. There are not many 928's this side of Mark and Joe that drop below the 2:30 mark.

jheis

What class/series do you expect to be able to run a frankenporsche?

mark kibort

save yourself ALL sorts of expense and ending up with a slow car. just find an S4 and gut it, and go have a blast. (and put headers and a cheap suspension on it with larger wheels , etc etc) It will be a lot faster than an OB with a 383 in it with an automatic.

mk

ubercooper

I have a 86 Borg Warner retrofitted with an LSD. Handles ~470rwhp no problem, especially since the car is so light

Exactly my thoughts, plus you lose ~120lbs and gain a crapload of room in the engine bay. Good fuel injection systems will run anywhere from $750-3000 and are incredibly easy to tune.

yes

probably, but youll be fine as long as your not a dumbass

Im still working on that last one but maybe GT2R

Yup, since those brakes were meant for a 3500lb car they stop one with almost 800lb less pretty damn well

cough* see sig *cough cough

rad_951

What is the basic problem with tracking the 928 with the original engine? Is it that they burn the rod bearings due to oil pressure loss? Is dry sumping the engine a cure? If so, why not dry sump? It has got to be cheaper than the conversion. The small block Chevy has the same issue if you take a long corner under high Gs. So you may still need a dry sump after the conversion. If you are not fast enough to need a dry sump with the Chevy, you may not be fast enough to need one the Porsche.

Black Sea RD

There is no such thing as an inexpensive track car, no matter with what platform you start down this road. It is up to the individual to find their comfort zone as far as costs go. Track days are usually $150-$200.00+ a day. Does not include costs of gas and consumables - gas, tires, etc.

The way to make it affordable is to start with a reliable platform with the least needed to take it to the track. "Frankencar" projects always end up costing you both more time and money than anyone ever budgets for in the beginning.

Cheers,

James Bailey

I was at a POC get together last night some were talking that they spend $5,000-$10,000 running a season of racing if they break nothing....Another spoke of getting ready to fully gut and cage his Caymen.....the one he bought NEW a couple years ago . Trust me there is no cheap racing and very few cheap track cars. I now need two new sets of track tires

mark kibort

I can tell you that over the last 8 full racing seasons, Ive spent an average of less than $5k on each of the entire seasons. not counting the engine upgrade. The 928 seems to be the best racing value for the budget. Make sure you use used Toyo RA1s and pump gas to keep costs down as well as sleeping in trailers or tents. (which was a big plus this season as it got away from the AM hustle from the hotel. Now, we just wake up, get some food and go racing.
now, if you lose your entire car due to some bone-head taking you out, you have to add that into the equation as well.
Yes, it is not cheap, but you can do things to make it a little more reasonable.

pcar928fan

^^^^^^
AMEN Jim... so right.

The cheapest I have seen that ran very well was a gutted S 5spd. Didn't even have a roll bar in it. It had racing seats a pod and the "ventilation" system was zip tied so that he could still use the defroster. that was IT...oh it did still have it side windows and switches. The car was running on D90 GT wheels (7.5" and 9") and the driver was pretty good and the car was light, fast, fun and pretty cheap to build... ran great and never broke and didn't have S4 brakes on it even!

James Bailey

Much depends on where you run and who you run with recent POC Laguna Seca I think Andersons entry fees were like $800 for the weekend..... If you wanted to run with POC @ Willow Dec 5-6 and do the two races figure $525...

123quattro

With the LSx based conversion parts running $2k from Renegade, I would definitely go that route vs a 383. The stock controller can easily be tuned to control any parts configuration. Bolt-ons will easily net a solid 500 crank hp without much work on an LS1. 600 isn't hard out of an LS3.

That said, a track car doesn't need silly hp to be fun. 99% of people can't drive a car like that anywhere near it's limit. 300whp and 275 Hoosiers all the way around a recipe for smiles.

Landseer

PorscheV8, yes
Porschev, no.
Clever word, Dangler.