xschop

I've driven a couple ***-end heavy 911's and heavier but more balanced 928's are pretty quick (If taken care of like a child...read money pit) The 944's all handled better than the more powerful cars but were slow (except the high maintenance Turbo)....so After owning 5 different 944's over the years, all models including an 86 Turbo which I constantly had to work on the engine, I decided to swap in a V8.......
I will NEVER own another stock 944 unless it is given to me in pristine shape to drive around for groceries while I'm doing my Next 948 swap. It is another beast with 4 more cylinders and no timing belt to snap and ruin the head. It accelerates faster than the 928 I drove and definitely outhandles it.
944's are becoming scarce because of all the reasons posted by everyone here and that is good for the pristine condition 944 owners......Even better for the rarest of rare breed...948 owners....
To each his own, But I like the fact that someone cannot guess what the car is until they glance at the hood emblem as the V8 note rumbles their eardrums...

James Bailey

The design compromises which come from building a car with the parts you already have from other models can be seen in far too many places.....Really the first "Porsches" meant to have mass market appeal. Admittedly the turbo variants over the years had more and more Porsche DNA and does prove that pigs can fly. Now of course Porsche and VW are all the same company so will VWs get better or Porsche.....

ptuomov

If you're doing engine swaps to get in a v8, why not use Nissan's VH1DE or Ford's modual 4-valve motor? Or anything else with a little more sex appeal than a SBC (and the later iterations)? Or doesn't anything with modern heads fit or is it just that the SBC and iterations are dirt cheap?

john bono

Anything with overhead cams is going to have roughly the dimensions of the 928 block. I remember that the 4.6 modular is roughly the same size externally as a 460.

danglerb

Sure was a factor for me, at the end of my 5 yr lease my 86 944T was just starting to slip the clutch a bit, so when the lease company was less than nice about letting me buy it at a market price, I let them keep it.

I have to disagree about still a Porsche with a Chevy V8, putting a big high torque motor in a 944 fundamentally changes the car and how it drives. Its no longer a sports car, its a muscle car, and more like a Mustang or Camaro IMHO.

xschop

MatthewB swapped in a 4.6 OHC Ford motor.......very tight fit.....The pushrod V8 swap is actually easier (space wise and pocketbook wise) to work on than the 4 cylinder! go figure. Also My 5.3l is knocking down 28-30 MPG's depending on how lead-footed I am and that is with the NA tranny gearing. The newer LS based pushrod engines are more technologically advanced than the old SBC. They are machined with tight tolerances and use better casting techniques for the blocks, the caps are 6-bolt mains from the factory and of course fuel injection with laptop tuning....try that with a 928 engine. When I install a 951 tranny, I will upgrade to Z06 heads, because I think the NA tranny R&P can handle the 5.3 stock Torque of 300 or so ft/lbs (at least I haven't broke anything yet). The other fact that my $40 MOPAR 1x23 spline clutch disc has taken everything I can throw at it is just another smile on my face everytime I thrash on it. Beats shelling out for the German stuff lol...

odurandina

these aluminum pushrod motors are abundant. they don't sound like a Lambo/audi V10.

but do they need to in order to bring the 944 to the next level ? probably not.


Tuomo, have you seen the ~ 480 + hp bolt on parts packages for the Ls 2s and Ls 3s ?


and the engines sound ten times better than an angry lawnmower.

mark kibort

why not just get a 928 and do a simple stroker kit? then, you get a near as light, better suspension, handling beast that doesnt cost an arm and a leg to modify, and its still all porsche.(except the crank and rods )

ptuomov

Almost every day I drive! ;-)

I think the 928 block was cast pretty well, it has a main girdle instead of caps which I would argue is a superior design to caps, and for less than a grand you can get full access to the ECUs. So I am trying, and succeeding...

I agree with you though that if one were to drop $15k on a late model SBC derivative engine, that engine would make stupid power on pump gas. I am reading speedtalk.com forums and $15k for a chevy street motor is considered a nice budget which will give way over 500hp streetable on a light car.

I picked $15k because at that price you can get some significant extra ponies out of a 928 32V engine -- but not over 500 hp. Well, maybe with boost, but you could twin turbo a cheap chevy crate motor too for $15k.

ptuomov

I've been reading speedtalk.com and hp/$ its nearly impossible to beat a hot-rodded SBC or later variants.

xschop

I got my "ECU" for $30 off Ebay and paid $100 to have it professionally tuned. My entire long-block with 43k miles on it was $700. The Dollar/HP had me hooked and I have a fresh rebuilt set of Z06 heads on the shelf ($300) and a tr220 cam is on the way to push me right over the 450HP mark (less than $700 upgrade even with all new gaskets)......try that with a 928 engine
And as far as new school "modular", the LS engines share different parts due to displacement variances. I am also going to install the 4.8l flat top pistons right in the 5.3L block to get higher compression ratio as the 5.3 pistons are dished although the bores are the same.

I'm basically building this motor except with Z06 heads.....
http://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56501

RKD in OKC

I guess I am a purest. If I wanted a GM V8 I would just get a car that came from the factory with it. If you want cheap get one of those pontiac solstice coupes and cram a big V8 in that.

xschop

As for the "Purists"....does the 928 have as many different OEM manufacturers as the 944? VW/Audi transaxles, Bosch FI, and the one that cracks me up is the spindles....they are not metric...english size bearings and Morse tapered tie rods....the German guy didn't produce them

ptuomov

4.6 mod ford shares many internal engine dimensions with the 928 32 valve engines. i am pretty sure that's not an accident...

john bono

For a 928, what is the point of going to all the expense and trouble of installing a SBC? While it is doable, and the tranny can easily handle the power, it is probably cheaper in terms of labor and parts to simply take that money and use it on the 928 itself. A supercharger kit will get you same/better power for less money than a motor swap. A nitrous kit will give you silly speed for next to nothing.