Steven Mike

I'm somewhat of a newcomer to engine building and am sort of looking for a project to both learn and have fun with.

I see 944s come up every so often for relatively cheap on CL, FB, ect... the near perfect weight distribution is beautiful.

So I was thinking to build a endurance racing or rally 944, what would be my options for a powerplant.

I need relatively cheap, plentiful parts, durable, decent power, and preferably from the Porsche, Volkswagen, Audi family.

Which engines would "easily" swap into a 944? (Easy as in not completely re engineering the car)

And to get the elephant out of the room NO I do not want to LS swap a Porsche, I'm wanting small displacement power, and I despise Chevrolet so there.

I have heard everything from I5s to VR6s will "bolt up" any truth to this?

An Audi 20v I5 swap would be awesome, a Volkswagen VR6 would be pretty cool too.

What have you all got to say on this?

GPA951s

Dont Kid yourself Nothing is Cheap... Either make what is there run.. or Look at the 07k Swap thread that is going on now.. Check out Boost Brother Garage on Youtube.. But with the cost of the kit, the clutch, Rad..oill Cooler Ect.. Plus all the small stuff..Plus a complete standalone My Guess is you would be looking at 5k Min..

Steven Mike

True while nothing is cheap 5k is certainly not terrible, I was reading a thread about a guy that dumped 75k into his 944 and even more proposterous is a YouTube video about a chap that spent around 200k on his, while a agree that money was made for spending I'm looking for something interesting (otherwise I would be considering a Miata) but not something requiring insane amounts of money.

V2Rocket

You've got good timing.
these guys just debuted, this week, a swap kit (in the works for a long time now) to put the VW 07K (2.5L inline 5 since early 2000s) into the 944 chassis.

https://www.boostbrothersgarage.com/

VR6 isn't that great an engine and too tall to fit anyways, 1.8T is doable but the ones that have been done have been one-offs.
The I-5 is perfect, and you can get them easily and cheap (unlike the rocking-horse-**** AAN old Audi stuff).

Steven Mike

I have been watching their YouTube videos, I have considered the 07k I5, just wanting to weigh my options and perhaps do something a bit off beat that hasn't been done before.

Body work isn't an issue as I'm planning to go wide body like an IMSA car.

The I5 is certainly a good option though and I'm strongly considering it, I just want to know my choices.

I was also considering the Audi AAN, apparently they're quite hard to come by.

034 Motorsports apparently makes a adapter plate that fits the transaxle for the VR6.
TRANSMISSION ADAPTER PLATE, VR6 TO AUDI QUATTRO TRANS

Noahs944

Why not just buy a 944 turbo and work the existing engine?

Steven Mike

That is an option as well.

Steven Mike

I'm currently looking at 944s on Copart, the N/A 2.5s are going for nothing vs the few turbo cars I've come across go for a good chunk of change.

A few more questions the 2.5 vs the 3.0 S2 (both N/A) which makes more/better power?

Also can a N/A transaxle be built to turbo specs?

chrenan

What organization are you running with? What class are you targetting?

Steven Mike

I'm actually not sure I haven't had too much luck getting information on organizations that run endurance racing or the allowed specs for the cars.
I'm in Baton Rouge, LA if that helps.

V2Rocket

@951and944S a local needs guidance

chrenan

I’m too far from you to know what’s local for racing. However, you need to figure out classing first and build for that. You may find in the class you want to run the 944 isn’t a competitive option. Racing is about the right tool for the job. Engine swapping is rarely a realistic option under most race classing.

951and944S

Can't get much more local than that.

Man, I got out of Nashville just in time.

You get any trouble from the tornadoes...?

T

951and944S

Not much of a rally scene, so unless you plan on 1/8th or 1/4 mile, it's pretty much NASA or PCA road racing.

I'd offer to meet up with you at the Porsche Club race this weekend at NOLA in Avondale but, the event got quarantined.

I have a buddy in Baton Rouge that has a 2.5 8V NA PCA SP2 class 944 for sale, $6-7k I think.

If you went a route like this, we have 4-5 guys that race local PCA as well as convoy to out of town PCA races, mostly around the south and you are welcomed to join the crowd.

T

Steven Mike

Yea appears everything is cancelled right now, one of my jobs (a YMCA) is closed till the 13th (more likely the end of April the way things are going) my other job has gone essential staff and my schedule there is down to two shifts a week until the end of the month (like I said prolly much longer than that), silver lining is I'm finally getting some days off after working everyday since new years!

Thanks for the invite for what it's worth tho!

So NASA and PCA events, what about the American Endurance Racing series or World Racing League as well?