ehall

That seems like a somewhat high number for a 3.0 turbo motor. You can get the shortblock on that for 3k, sleeved and ready to build out. The number on the 3.0 turbo should be closer to 15k.

jtsporsche

if you want a V8 buy an old chevy. they dont belong in porsches. now i think the 928 was an experiment that ended in a lucky break for the porsche guys

rop3

I would look for someone to do the whole thing. I think that's what powerhaus is at. Also my 91 car is not a turbo currently so the car has no plumbing/cooling etc.

rop3

Yeah I have 3 porsche cars and I thought the same thing initally. After seeing the work I was impressed, I would never do this in my 993 but the value on the 944 is not that high, and I know a lot of guys are doing it. Looking for some real feedback.

333pg333

Well you could always put in a 928 motor and supercharge it?

Robby

The prob w/the 928 motor is the cost- you'd have just as tough a time getting that motor in, it weighs a TON more than the 5.7L, & then, it takes forced induction to even come close to what a 5.7L would do naturally, w/out sweating... Don't get me wrong, I love 928's, but for dif reasons. I don't understand all the negativity towards the V8's- the newer ones are much more advanced than our old engines, they weigh less, they sit further back, there's more room in the engine bay to work on them, they get similar mileage & TONS more HP & TONS & TONS & TONS more low-end TQ & they're easier to mod & work on, etc, etc, etc & it's not like these cars are really collectors items w/any REAL value anyway. If it makes you happy, then go for it! Tony's big argument was that by the time you make some 500RWHP/TQ out of any Porsche 4cyl, you'll be in it over $25k & for that, you can have a 5.7L in the car that's putting down 600NARWHP/TQ that's barely even been touched, by comparison....

Yes, I think $25k is a touch high for well-built 968 turbo engine, but I think $15k is quite low- I think you'd be in for $20k & I think the V8 is right there too. Of course, I am talking about the labor to install, the parts, the fabrication pieces to install, everything. That's what Tony G said- to have one done just the way they did his would run just over $20k... This may have included some susp & brakes, etc, but I'd have to check the thread to find out. Have you seen the thread...? If not, it's really worht checking out b/c they did an incredible job. Also, I've heard about many probs w/other companies kits to install the 5.7L- these were from years ago, so kinks could very well be worked out by now, but it gets pricier than people want to think. In all honesty, though, the same happens w/any of these engines. I was hoping to do a 2.7L, as that's the cheapest disp increase around & it'll run me ~$15k by the time it's done & I already have a turbo & that does not count anything but the engine, labor, SOME bolt-ons, etc... This is why I'm having such a horrible time, b/c I need to get it done for less than $12k- everyone's got a limit, right...? I'm seriously considering taking the $15k I'm borrowing ($3k was going to go to repaint the car) & buying a nice sub 70k mile e36 M3 OR slightly lower mileage TT2.7L S4 & chipping it- would eat chipped Turbo S's for breakfast in a straight line & be a better DD too, w/better chassis & for SURE, suspension. But, it has it's own probs... I can't win... I'm in this damn car soo deep, I could never recover, so I'll probably just keep going in this downward, bankrupting, self-abusing spiral...

gt37vgt

well if you were in my town i would put a blower on it for you for 5 Grand and promise 400 fat hp at the end of the day if your not doing it your self don't listen to us listen to any one who is happy and willing to take it on at a given budget .This is the biggest obstical we can convince you or each other but whom ever is on the tools must have his heart in it or it all turns to **** .

special tool

Robby - I agree with you mostly, but let's not get carried away wth the small blocks.
A Nascar cup car dynos at 675 RW - if you think joe retard 944 tuner will beat them you're nuts.
They also have LOW torque (my last engine made more torque at the wheels than a nascar makes at the crank) because they are biased for top end and they are peaky as hell.
That is a state of the art small block - nothing better anywhere on the planet for road racing.
So I wouldn't say a 600 rw small block na has "barely been touched", would you?

rop3

Robby- Thanks for the useful info; I need to look up that guys posts to see how it was done. On gut instinct costs being equal I would go for the turbo I guess just because little more exotic and original. My concerns with these I probably listed already:

1. Both engines- Torque/power band spread, I have learned from track driving about ease of power application with my non turbo 993 only tracked it once then bought the 89 944T. I have worked around the on/off boost, once in the rain almost spun but it seems to come natural knowing the car. With a 500hp turbo I would think this will be exaggerated heavily, ego aside can you really drive these cars soft and switch to on and off power (street driving) without worrying about breaking rears loose in turns will it be a constant battle with the throttle. I know straight line will be a blast. Mind you want to keep the ride comfortable.
2. Chevy engine- 944 S2 cab was my first Porsche, after owning many Japanese sports cars thru college and an 86 Vette. The thing I loved about this car instantly was the heavy weighted feel of the controls shifting, steering brakes and of course handling. Will never sell this car. MY biggest concern is upsetting the balance of all this with weight, the V8 is close but placement, controls etc. don’t want a fast car in lieu of loosing the feel as most driving will be slightly over legal speeds.
a. Bought my 89 944T low mileage it felt softer and looser than the S2 could not understand originally, know the opposite after new springs, struts tightening torsion bars firming fronts and proper alignment. But initially the car was loose and sloppy. I don’t want to get any of this from upsetting the balance. So this makes me lean towards the turbo.
b. Costs- I am on a budget as well and know how these things can escalate just restored an old boat. I think your right re: the turbo probably could get engine/installed around 20k as opposed to 25k and live with stock suspension for a while its all new. But for that money I would really want to be happy with the car, min to no debugging etc. The cost on the V8 don’t know if time has reduced the cost improved the learning curve. But I was told around 6k for new motor another 7k for install and misc. less the cost of my low mileage components around 3k. The net is 10k so that’s a ten grand savings. Pro’s easy and cheap to repair, large torque, cons the balance if it truly applies, non-original not sure if I care at a 10k savings.
c. Reliability- my mechanic is really talented in engineering troubleshooting etc. prefers a challenge. I have seen them do literally 20 cars. Some guys find their own engines camaro/vette gto etc. has done old 944, turbos and also a couple 968’s turns them around in a month, some are track some are street cars. So I am not too concerned about overheating brakes, power steering etc. just that balance/steering thing. And the feel of the car I know some drivers don’t even use 1st gear.
3. Porsche custom turbo engine- Obviously more exotic and impressive under the hood there were a small number of cabs made to turbo S spec cars in Europe always thought of seeking one out and there are a few for sale currently around 25k.
a. Reliability- must use an experienced high-end shop, would not want to be troubleshooting this thing considering shop would be hundreds/thousands of miles away. With my turbo bought the car cheap 10k 60k miles, in the first two years of DE spent probably 15-20k on engine suspension maintenance issues. This was without any blown engine or trans just maintenance upkeep etc. The car is all stock except the chip runs great for the last 2 years.
b. With both Porsche engines have had certain mechanical issues on the S2 there was an electrical issue where the car would not idle, stall etc. sporadically then would clear. Lived with this for 10 years three respected shops in NJ looked at it could not resolve replaced components etc. The guy who does the V8’s and services Porsche cars as well solved it. Swapped each related component and road tested. Finally it was an aftermarket alarm installed 1991 drawing current affecting the DME. Point being that both my cars are stock and sometimes hard to resolve. The custom engine will be more trick and the building shop will be far away.
c. Lastly with the 4cyl turbo less concerned with weight issues steering balance etc. but more with power spread.

As for your car if you view the cost long term it’s not much, the other cars you mention probably won’t have the same feel etc. I own an E60 M5 buy the way it delivers 500hp in a easy to apply nature but has been in the shop for 13 weeks so far the car fells very isolated unless driving triple digits. The 944T actually feels faster.

This is a long post but if anyone out there has driven these setups and has any input to actual costs and driving opinions let me know.