rude944

So about 9 months ago, I was coming home from a few years working in Indonesia, and really missed having a turbocharged/transaxle P-car. I posted my desire to Rennlist and Sydneyman was reaching his wits end with his 968's weak heart. We struck a deal and I had the car shipped to Portland. It was a week or two later and suddenly I had a 951 in the stable as well... I wasted no time. The plan was hatched, the 951 would donate it's beating heart for the 968.

Since then, it's been a bunch of 951 rejuvenation work, which has been great fun, honestly. Every weekend, I visit my friends' rural farm where I stored my tools and toys in a barn (remember, just got home from Indo) so I can refresh this old motor. The 951 had been neglected a bit, but it was a runner... effectively, the clutch exploded, but I was able to drive it to the farm where I would be doing the prep work. Taking a 25 year old 95k mile engine to ready for install has been a longer than expected task, at the rate of one component a week. The work was mostly in the refresh category, rod bearings was as deep as I went, balance shaft covers did come off for the o-ring replacements and every gasket/seal was replaced. I did opt for a K-27/6 7006 from good old Charlie at Evergreen and resurrected an APE MAF w/tune (don't hate, this is a solid combo which served me well for a decade and a half). 300hp should be easy to find, as as always, is plenty entertaining in this chassis.

So the motor is borderline ready for install as of this week, just a few parts left, but already coming in the mail. Today I decided to drop her off at a world-class shop who will do the body stuff; bumper, intercooler and hood latch work, who primarily does auto and aerospace grade carbon-fiber work. After the body is done, which I expect about a month to sort this (and while I meet a client in Sao Paolo), I'll install the 951 motor, hopefully over July at the same shop. As I was pulling up, I gave her one last run up to redline and said to myself... this NA bores me... it has to be turbocharged. This is my thread of the process. I'd like the thread to be a guide to the next guy, as searching for this stuff is a bit painstaking, and with the age of these cars, and the conversion so desirable, I hope to inspire and guide the next guy who wants the same. So lets set a constructive tone and mind the internet posturing and such.

Big shout out to Chris, Tate and Shawn, and Ian for their help... selling me a cool car, with sending in pics of the latches, IC and build notes and for use of the shop. I should prolly tell you that I was a dealer wrench before college, and was the technician at Powerhaus back in the early 2000's, and have had a hand in a couple of 968 turbo builds... a decade ago, so while I'm not a current expert anymore, I know my way around these sleds.

Have a look at the eye candy, which is chronologic... and the last picture is what you think it is... the rare Andial 8v... you know where this is headed.

sydneyman

Heart wrenching and awesome at the same time. Im reeeeeally looking forward to this build thread.


just remember i didn't include any language about "no take backsys" in the bill of sale!

155

Awesome thread, thanks for sharing

rude944

I've requested the shop who is doing the bodywork provide detailed photographic evidence, and they agreed... These guys will make this conversion look good, for sure.

A few more teasers...

2.7 head, ceramic coated chambers/ports, o-ringed and 951 valved. Care of Chris Carroll at Turbocraft... one of my favorite coworkers of all time.

Set of fairly clean 993 Turbo Twists I scored for $200... how could they be so devalued?!?! I've always wanted a set of these.

MN

Since you have a 951 motor and a 968 motor and rebuilding at least one of them, why not "combine" both for a 968 turbo motor? (3L block, 2.7L hear, and 951 turbo plumbing.) Been done a few times.

rude944

MN, you're correct, that's always been the plan... and it certainly is the right way to do this kind of thing... especially when there is so much that can be used to make the solution factory reliable... use factory parts, and this is goal.

The idea is to use the 951 motor as a bridge... to get the platform kinks out and truly (hone the block 1st over, and blueprint the rotating mass) rebuild the 3.0 concurrently. Having the 3.0 out and on the stand would have likely added a year to the conversion and then, once installed, I'd still need to sort the residual issues with the platform (such as the supplemental turbo water pump). I can work it all out and once the 3.0 is ready for installation, increase the likelihood of overall project reliability.

So, I want to be able to actually drive the car, use the 2.5 as a Guinea Pig and have it as well as a donor. I did overstep a bit, and got the k/27-6 for the 2.5 built, but I figure that I can sell this unit and the MAF down the road and recover most of the investment for what I have into it.

Plus, having this as a hobby is a long term thing... and I've been owning these cars now going on 20 years, so it wasn't like I was going to just lose sight of the long term vision. I'd just like to make it have legs, and not find myself at the end goal rushed, prematurely and overspent.

Call it a stepping stone approach for the common man. Or: "Fast, cheap or reliable, pick any two".

flwbyu

Totally, looking forward to this thread. Cannot wait to see the work in progress. Thanks for sharing!

MN

rude944
Yes, I can see the wisdom behind your approach. Nothing worse than having spent $$$ and then being stuck with a non-drivable, fairly worthless "project car".

MN

"resurrected an APE MAF w/tune"

Have you considered the M-Tune MAF kit perhaps together with the Rogue Tuning ECU?
(No association)

odurandina

fantastic. will be watching this one as it comes together.

3.0 Turbo is ambitious. good luck.

rude944

Have not been working on the 968 lately (getting my old BMW airhead back on the road after my forks bled dry was last weekends project)... work travel has been grueling lately, but my excuses for inaction on the car doesn't mean nothing has ceased. Someone last year told me the key to long term projects is doing one thing a day... so I sometimes surf ebay and parts stores just accumulating parts necessary to make this all work, one by one. Perhaps, however, that someone attempting this conversion will get a sense of some of the nuances of the requirements this way.

First, intake plumbing can be made to work with the k-26 and all that, but as previously stated, you might go MAF and find yourself in the category of needing a cone air filter, or for me, to have for the initial build. My long term vision is to go back to the factory airbox, and I have one of them in good condition, but initially, I got silicone hoses and all that crap air filter for the start-up period of this build. In the pic you can also see the oil cooler alignment tool. I'm going to mount the 968 oil cooler-housing to the 951 block and maintain the 968 oil cooler/lines etc. I hope this should work, give me the benefit of the 968 design/airflow to the cooler and minimize changes to the design, as when I am back on the 3.0, it saves me getting new lines again. Also note the slave cyl. Part/number is different on this, and while I don't know any significant difference (beyond a completely different clutch design on the 968), I've seen so many slaves fail, it's just smart to swap it. The line needs to be replaced with a 951 part anyway, so WYAIT...

Next the 3.0 bar FPR (Volvo part) will be keeping things nice and rich on the APE 90's era tune. Again, I ran this setup for a decade and kept my head gasket at 1 bar. Don't underestimate tried and true despite all the hype. One day, I'll M-tune. Not yet.

The factory expansion tank for 951 is necessary for it's second outlet with "check valve". This is an interesting piece, as it mounts different on the 968, under the fender. This requires plasti-welding the mounts on the 968 tank to the 951 tank. Slice mounts on 968, bond to 951 tank.

Test pipe... I am keeping the factory 951 cats for passing emissions, but love a test pipe for it's inherent benefits... fireballs at upshifts, lightweight, a few ponies, little more of the right noises, few less parts to mount the thing. It's a winner, even in the bursch 2.5" variety.

Last, I'm going to mount this boost gauge in the factory 968 clock location, with a carbon fiber surround. I imagine that people have fun trying to support the factory boost gauge, but that's a mess I don't know if there is value to support. I love that this VDO one is both vacuum and boost.

rude944

Bit of a break in progress, but we're back on... in the last month, I was traveling to Brazil back to back for most of the time on business. However, the last 2 weeks have been wonderful. First bit of progress came last week, when I prepped for removal of the 3.0. Once all the individual progress was made, I required some help. Got a Kiwi to assist and we were able to pull the 3 and have the 2.5 in, same day. Once the 3 was out, I got the brake heat shield in place (factory studs were retained in my model, which was a big time saver). Following weekend, I was able to swap the torque tube and get the transmission back in.

Some notes for people who are also planning this conversion. First, I'm using an early torque tube, no dog ears. I understand that this is the same internally, so finding one that had nice bearings was key... I didn't want to rebuild it. However, My tube had been outside of the spec for shaft extension into the clutch, so I had to do some research to get the proper spec (a Tom McGunn thread on this lovely forum put me right) and the torque tube slid right in. The next note is the 968 transmission coupler is a bit dissimilar from the 951, in that it has 4 bolts instead of two. This might be much stronger, but it's a bear to align. I might have to heat it up a bit to slide it in all the way. That's a job for next time.

In any event... here is the progress photo.

Still lots to do... fab a custom exhaust (with test pipe), but keep it as 968 as possible... thinking of 951 muffler and 968 tip (stealth!), fuel lines will get the right fittings, wire it up (as I understand, it will just take two connections, AC and fuel pump to make it right)... intercooler and twin hood latches will go in later this week. I'm using the 3.0 oil cooler housing (block) and 968 cooler, so that was an even trade. The swap is much smoother than expected. I'm encouraged to get it done, and deadline is a baby due on Sept 19th.

odurandina

re-posted (so I can read it more easily on my small portable screen).

nice.

sydneyman

eat my heart out! got the 3.0 out and the 2.5 in in a day? nice!

rude944

Been working on the 968 sporadically as of late... business in Brazil every other week. Its a weekly thing, either the Porsche or the trip to the south side of the globe. Anywho, top of the engine is pretty buttoned up at this point, most of the plumbing issues are solved, or in progress. Needed to get some fittings from the 968 stock fuel lines on the end of the rennbay kit (nice aeroquip hoses). I have the 968 oil cooler easily fitted, modify the radiator support to accommodate the coolant hard pipes, etc.

Clutch line needs a bit of work, without the 951 bracket, it requires a bit of customization to make it work.. I`ve started, at least with the factory rubber flipped 180 degrees and the 951 hose is fitted to the slave, and now I need a small bridge hose to connect the two... Likely will do a braided steel connection there.

The 88 non-s donor car`s coolant hard pipe wouldnt fit to the expansion tank, as its well out of alignment but BoostFeen is sending me a late hard pipe which should sort that. Transmission and all of the rest of the drivetrain is sorted, although the torque tube was a bear as always. First problem was that the shaft had come a bit backward and needed to be moved forward in the tube about 3 inches. Then, using the 4 bolt coupler from the 968 to the early shaft was more difficult than usual. I might go with a two bolt 951 coupler in the future, and would replace it earlier, its a very painful process to get that 968 coupler to move.

Although most of this has been fairly straightforward (and a lot easier than I anticipated), the AC has been determined to be an unnecessary amount of time to sort out appropriately at this time, Sorry, Sydneyman... I know that was a big investment, I do plan on sorting this later, just not in this phase.

Did a bit of electrical cleanup today, and she now cranks. This is the real crux of the project. I have some notes on the electrical conversion but am looking for some assistance. I appear to be not yet getting fuel to the rail (dont yell DME relay, yet).

Looking for a 968 wiring diagram for the 14 pin connector and the passenger footwell connector. Ive got a couple of female plugs in the passenger footwell (968 harness has a male on the main dme wire) for the 14 pin connectors, and I need to pin out these and create a mini harness between them, it appears. I believe the current situation is likely related to the immobalizer, so this is a focus. Anyone who has a diagram (car is a 92, if it makes a difference) or has pinned/sorted this out, I could use your help.

Thanks Rennlist: http://members.rennlist.com/tholyoak...wap_wiring.htm