Wow those racing 928s sound glorious, like real high reving race motors. What's the redline on those things? Also, according to top gear, weren't those engines made without sleeves?
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Nov. 10, 2011 12:30 a.m. PaulY Reader
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Nov. 10, 2011 12:41 a.m. 2002maniac HalfDork
btw, here's the car My Dad, Brother and I built for the challenge (someday, when I can take off enough time from work and afford to tow it 4500 miles round trip):
We would have to take 1 sparco out though as they wouldnt both fit in the budget. We would also have to find some dot rubber as the $10/tire michelin slicks are illegal.
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Nov. 10, 2011 5:14 a.m. Overlord New Reader
The colors are neat
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Nov. 10, 2011 12:13 p.m. turboswede SuperDork
PaulY wrote:
Wow those racing 928s sound glorious, like real high reving race motors. What's the redline on those things? Also, according to top gear, weren't those engines made without sleeves?
They are niksail blocks like the 944 (in fact they share the same rod and main bearings and the heads are nearly identical)
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Dec. 21, 2011 10:47 p.m. RenegadeHybrids New Reader
7 years ago I ran across a 928 5 speed in North Western Arizona for $500. The interior was horrible, the car smelled like kitty urine, and the body was 6 or 7 different Krylon colors. BUT...it ran...sorta! Time to build a budget race car for as little $$$ possible!
This 1981 5 speed was NOT an "S" car and it didn't have a sun roof so I got lucky with the (rather rare) chassis. I found out later that it was also nice to have the early suspension for the big black brake upgrade! The early tranny, however, already had the synchros wiped out so that was disappointing at first.
A year or so later I had gutted the interior, installed a used SBC with the Renegade kit and cooling system, welded in a roll bar, cut the front springs, installed new tires and new brake pads, cheap paint and body, and recovered the stock seats. I was on the track in under a few thousand bucks and kept up with the pack that had spent MUCH more.
My first concern was the tranny because of the worn synchros...but some accurate heal-toe shifting made that no big deal. (To this day, I still have the same tranny and I drive it like a "crash box!" It's just amazing how strong that old 5 speed has been!) I was also quite happy to find out it had a healthy limited slip diff...which made the car quite able to hook up.
Then I found I was getting enough grip in the corners and under braking that my carburetor was not happy. I forked out the money for a Demon and had them do some additional "tricks" to handle the application.
Then came the late model (wider) 928 used wheels and road racing slicks, a home-made front splitter, an "S" rear wing, full cage, and used Momo racing seats. Still under $6500 and I was right there with most of the Vette's.
The Chevy ZZ4 is a perfect SBC engine if you are looking for strong torque, reliable RPM capability, and cheap cost. For under $4000, I had the 405FPT ZZ4 running hard in my budget racer and I was just over the $10,000 mark. My lap times were getting lower and the early brake pads were lasting about one day!
I expected the brakes to be a huge cost until I did some digging. Carl at 928 Motorsports said my early car had the ability to handle the “Big Blacks” when mated to adapters. After rebuilding a set of used calipers purchased from a salvage yard, I installed them with great anticipation...and I was not disappointed.
I have a real rear wing now, a better front splitter, the 928 Motorsports front and rear sway bars, and I am stripping a junked late model 928 of it's skin so I can have a cleaner looking body under the new paint scheduled for later this Winter.
At Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, I am turning laps at the same clip as the Z06's, GT3s, and Porsche Turbos for a fraction of the cost. With a new lighter LS3 on my wish list within the next year, I will still keep my total investment under 20K. Since I work at Spring Mountain and I am the CDI of the Vegas PCA, I spend at least 20 days or more there with my 928. That does not include days at Miller, LVMS, Fontana, Willow Springs, Laguna, and INDE.
Last major repair I did was a cam replacement/upgrade because I saw pitting on the stock cam. Prior to that was a power steering pump that puked all over the Willow Springs paddock. That's all in 7 years and I beat the snot out of this car.
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Dec. 22, 2011 2:18 a.m. amg_rx7 HalfDork
Nice
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Dec. 22, 2011 8:35 a.m. Joe Gearin Associate Publisher
Scott, you are an enabler!
----runs off to look for cheap 928s on Craigslist.....
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Dec. 23, 2011 4:05 p.m. mguar Reader
In reply to 93EXCivic: Jags can be done cheaper? What tends to fail on those is the luxury stuff.. All related to wiring sort of things.. OK you need to be able to count to twelve instead of just 8 but really it's not that hard {Take one shoe off and use two toes}.. The engine itself is a very strong durable beast.. the transmission is made in America, typically a GM trans.. and the rear end is what's used in 427 cobra's (and replicas of them)..
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Dec. 23, 2011 4:09 p.m. mguar Reader
redstack wrote:
You and I are in complete agreement.. what goes wrong on Car's like Porsche's, Jags, Mercedes Benz isn't likely to be fixed by trading engines.. In the Jag Community those things are called lumps..The big question in my mind on LS swaps is
WHY
Why not just buy a Z06 an be done with it?
OK a V8 powered 914 might be crazy fun. But the Jags, Mercedes and Pcars with V8 swaps just doesn't make sense to me.
I know reliable and cheap parts, but it seems like my buddy with the Caddy Northstar swapped into his fiero just has problems.
He had to go with a slushbox because there is no transaxle that would bolt up. and he's had nothing but trouble with cooling and fuel..
