Well, I've been thinking about a Porsche 944 for a while. I love the body style, the Porsche name, and the fact that they were galvanized, so rust is not a huge issue. I had mostly decided that in 2021 I was going to find a decent example for $500, possibly enter it into the challenge, and then finish it into a car I'd love to keep and drive.
Then, last Sudnay as I was eating lunch I saw one pop up on Facebook marketplace that looked gorgeous. The price was close, so I messaged. They wanted $1600 with the wheels, or $600 without, and I ended up with it for $500 without the wheels. It was only 45 minutes away, and I confirmed it had a clean title, so I hopped in the truck and went to pick it up.
Pics from the ad:
So we rolled it onto the trailer, then I jacked it up, pulled the wheels, and set the body down on some wood blocks. The ride home was uneventful, and now it waits on the trailer for me to find some wheels for it.
Now, the unfortunate thing is, besides finiding wheels, it is going to be a bit until I actually pull it in to mess with it. Currently I am stripping/parting an e46, then parts from that will allow me to put a manual transmission into Luna, my white e46. The goal is for that car to be able to drive itself to the 2020 GRM challenge. Past that, there's some other projects I want to finish up before I start a major engine swap.
As far as wheels, it looks like I am going to be getting a set of phone dials from Tom Spangler, thank you to Chandler for offering to help transport them halfway across the US for me. :)
As far as the engine goes, the guy I bought the car from said it has no spark, thus he suspects a blown timing belt. I don't think he pulled anything to confirm. I think I will want to confirm that the belt is broken before I go too far. Either way the 944 engine will get sold, but if I can get it running first, then it would sell for more.
What engine do I want to put in it? I've pretty much narrowed it down to 4 options.
- LS v8
- Honda K Series i4
- Honda J Series v6
- Nissan VQ v6
I am open to tips, and suggestions. There's a lot of research for me to do before the swap starts.
That said, if anyone has parts that would assist with any of those options, feel free to let me know. Engines, transmissions, wrecked g35, whatever! I probably want to keep an eye out for a Ford 8.8 IRS rear in case I don't keep the transaxle.
shes a beauty
isit running and driving?
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Just updated my placeholder post, the PO suspects a blown timing belt, so no.
Love it! Can't wait to see where this goes! Engine swap wise, LS may be the most proven way to make this work, those 944's have the transaxle in the back which makes it interesting.
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Just updated my placeholder post, the PO suspects a blown timing belt, so no.
Ah I see the edit! Makse sense. I was saying to myself, WOW $500 for a fully driving Porsche!
Following your thread with interest
In reply to dherr (Forum Supporter) :
According to the guy I bought it from the transaxle can hold 500hp.
dps214
Reader
6/23/20 11:07 a.m.
Engine depends on what you want out of it and how much work you want to do. LS definitely requires at least a turbo transaxle. The stock trans would probably live with the K while still being a noteworthy improvement over stock and I assume wouldn't require as much work to make it fit in the engine bay aside from maybe some hood clearance issues. What shocks are on it? The options code says it has "sport shock absorbers" but I can't tell if that's the factory koni option or some kind of predecessor to that.
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to dherr (Forum Supporter) :
According to the guy I bought it from the transaxle can hold 500hp.
if it's not from a 951 or heavily modified otherwise, he sold you a bridge. unless he meant 100 hp per day for 5 days.
I saw that one posted, nice score!
dps214
Reader
6/23/20 11:31 a.m.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to dherr (Forum Supporter) :
According to the guy I bought it from the transaxle can hold 500hp.
if it's not from a 951 or heavily modified otherwise, he sold you a bridge. unless he meant 100 hp per day for 5 days.
He was kinda right in that 500hp wouldn't destroy the trans because it would destroy the clutch immediately before any power made it to the rear of the car. I'm not super well versed is transaxle strength but IIRC even the strongest factory turbo boxes become wear items above around 400 with any amount of hard use.
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
As far as wheels, it looks like I am going to be getting a set of phone dials from Tom Spangler, thank you to Chandler for offering to help transport them halfway across the US for me. :)
Glad to see them going to a good home. The tires that are on them are dry-rotted to hell, but they'd probably work for rolling it around.
What engine do I want to put in it? I've pretty much narrowed it down to 4 options.
- LS v8
- Honda K Series i4
- Honda J Series v6
- Nissan VQ v6
I am open to tips, and suggestions. There's a lot of research for me to do before the swap starts.
I was always partial to the idea of the Audi/VW 1.8T swap. Keeps it in the family, it's a compact engine that you don't have to do any crazy exhaust plumbing to fit, you can keep your brake booster, etc. It's also lighter than the OEM engine by a decent amount.
Love the color, by the way.
Looks like a great car for $500!
dps214 said:
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to dherr (Forum Supporter) :
According to the guy I bought it from the transaxle can hold 500hp.
if it's not from a 951 or heavily modified otherwise, he sold you a bridge. unless he meant 100 hp per day for 5 days.
He was kinda right in that 500hp wouldn't destroy the trans because it would destroy the clutch immediately before any power made it to the rear of the car. I'm not super well versed is transaxle strength but IIRC even the strongest factory turbo boxes become wear items above around 400 with any amount of hard use.
They hold up behind V8's and V12's in Lambo and GT40 replicas. The keys are to ensure the transaxle doesn't twist too much, generally avoid hard launches as that lunches the ring and pinion and to stiffen the case with a hardened piece made from Chro-Moly material. So fill the transaxle mount with pourable polyurethane, add a brace to reduce movement under load, use OE or stiffer engine mounts. Buy or build the Chro-moly plate and ensure the internals are in good shape with fresh bearings, fluids, etc.
I mean my old 951S had about 450bhp and the 944S2 gearbox I had in it worked a treat. The new owner dropped the power output slightly (380bhp), but widened the power curve considerably and competed in AutoX and hillclimb running 18x12's in the rear with much sticker tires than I ever ran. He finally lunched the motor and has a newly built 3.0L for this season (but, ya know, the pandemic and all that)
All of that aside, the parts are getting older and those without mechanical sympathy will blow things more quickly and then blame the equipment.
Here's a run he posted from Sanderson field:
Audi 5 cyl and audi v8 are options. As well as the vw 1.8.
I am really leaning towards ls or 1.8 for my 924. These 5cyl seem to be rare E36 M3.
In other news.....if it's not starting and the timing belt looks ok (which is super-easy to check), it's probably just a bad DME relay or reference sensor. If he was cranking it enough to know it wasn't getting spark, then it's probably not a timing belt issue.
VW 07K 5 cylinder swap it. Then once your automotive ADHD kicks in I'll buy it from you.
Here's some info on the strengthening plate for the Audi 016:
https://www.gt40s.com/threads/audi-016-strenghtening-plate.52493/
I know there were some other places with more information, but I can't find it at the moment.
For 944 engine swap info, here's a great forum for specific info:
https://944hybrids.forumotion.com/
and Texas Performance Concepts provides great parts and service:
http://www.texasperformanceconcepts.com/
The LS-swap is a well sorted solution that you can just buy parts for, so its hard to ignore.
That said, an LFX is an interesting possibility since it uses many of the same parts as the LS swap.
the idea of an KLZE is also an interesting one, but not one that has been documented or completed.
irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:
In other news.....if it's not starting and the timing belt looks ok (which is super-easy to check), it's probably just a bad DME relay or reference sensor. If he was cranking it enough to know it wasn't getting spark, then it's probably not a timing belt issue.
Good to know. That would be pretty awesome because then I could possibly PM the belt and drive it as is for a bit.
BTW, your 924 is part of why I took a liking to these cars.
As far as goals for the car, to further filter engine options, I'd say I'm shooting for a minimum of 200whp, ideally 250-350 tops. Not looking for crazy power, just enough to surprise people. Also, prefer that power to come naturally aspirated.
I appreciate the feedback on the transaxle. I had already gotten similar concerns from a friend of mine. So I guess I'll be keeping an eye out for a Ford 8.8 IRS rear.
In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :
I saw that when it was posted. If I had more room and $$ on hand I'd be temped to buy the lot just for parts.
dps214
Reader
6/23/20 1:35 p.m.
AWSX1686 (Forum Supporter) said:
So I guess I'll be keeping an eye out for a Ford 8.8 IRS rear.
I don't think I've ever seen an 8.8 swap that didn't involve huge modifications to the chassis. For your power desires and especially if you're staying N/A, a turbo trans and a decent clutch will be plenty.
And I agree that if it cranks well it's probably not the timing belt. But given the apparent knowledge and diagnostic skills of the PO I would definitely put a new timing belt on it before trying to drive it.
