porschedlr

I have a 88 944 NA that I had one of my techs started to do a factory conversion to be a true 951. I found a running engine on the west coast out of an accident car. I had start going through the 951 engine and replaced gaskets, Has new clutch kit, torque tube all rebuilt, and lots more done, water pump etc. He moved away and I had to bring the car home. After getting it home realized that he put the engine in the car, in a hurry to get the car out of the shop. He did a good job on what he did do. He is a Porsche Gold Tech.
The engine is not all hooked up. Vac lines not connected, a lot of other things were not hooked up either. I removed the intake manifold to find that there were things not hooked up, the temp sensor was broken (replaced it), etc. .
I had bought a high flow 4" exhaust from Lindsey Racing, he put the main cross over pipe on, but when he put the front pipe on, he only put it on with one nut. The small down spout only had one good stud. The other two were cut by the salvage yard and he never replaced them before he put the motor in. Now I am trying to get the studs out, or get the pipe out. I tried to get the broken studs out with an easy out, but can not get at them to get them out. I then tried to get the down pipe off from the turbo. I got one nut off after soaking them all with penetrating oil, tried the second one (of four) and broke the stud off from the turbo.
What should I do? Do I have to take the turbo off to get all this fixed properly?
I have a full Lindsey exhaust to put on and several other upgrades, but I need to get the car running.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you.

F18Rep

Very nice project... I probably would pull the engine back out - there's just so many little things to check and check again. And for you its worse yet getting everything back in the right spot. The fasteners around the turbo will all be heat/rust welded and brittle. Those short studs for the connection to the exhaust are pretty tough and such a pain to repair. You might be able to get a left-hand bit in there if you have some kind of drill with an extension, doubtful tho. I use the factory nuts and dope them with anti-seize. Try to look-ahead for problems with heat shields and any sort of problem with the mount for the turbo. If you're going to run AC, you might want to convert to barrier on that hose that is near the left strut tower while you have access. Also access gets you opportunity to flush the evaporator. Get a good peek at the condition of the ground cable at the top of the bell housing (clutch housing). Maybe even both cables including the run from the starter to the alternator. If you're going with an aftermarket wastegate, thats a fab project all by itself. Have the alternator checked - bad diodes are common. How are the connectors to the speed and reference sensors - may be due for attention. Same for cable connectors for the injectors. Even little things like wiring for the O2 are easiest addressed with engine out. Plus bung for AF gauge. Exhaust seal rings? Fuel lines? PS lines? The list goes on and on...but when that boost comes up and the butt dyno hits OMG; there's a spot just south of the sternum that burns - in a good way...Bruce

porschedlr

I have the top of the engine off, all exhaust off, and have access to almost everything. I have a ton of all new factory parts, heat shields etc. I have vac lines to run, make sure all plumbing is routed properly and everything is mounted where it is supposed to be. I hooked up the ecu and dme, battery cables, ground to the engine etc.



Down pipe has no exhaust on it. The salvage yard cut off two studs on the bottom. I tried last night to take it off from the turbo, and got one of four nuts off, and tried the second one and broke a stud with nut off. I need to get the pipe off. I am not sure if I should take the turbo off to do it.

F18Rep

I have a pic just like that from 10 years ago. I had another turbo that was ready to go so I just swapped them. It was a pretty tough job (for me)....Bruce


PS... haven't seen that AOS mod before...???

Voith

Nice project.

Beware of scope creep.

Sky Blue Lou

LOL - Ain't that the truth.

Gage

The only way to avoid scope creep on a project like this is to accurately and realistically (aka pessimistically) forecast the scope of work. I've realized over the years that if you expect a 30 year old performance car to need everything, which you should because generally they do, the scope can only go down from there. Bruce has given a very good beginning list above of things to consider. The lesser of the challenges will be exhaust hardware.

Your "Porsche gold tech" installed an engine, with broken hardware, that's leaking oil from the balance shaft end seals and / or AOS seals and installed hard deformed rubber hoses with washing machine clamps. That's all I would need to know about any other work he performed. Perhaps he moves a lot?

"What do I do?" You should:
consider using different words to describe this project. Only 951's are "true 951's" and "factory conversions" are only performed at the (Porsche) factory.
remove the engine, clean it thoroughly and disassemble to the short block. Inspect and measure the cylinder bores. Inspect condition of rod bearings.
inspect cylinder head and all other components, service, rebuild, replace as necessary
reseal engine including balance shaft covers (they can not be serviced with the engine installed).
prepare engine bay for heat shield mountings (welded studs that na chassis do not have).
replace all rubber components of cooling, idle air and vacuum systems and use the correct clamps
inspect engine wiring harness, looks to be brittle with damage at terminals.
utilize the excellent threads on this forum for guidance and inspiration

You have new parts and that's good, the path to a successful outcome will be to achieve a consistent (high) level thru ought the build.
Good luck.