allstar_02

Alright for those of that have heard about the V-8 350 engine swap in the 944. I want your opinions on this. Knowing that the swap isn't that much and it will go 0-60 in under 5 seconds and its cheaper to service. For those of you who don't know go to http://www.renegadehybrids.com/main.htm and check it out. I've been thinking about this for about 4 months and before I do it I want to know how the porsche people feel about it. So share your thoughts, feelings, or whatever you want to share.

pearldrum944

I don't think I would ever do it. Sure it's probably the cheapest way to get that much power, but in my opinion it ruins the car. Ultimately it's up to the owner to customize and make their car their own. I think it would be cool to see and ride in one, but I think I would rather stick with a Porsche engine in a Porsche vehicle.

NeedPorscheSpeed

I agree with Pearldrum, but I will add a few more thoughts.

When you remove the Porsche engine, you remove the heart of the car. In question is a 944, which has fine balance that Porsche painstakingly engineered. Personally, I wouldn't consider the car to be a true Porsche anymore. This is true for other cars, as well. What if someone took a 350 engine and put it into a Ferrari GTO. Would it still be a Ferrari? To me, it would not. What about a Honda engine in an old Mini Cooper? To me, it's no longer a Mini.

Of course, I fully respect the right of every person to do whatever they wish to their cars. I understand your desire for more horsepower. Why not go with a 951 and modify it? In this way, you've got great power, a Porsche engine, and addictive boost!

Best of luck on whatever you decide to do.

M758

I would not do it either. The value of a Porsche is greater than the sum of it parts. What the numbers on show paper or even 0-60 on the clock are not true measures of a Porsche. Heck even lap times are not the end all.

aeronautica86

Go for it! .....so long as you don't want a Porsche...personally I wouldn't consider bastardizing any Porsche...

Tony K

I am in agreement with all of the above. I would also like to add a couple of things -

1) It will upset the weight distribution and therfore the handling. That's a pretty heavy iron lump. Keep in mind that the 944's engine was designed specifically and only for the 944. No swap will ever offer the integrity of the original.

2) Reliability. Aside from the inherent questionables of any swap, that setup has not been tested to the extent any manufacturer tests their engineering - much less Porsche. Also, a Chevy small block may have good power, but it can't take the abuse a Porsche engine can. No GM engine can take regular trips to the rev limiter and last, and the Porsche engine will stay together under more extreme conditions.

3) When you have to do actual work on the car, you'll miss the quality and fit of the german engine parts, if you have an eye/touch for these things.

4) You are trading expensive materials and engineering where quality is the objective for average materials and engineering where "how cheaply can we build this" is the objective.

It might be fun for a while, but really a SBC in a 944 is nothing more than a stoplight novelty for surprising mustang owners who actually know the 944 is a 4-pot and want to brag about how they wasted a Porsche. If you like sitting in a collapsible lawn chair at cruise-ins getting oohs and aahs from NASCAR fans who say "Porsh" as they see you have the same engine as their Camaro, then a SBC in a 944 might be fun, too . . . . but, I think, that's where it ends.

Also, the amount of work it is and money you will ultimately spend on a swap is probably more than if you properly serviced a 944 or 951 for a good number of years.

If there's a 944 cheap that has a blown or missing engine and you want to have some fun, go for it, but don't ruin a running one.

Cheers,

Porsche-O-Phile

Now a 928 32v engine in a 944 would be something that I'd want to see! Supposedly it requires extensive modification to the engine bay, but that would be an interesting conversion.

Or just supercharge your 944 engine. Or turbo it. Anything like that.

PorscheDoc

I'm not really sure where you found that it "wouldn't be much" to swap in a V-8. I have heard most guys are dropping around 12-15k to do the swap. I could build a badass 5.0 for that much money.

Dilberto

The first Renegade Hybrids slogan was, "Take your Porsche and Chev-it!" I'm sure the double-humper GM 350 can coat the Porsche with a huge set of *****...but that really defeats the Porsche's right to showcase their technology. Plus, the unthinkable meshing of standard and metric measurement tolerances, leaves me ready to vomit. If anything- shoehorn the 928 V8, and keep uniformity intact. The whole concept of pirating a perfectly capable car is a sloppy, sleazy attempt to showcase lack-of-talent. Hope you are hearing this- Rod!

Zach

sayporsha

I say go for it. I have always been fan of engine swaps - if they're done right.

However, I have an 86 951 and I wouldn't dream of swapping a V8 into it. Why would I want to? It already pulls like a SBC, and I'm just getting started. I have a 95 968 Cabriolet (1 of 366), and I'm reluctant to even chip the thing. But if I had a NA 944, liked it & wanted more power, I'd do it. We're not talking Ferraris here.

To me, engine swaps are more than just trying to give a car more grunt. It's the journey. The research. The parts shopping. The ad-hoc engineering. Mostly it's the intrinsic value of having built something different with your own hands.

That it will haul *** is the icing on the cake.

Tom R.

there are guys on the regular 944 forum that have done the swap. The motor is not that much heavier. Ask those that have done it for exact details.

Evary time i get out of my six speed LT1 powered Z28 and into either my 944S2 or my brother's NA I have to double check which gear I am in. It feels like I am starting in third when I am in first. So much for the great torque of the S2.

NeedPorscheSpeed

I imagine there is quite a bit of difference in the seat-of-the-pants experience of torque between your S2 and LT1. Being that the S2 engine gives up 4 cylinders and 2.7 liters to the big V8, they are like apples and oranges, don't you think?

PorscheDoc

What do they do to the rear ends of a porsche when they drop in a v8 engine? Seems the torque would blow out the rear ends, if they go fairly regularily with a turbo engine.

sayporsha

I'm selling the trans from my 951 parts car to a chap who put a Lexus 4.0 v8 into his NA 944. He engineered & built the whole conversion from scratch. His trans is still fine, but he smoked the clutch. He said he used the stock clutch, but it wasn't the typical rubber-centered piece (?). I imagine if the clutch didn't give out, the trans would have eventually. Now he's opting for a Centerfoce 951 unit. In addition to the additional strength, he wanted the 951 trans for the different gearing.

Tom R.

Apples and Oranges doesn't cut it. Those are both fruits, hence still similar.

The two cars are both a lot of fun, both very different feeling. Both about equal at autocross. camaro feels much heavier than it is. S2 feels much lighter than it is.

the main complaint I have with some people on rennlist is many people have tunnel vision. if it isn't a porsche it is crap. If you modify a porsche with anything other than certain parts you are bastardizing the car. I don't agree with that.

This board had me nervous about buying KYB shocks for a fraction of the cost of Konis.

I try to look at the positive and negative of each. The camaro when new gave a lot of performance per dollar. with the mods the PO did to mine it is certainly able to hold its own with any 944, even with the handicap of a solid rear axle.

I think a LT1 or LS1 powered 944 is an awesome car. My LT1 is putting out 250 RWHP completely stock. With the few modifications mine has, it is probably closer to 300+-. And all the grunt is there before 1500, and flat till redline. no spooling, no waiting until 4000 for the torque to kick in.

Now would I do it? No way. Life is too short to build a car like that. I like instant gratification and choices. a kick butt, noisy Z28 with a 6 speed, no T-tops, hence, no rattles and a decent inexpensive stereo, plus a mint quiet S2 with a comparitevly poor sounding 10 speaker stereo, a sunroof, and an IRS, my pretty much restored not very loud convertible 68 Firebird, and my wife's whisper quiet Aurora 4.0. now that's living for less than the cost of a new 911, a new big benz, etc. Whatever my mood, there is a car to fit my needs.