Cole

Except that this is the second "last forever" engine in the car

odurandina

his long block is a beast.

and it's wayyyy cheaper than the petulant, snarky Kraut money-pit, sewing-machine motors.....

Cole

.....not if you're paying someone build one and to swap it out every couple years.

....especially with as few miles as it had on the first round

docwyte

You seem to be on a mission here Cole, not sure why.

In retrospect I should've had that first junkyard motor rebuilt before it got dropped into the car, but I didn't. It was a straight junkyard pull with unknown mileage and it lasted three complete race seasons before it got tired. It didn't blow up and it didn't catastrophically fail like the stock motor did after ONE day at the track.

You can argue all you want about the stock motor, but I'd had that one freshened by one of the best 944 guys around and it blew it's cookies on the first day. My decision to drop the LS in was based on a very long, thorough discussion with Chris White about using one of his built 951 motors in my track car. He warned me that even with having him build me a 3 liter and running as little boost as possible, longevity wouldn't be its strong suit based on the way I'd be using the car.

Yes, I've spent an inordinate amount of money on this car. Yes, it's now on it's third motor. Yes, I would've done things differently in hindsight. I probably would've gone with an E36 M3, but I didn't, I bought the 951. As such, I still would've done the LS swap, but I would've started out with either a new crate motor or a built motor like I'm having installed now. However, funds didn't allow that at the time.

I made the best decision I could, with the information and funds I had available at the time. I'm still happy with the decision I made and know that a stock motor wouldn't make the power my previous LS one did, run on street fuel or hold together for as long as my junkyard pull did.

Techno Duck

Now owning an E36 M3 and a 951 (now with LS1 swap)... i wish i had bought the E36 first. I would probably have alot more money to my name .

The LS1 swap seems to have been worth it though... .

arthropraxis

Have you found out if the coil relocation brackets clear the coil packs from the hydroboost?

Cole

LS Swap is cool! I may still do it some day. (if I didn't have 3 V8 Cars now)

I just hate that people make the excuse/justification that its about reliability. Just suck it up and do it for the coolness!

Your stock motor lasted 22 years.

Total BS statistic to claim "stock motor lasted 1 day at track" when thousands of users have run them for decades without blowing them up on their first track day.

The fact that your first junkyard motor was dying is proof that even the LS fails when abused/neglected. Which is usually the case when 944 motors fail too.

Love the car, love the build! I just don't think you can claim this was about "reliability" after paying to swap in 2 engines in what, 5,000 miles or less of driving?

zeusrotty

I do have an ABS setup that isn't on my car. I just need help getting it wired. Is anyone doing this? Can I just pay someone to make a harness?

mr965

Question: I'm considering the LS swap and like to know how subsequent clutch swaps are? Is it as much a pain in the *** as with the 2.5?

mr965

Eric,

Are you finding a strong need for the ABS vs non?

arthropraxis

I have done three clutch installs and it takes a day to do.

Cole

So not really any faster/slower than the stock set up. Which makes sense since the process to change one hasn't really changed by adding the LS motor.

The last time I had my clutch open on my 951 it only took and hour and a half to get into the clutch. I think the people taking days to do them are mostly just fiddling around and trying to figure out what to do.

rlets

Tony posted that the guys at his shop would build harnesses a couple months ago. Here's how I wired mine.



The car was non-ABS '87 but it had the wiring connector behind the glove box. I bought a Bosch ABS pigtail, a complete wiring harness from an ABS 968, and the connector wires along the suspension arms from an ABS 944. Spliced it all together as above and it works!

Rich

docwyte

You assume the stock motor lasted that long Cole. For all I know it's been rebuilt several times. I very much doubt there are many 951's out there with their stock motors running on the track. An track day here and there, yeah, sure. Entire seasons of 15-25 days, not so much. When they do, the motors fail. ALOT. That's why lots of racers have stopped rebuilding their stock motors and have dropped in the LS1. It's simply not a reliable track motor. It has many failure points, it doesn't like heat, it wants race fuel, it has oiling issues to the rod bearings, it costs alot to rebuild, etc.

Yes, any motor that's been abused/neglected isn't going to last very long.

The clutch swap on the LS cars can be easier than stock if you use the 2 piece Corvette C5 bell housing. If you use the 1 piece Quicktime bellhousing like I have, it's the same amount of work.

Eric, I don't know of anyone making a plug n play harness for the ABS. I just used the above diagram that Rich posted, gave it to my shop and told them to build one using the harness pigtail I gave them. They said it wasn't very difficult, but I haven't had a chance to test the ABS and find out if it's working.

Cole

They don't fail "a lot" as you've posted. Hell the whole reason you bought this 951 was because of the success you had with your previous 951.

I know several guys that have successfully run track 951s for a LONG time!!

You could also make the same assumptions about your junkyard V8. Who is to say it wasn't the 3rd rebuild on that motor.

In 25 years of race cars and other crazy vehicles I've only had 3 with failed engines. Two were Chevrolet V8s! Only 2 Chevrolet V8s I've owned too.

So that is 100% failure rate. Which seems to be about your failure rate with them too at this point.