RE: Porsche 944 V8
Discussion
Hmmm.....cant help thinking that a 928 S4 GT with a manual box and a bit of weight saving would have answered all the questions this man was asking, without looking like something from the depths of "Max Power".
As for the likely resale value of a 944 with a Rover lumpo under its bonnet.......
As for the likely resale value of a 944 with a Rover lumpo under its bonnet.......
Milf, so ok some 928 race bits are available from the USA without too much dificulty, but answers on a postcard on how you loose 600kg from a 928 to bring it down to the 1000kg level and do it on a small budget....
Plus in many peoples opinion including mine the 928 may indeed make a terrific grand tourer and have an engine note to stir the soul, however it is the uglyest Porsche ever made- other than the pig in a wig Cayenne and despite being the size of the USS Nimitz and thus a bit large for frollics on the small & twsity UK tracks it has no more room inside than a 944!
Retail value is not really an issue for Mr X as he will never sell it anyway!- I know 'coz I wanted to buy it!
Plus in many peoples opinion including mine the 928 may indeed make a terrific grand tourer and have an engine note to stir the soul, however it is the uglyest Porsche ever made- other than the pig in a wig Cayenne and despite being the size of the USS Nimitz and thus a bit large for frollics on the small & twsity UK tracks it has no more room inside than a 944!
Retail value is not really an issue for Mr X as he will never sell it anyway!- I know 'coz I wanted to buy it!
Helium in the tyres? 
I seem to remember stuff on an american site about Chevy small-block in a 944, but a TWR Rover V8 would be a darn sight lighter, and I'm guessing a good bit lighter than the 928v8 (in any of it's incarnations) - does anyone know the weight figures for 928 engine (say S4) and 944 Lux 2.5L engines?
Personally I've been seriously thinking about building a 944 track day car out of either a stripped shell or buying an old lux (which everyone seems to despise, hence low prices) as a donor...
Does anyone in the trade know what a realistic budget for this is?
I figure:
Donor car (lux): 1500 max
Engine 944S2 3.0L: 2000
Chip + K&N + exhaust: 1000
Recon 944 turbo gearbox: 1500
Suspension: 1500
Brakes (boxter items): 1000
Lightweight buckets: 500
Wheels (17 cups): 400
Tyres (avons): 300
looks like just over 10k + stripping/fitting, minus whatever you make selling off the old bits...
Fox
---
964C2
Personally I've been seriously thinking about building a 944 track day car out of either a stripped shell or buying an old lux (which everyone seems to despise, hence low prices) as a donor...
Does anyone in the trade know what a realistic budget for this is?
I figure:
Donor car (lux): 1500 max
Engine 944S2 3.0L: 2000
Chip + K&N + exhaust: 1000
Recon 944 turbo gearbox: 1500
Suspension: 1500
Brakes (boxter items): 1000
Lightweight buckets: 500
Wheels (17 cups): 400
Tyres (avons): 300
looks like just over 10k + stripping/fitting, minus whatever you make selling off the old bits...
Fox
---
964C2
Neon- 2.5 Lux engine weight 166Kg. (not got 928 engine weights to hand)
Your way of doing things is a very hard & more expensive way round as if you want to stick to 4 cylinders you could pick up a tatty but sound S2 or turbo for £3k & a nice example of a Turbo from £4k & an S2 in the £5k area- bigger brakes & better gearbox as standard. Also higher miles 968CS's start in LHD form at the sub £6k level too & £10k will get you into an absolute minter of a 968CS.
Your way of doing things is a very hard & more expensive way round as if you want to stick to 4 cylinders you could pick up a tatty but sound S2 or turbo for £3k & a nice example of a Turbo from £4k & an S2 in the £5k area- bigger brakes & better gearbox as standard. Also higher miles 968CS's start in LHD form at the sub £6k level too & £10k will get you into an absolute minter of a 968CS.
Neon,
From expreience with my own build you can get good bhp out of a standard 2.5lux engine in the right hands - I have a race prepped lux engine in mine and it goes well - engine from EMC Motorsport was 1.5k fitted for not alot of money (3-5k) you can fully track prep a lux and be making alot of other cars look very very silly
From expreience with my own build you can get good bhp out of a standard 2.5lux engine in the right hands - I have a race prepped lux engine in mine and it goes well - engine from EMC Motorsport was 1.5k fitted for not alot of money (3-5k) you can fully track prep a lux and be making alot of other cars look very very silly
Neon,
I bought a LHD turbo as a track car. getting to 270+ hp is very, very cheap and all but the first year or so of production come with big brakes, ABS and even an LSD in some cases. Best improvment of them all was track tyres and the next mods are new anti-roll bars and maybe springs. In the dry it is fantastic. In the wet with the dry tyres and that turbo coming in at just the wrong moment it can be fun to say the least!!
I bought a LHD turbo as a track car. getting to 270+ hp is very, very cheap and all but the first year or so of production come with big brakes, ABS and even an LSD in some cases. Best improvment of them all was track tyres and the next mods are new anti-roll bars and maybe springs. In the dry it is fantastic. In the wet with the dry tyres and that turbo coming in at just the wrong moment it can be fun to say the least!!
What some of you chaps don't see is that when you've got a car thats already modified and isn't worth much more than £1500 and the engine is getting a bit old and tired (250k..seriously) what do you do....?
A 928 lump would be nice, but a) how many do you know that are lying around?, b)they're not the cheapest engine to buy, let alone get spares for. and c) if you decide to stick a piston out of the side of the block are you going to be able to get a new block, and rebuild it for under a grand???
Also although they have great power, they are longer than the 944 block, much heavier and would need to be mounted much further forward in the engine bay..not good if you're not a fan of understeer...
A 928 lump would be nice, but a) how many do you know that are lying around?, b)they're not the cheapest engine to buy, let alone get spares for. and c) if you decide to stick a piston out of the side of the block are you going to be able to get a new block, and rebuild it for under a grand???
Also although they have great power, they are longer than the 944 block, much heavier and would need to be mounted much further forward in the engine bay..not good if you're not a fan of understeer...
Mr Xv8 said:
What some of you chaps don't see is that when you've got a car thats already modified and isn't worth much more than £1500 and the engine is getting a bit old and tired (250k..seriously) what do you do....?
A 928 lump would be nice, but a) how many do you know that are lying around?, b)they're not the cheapest engine to buy, let alone get spares for. and c) if you decide to stick a piston out of the side of the block are you going to be able to get a new block, and rebuild it for under a grand???
Also although they have great power, they are longer than the 944 block, much heavier and would need to be mounted much further forward in the engine bay..not good if you're not a fan of understeer...
I think you have to ask around - I know of 3 928 engines lying around - an early 4.5l with 240bhp, a S2 4.7l with 310bhp and a 5.0l short block (S4 bottom end mated to S2 16v heads) with around 350bhp. All these could be yours for between £750 and £1400 respectively. Parts for 928s are cheap as chips, but then again you have to ask around - a valve for my S2 sets me back £10. I have just replaced the AFM after 20 years and 110,000 miles at the "gigantic" cost of £280 from an indipendent, with 2 years warranty. OPC charge £1100 for the same... But then you have to ask... A 928 is an all alloy engine and it weights just a touch short of 220kg. Stripping all the unnecessary gizmos such as air pump, air con, etc also helps...
Damn it who reserrected this thread ! Its got me thinking again, love the idea of slotting an early 928 V8 under the bonnet of my 44 but its always going to be heavier than the current engine and I dont much like understeer .
The EFI rover V8 is probably a fairly sensible option, its been done befor, its cheap-ish, it makes a great noise but its a little low tech and they are not exactly high reving (but the 2.5 8v isnt realy into high revs either).
I quite like the idea of dropping an Alfa V6 in. The 3 litre 24 valve had 220 bhp as standard, is very revable and sounds like a scaled down Ferrari V12. Problem is unless its very cheap it would be easier to simply slot a later 944 S2 or Turbo engine in, same or better performance just duller sound efects.
Bugger think I'd better give this some more thought !
The EFI rover V8 is probably a fairly sensible option, its been done befor, its cheap-ish, it makes a great noise but its a little low tech and they are not exactly high reving (but the 2.5 8v isnt realy into high revs either).
I quite like the idea of dropping an Alfa V6 in. The 3 litre 24 valve had 220 bhp as standard, is very revable and sounds like a scaled down Ferrari V12. Problem is unless its very cheap it would be easier to simply slot a later 944 S2 or Turbo engine in, same or better performance just duller sound efects.
Bugger think I'd better give this some more thought !
williamstephenbr - You say you hope to get your 924 V8 on the road this year ?
I have a 924s which I've been trying to find out how / who makes the conversion bits for the Rover V8 for a couple of weeks now, No-one I ask seems to know where to get the parts!
Have you made the parts yourself? or did you get a kit from a manufacturer ? if so can I have the details please please !!
I have a 924s which I've been trying to find out how / who makes the conversion bits for the Rover V8 for a couple of weeks now, No-one I ask seems to know where to get the parts!
Have you made the parts yourself? or did you get a kit from a manufacturer ? if so can I have the details please please !!
I've changed all the plugs and there is a spark. Not sure what else I can do - it ran perfectly when I bought it.A couple of serious questions, how civilised was the V8 conversion ? I like the fact that my 944 is a pleasent place to do big mileage, about a month ago I managed around 500 miles in a day on a mid wales meet !
Where do the engine mounts, the bell housing and the clutch come from for this conversion ? And what kind of exhaust do you use, is it just rover manifolds linked to a custom downpipe arrangement and then mating to a normal S2 or Turbo centre and back box ?
Sorry but I need to know ! It didnt help finding the big "end of the line" Rover V8 article in this months Evo, just got me thinking about this whole issue again.
Where do the engine mounts, the bell housing and the clutch come from for this conversion ? And what kind of exhaust do you use, is it just rover manifolds linked to a custom downpipe arrangement and then mating to a normal S2 or Turbo centre and back box ?
Sorry but I need to know ! It didnt help finding the big "end of the line" Rover V8 article in this months Evo, just got me thinking about this whole issue again.
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff