![]() |
![]() |
#26 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Dang! Solstice wheelbase is 95.1" and the 944 is 94.5". I should do this Halfbreed style and just shave the body off a Solstice and tuck the chassis up into the Porsche. Drive it with the Solstice motor for awhile.
Now I just need to find a wrecked Solstice where all that they damaged was the roof! |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#27 | |
Registered User
![]() Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Hillsboro Oregon
Posts: 6,449
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Quote:
![]() Using one donor/make will ease the challenge of meeting CARB standards. Last edited by Frizzle Fry; 07-17-2013 at 12:51 AM. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#29 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Quote:
![]() |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#30 |
Registered User
![]() Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Hillsboro Oregon
Posts: 6,449
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Damaged top wouldn't save you much there, no
![]() Another approach to consider (briefly mentioned earlier) would be keeping the 944 swing-arm IRS and just mounting a donor IRS diff (many to choose from) in place of the Porsche transaxle. Run your LSX with a conventional trans/drive-line back to it. Easy-Money. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#31 |
Slots go on anything!
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Richardson, TX
Posts: 5,957
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
After having an early CTS-V with the plain 6 cylinder aluminum diff, I wouldn't bother swapping one of those in. The 06-07 V's used an iron center section. The early ones were prone to failure. The one in my car was howling like mad when I got it at 30K.
__________________
1974 Jimmy- 5.3/4L80e/NP241 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#32 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Highett, Victoria
Posts: 68
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Quote:
I have admired your work since I first stumbled across it. I spent (not wasted) several days looking at the Minx re-pop. Fabulous work. Now, as for that movie clip, that car looks awfully like a 928, the car that Porsche designed purely for the US market. They knew that Yanks liked a V8 in front, driving the rear wheels, so the 928 was the result. From his book, "Corvette from the Inside" Dave McLellan says, "With its water-cooled, front mounted V-8 engine, rear transaxle, and two-plus-two seating, it represented Porsche's direction for the future. Unfortunately, it had none of the nimble, sharp, and aggressive feel of the 911, which had propelled Porsche to a position of eminence in the sports car market." Dave drew on many of the 928's features when he designed the C4, including the torque tube that linked the trans to the diff. A friend on mine in Australia has a right hand drive 928 with the factory three speed auto transaxle and is toying with the idea of replacing the engine when it dies with an LSx but is unsure whether to go with an easily obtainable engine mounted transmission (from a Holden Commodore V8 passenger car) with a Holden IRS diff, or try to find a transaxle that will handle the power. An engine mounted trans will involve widening the tunnel, which will probably mean that different seats will be needed, etc. And then where does it stop? As a coincidence, one of his sons has two 944s, both autos, and is in the process of restoring the better car with parts from the other. Once I show Roy this site, I think he'll be a regular observer, for both his and his son's cars. Keep up the good, no, EXCELLENT work! Regards from Down Under. ![]() aussiejohn |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#33 | |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Quote:
http://944hybrids.forumotion.com/ There are one or two others as well. There are also some threads on http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-hybrids-28/ that deal with 944 LSX (Holden) issues. And if you want to get a feel for how many problems and issues there are with a stock 944 just browse through this place... http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...chnical-forum/ These poor guys have to spend $1,000's to keep their cars running. But then again that's what made the car appear on my radar and allows them to be so cheap to acquire. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#34 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
During the past week I finished off the carcass dolly. I also went hi-tech and fabbed up some conduit stunt struts so I could keep the hatch of the 944 open without risk to my life (it's heavy). Get used to seeing conduit bracing because it's going to play a main role in my suspension grafting activities later on!
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#35 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
I promised myself that before I pulled the motor out of the 944 I would create some kind of ride height & wheel location reference gage so here are some shots of what I did. I'm not sure I will need it later on but I didn't want to discover later on that I wished I'd done something like this after it was too late.
I even gave the gages names so I wouldn't forget them! |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#36 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Then it was on to the fun stuff - motor extraction!
Apparently there is a Hatfield/McCoy thing with the 944 crowd on whether tis best to extract out the top or the bottom. I went for the top style. Along the way I noticed that it's a good thing I never intended to drive it as a stock 944 because it was missing motor mount bolts, 1 out of 4 crossmember bolts and the front sway bar was askew on the one side. By Friday eve I had the top side prepped and was ready early Saturday morning for what I expected was going to be a simple completion of the final steps. But the Porsche had other plans - turns out the motor is seized so I could not disconnect the flex plate. 4 hours later I emerged the victor but along the way I had to drop the cross member, loosen the rack and pinion, remove the DS wheel, drop the DS shock tower and control arm and to a whole lot of wiggling. I lost track of all time. The place looked like a war zone. But - the damn thing is out now. ![]() Can you spot the boat anchor in the last picture? |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#37 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Next I cleaned up and re-positioned the 944 for rear-end surgery. I spy a transaxle!
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#38 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Today's example of quirky German engineering: there are no junction connectors on any of the harnesses. For example - the engine harness is basically a branch off the main vehicle harness. So if you want to pull the motor you have to disconnect ALL motor devices (fuel injectors, oil pressure switch, alternator, AC the list goes on) and then snake all the wires out/off the motor because Brother there ain't no engine sub-harness!
Verrrrrry interesting! But schtupid. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#39 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
I forgot to mention that before marking locations on the gages I put the 944 hood, seats, battery, spare tire, et cetera back on the car. No idea how much gas was in the tank but will find out soon enough when I pull it out.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#40 |
Registered User
![]() Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Hillsboro Oregon
Posts: 6,449
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#41 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Well the 944 gave up her rear suspension and torque tube without much fuss today. I had to get a little creative and use the motor hoist to drag it out from under the car while doing a group hug with the floor jack.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#42 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Then out came a surprisingly large fuel tank.
The fuel filler area looked like it had some kind of rework or hack - I've heard there were issues with fumes or smells on the 944. I don't know what it is about me and critters but here you go - this black widow was PISSED OFF that I had to go and tear apart the car she was growing some kids in. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#43 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Now she's up on the carcass dolly and the front suspension is next.
Check out the size of the pads on the disks. This is why the stock 944 rigging is not good for V8 swaps. Trying to figure out how to grab onto the rear end is challenging. That pretty much goes no matter what you're talking about. ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#44 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
I verified that the overall width of the rear of the car is approx 68" inside to inside of rear fender well lips. This is what Wikipedia had listed so now we know that anything on Wiki is correct! (joke) And the stock Porsche rear end was about 59.5" wheel hub to wheel hub (face to face). These two measurements along with the same deal from up front will be important in the donor vehicle decisions.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#45 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Option code sticker is located on the back wall of the rear hatch (where the tail lights are) and is best read by climbing in the front and stretching over the rear seat area and laying on the hatch area floor.
C03 = California emissions option 158 = Blaupunkt radio (long gone) 404 = Front and rear sway (stabilizer) bars 425 = Rear window wiper 431 = Leather steering wheel 454 = Cruise control 533 = Alarm system 650 = Sunroof 946 = Leather/Leatherette seats |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#46 |
Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Somewhere
Posts: 3,074
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
You have a Porsche?
You have a publicist? What are these things? ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#47 |
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: N.E. OH
Posts: 214
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Looks like it's going well! Looking forward to watching the progress.
Chad
__________________
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill DD 2000 Chevy Suburban 4x4/5.3 Vortec/4L60E/4:10s, 18" Escalade rims, Electric fans Project Dooley One-Ton 4x4 on 38.5s Corn-binder build |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#48 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Front suspension is off and the shell is re-positioned on the carcass dolly. Now I can drag it under the shade and keep working on it. Engine bay is cleaned up and ready for surgery. After measuring key dimensions on the 944 and on donor candidates (more on this later) I decided that it was too close to call on whether the stock 944 HVAC module could survive the transplant sessions. So I decided to pull the dash so that I could pull the HVAC module.
Hole-E-Crap what an ordeal. Even with nice instructions off some of the Porsche forums I still broke some stuff and re-broke the same things some PO had done before me. (I am not the first owner to remove the dash.) As just a small example of what the dash removal entails - the sun visors have to come off. No wait - not just the visors but their clamps too. Here are some shots of how I spent about 3 hours today. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#49 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Schwing!!!
Yes in my fake internet world I have a publicist! ![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#50 |
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 910
|
Re: Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute
Friday I went to the wrecking yard with a clipboard and pen. (Not the normal tools you see there.) I was window shopping for donor vehicles. There are a few dimensions/shapes that I feel are important to understand prior to making the purchase of my donor car.
First is what I will call track width. This probably isn't the correct term but what I mean by it is the distance from wheel to wheel mounting face. On the Porsche 944 the front is approx 60" and the rear is probably also 60" or maybe a tad shorter at 59.5" (hard to measure when it's all floppy and off the car.) A 1998 Mustang measured out at 61" at the rear (with disc brakes) and 62.5" on the front. A 1994 Firebird "Formula V8" (with an LS that nobody had touched yet) measured out at 64ish rear and 64" front. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Bookmarks |
|
|