Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

Doing a hell of a job. Really looks good.

Originally Posted by NONHOG

Looks pretty cool to me. I love watching the details of this build!

Thanks guys!

Today I had to step away from the 944. I was tired of the shriek of the cutting disk, the flapper wheel and the smell of burning seam sealer. But that didn't mean I couldn't fart around with it a little.

The first picture shows what the goal is - more room in the engine bay. I put the hood on the 944 and from below you can see where the 944's stock firewall sealed off against the hood (yellow arrows). And now the Sparkydog firewall (green arrows).

And in the 2nd photo I find it kinda cool that the Mustang firewall and the 944's OG firewall location were almost exactly the same. I did not choose the position of the Mustang sub-frame based on this. I was only looking at front axle location. But when it was tack welded in place this is what you get. Nearly identical firewall locations. (944 yellow & Mustang green.) I guess basic ergonomics and design trade-offs are same-same in many situations...

[sparkydog]

It was in the low 90's today. Official kickoff of Pool Season!

[sparkydog]

Tempting....


Very, VERRRRRY tempting.

[1Bad 37]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

It was in the low 90's today. Official kickoff of Pool Season!

I need to move there. Its 42 degrees and has been raining for the last 24 hours straight.

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by 1Bad 37

I need to move there. Its 42 degrees and has been raining for the last 24 hours straight.

You'll have to do the Northwest cure - go higher or go East. The sun is up/out there somewhere!

[sparkydog]

The sections of inner fender aft of the strut towers are in!

[sparkydog]

About 10 years ago my father in law gave me a Craftsman air compressor that had "issues". I assumed it was on it's last legs and would fail any minute so I just ran it and never gave it any love. Well a few weeks ago it finally let go. I lost about 3 weeks while I sourced a replacement compressor unit and ended up keeping the tank but converting it from a horizontal to a stationary vertical unit. I also made up one of those DIY drier arrays which you can see mounted on the wall behind it.

[sparkydog]

Without compressed air I had to stop working on the 944 because any time I weld on it I have to constantly blow out seam sealer fires (even after spending time prepping and cleaning the weld area). It just wasn't safe to weld until I could squirt air into various nooks and crannies.

Now that I have air I finished closing up the areas where the Mustang frame horns blend into the firewall. On the driver's side I will probably modify where the steering shaft runs but I will have to wait until I have a motor and headers before finishing the steering shaft routing.

My fresh metal was starting to rust so I cleaned it all up and sprayed protective epoxy on it.

There are only two more areas in the engine bay to work on. The firewall will be extended 3 more inches higher up and seal off on the hood and I am missing the inner fenders forward of the strut towers. Before I close them up I want to design and install forward tilt hood hinges.

[sparkydog]

Now the 944 has a forward tilt hood and a mostly complete engine bay!

[sparkydog]

See how neat and tucked away the hinges are?! The 944's OG hood latch and bracket have been shaved off too.

Sparky likes!

[sparkydog]

I'd also like to call attention to another build that's going on. A wide-bodied, LS1 powered, supercharged, meth injected, Corvette/MGB hybrid that was just powered up a week or so ago. Here's the Youtube link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_NaPSPAezE

Congrats to Jim Stabe!

[NONHOG]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

I'd also like to call attention to another build
........
Congrats to Jim Stabe!

Super cool MG, been following it on other forums. Also makes some awesome homemade tools.

Sparky, nice work on the hood mods!

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by NONHOG

Super cool MG, been following it on other forums.

Does he post somewhere else other than Britishv8? On that site the posts are few and far between.

[ERASER5]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

Does he post somewhere else other than Britishv8? On that site the posts are few and far between.

That's where I watch Jim and MG. If it is still an MG.

Nice work on the 944. I'm not that brave...

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by ERASER5

If it is still an MG.

I think it's no longer an MGB but more like an MG D-D

[NONHOG]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

Does he post somewhere else other than Britishv8? On that site the posts are few and far between.

I see post on TheGarageJournal, HAMB, Metal Meet but not much on the MG Mostly tools.

[sparkydog]

I've got the K member back in so I can check that my engine bay mods still clear the wheels & tires. The struts were cut down by the same distance that I shortened the towers and then welded back together so I can have something that mocks up ride height.

Then I started work on some stops for my hood hinges so the hood will go over center and then stop. The pics are crappy but you can see the metal strap I added with the cut face that butts together. The hinges are almost ready for sand blast and paint. They will then become the first thing finished on the project.

I've also put the Porsche HVAC unit and dash back in so that I can come up with a more logical way to mount the dash. The Porsche design is FUBAR so before I re-install this I want to make sure if I have to remove it again I can do it without taking every other item on the entire car off.

[sparkydog]

It is time for the carcass of the Mustang to go bye-bye so I harvested the rear axle and the structural sheet metal it attaches to. My current plans do not involve using the Mustang's rear end but I want to keep it so I have a backup plan. As you can see the Mustang is pretty much a skeleton now.

[sparkydog]

I made a trip to the wrecking yard this morning to search for twin hood latches for the newly converted 944 hood. I was thinking I'd have to find something I liked off a Jap import and then get two of them. But no sooner did I pay my admission fee and start walking the first row.... when the sun came out and (sound of angels singing) I spied a Jaguar with... Twins Basel! Yes the Jag had a forward tilt hood and twin latches at the firewall. They were simple, sized appropriate for what I wanted and even featured US/British bolts! So off I went, cackling to myself and returned to my lair with them - whereupon I quickly chopped them up. I've got the male sides tacked onto the hood and it looks like the female sides will end up about flush with the 944's upper frame horn surfaces.

[hgs_notes]

Junkyards can be a great source of inspiration.

[sparkydog]

The 944 hasn't seen much love this summer - I've been too busy having fun with the family and some biz trips. Here's a final shot of the Mustang carcass on the day I hauled it off to the scrap metal yard. I think I got a whopping $30 or so for the metal.

I also removed the cracked 944 windshield (also burned from my little welding fire mishap) using DIY razor knife. The 944 is back on the ground for a short while as I replace the blue tarp awning and tidy up the work area a bit.

That's about it - I'm waiting to pull the trigger on a donor car for the motor - then I'll be back in the fray on this project. I'm not going to be able to afford an LSX motor so Plan B is to use an L67 (3.8L V6 w/Supercharger). I'm bidding on a car this Tuesday - keep your fingers crossed for me!

[sparkydog]

Looky what followed me home from 50% off day at the wrecking yard.

It's an L67 out of a 2002 Buick Regal GS. Several months ago I came to realize that I could not afford an LSX motor on my build budget. After a brief period where I considered Northstars, LT1's and L67's as alternatives I settled in on the L67 and have been bidding (and losing) on a few cars equipped with L67's on Copart.

Then Mother Nature up and decided to let some rain fall here in SoCal and suddenly I got an email from the local wrecking yard announcing they were doing a 50% off sale this weekend (due to the rain). So yesterday after work I scouted the yard and there ya go. Depending on what I find when I dig into this motor a bit - it will either serve as THE MOTOR for the 944 or as a parts donor.

[cAlvis165]

What kind of transmission are you thinking?

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by cAlvis165

What kind of transmission are you thinking?

I'd like to run a T56 but I might consider a T5.

After work tonight I thought I would let the soon-to-be-weds spend some time together. Note in the 1st pic the L67 is bone stock - this will be the last time the A/C compressor lives down low and to the left. First stab into the engine bay isn't really worth showing. The A/C compressor came out and it was on to round 2. This is where I left things for the night. I'll let the pics do most of the talking. I love & hate this aspect of a build. It's exciting watching the interplay of all the variables involved in locating an engine. But even after 15 minutes of reflection it's pretty obvious that:

a) the 944's HVAC unit is getting in the way of my supercharger and I know who is going to lose the debate (especially if I want to stay CARB legal).

b) plenty of room up front in the fore/aft direction but the SC's snout and pulley have to either come down 5 or so more inches and/or slide aft while dropping.

c) the only way to go more aft is (again) to lose the Porsche HVAC unit and get out the sawzall.

d) don't want to jinx anything but I might be the first ever motor swap where I don't have a steering box/exhaust problem... but then again the stock L67 passenger side single collector/dump is pointing right into the strut tower and frame.

e) oh yeah and the oil pan will need to get modified or swapped to whatever they used on RWD L67 applications.

[sparkydog]

A few more pics. Basically I'm still high by 4-6 inches and that will put the air intake down into the top of the 944 trans tunnel's .... umm...... well the tunnel's ahh..... it's called a..... la, la, Labia Majora. (Ha! I doubt anybody else has worked that into their car build! Hell spell check didn't even know what it was.)

Last pic is of the happy 944 tucked in for the night with a little bulge in it's cover! (also a shot of the damn cats shredding the car cover.)