924Board.org

endwrench · Joined: 07 Dec 2002 Posts: 1631 Location: Victor, Montana

Auto?? The only way I can think of pulling that off would be to graft a transaxle from 928 or a Gen V Vette. Or maybe cut out the floor pan and firewall for a conventional trans and a solid rear axle. Should be very interesting to say the least.

Todd
_________________
'79 924NA. Rebuilt 9.5:1, MSDS header, Mega Squirt Injection, MJLJ-EDIS Ignition, 1.6L Whipple Charger and Intercooler, 10lbs Boost, 944 Trans, Custom HD Clutch.
"simsport" said....superchargers are better than turbos its official!....

Rasta Monsta · Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 11733 Location: PacNW

AppleBit · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 1516 Location: Minneapolis, MN

apparently its gonna be a solid rear axle. Works for me... just gotta be patient with it all and I'm not asking too many questions. I don't care. I just want a good running vehicle that I can get in and turn the key and drive.
_________________
Classic British Sports Car Restoration v6 + v8 Engine Conversion Swaps

Porsche 924 Wide Body LS1 Corvette 500 Horsepower Engine

jamez · Joined: 03 Nov 2002 Posts: 401 Location: Chehalis, Wa

Dont do a solid rear axle, get a 951 tranny. There are a few 951 guys with LS1's now so it can be done for sure. keeping the transaxle in the rear will help to keep the weight distribution good, I think the 951 tranny will take the power as long as you don't dump the clutch too often.

It sounds like you are having a shop do the transplant, have them look at the renegade hybrids setup (dont use it but at least get ideas) and check out the porsche hybrids forum: http://www.560sec.com/bulletinboard
edit.... just saw that you have posted there.

good luck, I can't wait to see some pictures and hopefully videos when it is done. gonna be an awesome car

AppleBit · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 1516 Location: Minneapolis, MN

Rasta Monsta · Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 11733 Location: PacNW

Bit, you expressed your opinion well & clearly. . .mine is:

Cutting into a unibody car to fit an american automatic, then welding in new mounting points for a live axle rear end is scary. I hope it works for you, but there will be some areas flexing that weren't designed by Porsche to flex!

Is this thing gonna have traction control, BTW? Its gonna be lighter in the ass than a Pinto.
_________________
Toofah King Bad

WeiBe (1987 924S 2.5t) - 931 S3

fiat22turbo · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 4040 Location: Portland, OR

Applebit, no offense to you but it seems like you're paying a shop to build you a Camaro in Porsche's clothing, why? Granted it will look better than the last generation of the Camaro (IMHO) I say, at the very least have them build you a Corvette in Porsche's clothing by maintaining an independent rear suspension using Corvette parts if you're afraid of using Porsche parts.

Taking it to its natural conclusions, then have them buy an off the shelf chassis that uses Mustang II front suspension and a solid axle rear end, then just add some fiberglass Porsche body work and there you go. It will be all "brand new" and "hi-Tech" (lets see, 50 year old economy car drivetrain, check. 50 year old economy car suspension design, check. 50 year old economy car chassis design, check.) Hell if its done well enough you could probably get into a couple of magazines with it.

I'm not saying that solid rear axles can't be made to handle well (in fact on smooth pavement they can) Unfortunately I'm afraid you won't be happy with the handling compared to a well sorted IRS car. For drag racing purposes it will kick butt. If that's your goal then ignore my ramblings.

Doubt my Camaro comparison? Check out a copy of Car Craft or Hot Rod and pick a performance transmission manufacturer and call up Chevy Performance Parts to get a crate small block to get what they are providing in your car. Still doubt what I'm saying? Just watch an episode of "Overhaulin" to see what I'm talking about. Lots of crate drivetrains there because they are easier to use and meet the proper requirements for the muscle cars and cruisers they work on. Mostly due to the crate parts being the easiest thing to do in the short time frame they have to work on the vehicle.

The 951 transaxle is proven, bolts in and helps to maintain the proper handling and balance that makes the 924/944 series cars so much fun to drive. A quick comparison in costs between a brand new 350 turbo transmission and a rebuilt 951 might yield some interesting results.

I'm not bashing the choice of using an automatic, that's a personal preference and depending on how it is configured and used can be very successful. So track down a 944 automatic transaxle. They are dirt cheap because no one wants them and they are likely based on American internals (the VW units were, the Ferrari units were, etc)

Oh and from one server administrator to another, how can you tell if this product meets your needs if you're not educated enough to understand the reasoning behind the feature set? How many times have you had some slick salesperson try to run something past you by tossing acronyms and buzz words at you? When you've fallen for them and gotten burned by that how did you feel? Many things in the IT and Automotive worlds can be fixed with money, however at some point someone will need to actually know what they are talking about and do some real work on the planning and implementation side of the project before it is turned over to the people who are actually doing the work.

Your current project as I understand it is to simply have a disinterested third-party provide a solution to a problem with little to no guidance involved from you by using a cookie cutter solution that they will hack just enough to make it work. Sounds like a lot of the failed Third-Party solutions that we've all seen over the years. Instead you could provide some educated feedback and data to this solution provider to create a product that more closely meets your needs, is more personalized to you and your situation as the end result.

Personally given what you've posted, it seems to me that you'd be better off buying a newer RWD sports car, perhaps one with a warranty. Sometimes you have to evaluate the situation and learn to walk away.

Or if you want to have a car built, look into some of the kitcars, they've progressed a long way over the years. In particular, the Factory Five products are very, very nicely built, uses mostly off the shelf Mustang parts with a great support network (including their own road race series) and with the addition of their Cobra Daytona and GT40 kits to their Cobra Roadster kit they have a wide variety of products to meet a number of different desires.

Either way, good luck with the project. Be sure to take pictures to share with everyone as I'm curious as to how they pull all of this off.

Stefan

AppleBit · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 1516 Location: Minneapolis, MN

A> I like the car
B> Wolf in sheeps clothing
C> Everything is getting torn out today !! w00t!
D> 475 hp figure now....
E> I like originallity... I don't want to drive a 'camaro' or 'mustang'
_________________
Classic British Sports Car Restoration v6 + v8 Engine Conversion Swaps

Porsche 924 Wide Body LS1 Corvette 500 Horsepower Engine

fiat22turbo · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 4040 Location: Portland, OR

Originality? Its a Camaro/Mustang/FA RX-7 in Porsche guise. Think about it, strut front suspension, v-8, automatic, solid axle rear end, hatchback, 2+2, long+low hood line. how many times have you heard about how poorly those vehicles handled both in stock form and modified? the Mustang and RX-7 use the same binding rear suspension, causing insta-oversteer. The Camaro handles better, but gets squirrely when the road gets rough.

Why emulate something that is already a compromised design? It just doesn't make any sense to most of us. Especially when you claim that you're not going to influence what they are doing to YOUR CAR? What happens if you don't like it? Will they make it right for you? OR will you just sell the thing for a loss (cause who the heck is going to buy it for the money you're going to dump in it) I'm thinking it will be the latter.

Oh and I know I've seen at least one other 924/944 with a solid axle rear end on this board and it was strictly for drag racing. So again, I question your "originality" statement. An original idea would be to mount the engine directly to the transaxle and mount it in the back seat of the car. That would be much more fun to drive I think. Oh wait, the Chevy Corvair guys have already done that as well.

AppleBit · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 1516 Location: Minneapolis, MN

Chrenan · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 3903 Location: Canada

Nice to see a man stick by his decision! Seriously, if you take a car to a hot rod shop and ask them to hot rod it, they aren't going to listen when you tell them they should use a 951 transaxle and a 935 oil cooler and a 931 intercooler, etc etc etc. Those guys aren't going to know what that stuff is, and they aren't going to care. They are used to dealing with certain components and setups, and that is what you are going to get. However, I don't think requesting a clutch operated manual transmission would be outside the realm of possibility. I think this would be a reasonable request to make, not major, and something they should certainly be able to accomodate. That is the only thing I would change with your plan, but that's just my opinion, which is worth exactly what you paid for it, nothing...
_________________
1987 951 - M193 Version for Japan

Rasta Monsta · Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 11733 Location: PacNW

Is it too late to install a THIS SETUP?
_________________
Toofah King Bad

WeiBe (1987 924S 2.5t) - 931 S3

AppleBit · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 1516 Location: Minneapolis, MN

PORSCHEV · Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:46 pm Post subject:

Mr. Mad is running that kind of set up...he could tell you how it handles. The next issue will be what kind of wheels will you run with a solid rear axel and gm/ ford bolt pattern?
_________________
1976 924
5 lug conversion, 17'C2 wheels,custom body work,327 vette engine.

1978-#53 "D" track racer.

Adie · Joined: 11 Aug 2004 Posts: 73 Location: Toronto

Yeah track down a 944 auto transaxle, and then f=give it to me, I killed a few with a lot less weight and horsepower, they are pretty bad for anything other than city driving.
Stick with your plan and in the worst case it will handle poorly, so what. It's only a car. Good luck on the transformation and please let us know how you get on with it. I had many a solid rear axle'd car and other than lots of anti-tramp set up they handled well enough, if anyone thinks your going to be going in any direction but sideways around a corner is going to be mistaken. But then thats the fun. Drive the car not the badge.
_________________
924 zero cylinder race car,