924Board.org

[JoeFarr]

Hi all, first time post so be gentle. I've wanted a 944 as long as I can remember, and when I saw this carrera gt replica on eBay here in the UK I fell in love even more. I like it more than the 944. It was made the same year as me, 1981.

No this is not a straightforward swap, are they ever though. In fact it's not a swap as there is no engine in the car. It's been modified previously to fit an RX7 engine (so i am told). There is NOTHING left of the original 924. The dash is in there but not connected to anything.

So my plan is to take all the engine, ancillaries, gearbox and wiring from another car. Frankenstein. I know, don't hate me. Frankenporsche maybe.

The one drivetrain part left over I have to work with is an RX7 Rear differential and an RX8 gearbox.. It also has GAZ gold all round so that's good. It was clearly set up to race.

1 - I do not know if the RX8 Gearbox is any good.
2 - I would rather put an engine in that I can hear running in the donor car first.
3 - I believe the engine mounts are not in the original location.

Here are my options in the UK for the new engine.

V8 - I am ruling this out as the lightweight V8's from the US you guys have are too expensive.

AUDI/VW 18.t BEX - Harder to find but not impossible - I would need an adaptor plate and clutch kit which are made here in the UK - which would marry up to the RX8 gearbox.

BMW 330 i (3.0 straight 6) - Found one down the road (is it a sign?) Upside of this is I take the working gearbox from the BMW and fit that. But not many have done this swap that I can find.. what could be the reason? It is lighter than the 1.8T.. and sounds better, and is arguably a more reliable engine.

Bare in mind I am in the UK and so it is RHD.

If anyone has any thoughts or advice to a FIRST TIME car engine swapper that would be much appreciated.

Link to a google drive pic below.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Md5PsdcBaBQIeLLh_34rRR9tUYG8GC2X/view?usp=drive_link

[Cedric]

Personally i dont find the 1.8T very enjoyable, or super sturdy without lots of work to it. And they are getting old and leggy by now.

If i would need to swap it would be something that adds at least nice sound or something that the original engine cant deliver. RX7 engine actually sounds quite fun, a bit ironic considering they pretty much copied the design of the 924 The BMW is absolutely massive so it will definitely take some work to fit one, and it will also push quite a bit forward, might drive quite a bit of sheet metal work etc. Volvo T5 is probably a great swap, dirt cheap, lots of power potential and a massive after market.


How much mechanical skills do you have, engine swaps isnt an easy task, since so many parts need to be engineered.
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1980 924 Turbo
www.instagram.com/garagecedric/

[JoeFarr]

Thanks Cedric. Ah yes, that was my fear on the BMW. It is availbe not far from here so I may go and measure as best I can just to rule it out.

Interesting on the Volvo. Have you seen that it can be done ?

I have medium skills - and a good friend with advanced skills so I should be ok. I want to learn everything and am in no rush to complete and I am aware there will be setbacks and struggles. But for me that is part of the journey and the fun.

T5 research here I come.

[JoeFarr]

Seems they are transverse engines..

[morghen]

Depends what you want the car for, or what you want to do with the car.
Wouldnt it be easier to just put back the original engine mounts and put the original engine in it?
If you want more power there are ways to get that while keeping the original engine in, and having a legal car that you can actually drive.
_________________
Supercharger and EFI kits
https://www.the924.com

[JoeFarr]

Why would it not be legal ?

I want it to drive for fun, on weekends and track days. And I want to enjoy the process of the build.

The original engine isn't of much interest to me, I want someting with more power. Hardly anything of the car is original to be honest.

@cedric - I am still tempted by the BMW route as the engine is made from magnesium alloy so although it's a V6 it weighs less than the 1.8T which was surprising to me. I'm going to go and have a look at it.

[JoeFarr]

Got me thinking though, a 924 or 944 engine could be the way to go but unfortunately anything half decent is very expensive. I am on a tight budget.

[Cedric]

The volvo T5 is swapped into just about everything RWD around here, especially old rwd volvos, theres adapter plates available for a few rwd gear boxes, especially bmw boxes for example. It has been housed in 944s before, but i think those had the transaxle setup intact.

The 924 engine is very cheap and takes boost very well, might be a quick option depending on how the car looks and whats available. Check out magnus thread for some diy inspiration.

https://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=45866
_________________
1980 924 Turbo
www.instagram.com/garagecedric/

[morghen]

Well tight budget and lots of power dont really work together dont they?
The 924 engine can be pumped to pretty good power numbers with probably the least cost, but you need a lot of know-how for that.
_________________
Supercharger and EFI kits
https://www.the924.com

[JoeFarr]

For power I am happy with 250 to start. The BMW straight 6 or the Nissan V6 both make around that - and I can get a whole engine and gearbox in a working car with low miles for £1200 - so I would say that is cheap. And I won't need to modify the the engine like a 1.8T.

The worry about the BMW is the weight towards the front - although the engine is light. I can compensate a bit with suspension set up and move some components to the back but I don't want to make a bad handling car.

I can't find any cheap 944 or 924 engines here.

Still looking for T5's but rare in the UK now.

Maybe easiest and most common is to go for the 1.8T with the RX8 6 speed box with the adaptor plate. Or I did like the look of the Audi 2.7 bi turbo - but I don't think they are that reliable.

Thanks for the suggestions, appreciate it. I am learning a lot.

[Mike9311]

VW 5 cylinder ? Those are cheap to find and getting somewhat popular
_________________
1980 931 since 1989
1981 Ideola 931 Club Sport
1982 931 Entwicklungsfahrzeug
1979 924 NA ohne 650 mit 471
1982 931 Red Resurrection - 951 IC
1982 931 parts car / resurrection?
1980 924 NA (R&D lightweight)
1982 931 wana-be GTR race car

[JoeFarr]

Would love to do the VW / Audi 5 cylinder. But hardly anything available here - only ones I see are for the newer Audi RS3's and they are around 5k GBP.

[morghen]

Whats your budget?
How much do you want/can you spend for this project?
_________________
Supercharger and EFI kits
https://www.the924.com

[fblade]

You could copy some of the rally boys in your neck of the woods by going with a Duratec, XE or N/A Cosworth. alternatively the 2ZZ, KA20/24, MA170...

What is the car being used for? Just street or are you going to be doing an sort of competition as this could also make a difference and as morghen said budget is probably the deciding factor

[Raize]

First thing you need to do is get rid of the RX7 differential and put in a transaxle and torque tube from a 944 S2, Turbo or 968.

The RX7 differential would force you to have a front gearbox and aside from the issues with the gearshift linkage and loads of sheet metal reshaping this will be terrible for weight distribution and necessitate a really light and short engine - like an RX7 rotary. The original idea wasn't horrible to be honest but any other engine will be.

Once you've put in a transaxle and torque tube you can decide if you really want to custom engine swap or just put the 210hp 944S2 engine in.