Valid reasons why I should not plug in a Chevy small block

[Jim Richards]

Originally posted by CMDR Perry
Jim, your response is the best yet but it will take me some time to figure out the hating money angle.

Look, it's really easy to test that angle. Send your money to me, and see if you feel better. Then, we can discuss the follow up steps. Trust me.

[CMDR Perry]

Jim if I hated money I would gladly spend the $22,000.00 to rebuild my "stock" engine per Bruce Anderson's estimate in the October 2006 Excellence magazine. As an alternative I could put 300 quiet (leak free) horsepower in my car for less than $8,000.00. However it would no longer be pure and possibly subjected to shunning and ridicule.

FYI my syncros are just fine, the 915 gearbox in my opinion is just light years behind modern cars. I think what may have been acceptable shift quality in 1979 pales in comparison to the vehicles currently mass produced.

Perhaps I should just sell the car and move on, maybe I can get lucky on Ebay and recover 75% of my investment.

Thanks but I just don't get it and maybe never will.

[Zef]

Why don't you sell that !"/$%?&* Porsche....All the pitfalls you're at make the joy to ride that car...and just buy a so GOOOOOD GM....!

[Jim Richards]

Damn! Well, I tried.

I really cannot say if the 915 will hold up and it certainly won't ever shift like a modern car. If you want a great handling car with a solid great HP/torque-y engine and more modern shifting, pick up a newer 951, sell off the turbo engine and bits, and drop a SBC into it. A friend of mine did this and is very happy.

[Blk95993]

Slap a SB in this bad boy...yea, thats right, I'm still makin fun of this crap wagon...

[Jim Richards]

...or get rid of the 911SC and buy a 964 with a recent engine refresh.

[Maxx1]

Swapping in a V8 would be quite a project and probably as much work as fixing the original engine. It would certainly devalue the car, but if you did it right, you may have a car you would enjoy for quite a while. Chevy parts are cheap as dirt. The only thing is the extra weight of the V8 would be bad, and I don't know what your ideas are for a transmisson It' pretty much a wash IMO.

[Joe Bob]

Glad to have a V8

Here ya go Joe Bob.....knock yer self out....

[Rodsrsr]

Putting a chevy V8 in a Porsche is like going to an upscale Italian resturant and telling the manager to put hamburgers on the menu.

[CMDR Perry]

OK, now we are getting some action. Finally both angry and humorous comments. Note, I have the greatest respect for all the racing achievements earned by Porcshe 911's in the past 42 years.

However a stiffly sprung 911SC was / is a poor choice for a summer toy in Minnesota (rough roads). I agree maybe it's time for a 951 Turbo, more HP and water cooled to boot.

[Jim Richards]

You put the SBC into the 951. Better HP/Torque and more reliable.

[rlh930]

A real hot-rodder would find a way to fit a Ford flathead in that SC. THAT's a ride you wouldn't see yourself coming and going in!

[SCWDP911]

I say do what you want. Personally, I cannot see it. BUT... if you persist, I agree that you should consider the weight factor, adn with that comes my suggestion for your consideration... a stroked BOP 215/Rover V8. The deal is in 61-63, Buick-Olds-Pontiac put the qall aluminum 215 v8. It was rated at 215hp. Olds had a turbo version as well. Well, GM passed on the idea after 63 and later sold the design of the engine to Rover. Rover starts putting it in various vehicles, mostly Land Rovers, as a 3.5, 3.9, 4.0. and seems there was another one as well, but all were basically the same block. If you chose to go this route, knowing full well that it mighht jeapordize your membership eligibility in the SCWDP (wouldn't that be reason enough to stop te madness?)... I digress... if you did it, I would find a 4.0L block form a later Land Rover (it is stronger and has 4 bolt mains), and then TRY to find an old Buick 300 (v8) crank and stroke the thing. You can turn out a very stable 300hp engine that is very lightweight (300 lbs I think). I know it was 30 lbs lighter than the stock 1.6L 4 cylinder that came out of my Miata! Wish I had finished that project!

[nesslar]

Better yet, how 'bout stuffin' a V8 into the back seat of the 951? At least you would have a radiator at hand, and that way you won't be "not very smart" for having a rear engined water cooled non-entity.
SC does not stand for %^#$$@ Chevy..............

[ManaMan]

1. Don't do it, if you care how you might be perceived.

2. Don't do it, for saving money...you'll end up spending a bit more than you think. You'll want a 930 tranny to handle all the torque, you might think that you wouldn't put your foot into it, but you'd do it and like it.

You will need bigger T-bars, because your front end will almost come off the ground anytime you want, you'll also need new sway bars to balance, bronze bushings, spring plates, and re=valved shocks...figure an additional 5K to do it right.

3. Especially don't do it, if you don't like having a SC on steroids, that will now out handle and accelerate, most any other P-car.

4. Don't do it, for you will want to put bigger wheels/tires to maximize the cornering g-forces, and acceleration....that's more $$$$.

5. Don't do it, because people will think you are strange. You'll always have a big smile on your face after a drive...that few people will understand.

Your better off selling and buying a '65 Cobra Factory Five replica....which will do all the above.

[ischmitz]

Get rid of the SC and buy a Chevy - maybe you can fit a fiberglass 911 body kit on it....

[Maxx1]

Originally posted by Rodsrsr
Putting a chevy V8 in a Porsche is like going to an upscale Italian resturant and telling the manager to put hamburgers on the menu.

....or ordering a Philly cheese steak sandwich from a seafood restaurant menu

[Maxx1]

Hey, how about that 3.8 V6 Buick GNX turbo motor? Those were killer fast and probably don't weigh that much. Problem would be finding one.

[jester911]

In theory it sounds cheaper to plug in a V-8 but I would have to see it. It has been done before but usually it goes one of two ways. Either the guy tries to get off cheap and sticks it in but there are usually cooling problems, linkage problems, clutch problems etc.

Then there is the guy that does it right but then he ends up spending big bucks into a car that he will probably end up not keeping because he was in it for the project. Then he can't understand why he can't get the money out of it that he sunk in.

Honestly, in the long run you are better off plugging in a 3.6 and you will end up with a better balanced car that in the end is much more desirable to potential buyers later on.

If you can pull it off more cheaply then go for it. Even then at the end of the project when your ready to go on to the next one you will want to sell this one and it still won't be worth what you put into it.

[Wil Ferch]

Ya know..I'm on the fence when it comes to stuff like this.

From a racing historical perspective, let's all consider this. In the 50's...the "factories" were racing and of course "pure" race cars from each of these factories were campaigned. Maseratis, Ferraris, Porsches, etc. Pretty soon ..as we passed into the 60's...it became apparent that marrying a Euro chassis with an American engine wasn't such a bad idea. First, the raw cars like the Cobra's...and later in the heydey of the "unlimited" Can-Am racing classes....look at what Mclaren did with his M6, M8, and M20 monsters. All of these cars ended up with iconic status, and the core theory was cheap, but good and reliable HP. The racers didn't go to the pure "pur-sang" factories for their engines....and the racing world changed and adapted.

Just a thought to share.....

And...BTW.... the Chevy small block, even if cast-iron with aluminum heads, is not much heavier ( if at all) to our much vaunted , all-alloy flat six. Let's not talk about "all that weight", etc.... for if you do your homework... you'll see that weight is not an issue. From an engineering standpoint, as much as I love and admire the Porsche flat six, ... I have to admit the SBC was a fine design and engineering feat to cram so much displacment into such a small and light package. And cheap and reliable too, with good oiling systems ( something that the badly-designed oiling system on the 928 could have copied !!), valve gear set up for high rpm capability, and a stout bottom end. It seems Car & Driver agrees as it ( like the Porsche flat six) was voted one of the ten best engines of all time a few years back when they did stuff like this.

Oh..and lastly..... don't forget that our chains are being pulled by the original poster. Why give him more ammo ?

Best,
- Wil