Another question about V8 conversions
 

I know this a touchy subject, and don't wish to evoke any neg. responses,but I was wondering is there anyone out that actually owns a 911 that has been converted to a Cheverolet V8 and done well. If so how much differant does the car feel, handling wise, compared to the stock form. Also did you have any cooling problems and what kind? The added wieght to the rear would seem to be offset somewhat by the add weight of the front radiator, sinse normal weight distribution is around 60/40. Thanks for what ever input you can provide.

Send an e-mail to Joe Saldas, alias "Joemofo" in Michigan. He's done a lot of these conversions, for himself and others. A fountain of information. Also try LT1911 and H2O911, both are freindly fellas and have converted cars. I was hot on the trail of a conversion myself when a curveball was thrown at me and I purchased a 930 motor instead (we'll see how that works out). I gotta believe if you did this conversion right (930 suspension) you'd have an absolute rocket that would handle as good as it goes for little maintenance cost. There is a post from a few weeks back warning of the purist backlash so I won't go into that.

Rarelyl8,
Nice to see you back on the board this week Vacation? Thanks for the others (LT1911 and Joe) Maybe I will talk to them myself.

KS911 if you want you can E-mail me any questions and I will try and Help you out.

steve

911 v8 conversion
 

to ks911, as to your wondering about 911 v8 swap, i have finished one using all renegade parts with a ron davis radiator,they have a well balanced cooling system that works, i have a 930s widebody with a gt2 c4 kit and i absolutley love the car, faster than snot, and i updated all the suspension to sway away 31mm rear and 23mm front torsions with adjustable spring plates, all solid weltmiester bushings, stock turbo sway bars f/r,i used a 24 gallon fuel cell as to add a bit more weight up front, i used alum heads and intake, about 375hp to the road, i used the kevlar clutch, that is the only thing that would hold the torque. now for your question...cooling...on a 100 degree day on the freeway 80mph avg car runs at 185-190, after getting off a hot run and idleing in traffic the car will see maybe 210 untill you drive a bit to get the air flow again the its 185-190 again, on an 75-85 degree day, the car runs all the time at 175-185, and for you purists out there..i was one..... ONCE (i worked for a porsche /ferrari dealer)..then i drove the v8 911..ill never go back. i catch flack quite a bit but the last guy i ran (930) never did catch up to me, he did stop in however at my store about a week later as my car was parked in front and he remembered it well...his remark was... **@!! what the H!@! is in that thing?i let him peak at it....i dont think he will be the same, i even met up with an 06 vette on the freeway....he never caught up, unitill the off ramp he just waved politely and shook his head..i stoped looking at the speedo after 140 and i had a ton of pedal left, quite frankly the car scares the crap out of me, i am in no way good enough driver to open this beast all the way up. hope that answers your question :)http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122519514.jpg

So what what was the total cost for the conversion? how long did it take?did you do all the work yourself? thought I'd ask before you start getting beat up.Looks like a nice job.:)

Re: 911 v8 conversion
 

:eek: :eek: :eek: WOW

wow total cost without mistakes...?just the conversion parts were in the 6k range not counting motor, and i purchased a turbo trans that would handle the torque and hp , turbo trans will easily take 700+hp and 500+ ft lb torque, i didnt want to have to baby it at all that was 2500.00 actually i stopped counting after the first 100.00 anyway... it can be done for alot cheaper than i did it. i just got anal about even the wiring and the color scheme...i think you can do it for around 4k easily, i dont really recall all the prices (thats what i keep telling myself) :) and yes i did all the work myself, was really fun. i enjoyed every minute of it..bloody knuckles and all..hey if you dont draw blood your doin something wrong!

y1der, how about some pics of the whole car. That set up looks expensive. But I bet it really covers a lot of ground fast.

here is a pic of the whole car
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122772623.jpg

and yet another pic
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122772959.jpg

I would like to see the radiator and some details on that, ie holes.

very nicely done. I have seen some conversions with chopped up tails and distracting radiator/cooling holes everywhere.
Rick
'78 930

WOW.

Kinda blows the whole issue of cheap horsepower though. It is obvious you have a ton of money and time in that machine.
What are your impressions of the handling and excelleration vs a modded 930?

Hi,

Man your garage looks GREAT , wish mine was that way, I love the car but my real question is:

What is that on the floor, did you mask it and just use concrete paint or what ?

Thanks

Todd SmileWavy

PS... I like the diamond tread parking mat.

ks, i have a 71 911 coupe with 383 stroker motor...dynoed at 495 hp tied to a 930 gearbox. car weighs in at 2300 pounds. conversion was done with all renegade parts and has all the proper suspension and brake mods to make a good street machine. if the conversion is done right, it is not a cheap process, but the motor is so much simplier to maintain and upkeep. i did this conversion almost two years ago and have not had to touch anything other thatn routine maintenance. if you are not a purist and open to such a conversion then it could be the just the thing for you....good luck and if i can be of assistance let me know....maxwedge

any pics of the cooling system?

I would try this motor 628ci 2 stage nitrous 1850Hp would make a 911 v8 convertion respectible.:D http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122822961.jpg my son works for ATS racing 98 firebird 2450 lb 208mph!!

y1der,

Very impressive! The outside is every bit as nice as the engine compartment. Or should I say, the engine compartment is every bit as nice as the rest of the car? I dunno. Either way, that is a great car. Well done.

I like the arrangement of the Porsche and Chevy banners.

Thanks for the pics.

Dan

cooling system
 

here is a pic of the cooling system from the gas filler looking out to the front , also the cover off the enclosure is off, i will try to load a couple of pics, thanks for all the comments, and yes once everything is dialed in...you put gas in it and drive many years, the handling is the same as a turbo, i am 40lbs heavier than stck turbo set up, but after all the ac torn out and the intercooler/oil cooler and the like i think im about 100lbs lighter total, my car weighed in at 2187lbs full of fuel(27 gal) and a sack lunch!
oh and the floor in the garage is vct tile , and the diamond plate is actually around the opening of my floor hoist..ill attach a pic of that also!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122856888.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122856997.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122857193.jpg

nice. do you have any more pics of the exhaust system? i am redoing my exhaust in 3". i like to see how yours is setup.

to answer ks911 orginal question my aluminum head 383 weights 405 pounds with carb, exhaust adapter plates and other accessory. which is far lighter than a turbo engine and probably the same weight as a 3.2 iam not sure why people oftem assume that a chevy v8 is heavy.

franco

Ok - just call me el stupido , but what is " VCT TILE " ?

And where did you get that lift from ?

Thanks,

Todd SmileWavy

now I am seriously impressed, crawling around under my car will not suck even more after seeing that lift,
thanks for the pictures of the cooler. more would be great. I was wondering where to vent the hot air, your going down, the guy at porchev.com has a radiator that fits with the stock tank, but Im not sure where he vents the hot air, the pics of his car look like ribbing on the hood to let the heat out. Im thinking of going out the side as I will have the wider front rsr fenders.
But my most IMPORTANT question is, did you do any structural changes to the suspension to make it stronger, ie torsion bar mounts, etc.

Well, thats an impressive unit.

Vinyl Composite Tile.. Mine is the same, grey and white. If you look closely, you can see a bit of a pattern. Its great stuff.

1- You don't have to empty the entire garage to install it, just move the stuff over to one side while you glue and lay the first half, then reverse

2-It's biright and easy to clean. Good for bright undersides.

3 If it gets messed up, and it will, it's an easy repair, just replace the affected tile.

4- This is the downside...its cheap, and comes from the Depot. Armstrong makes it, among others no doubt. No Griots garage $15 per square foot panache to this stuff! 69 cents a foot.

5- its a great thing to use to measure and do alignments..the stuff is 12" x 12" on the money, LOL Think about that when you lay it out, it can be quite useful.

6- Your cool creeper will roll over this stuff like glass, making you think you work for McLaren, except they have the cars up on benches, their shop has AC, and they have a huge glassed window of a big lake...LOL!

Now, I have found that you should probably do the whole seal and wax and buff thing...well I'm guessing you should...I haven't, and I need to!

the hoist is from bendpack, i looked at several and this is the ticket if you have a regular height garage cieling, it will raise it all the waY up and you can sit on a creeper chair to roll around under it, i did recess mine in the floor 5" but that way its great for extra low slung cars, plust full lift you can still open the garage door, the hoist depending where you buy from will runn around $1,500-2,000 to your door, and it is 110v electro/hydraulic, it was meant to be portable but i took the pump assy and bolted it to the wall.the whole unit is worth 10 times what you pay for it!it makes waxing the car easy!no more standing on your head to do the rockers and such. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122917234.jpg

VCT tile is great!easy to care for, and yes you must seal it, 3-4 coats is great first time, dont wax it! or you wikll be skateing when its wet.buff it once and take 2 layers of sealer off, apply 3 more coats and you are good to go for many years.

attached is pic of exhaust system, 3" is too big for small block, well a street motor anyway in this application,(my opinion) small block chevs like a little restriction especially with such a short run of pipe

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1122917377.jpg

as far as structural changes, not hardly any, the fuel cell i built acts as a strut bar in the front as that is its attachment point (the strut towers) so that was taken care of, as far as torsion mounts..they are plenty overengineered to begin with..look at it this way..the power is directly transferred from the motor to the transaxle and right to the wheels...REALLY YOU ARE JUST BOLTING THE CAR TO THE POWERTRAIN, THE POWERTRAIN IS JUST PUSHING IT,DIFFERENT THAN THE TORQUE TRYING TO PULL THE BODY MASS FIRST :) AND IT DOESNT WEIGH MUCH :) (thats what i keep telling myself)

I CUT A SMALL NON-STRUCTURAL PIECE FROM THE FLOOR WHERE THE TANK SAT,AND INSULATED THE FRONT OF THE FUEL CELL, SO NO HOT AIR WILL BLOW ON THE TANK, YOU HAVE TO GET RID OF THE HOT AIR OR YOU WILL OVERHEAT,I WOULDNT VENT IT OUT THE FENDER WELLS, TO DO THAT YOU WOULDNT HAVE A SEALED RADIATOR ENCLOSURE, ALL YOU WILL DO IS SUCK IN THE HOT AIR(AGAIN MY OPINION). ON A HUNDRED DEGREE DAY I RUN AT 185-198 FREEWAY..OR IN TOWN. RENEGADES SYSTEM WORKS PERFECTLY! AS LONG AS YOU DO EXACTLY WHAT THEY SAY!

thanks for the pics. i am putting in a 406 with 630hp so 3" is a must. i had a similar set up with my 383 480hp.

Beautiful conversion, incredible attention to detail...many kudos to you!!

Yasin

cooling system pics and cuts
 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1123692919.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1123693010.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1123693136.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1123693238.jpg

Flippin' unbelievably awesome garage!! (car's nice, too.) :)

As cool as the car and garage are, I am more impressed not to see any negative comments from some. Seems like the good is rubbing off on the bad for once.

This is a huge step for our kind. It's a glorious day. :)

David

You wouldnt happen to have a pic of the tub without the cooling system so I can see the whole that vents down? Or maybe a pic from under the car looking up at the rad?
Im stuck, the 930 transaxle is a bit more moola, the pressure plate is a bit more, and now Im finding out that you should change the starter gear at $410 is using the 930. So Im pondering the 915 transaxle ( something later than a 77 ). Advice on the transaxle ? Using a crate engine 350hp, 400lb.

The 915 can be beefed to handle more torque. A billet side plate and posi unit go a long way in longevity. Narrow tires will also help. It is better to go up in smoke than to throw gear teeth all over the road.
There are a few good threads on building the 915. It should handle 400 ft/lb if not abused.

The red slope nose is a beautiful car. A real work of art. Unfortunately I've seen a lot of pure Porsches that don't come close to that level of detail.

WELL HERE IS MY 3 CENTS WORTH ON A 915 TRANS AXLE..FIRST OFF THE GEAR RATIOS WONT BE DESIREABLE UNLESS YOU GET SOME TALLER GEARS AND AT 800.00 PER GEAR SET OTHERWISE YOU WILL BE SHIFTING LIKE A MACK TRUCK! AND THEN BEEFING THE SIDE PLATES AND INTERMEDIATE PLATE YOU MIGHT AS WELL GET A 930 TRANS, THEN YOU DONT HAVE TO BABY IT AT ALL, MY POINT BEING YOU CAN GET A 77 SHORT BOX TURBO TRANS(930)FOR ABOUT 3K THAT WILL TAKE ALL OF 700+HP AND MORE PLUS THE GEAR RATIOS ARE PERFECT FOR V8 AND NOT EVEN HAVE TO WORRY,(2600RPM GETS ME 83MPH) I DOUBLE ENGINEER EVERYTHING! COST LESS IN THE LONG RUN..400 HP RATING ON THE 915 TRANS THAT WOULD BE OPTIMAL CONDITIONS WHICH NEVER EXIST :) WITH A 350 HP CRATE MOTOR WITH 350FT LBS TORQUE I GAURENTEE THE FIRST TIME YOU PUT YOUR FOOT INTO THE FLOOR AND LAUNCH OFF THE LINE....AND YOU KNOW YOU WILL DO IT! YOU HAVE TO..! THAT 915 WILL BE ALL OVER THE STREET. I BOUGHT A 930 WITH 17K MILES ON IT WITH AN LSD FOR 2400.00 DELIVERED PLUS WITH THE TURBO YOU GET THE BIGGER DIAMETER CLUTCH DISC& P/PLATE WHICH YOU WILL NEED! USE NOTHING BUT A STAGE 2 PP AND A KEVLAR CLUTCH DISC, THE STOCK WILL NOT HOLD! BEEN THERE DONE THAT! THERE IS A SPECIFIC BREAK-IN PROCEDURE FOR KEVLAR DISC'S..FOLLOW IT TO THE "T", NOTHING WORSE THAN POWER TRAIN FAILURES.
AND THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR THE GREAT COMMENTS! GOES TO SHOW YOU THAT NOT ALL CONVERSIONS ARE BUTCHERED :) WE CAN RUN WITH THE BEST OF THEM :)

I agree with everything you said about the 930 tranny being a superior choice.
There is an application for the 915 box if you are running a high RPM small block with a hot cam the puts the power highter on the band. A V8 capable of 6500RPM making power above 3000RPM fits the stock gears of the 915 perfectly. A Sachs sport clutch would handle the rest just fine. This combination allows you to use the stock tranny (in most applications) so you are only paying for a better clutch.
Overkill is always good, but for the budget minded a properly thought out combination can get you there for less money.

After reading that Im back to my gut feel that I really should go 930. Anyone know of where there might be a short bell housing one?

Man, that's how it's done! Mighty tempting, even to a puritist.

Has anyone done a V-8 conversion recently that has any more info or pictures to share?

I have a 1972 911 that has been sitting in the garage for 2 years because of what I would call a major oil leak that causes a big cloud of nasty smoke behind me if I drive longer than a mile. The location of the leak is still unknown, but the oil drips all over the left heat exchangers and sizzles away. I want to remove the engine and rebuild it, but haven't had the time or money. However, now I am clearing out the garage and working toward getting started. I have books such as "How to rebuild and modify Porsche 911 engines 1965-1989" and "101 Projects for your Porsche 911", however while I was doing some reading on the internet about Porsches in preparation for this project, I ran across this thread and some webpages about the V-8 conversion idea....so now I am at a crossroads.

This may be considered the "dark side" by some, but it would perhaps be good for a few reasons:

More power
Cheaper maintenance
Longer between engine rebuilds
Less chances of oil leaks
Possibility for adding air conditioning

Some sites of interest:
http://www.geocities.com/bustacasey/porschev.htm
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3101966
http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=109009
http://toy-jet.com/Index4.html
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~sdfranco/id6.html
http://www.porchev.com/
http://www.renegadehybrids.com/911/911.html

911v8
 

Another in PA, very smooth operation....http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1234044650.jpg

v8 conversion
 

i have a 71 coupe with rs flares. my engine is a dart all aluminum 434 roller motor developing almost 600 chp. it has a short bell 930 gearbox and kep stage 2 clutch and pressure plate. suspension has been updated to accomodate the increased performance potential. i can help with questions. i do not have any pics of the onstallation, but it is really quite simple and makes lots of sense to me. i also have mass flo efi with appropriate upsized fuel supply components,. i use a mezziere stand alone electric water pump and a custom built griffin radiator. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1234044751.jpg

I have a donor rolleer for sale:D

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1234045485.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1234045529.jpg