Dropping a 3.6 in my 86-best and ecconamical way to do it ?!

[speedracer07]

I'm getting ready to drop a 3.6 in my 86,where to buy the conversion parts what to do and what not to do .
I know of patrick motorsports ,sure there's others ?...
Thank you all for your input !

[AskewRSR]

Look up Instant G Porsche Lots of info on 3.6 liter swaps

[enzo1]

Instant-G – No Smoke, No Mirrors, Just FAST!

[3rd_gear_Ted]

I went the Instant G route also, BUT I acquired privately my own ECU unit and 964 wiring harness.
Your gonna need an exhaust set up
You can acquire yourself the Sachs performance clutch too.
Consider a single pulley mod unless you want A/C
Acquire a 964 fuel accumulator/filter unit
Replace those 40 year old fuel lines
get a new 044# fuel pump
Clean your fuel tank insides
Make the mod to have a tank output fuel filter to the new pump inlet
Change the mounting point for the ECU to behind the driver seat on the firewall, the 964 harness will allow that, btw, circa 1980 digital electrons like to flow up and down, not sideways anyways
Document and take picture

[LeftCoastErik]

Instant G for sure.

[Tremelune]

You'll want a Carrera oil cooler and upgraded fan at the very least, and it's quite likely you'll want an additional cooler as well (center-mounted or left front fender).

My car has 993 headers and customish exhaust setup—the 993 cans won't fit on the right side due to the oil tank. You may have to trim the top of the airbox to clear the hinges. And a hundred other little things.

My ECU is under the driver's seat. It's nice if you can route it unintrusively, but my wiring is visible and it bugs me sometimes. Make sure the 993 ECU you have was no part of the recall—most have been updated by now.

My rear deck was massaged to accommodate the 993 intake and ICV...

[Fly911]

Build a 3.6L on your original engine!!! Better, cheaper, same HP, but nobody would be able to see the difference, and you would have a matching numbers car!
Do a complete overhaul, buy a used 993 (76.4mm) crank and oil pump, 100mm LN/JE P/C kit, 993SS cams, twin plug with coil on plug ignition, extrude hone the original intake manifold, use a 993 throttle body, and a MAF or MAP sensor rather than the original AFM (aka barn door). You would need a good after market ECU and do some dyno tuning. You should be able to do this for around $20k. And have a complete "new" engine. A used (and unknown condition) 3.6L 964 ot 993 engine will cost the same with all the needed conversion parts.
A much more elegant and smarter solution!!!

[safe]

The 3.6 engines are getting so expensive and might be needing a rebuild. So rebuliding the 3.2 taking it up in displacement, new cams, light porting of the heads, exhausts etc and you will have a pretty nice engine with plenty of power.

[Sboxin]

Originally Posted by speedracer07

I'm getting ready to drop a 3.6 in my 86,where to buy the conversion parts what to do and what not to do .
I know of patrick motorsports ,sure there's others ?...
Thank you all for your input !

A lot depends on who will be doing the swap - you or a shop or combo ??

We bought a 3.6 core with ECU and wiring harness - bought parts from EBS in Reno - WebCams, and Patrick - paid local shop to build 3.8L engine and install/swap wiring.
Cost about $25K - sold 3.2 for $6k.
Because race car = rebuild/upgrade 915 trans by CMS in Lake Havasu, AZ

If we did it again it would be rebuild 3.2L to 3.4L with dual plug, cams, head porting, ITB, etc.
Although . . . the torque from the 3.8L is worth the effort/cost . . . so my son says . . .

Regards,

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Fly911

Build a 3.6L on your original engine!!! Better, cheaper, same HP, but nobody would be able to see the difference, and you would have a matching numbers car!
Do a complete overhaul, buy a used 993 (76.4mm) crank and oil pump, 100mm LN/JE P/C kit, 993SS cams, twin plug with coil on plug ignition, extrude hone the original intake manifold, use a 993 throttle body, and a MAF or MAP sensor rather than the original AFM (aka barn door). You would need a good after market ECU and do some dyno tuning. You should be able to do this for around $20k. And have a complete "new" engine. A used (and unknown condition) 3.6L 964 ot 993 engine will cost the same with all the needed conversion parts.
A much more elegant and smarter solution!!!

Dream on
Not only will you spend more money you will not get the same or better result.

Stock 3.6 has many things built in that all contribute to performance and reliability, from alloys to ceramic port insulation to design and engine management.

If you are going to build a motor there are 2 ways to go for best results
1) rebuild a 993(preferable) or 964('93 up next choice) or early 964, you can add cams and even your own engine management if you want. This will get you 250 to 320 reliable hp and even more important a nice fat torque curve, and be reliable and streetable
2) spend some big bucks( Up ~$100k) start w/ a 3.6 block & heads, throw most everything else away, add a gt3 crank gt3 oil pump, cams, 3.8 to 4.0 p/c, engine management, ITB's topped by a Gt3 type resonance manifold stir in a lot of TLC and you have 400+hp and a nice fat torque curve

If you don't need 300 reliable hp by all means rebuild a 3.2 to 3.4, not 3.6 a big reliability difference between 3.2 & 3.6 block is he head stud spacing which allows more for room at the cylinder bore.

through 2.7 they used 80mm*stud*spacing, the very first 3.0RSR used 83mm, regular 3.0 & 3.2 s used 86mm

the 3.0/3.2 cases w/ 86mm*stud*spacing*oe use heads w/ up to 39/35 ports and 49/41.5 valves on 3.0s and up to 40/38 ports and 49/41.5 valves on 3.2

the meat at the cylinder bases of the 3.0/3.2 gets awfully thin w/ 100mm bores(3.5l on the long stroke 3.2 crank). I'd limit it to 3.4l, using 98mm p/c and the long stroke 3.2 crank.

the 3.6 964 moved the*head*studs out to 90mm, these are good for 3.8L w/ 102mm p/c sets, w/ these it's advisable to use 109mm base bore rather than the stock 3.6 107mm. Both are available, the 109mm base is just stronger. recently even 103mm p/c have become available for 3820cc or do as Singer does and use a 80.4mm crank w/ 102 for 3940cc or do both 103x80.4 for 4019cc, none of these 'big' motors work on the 3/3.2 case


I can go on and on about this

Just be realistic about what you can afford and what you get for that investment

[mepstein]

If your 3.2 is in good shape, you should be able to get $12K. That should help getting the 3.6 that you want. $6K for a 3.2 is core pricing these days.

It takes a LOT of work and $$$ to get to 300hp on a 3.2. Its easy and pretty inexpensive to get to 300hp on a 3.6

If you spend $16-20K on a 3.6, you have a $16-20K 3.6
If you spend $20K on your existing 3.2, you would be hard pressed to get $25K. (core + upgrades)

[HorstP]

actually there is the possibility to move the head studs on a 3.2l engine and then build a 3.6l engine. There are at least 2 companies over here doing that work repeatable.

After talking to them and evaluating the cost, it was simply cheaper to buy a 964 engine and put that in, even with all the modifications needed to the car. And by buying I am talking about a new build engine, not something used in unknown condition. Overall I paid 20k minus the 3.2l sale. Best bang for the buck I would say.

In my experience a second cooler is a must, I even had to install electric fans for stop-and-go driving, was not needed on the track.

[Busta Rib]

If you can find a good 3.6, buy Timmins' conversion kit and do it yourself. Probably the least expensive path, other than cobbling the conversion bits on your own. I think it is worth the cost to buy Steve's conversion kit because he provides tech support with the kit.

See the link in my sig for a lot of info on 3.6 conversions, mistakes to avoid, etc. I collected a lot of info and links in that thread for others doing a similar conversion. It is not the ultimate guide, but a good place to start. Good luck!

[rbogh901]

3.6s come up from time to time. A stock one in good condition is still a very significant motor.

[betterair]

ebs in Reno may be an option for you.

[Malaz]

Thought about posting my own thread but maybe I can ask here.

I have a 3.6 from a RS America available to me for 8k. Has some leaks and needs a rebuild. Should I go for that or look for a 993 3.6? I’m just looking for low 300s and may do a 3.8 conversion.

[Tremelune]

You should buy every $8k 3.6 you find or send them to me.

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by Malaz

Thought about posting my own thread but maybe I can ask here.

I have a 3.6 from a RS America available to me for 8k. Has some leaks and needs a rebuild. Should I go for that or look for a 993 3.6? I’m just looking for low 300s and may do a 3.8 conversion.

If you are looking for low 300hp and are going to stay w/ stock intake & engine management it's best to start w/ a 993 and plan on 3.8 or better

993 3.6 w/ minor head work, SS or RS cams, cat delete, chip will be just under 300

[speedracer07]

That's what I love about this forum,You guys rock !
I appreciate all the suggestions,all the info and all the leads, I do have a very low miles 1990 3.6L motor that I'm installing in my 86 ,I do have PM light weight clutch/flywheel I intended to install in my track car that had a 993 motor in it,I've sold that car hence the new clutch/flywheel assembly .
I also have a spare 3.6 also from '90 964 car witch I believe it's sold took a deposit end of November...still waiting for the rest of the $$$ on that but that's beside the point.

I'm checking on all the resources you guys provided and I appreciate it a lot !
Thanks and keep on posting,one can only learn what one didn't know! LOL!

[PushinRice]

Good luck with the project, definitely something I'd like to do someday.

Instant G does look like a good option. It sounds like they can source a 3.6?

Has anyone had Instant G do the actual 3.6 install? Any feedback?