944 engine rebuild suggestions

[agraz220]

Hi everyone, first time posting, but read through posts here pretty frequently.

I have a 1984 NA 944, with what I am guessing is a spun rod. I also have a scrap yard na M44/07 from like an 86-87 that I got for dirt cheap.

The scrap motor I'm assuming had a blown head gasket and camshaft seems to have rusted a bit.

So anyways, basically a pile of 2 scrap motors, hoping to rebuild 1 nice one from the combination.

My question being, (with cost not really a concern) what can I do to squeak some more power out of these? Big bore / stroker / cam / piston / crank upgrades / high compression / low compression for forced induction / etc.

I know these engines were pretty well engineered back then, but if I have it down to a bare block, might as well give it a bit of a power bump.

Before you say "just buy a turboed one" that is out of the question as the car has a history and emotional attachment with the wife.

So just looking for some ideas.

Thank you!!

[jjeffries]

Hi Agrazz and welcome.

First off, I am far from the best guy to be giving you advice on getting more power from a 944, but I hate to see your question floating and unanswered.

My understanding from the endless reading of blogs which makes up my daily routine is that the 944 engine is, comparatively speaking, not too easy to hot-rod. Others welcome to chip in and refute me here. As in, a header here or a cam there will not do much.

What I have taken from the real gurus, when folks before you asked this question, is that a good MAF conversion and a matching chip for the ECU is the best money spent; after that, you need to go deeper/more expensive. The good news for you is that Lindsay Racing specializes in the 944 and has not only all sorts of goodies for you to spend on, but also will provide advice as you buy stuff from them. They are likely one of, if not the, top place for 944 engine mods. (Others agree?) Paragon is another.

One thing I would point out immediately is that your description of your two engines and then the statement to the effect of, money is no object, may come off as somewhat counterintuitive to the rest of us? The basis for any strong engine is a really good bottom end, so you might be better served either finding a "known-good" used engine, then refreshing its consumables (including rod bearings), or at least understanding that for your junkyard motor, a thorough and quality-focused inspection and overhaul will be called for.

Maybe a good perspective is that, short of a LS-conversion, a naturally aspirated 944 will never be a high-powered car, and accepting that, just rebuild it stock-ish (not cheap in and of itself), maybe with the MAF/chip kit to add an affordable modern upgrade (<$1K, IIRC). Spend at least equally on your suspension, brakes and driver comfort/safety. The pleasure is in the balance, spirit and even comfort of the car.

As said, others may add further.

Best of luck to you,
John

[walfreyydo]

most of what I have seen and read is that 200 wheel HP is likely the (highly optimistic) ceiling of what you can do with an N/A and that is with expensive and extensive engine work (head porting, high compression pistons, sleeves, stroker build, MAF conversion, cams, etc). This is also the limit of the N/A trans (and possibly exceeds it)

The most cost effective option would be to take your N/A block, add 951 turbo pistons, valves and rods, and buy all the components/plumbing/hardware from a turbo part-out (including the left side engine mount). Run a FMU setup or piggyback setup + wideband for fueling, and dont run more than 6 lbs of boost or so. The NA blocks and transmissions seem to be pretty low priced and dispensible so if either blows on you, hopefully the cost to replace will be low (assuming your free labor of course).

In terms of your rod knock. Assuming you arent going the FI or expensive route above and you just want to rebuild your engine on a budget you can likely take the rods/crank from the other motor and put it in the current engine - assuming your bores and everything else are in good order on the knocking engine.

In terms of power adders for NA the best bang for the buck is MAF conversion and a custom tune (ideally with a standalone/megasquirt conversion). Offset cam key, OEM tube headers/exhaust are other low cost options. Cams dont have a great cost/benefit ratio, but are another option.

[OK-944]

Your car has..."An emotional attachment with the wife." Realizing this may be too personal for you to discuss - but in my case? Oh...if only!