924 Engine Swaps
 

I am new to the 924 area - all my past experience is in air cooled Porsche's. I need to know what year engines I can put into my son's 924 (1978) without major refitting. I will stay with Porsche engines but need to know if different year 924s will require a lot of work - should I hold out for a 1978 engine? or can I take advantage of newer offerings ??

77-78 motors work fine,also AMC put this motor in their small car 77-78.these were not injected.which we have changed some over to this which cures all injection problems also.

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h.m.c.

Can you change the AMC engines over to fuel injection by just swapping the head? Also, which AMC models used the Porche engines. Can I rebuild my engine using (hopefully cheaper) amc part numbers such as pistons and rings.

if you try putting an AMC engine in a Porsche 924 then you'll be in for a rude surprise (and be out a bunch of cash).

the electrical connectors, the fuel pressures, the cold start, the warm start, and the fuel flows are different. the head gasket is different, the compression ratios are different, the throttle body is different, so is the intake manifold, and the exhaust manifold. about the only true similarity is that they are 4 cylinder engines and they run on gas.

the mounts to put the fuel injection are different. the valves are different, so is the crankshaft.

the flywheel is completely different.

the engines are about as similar as a Ford 351 and a Chevy 350. yeah, they are both V8 engine, but if you get anything to work properly and up to manufacturer spec by swapping parts, then it will be mere concidence (and consider yourself lucky).

obin

your best bet would be to go with a used engine out of a 1979 or later car. these can be obtained from a parts yard for $300 to $1000, depending on condition.

also, while the engine is out of the car, rebuild it, port and polish it, get the camshaft redone, and put the best possible parts on it. this way, your son's car will be getting a fresh new motor in good running order, rather than something ready to sieze up.

the grand total bottom line price for doing such a thing should be well under $1,500.00. and i'm assuming that you don't have an engine lift or a garage. if you have a garage and can rent a lift, then save yourself $600 off of tha quote.

also, check ebay for 924 engines in good condition. i've seen them for as low as $300. better yet, buy a parts car and take the engine, then sell the body after stripping all the stuff you need out of it.

good luck!

obin

I have one of those AMC engines. It came out of a Postal Jeep. It is the same as the 924 with the exception of the intake and exhuast manifolds; the head is not drilled for injectors; the distributor is points type; and the front crank pulley is different. As far as buying cheeper parts--ie rings; gaskets; etc. the cost is the same.
The head on mine has the same part number as my '79 924.

as far as i've seen, the ports are different sizes on the engines. this is one of the reasons why the 924 engine had significantly more horsepower than the other engines.

there are enough differences that i think that if you try to do a complete stripdown and reassembly and try to mix-and-match the parts between them.. you'd have two very nice non-running engines.

obin

Didn't know about the AMC. Newer 924 motors should work, but you may need to use the old distributer because 82 & maybe 81 don't have any thing in them but a rotor button. 944 motors, by looking at 944s, seem like they would need the front cross member and steering rack. If the transmission is a 4 speed, you might be able to get by with out another driveshaft tube, but you better double check me on that. An outfit called Kennedy, I think comments are in this BBS, has V6 & V* conversions.

drew1

The AMC bare block with absolutely nothing in it is the same. If a 924 is going to be carbed, and AMC head can be used. Some people like to carb them (I dunno why). The compression is only 0.1 difference in favour of the AMC, it may just be a thinner head gasket, or the head may have more metal on it. Never use an AMC head gasket, or an AMC crank, people busted them even on AMC's I heard. There was some warranty that you could get it replaced if it busted. If a block is cracked, and one needs one for there 924, they can get it from an AMC. If one wants to carb a 924, an AMC head is good I would say, because you don't have to plug your injector holes on a 924 head! There is also one model of Audi, and it is the top of the line audi 5000, or in europe the audi 100 in 1977 and later, but not in the 80's and not in the early 70's. The pistons in the AMC engine are supposed to be the exact same shape as the first 924's (bowl shape) but I am not sure if AMC used the same brand, they probably did since they were the same shape and everything. You might even be able make an AMC head into FI if you didn't want to pay 2200 for a new head, it would be worth it. http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/wink.gif
on a 931, nothing can be swapped except the bare block, nothing in it, for sure.

why not just buy a used 924 engine for $300 and get it cleaned up for another $500?

obin

Here give this guy a try.
http://www.geocities.com/thenewporschesite/porschepartsemporium.html?969949619290

His name is Chris and he's located in Witchata, KS. I just some parts from him for my 944.

You could also try Parts Haven in CA.

would a 944 motor work in a 1978 n/a 924?

"hy not just buy a used 924 engine for $300 and get it cleaned up for another $500?
obin"

because, I LIVE in canada man. You US-ers just don't know what it is like. Our population of Porsches is like 90 percent less than the US.
AMCs are more popular than 924's in the scrap yards, I searched teh whole province for a head, and I only found one where I live, imagine yourself in new york, not finding one head in the whole state.
It's hard enough with everyone using dog sleds around here, there's only one main highway in all of Canada, all the rest are snow tracs for dog sleighs
http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/biggrin.gif
except for Toronto, toronto is an american city, they have a lot more, toronto should be part of US, they belong there http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/wink.gif

heh,

i have yet to buy ANY parts for my Porsches from ANY place in New York state. the only thing i can find here are tune-up parts.

everything i get is out-of state. try ebay for used porsche engines. i have seen them coming from canada too http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/wink.gif

obin

Hi Obin, yeah Ebay looks great, except guess what, you need to have a VISA, and I can't use my parents. hehehe I am 17, wish I could, I get all my new parts from my big list of places (ie .head gasket OEM V R 60 bucks)on the net, but when I need used stuff its hard http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/frown.gif
Like piddley valve screws, 9 bucks each at perf parts, too much. If I need 8 thats like 80 bucks with shipping and GST and stuff, but anyway, Partsheaven can get me my used stuff when I need it. But still, if I see a 2 litre AMC, I am gonna make them pay ME for taking the engine!!! http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/tongue.gif What I need is a turbo manifold, better than OEM, they crack just as bad as the NA ones http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/frown.gif