Joining the fad, 1.8t swapped 944 Project (Pics, Slow Progress)

[EuroDrivenUS]

As the title suggests, I'm getting rid of my old & tired, N/A 944 engine, for an AEB 1.8t. I had other misc threads but here's the final, which im creating to dump photos of my progress, keep track of expenses, and help anyone inspired to do the same.

i've heard from people i might as well scrap it. Ive heard why not just fix it as it is. I've heard people are ready to see how this experience goes. I'd like to start by saying if your not interested in this thread, leave the commenting to those who are so i can try to answer any and all questions, as well as ask many myself. My knowledge on both porsche and audi does not go much further than book smarts, spending nights researching odds and ends. The most hands on work i've accomplished is maintenance and suspension on my 2000 Audi A4 2.8 daily driver. This is 100% a learning experience for me, and even if this ends with the car never running and me giving up, i'll have learned a thing or two. Now onto what everyone cares about...

Budget: I'd like to have less than $3000 into this project including the cost of the car. Doesn't mean things will be perfect, or as complete as id like, but my current goal is to get it running and driving decently. 19 year old college budget keep in mind.

Car & Condition: 1986 Porsche 944 N/A. 60k miles on cluster but i know thats been broken for a long while. Timing belt went on the previous owner and he quit fixing it after pulling the head although it looks as though with a new head it would be fine. Some metallic gold color, very very poor condition, can't seem to find the sticker with the exact code. Ugly, dead grandma smelling, brown interior with what i assume was once red carpet. Some new misc parts from the previous owner, hood/hatch struts, welded and wrapped headers, nothing amazing. Only rust is in the battery tray.

Few pics of when i first got it, as well as after some cleaning (originally planned to fix it and restore it):

















Pics after deciding to go through with the swap, and have it live out the rest of its life as a track car. How it currently sits while I'm away working for $ to complete it:

[EuroDrivenUS]

Pics of the motor I'm picking up as of June 7th. I'll go into further detail once its actually in my hands, never know if the dude will back out or something. Same weekend I'm also picking up a southbend single mass flywheel/pressure plate, and o2j trans. Again, all of which ill talk about once i have in my hands:

[944tothefloor]

Sweet! Why'd you choose the vw 1.8 and what are your power goals?


How realistic is $3000 for the swap?

[EuroDrivenUS]

Since my daily is an Audi 2.8 i did a lot of research over the years about modding, maintenance, etc. and i'd often stumble across a lot of audi 1.8t info. My only true knowledge is between those two motors as well as some diesel since I'm in school for heavy equipment operation. When its all said and done and likely well beyond the $3000 budget, id like it at 400hp, but for the time being I'm just looking to put the 1.8t in with the stock ko3 turbo. I plan on doing nearly all the work myself, so i feel $3000 for a budget just to get it running and driving is fairly realistic. Im not saying it will drive amazing (the suspension on the car is currently junk and idk if thats something ill get to) but it will run and drive. or so i hope. I'd like to get this done by the end of september but with how much i work to fund this project, as well as school, i don't know how realistic that is. thanks for the interest!

[sausagehacker]

Where are you located? There's a sweet VW/Audi/Porsche/BMW/MB/etc scrapyard in Austin TX called Veedub. I saw snow in one pic so it's a long shot, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Good luck! Make sure that budget allows for some good tools

Fellow college student here - does your school have a machine shop? If so, milk it. I've used a lot of their machinery to get car stuff done for free. I have no doubt you'll need some odd part machined or milled at some point in the swap....

[EuroDrivenUS]

Snow pics are from back in December when i got the car, I'm located in PA. 3 or 4 good junkyards within an hour from me, but most likely the majority of the parts will be purchased either new, or from a PA Dubber (PA VW group, don't exactly enjoy searching for parts through them but there is a few good apples in the group and they're all local). And yes my school has shops on campus as well as off for their automotive, antique restore, welding, etc. ill likely try to use them for anything i can but they're pretty strict about that stuff unfortunately. I'll have to try slipping a $20 to the teacher or something haha

[sausagehacker]

Originally Posted by barnettcoops

Snow pics are from back in December when i got the car, I'm located in PA. 3 or 4 good junkyards within an hour from me, but most likely the majority of the parts will be purchased either new, or from a PA Dubber (PA VW group, don't exactly enjoy searching for parts through them but there is a few good apples in the group and they're all local). And yes my school has shops on campus as well as off for their automotive, antique restore, welding, etc. ill likely try to use them for anything i can but they're pretty strict about that stuff unfortunately. I'll have to try slipping a $20 to the teacher or something haha

That's good. Lol, at my university (Baylor) I've had great luck with using the available resources. They even have a loading bay!

You know what would look sick and be super cheap? Paint it with chalkboard paint, and spray rhino-liner or bedliner in the interior...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9pPkq7LtpI

[EuroDrivenUS]

hahaha ill have to watch that top gear episode. My first plan was to plastidip it, but i ditched that pretty quickly, and as of now I'm thinking ill likely use a friends gun and spray it a single stage mint color. I'm fixing some here and there dents and dings but the large damage on the drivers rear quarter I'm not bothering with and just plan to paint over. I'll have to snap a pic of it when i get the chance. Im hoping to go wide body at some point so that should cover it up when the time comes

[Volhv]

Interesting.... I wonder how you'll accomplish this, what with using a transversely mounted engine and transmission. Will this be the first FWD Porsche?

[EuroDrivenUS]

The engine is originally longitudinal from an audi a4 avant, but in the pictures the owner was in the process of swapping it transversely into a vw rabbit. No fwd for me haha. I'm picking up the o2j trans to use only the bell housing portion, while the rest is whomever wants it. With an adapter plate made it bolts right up to the torque tube

[Volhv]

Ahh, fair enough. That's the same 1.8T they had in the Golfs and Jettas transversely, right? The 020 transmissions also bolt up to the 1.8T, and are plentiful and cheaper than the 02j.

[EuroDrivenUS]

Only difference between the longitudinal and transverse 1.8t are accessories I believe. there is likely more that's different but it's nothing insane. Is the 020 trans bell housing separate? I haven't looked into it, only 02j and 02a. Either way I found someone local with an 02j for $100 so that's good enough of a price for me.

[tamathumper]

I'm always sad when I see a car in hard condition, but kudos to you for helping the tub to live on, even if it gets a transplant.

I can't comment on the cost of the conversion, but given your budget please make sure you don't cheap out on the safety equipment if you're tracking it.

And good luck!

[doublestuff]

I'm considering the Audi 1.8 swap as a (remote) possibility for my parts car when I'm done with it, so watching with interest. I might have missed it, but why are you not planning to use the 944 transaxle?

[Lapkritis]

Glad to see you post this up! Good luck with the build - I'll be watching closely.

The transverse 1.8T's from Golf/Jetta are generally "small port" 20v's. The VWVortex has a great FAQ section with a lot of hyperlinked information and sources for parts. The other key difference is the Golf/Jetta have an internally mounted waterpump (different engine block) that is timing belt driven.

You can swap an the heads between the two blocks; the AEB head on the Golf/Jetta or later block is quite popular for performance increase.

Vohlv - the 020 tranmsissions use a cable clutch with the mechanism working by lever at the far end of the gear stack and an internal push rod to reach the bell housing. You would have to fabricate a clutch control mechanism if you use the 020 bell housing. The 02A/02J bell housing uses a clutch slave nearly identical to the 944 factory slave. The holes almost line up even for mounting although I would recommend using the VW slave for geometry in range of operation.

[EuroDrivenUS]

While he's commenting and helping out with some of your questions, i'd like to say for those interested in this swap to check out these few links. These are what got me interested in doing the 1.8t swap, and what ill generally be using to follow as a sort of "how to".

Steve924
924Board.org :: View topic - 1.8T 924
• View topic - 1.8t 924
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pb0p1HPeHE&feature=youtu.be

Lapkritis
W was President - A 944 Nightmare

Lemons 944
Lemons 944 build (Team Got Wood)+ testing videos :: motorgeek.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt6mqUFLWJQ

[Volhv]

Originally Posted by doublestuff

why are you not planning to use the 944 transaxle?

He is, the transversely mounted transmission will get hacked up and welded to make an adapter for the torque tube.

Lapkritis, that's a good point about about the clutch actuation. I did not take it into consideration. I'm aware of how those old VW clutched work. I've replaced them before, and done a 1.8 to ABA swap in my Golf.

Cool project! Good luck.

[EuroDrivenUS]

Sooooo. since I'm not currently home able to tinker with my car, all i do is search random junk on google. pretty sad thats how i spend my time. anyways... Anyone know the legalities of this track wise? is it allowed as long as its recovered. cause I'm really considering it to make maintenance easier. if you've done it, or have pics, post your setup of how you recovered it.

[sausagehacker]

Originally Posted by barnettcoops

Sooooo. since I'm not currently home able to tinker with my car, all i do is search random junk on google. pretty sad thats how i spend my time. anyways... Anyone know the legalities of this track wise? is it allowed as long as its recovered. cause I'm really considering it to make maintenance easier. if you've done it, or have pics, post your setup of how you recovered it.

I guess you could make it removable, would be handy for removing the gas tank quickly. Install the Only944 shifter linkage arm WYIT

[J1NX3D]

the porsche 933 had removable access back there. the alternator was mounted at the back too.