My LS1 Conversion 911
 

First and for Most: I debated if I was going to post about this as I have seen endless flames on users who do conversions with anything other than a Porsche motor. With that said I hope everyone can respect the engineering and creativity of building something unique. We are all car enthusiasts and have a passion for the Porsche and HP, my build will just have a V8…

The Base : 1981 SC with 993 wide body
The Engine: LS1 from a vette
The base Kit: Renegade Hybrids (Great Group of Guys with tons of experience)
Cooling System: Custom made Radiator


Before starting anything no post of an engine removal or rebuild would be complete without the “Look at me I am in the engine bay” picture. This seems to be the Pelican trademark and a great way to put a face to fellow Pelican. So here it is.


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The build started with a rebuilt LS1 block that I was able to pickup on fleabay. Since I did not need most of the accessories and was unsure what exhaust system I was going with I decided to purchase the minimum and piece it together how I wanted it.

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After reviewing different intakes and HP gains I went with a typhoon aluminum intake and larger throttle body. Looks very nice and provides a substantial amount of HP but does have its disadvantages in regards to weight. It does sit slightly higher and does weight more over the stock plastic LS1 intake, I would probably not recommend this for anyone else who is considering the swap. It was a very tight fit and makes zero clearance for the throttle body against the back firewall.

For the exhaust I went with the manifold from a ZO6 vette as I really liked the HP gains and found a good deal on Fleabay that someone had modified for a Chevy S10 conversion but did not fit. I had talked it over with Steve at RH and since it had not been done before we were unsure if there would clearance problems. Lucky enough for me that when everything was bolted up and put in the car there were no problems :) For sure it will need a good welder and some nice mandrel pipes to be finished but I do not foresee any issues.


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Having a 915 tranny and knowing that it would be the weakest link of the build I did go thru and freshen it up with new bearings, syncro’s a billet Wevo side cover and Wevo 1pcs bearing retainer (thanks to Ben at MKexhaust). I was actually surprised once I opened it up how nice the gears and dog teeth were. The PO had stated it was rebuilt when I purchased the car so now I believe him, wish I could have said the same about the motor and not found all the broken head studs :mad:

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Wow! Welcome. No flames from me my curiosity is peaked. Love to see this evolve.
Best of luck,

Scott

Good luck, I saw a red slantnose with a chevy in it this morning and a 914 with a chevy in it last week. They seemed happy.

Sorry I have not posted pictures of the engine adapter and tranny coming together.. I am waiting to hear back from RH if they are cool with sharing the information, I understand it may be proprietary information to prevent people from coping their kits.

I will add latter if they are OK with it.

The radiator is something that I decided to engineer on my own as I do not like the idea of the front mount radiator and having to modify the fuel tank. Since my car is kitted with a 993 turbo body I decided to use the area where an intercooler would go and fabricate a custom radiator the same size. The size and cooling will be the true test but seeing the 2 fans in action and how close they sit to the engine when the trunk is closed I think it should be OK. Filling of the fluid will be the hard part :confused: I may have the filler neck re-welded and re-located if everything works out and the radiator can handle the Florida heat

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Looking forward to the result! I like the creativity. Nice job.

Thanks for the support guys. The work was started in January and I did most of it within 2~3 weeks when I was back in the US. I was able to get most of the engine assembled and mounted into the car while starting some of the routing for the radiator. I had to stop and retun back to Shanghai for the next 2~3 months so I will not be able to finish it up till then.

good start that is forsure !

Here are some pictures of the engine installed into the car. Notice the extra hood shock on the right side of the engine bay. This is to support the added weight of the radiator in the tale. I will need to test it once I get water filled into it and if it can not handle the weight I will add another one on the left side.. Not bad for a $15 dollar upgrade, maybe cheaper than the stock ones :)

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Sublime

Kind of reminds me of the last time I stumbled accross a GREAT porn site, difficult to look away!

Very nice engineering. I am anxious to watch it all come together & to hear how it drives.

I'm curious, what will the LS1 horsepower be compared to the Porsche engine you took out (not sure which engine you had)? How does the weight of the LS1 compare to the original engine? I am guessing that you have raised the center of gravity with the V8 compared to the F6. Is that correct?

Keep posting!

Nice work! Where you at in FLA?

This looks like a fun project. Since Renegade is local, I've visited the shop and drooled at the work they do on site. Real nice folks, and real Porsche enthusiasts, no matter what some folks may say. The last time I was there, they had 914's, 944's, 928's and of course some 911's in progress. These guys love their work.

As far as the rear radiator is concerned, I think you might have some issues with getting enough cooling if you're running it hard, especially if the ambient temps are high. The proof will be in the final testing. I say this from lots of experience with rear mounted radiators in off-road vehicles, and the fact that that "ram-air" effect of a front mounted radiator is clutch in most cases. You can make up for it with oversized radiators, and a real good shrouded fan setup, but it takes some consideration for sure.

And although I can see your point about not wanting to mess with the fuel tank, the front mounted radiator of course helps with weight distribution.

Keep up the good work, I may still go this route some day.

I like the idea of the radiator, and hope it works for you.

Below is taken from Toyjet's website. His car along with the guys from RH all state that the LS1 motor is in fact lighter. Considering that I have a smaller radiator and have traded out the stock starter and other parts for weight reduction I am guessing that my conversion will also be less weight. The truth will be in the ride height when I get her back on the ground, I have 19" wheels and it was a very close fit to the fenders when I had the 3.0SC motor. If it is heavier when I put her on all 4's the fender will hit the tires.

Here is the information from Toyjet

For sure the test will be the hot Florida weather, the guys at RH also encourage the front mount and have endless hours of testing and development into their system and if my system fails me I will end up purchasing from them.

I do plan to also add a oil cooler that will fit into the right side fender. I will be using -10AN hose and fittings so hopefully this will help to drop the engine temps.

Again, the true test will be driving it like you said. The shroud setup and fans on my radiator are pretty good so the pull and amount of air flow will be critical

Tampa Florida is where the car is. I spend 50% of the year in Asia and now am in Shanghai for the next 2~3 months. I will come home in May for the second phase of my build. I only had 4 weeks home during my last trip and spent 2 weeks getting the engine put together and in the car.

I have the Carerra oil cooler and fan in the Carrera location, and it's just enough cooling in the summer time here. (My car is a 76 with an 85 3.2). If you go that route, then you will still have room up front for a radiator if in fact you are forced that way.

The other thing about a fender mounted oil cooler is that it increases oil capacity, and those LS motors do not like oil starvation at all. There are a lot of trick, baffled, trap-doored oil pans out there for those engines to make sure they always have good oil pressure. An accumulator is also good insurance against oil starvation.

http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.asp?N=700+400105+115+4294851301

I like it!

Everyone loves porn :D

Here is a picture if the fuel system. i went with a returnless fuel rail using the stock fuel filter with built in accumulator from a vette. Fuel pressure is maintained at 57psi. I used fuel clamps and slipped the fuel hose over the stock lines with about 5" overlap. Did not see any fuel leaks and will need to monitor. I did see other post of users doing this and would be interested to get feedback if there was ever problems.

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I also decided that during my build I was going to remove the stock LS1 PCV system and replace it with an oil catch can and replace the stock valley cover with a newer 2007 version that has the PCV system built in. It cost me less than $100 to do this and I was able to eliminate several hoses and keep it simple.

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Had not thought of this, that is the great thing about this forum it is a think tank of information and experience.

This is a very cool build!

I am thrilled to see that another member is attempting this build. Thanks for posting!

I just purchased a '78 turbo bodied roller from another member on here and I spoke to Scott at RH last week. I will be tackling this same project (with a few variations in engine setup) later this year.

Keep up the good work and keep us posted!!!

Here is a shot of the water pump and flexible radiator hose. The flex hose provides just enough movement for the trunk hood to open and close. There is a slight bit of strain on the hose coupling and I am looking for an alternative hose cause I feel over time this may weaken so I am keeping my eye open for a 2" S coupling that is 3~4 ply. The hose coupling I am using now is from an STI radiator hose kit that was sitting around my garage, would probably work but I am not 100% confident.

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I can't get over how the engine "just fits" the 911 engine bay. It's almost like it was made for a V8. (flame suit on) I love my air cooled 911 but this is intriguing for many reasons.

I've hear rumours that the successor to the 997 may have a V8 out the back instead of a flat 8... I'll guess we'll see soon enough but if Porsche goes to a V8 then these conversions will be seen in an entirely new light :cool:

+1

I too am amazed. The engine looks so much taller than the flat six.

Must be hard to put down the project for months at a time. But I guess that affords you more time to draw up your plans.

Build looks really sweet..good luck with it..can't wait to see it when its done.

Incredible , simply incredible !!!!!

What a job !!!

put me down for a subscription.

Looks good. I am afraid of your radiator hoses though. Those probably cannot withstand being opened and closed much. I don't think they will like being twisted up when hot and could let go and really burn someone. You should think of a safer and better way to do it. Off the top of my head I have a couple ideas but not sure they are any better.

Me likey!!

Todd, very nice build you have going. When I was looking at your cooling system, an idea popped into my head which I will try to elaborate on. Instead of using the flex pipes to make it possible to open and close the decklid, I think it would be trick to use Hydraulic 90° Swivels mounted below each hinge. These are used with hydraulic machinery and withstand something like 3000psi so that wouldnt be a concern. I'm not sure what size coolant hoses you are using, but they can make the swivels in any size I would guess. I found a few on ebay, the one in the pic below is 1" diameter.
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If you attached a 90° elbow to that it would be 180° and would swivel as the decklid was opened or closed. Then throw some nipples on the end to mate up with the coolant lines you already have and it would be a pretty effective solution. The swivels themselves would probably need a small bracket attached to the outboard decklid hinge area to keep them stationary. Heres the link for the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1-HYDRAULIC-HOSE-SWIVEL-90-DEG-ELBOW_W0QQitemZ260342492915QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPneu matic_Hydraulic_Valves_Parts?_trksid=p3286.m20.l11 16
This would probably take some trial and error to perfect but would achieve something great.

I admire your courage and abilities to take on such a project.

After reviewing different intakes and HP gains I went with a typhoon aluminum intake and larger throttle body.

Chevy LS looks great in there. I was told that an LS intake can be reversed and it will still bolt to the motor. Any truth in that statement. Would get the air intake away from the firewall.