89 911 LS1 Conversion
 

Well, time is here. I've been reading all of the amazing LS1 conversions of the 911 and I am about to begin this journey also. I am going to start by taking my 89 Carrara with its G50 01 tranny and 3.2 to the weighing station after filling up the car with 91 octane and get a true weight reading of the car with all of its factory stuff. I'm going to measure the height to the top of the wheel wells and see what the difference is once the LS1 is installed. I have a couple of questions that remain unanswered and hopefully someone can fill me in:

1. The G50 01 Tranny - Do I need to upgrade the clutch? My clutch is working fine. I plan on putting a stock 350 HP LS1 Motor. This will be a weekend driver car and not a track car. The upgrade seems pretty expensive and needed for 915 tranny's but what about the "bullet proof" G50 01?

2. Does anyone have photos of their engine cradle or motor mounts for the 911/LS1 conversion. I want to get the engine attached to the tranny as quickly as possible so I can look at it in awe. I know Kennedy Engineering has the adapter plate, flywheel, pilot bearing and a couple of people I found are selling a set pretty cheap at the moment but other then those parts one needs the motor mounts. Is anything else needed to get the engine in the car correctly?

Also a note about my 89 3.2. I may sell it once the engine is dropped. It has 155,000 miles. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1280930965.jpg

Forget you ever posted this.

Then say 911 Hail Marys and go away and sin no more....

Sell the 89 and buy a cheap 78-86 to hack up.... please.

Your 3.2 with some tweaking far less than that required for a V8 install will kick the ***** out of an LS-1 in a 911 chassis. Do what you want, but taking a perfectly good car with a rebuild-able motor and stuffing a V8 in it, will produce a TURD.

Just my .02

Lindy

It's his car to due with what he wants. I'm at the point, past it actually, of rebuilding the 3.2 in my 88. If I didn't live in California, I would consider the LS1 conversion, a lot of bang for the buck. I'll spend the same $ as a LS1 conversion and end up with the stock HP. Besides, how many articles have you read in Excellence about some super high dollar 911 hotrod where they end the article with one negative note, the 915 tranny. Using a G50 car is logical.

This car will not be hacked up. I've already bought a new lid for the rear. I've made a mock foam radiator and trying to decide on what wing to mount it under/in. I've done the research on a radiator for that location and with a couple of changes to some other rear radiator designs I'm hoping mine will cool without an issue. My foam radiator is 32 by 13" with 2 fans side by side. That is 416sq" of cooling. Plenty for up to 420 HP. If I keep it at 350 I can probably go down to 28 or 30" wide by 13 tall. I'm trying to stick to the narrower and wider as opposed to taller design in the radiator.

If it doesn't work perhaps the 3.2 will hop back in. So, without the negative feedback - there is always plenty of that - hopefully someone can answer some of the questions I've listed above. Any thoughts with the 350 HP Stock LS1 as it relates to the motor mounts and G50 without modification/clutch?

And Gary, after breaking down in Conn last year and towing my car back to the Hudson Valley I realized that all the open garages could easily have fixed any LS1 issues but the Porsche guys were no where to be found. That unexpected stress of being stuck in Conn with an eight year old was something I wish on no one. I love my car and no hacking will be done. $2500s later and still a wobble in my pulley - its a no brainer.

Sorry,

Blasphemy!!!!!!

Don't mean to be negative but, I love these cars too much. To me it's like cutting the center out of a Picasso to insert an Al Capp cartoon.

I certainly respect your right to do what you want with your car but your either a Porsche guy or your not. Your not. I would respectfully encourage you to go buy a Corvette.

Cole

conversion
 

i have a Dart all aluminum sbc conversion with 930 transaxle and all the usual performance suspension stuff. my car is a daily driver. the motor is 434 cubic inches with EFI and develops almost 600 chp in a 71 coupe that weighs about 2250 pounds. i do not do track events so i cannot relate to those conditions...but on the street it is solid and it still looks and drives as a porsche to me. do the conversion and you will enjoy it for years to come...i would keep the g50 transaxle. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1280948449.jpg

As a true Porsche guy (I've owned 3 of them) and a true Chevy guy (I've had 3 Camaros and a Vette), I think the marriage of the best of both should be a wonderful thing! Nobody does engines like GM (simple, sonerous, powerful, reliable) and nobody does the rest of the car like Porsche. I love each in its pure form, but can respect the desire to be different and have your cake and eat it too! I've always said I won't be happy unless I have a Porsche Turbo and a Z06 in my garage, this sounds like a much less costly solution...

:mad:

Start with Renegade Hybrids in Cali. They make the entire kit for conversion. Be very wary of the wing mounted radiator, most that have tried that have failed. The Renegade stuff does the least "hacking" to the 911 and all can be converted back when you regain your sanity.

Most don't understand that a Porsche flat six makes power totally different than Detroit iron. In my opinion the SC chassis, the suspension components, half shafts and even the G50, can't handle V8 torque. Sure, they will for a while, but if you beat on it parts will break.

There's a lot of personal engineering that goes into one of these hybrids and you need to be pretty good to pull it off. I've been rebuilding my '78 for a long time and considered the V8 thing but it was more than I wanted to take on.

Lindy

A 911 that sounds like a fart wagon? These cars were not meant for the "CanAm Thunder", unless you're driving a 928.

Sell the car and build a cheeper one if you must, 89 is the pinnacle year of the best porsche has offered. It really is a sick thing to consider IMO.

I appreciate some of the kind words. Some of you clearly can think out of the box. I'm not here to bash anyone and reply in bad taste to the "true porsche guy". I except your opinion. If you have a bad day you need not take it out on me. That being said, in this posting I'm hoping that advise regarding my build can be given when needed. I'm moving ahead. 2002 Camaro LS1 with 65k is coming. I will be away for 2 weeks and it will be great finding it upon my return.

And Hoyabear I do appreciate your words and encouragment. Nothing wrong with a mutt. A little German and American engineering - I think that combo even helped get us to the moon?

Hey don't get me wrong, I'm in the "outside the box" club. And I can see the merit of such a swap, but you have a real sellable car. Sell it to someone that's looking for it and get a nice roller, they're out there. Put a 930 transaxle in it to cope with the massive power that plant can push.

Just had the rust that was under the window (cowl) in two spots removed/cut out. Both door pillars had rust and now they are gone - cut out - new pillars installed/welded in. The passenger side inner and outer rocker had rott! Its gone. I've cleaned up this wonderful 89. Not sure that someone else would have secured its future survival like I have. That being said - I got this car because of the G50. Really don't need a 930. According to Kennedy Engineered Products

930 tranny - '78-88 423 - stock torque capacity
G50 tranny - '87-89 460 - stock torque capacity.

I don't think I need a 930 tranny. Not sure if I'm reading this correctly but why get rid of a G50?

One of the reasons for this swap is that following the trip to Conn with the car and the crankshaft pully backing out - following the cost to "kind of repair the flatness of the tip of the crank" for the pully to spin without wobble - the wobble is still there - perhaps worse. Has anyone seen the pully back off the crank? Obviously the pully bolt was not tight and I had no work to that part of the car in 3 years. Does anyone know the fix for this. Designing a tool that could shave the tip flat is the thought. Any other thoughts?

I overlooked the g50. One more reason it's a wonderfull car. I feel stupid though knowing now that you've actually saved this car from cancer. I'm going to look forward to seeing your car transform into the cool combination that you decide to make it. Your car looks great, it's going to perform awesome. Good luck.

My car has been weighed. Filled with gas, spare tire, tools, etc it comes in at:

2612 pounds.

The wheel well height is as follows:
LF: 26 1/8"
RF: 26 1/16"
LR: 25 3/8"
RR: 26 1/8"

which we shall call 25.92 or 26" height from level ground to wheel well.

My 2002 LS1 Camaro motor is here. It had 65K miles.

The conversion begins

Started taking apart the ls1. Removed the wiring harness/computer, water pump and power steering pump. Its looking a bit lighter.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282448330.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282448412.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282448506.jpg

Updates?

Not much since last night. The altinator is off. The engine mounts are off. I will drop my motor and tranny next week out of the 911. Waiting for my kit (a few weeks away) ... so it will be prep work. Cleaning the engine compartment. Its pretty new looking so I think it will just take some washing and degreasing once the motor is dropped. We shall see if anything else needs attention then. The LS1 is looking much lighter with all those components off. Should be easier getting the motor out of my house then it was bringing it in! Not sure about that gas/oil smell though!

im going to keep an eye on this. good luck

You obviously are not married. :) I built my first VW motor in my room.

Did you go with a kit from Renegade Hybrids?

Is it that obvious??? Hopefully, I will get the smell out of here by next weekend! My son has had 3 days of sleepovers so I've been able to get busy, keep an eye on them and work on the motor as well as a hundred other things. I'm no motorhead in anyway so having the internet next to the motor really helps. Steve at Renegade seems to always be there to help. Always returns a call or emails back. Hopefully he won't get too anoid with my inexperience in these matters. I've been on LS1Howto.com all day. Takes all the guess work out of removing parts from the motor and gives all the torque specs for every single nut!
I'm now cleaning the motor. Doesn't need too much cleaning but getting into all the nook and cranies. I'll probably remove the exhaust manifold after talking to Steve and perhaps put the motor in the garage (or not).

Keep going,
This is LS2 conversion that started with LS1, just like lin7310948 he is a great guy and I am sure he will answer all your questions.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/461502-my-ls1-conversion-911-a.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282526238.jpg

^^^I love the fact that this thing is a Porsche and a hot rod at the same time!

Well, day two of build was relatively simple. I removed the remainder of accessories from the motor. I even removed the compressor. It will eventually go back on but not needed until after everything is running smoothly. I just have to remember when I put an exhaust system on the motor that the bends can't hit where the compressor will be re-installed. I also took off the spark plugs and turned the motor by hand. Everything seemed smooth. Things that should go up went up and things that should go down appeared to go down. I didn't hear any clanking!

The starter was removed, both exhaust manifolds and the alternator was taken off for now, waiting for its new brackets. Pretty bare. My next step is to put the intake manifold back on (in reverse) along with the throtle body, removing the MAS for later use on its bend.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282612631.jpg

In the house, on an engine stand, on the hardwoods....man your significant other or landlord must be very tolerant.

Good luck with the build.

-Jack

Now with the manifold on backwards... I had to remove the oil pressure sensor. The trottle body was bumping into it. I have a new one on order that takes care of that. Looks good? Thats it for tonight.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282615557.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282615628.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282615712.jpg

Jack,
my house, no wife. Life is good. My son gets a little engine lesson on summer vacation. The floors held up well. No spillage. It is probably time to put the engine in the garage. Its a lot lighter now.

Buy a nice used ZO6 and don't get caught performing an abortion on a quality German machine

ls1 swap
 

guys, guys, guys, every man has his dream, yours may be the perfect porsche with no mods, or is your car modified? we all want more hp and better brakes that did not come on our cars. my 74 targa has 350 hp for less than $2000 and that is a 327 chevy motor i installed myself. very easy to do, about 3 days work. compare that with the $20,000 240 hp motor listed in parts for sale. I think our cars were designed/built to race and if porsche could have built more hp in to the motor at that time, they would have. and some of us are true racers that just want to go fasterand win.

subscribed, don't be discouraged by the purest. I have been slacking on my build due to work and travel but did take it for a spin over the weekend and in 2nd gear @ 30mph was able to floor smash the throttle and break the tires loose :) Keep in mind I have 12" rims in the rear with a 305 tire. Tell me how many "modified" 3.2 can do that? You wont be disappointed.

BTW, look into upgrading to an LS6 vented valley cover and you can bypass all those PCV hoses. Only cost around $75 and cleans up the engine compartment. I think these is also an article on LS1 HowTo's

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1282784987.jpg

I flipped the valve covers - same as the intake manifold - so that the hoses will correctly match their corresponding connections. I will take your advise Todd and swap to an LS6 Valley to get rid of some of those hoses but will wait, keeping a list of things to do once all runs well.

Thanks for the positive words!:)

Anyone bailing on an LS1 swap project? If so PM me... may take cooling and mounting parts off your hands. Need to get back to work on my project.