Porsche 944 V8 in Motor City

"BlythBros." (blythbros) 12/12/2014 at 17:15 • Filed to: None

13

25

From Graham at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! (evening repost)

Dan grew up in a dry county in Kentucky, home of Bourbon whiskey. Quite a dissonant combination at first thought – a dry county and Bourbon – but nearly 1/3 of Kentucky counties carry forth the torch of prohibition. And, not straying far from his roots, when Dan got around to buying his first sports car during his junior year of engineering school, he chose the dead sober !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! 944.

Now, I drive a 90 hp !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , so believe me when I say that I don't mind slow cars, but a stock 944 lacks the verve of a slow hot hatch. The ample ratio of grip to power – likely a boon to track performance – smothers the appeal in day-to-day driving. But, boxed fenders aren't a common sight on modern roadways. And those fenders, along with proper proportions, atone for the antiseptic driving experience, at least in the sub $5k used German sports coupe category.

Engineering school took toll on Dan's brain function. Sure, he made A's in nearly all of his classes while simultaneously leading the school's Formula SAE team to a 15th place finish at FSAE Michigan. But, his judgement and restraint deteriorated; he began 944 V8 shopping.

What he settled for was akin to a dry county in Bourbon country – a teuton with a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! pickup truck engine. And whereas conventional Porsche owners are meticulous purists, the 948 crowd is a feral breed. For example, have you ever felt the need to remove your spare tire well – leaving a tire-sized orifice in the rear of your car – in the name of rapid !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! swaps? No? Oh, you must not have doubled the torque input to your already dodgy transaxle.

Yes, Dan took a leap of faith and flew from Detroit to Oklahoma City to buy a 350hp 944 V8 !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Concrete, analytical thinking only takes you so far – and to its credit, it usually takes you far in a positive direction. But, the best adventures often eschew rationality for emotion, acknowledging risks enough to stay safe, but not enough to guarantee a convenient path to success.

Based on the listing and phone calls to the seller, Dan had reason to be excited; sitting in the engine bay of his 944-to-be was a 5.3L iron block Chevy V8 with an LS1 intake manifold and an LS6 cam and valve springs. Engine specs usually make it across phone lines without losing a bit of fidelity. It's the details that get lost. Details, such as mushy brakes that take multiple pumps of the pedal to halt the car. Or, say, a poorly aligned hood that requires an intricate dance to raise without cracking the lower corners of the windshield.

Needless to say, Dan's 1,100 mile shakedown across the most captivating stretch of the US made for some intimate interaction with every single fault of the car. Once back in Detroit, Dan attended to all of the minor faults. He didn't have to consult a list, the 17 hour trip having seared each annoyance deeply into his consciousness.

By the time Dan was done, i.e. a month later, the car was sporting a new rear brake master cylinder and a proper balance bar setup to dial in the bias. Dan also modified the pedal ratio to lower the brake effort to a force producible by mere mortals. The cracked windshield saw replacement, and the orginal seats, shoddy in their recent upholstering, were ousted in favor of supportive Corbeaus. Oh, and he welded a patch in the 20 hole hanging out in the cargo hold.

Dan paused on the 948, briefly, to part out a 944 racecar. Onto the 948 went a set of adjustable Koni yellows, stiffer torsion bars, a turbo trans with external oil cooler, and turbo front brakes. I think Dan made money on the ordeal, and I won't soon forget the picture message he sent me of a rusty 944 shell cut straight down the middle with a reciprocating saw.

I remember driving the car for the first time. Dan had driven from Detroit to southern Indiana with passenger seat full of tools, and when he arrived at 1AM, nobody waited to ask for drives. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , Saab 9000 Aero driver, came back beaming. Malhon, former turbo Integra driver, approved as well.

Driving a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! at the time, and really on a self-righteous slow-car-fast kick, the first dollop of throttle knocked the smug right off of my face. I made peripheral eye contact with Dan – 948 drivers don't do direct eye contact – and knew I had approval to repeat the gas pedal heroics on the upcoming left-hander.

Up until that point, I'd only drifted cars in snow – occasionally rain. Well, the rear end broke lose immediately, and I entered sphincter-guided steering mode, guiding the car sideways through the turn as though it were on ice. The car felt absolutely dangerous, but only in the sense that any sudden deceleration would be deadly. Otherwise, the wide rubber and balanced chassis took the vast majority of peril out of the drifting process. I made a mental note to check eBay as soon as I got back home. Dollar for dollar, few thrills rival 2nd gear in a 944 V8, Those that do require 300+ WHP RWD sports coupes.

The car suits Dan. He's the kind of guy who sacrificed any hope at a normal college sleep schedule for hours of experimental finite element analysis of various racecar suspensions. Think Porsche 944 chassis. He's got a practical side, rarely paying for something he can do himself, and valuing reliability over all-out performance. Think American V8.

Dan is Bourbon in a dry county – a Porsche in Detroit – a raucous American V8 in a sterile German coupe.

Original story !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

For more stories about life with our 84 GTI, 88 911, 87 2.3-16, Alfa Milano Verde, Alfa 164Q, e30s, 68 El Camino SS, Fiesta ST's and more, check out the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! or !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . We're like a more handsome version of Doug Demuro, times two.

TDogg > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 01:07

2

Time for me to start shopping.

Spoon II > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 04:32

0

Great read, and I want...nay need, one of those in my life!!! P.s. Give this Dan guy a few high fives for me!!

Meatcoma > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 09:40

0

SO much better looking than the black rubber bumpers.

Sweet Trav > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 09:40

1

There is something so right about an LS motor powering this car.

This or an E30 LS swap is on my short list of projects that I must do.

Milky > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 09:41

1

Lol "poser".

But come on ….. 2nd most obvious ruin porn site in the D.

E. Julius > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 09:44

1

Great story, although as a Michigander who goes to school in Oklahoma and makes the drive regularly, I disagree with this statement:

…Dan's 1,100 mile shakedown across the most captivating stretch of the US …

BlythBros. > Milky 12/12/2014 at 09:46

0

So true. I didn't feel bad about it because it reflects poor management of the industry vs peoples personal lives. Purposely avoided any houses because that's kind of ridiculous.

Curious, where would you have shot? Downtown was my first choice actually.

BlythBros. > E. Julius 12/12/2014 at 09:48

0

Haha, hope you picked up in the sarcasm.

I use to drive the PA turnpike to Indiana to get to school and halfway through school realized that it was a pretty scenic drive.

BlythBros. > Sweet Trav 12/12/2014 at 09:49

0

I think the 944 is actually the cheaper donor vehicle at this point. E30s are so practical though. It would be a tough choice.

BlythBros. > Meatcoma 12/12/2014 at 09:52

0

Interesting that you say that. I kind of like the mustache look for its 80s charm, but the monotone does cut down on visual clutter.

The car is guilty of having a corny body kit, but still looks great.

E. Julius > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 09:52

0

Ah my mistake. I do actually find most of the drive past St. Louis quite pretty— it's mostly just the OK turnpike, the awful semi–truck infested hills in Missouri and the St. Louis traffic that kill me.

Sweet Trav > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 09:56

0

I mean there's pro's and con's to each platform, I prefer the looks of the E30, but if i could find a 944 Kombi.(which I can't) I'd have to build one.

You can use the Porsche Turbo trans for an LS motor, but the E30 trans will explode if you try to adapt an LS motor to it. so its the additional cost of a T-56. I remember hearing that an aluminum LS motor weighs roughly 70lbs less than the E30 6 cylinder. but the T56 weighs 50lbs more than the E30 trans, or something like that.

Milky > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 09:58

0

Ooo … ya you should of done that imo. Doing the tunnel loop with that V8 would of sounded very nice.

Actually I haven't done that in a little while. Well I know what I'm doing this weekend when I get bored.

Meatcoma > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 10:05

0

In high school I had a friend that put a chevy 350 into a 928, it was pretty awesome. I've had 2 944's that I dreamed of putting a V8 into but because I wouldn't know where to start it never happened. Now I must go to the internet to see about procuring one.

BlythBros. > Milky 12/12/2014 at 10:09

2

Yeah, a few months ago I drove the 164Q through the tunnel and parked right in front of the Ren Cen to get dinner. And then more tunnel. Fun night.

nettns > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 10:10

0

Dan should pipe up with some of the other oddities of the car, there are many. If I recall correctly, Lexus SC400 front brakes, RX-7 front control arms, mirrors from... something, the very funky rear bumper that was bondo'd to the rear quarters at some point. The car is a gold mine of interesting (questionable) decisions.

Meatcoma > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 10:21

1

Of course now I'm looking at 944's DAMMIT!

BlythBros. > Meatcoma 12/12/2014 at 10:23

0

They are so cheap compared to e30s too :) Parts might be a but worse but I can't say for sure.

Milky > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 10:45

0

Every time I go downtown now I'm going to say this - "And then more tunnel."

Meatcoma > BlythBros. 12/12/2014 at 10:52

0

what gets you is the small parts that should cost $3 cost $30. Now I wish I'd kept my totaled 944 since the interior was in really good shape.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Sweet Trav 12/12/2014 at 11:34

0

Nearly, the lightest LS engine is the LS3 at 203kg fully dressed (although that might be for the auto version with a flex-plate, add on ~20kg for the flywheel based on other LS engines). The M20B25 in an E30 is about 180kg fully dressed, so for its displacement and power the LS is featherweight, but it isn't actually a light engine...

Sweet Trav > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 12/12/2014 at 11:43

0

Hmm. Odd.

I have a signed poster from Kevin Byrd and his LS swap E30 on my cube wall. He claimed he lost about 50lbs overall with the swap...

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Sweet Trav 12/12/2014 at 11:52

0

Interesting :S all the data I can find pegs the LS as a good deal heavier than the M20. Unless there's more that came out of the front than just the engine. If there was an air-con system to delete that would take out a good chunk of weight, and things like an alloy rad can save ~5kg or so. (based on me weighing parts for my Spitfire 6 project).

The fibreglass bonnet for my Spitfire is 16kg lighter than the steel one. It's probably a bit of a more substantive expanse of metal than the E30 bonnet, but with webbing it's probably not all that much different in weight.

Sweet Trav > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 12/12/2014 at 11:59

0

Yeah, upon further research I found the same thing. perhaps it was an "overall" weight savings and not the engine that saved him weight.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > Sweet Trav 12/12/2014 at 12:08

0

Yeah that sounds plausible. It's certainly possible to lose that much weight including the added weight from the engine if you're clever/have a big wallet :)