Volvo T4 swap into 87 944

So as it happens, I find myself with a free Volvo T4 1.9. so this prompted a little research and apparently the little swedish meatball can hold down nearly 400hp stock! So since my beloved 2.5 NA is getting a bit long in the tooth I'm thinking of adapting the T4 for use in the 944.

The Plan
- the flywheel: I'm going to try and use the Porsche flywheel and clutch. the Volvo crank bolt patter looks alot wider than that 944. So adapter plate to match the new engine to the old flywheel the same way lug adapters are done

- bell housing: since the flywheel will be back just a bit it won't be hard to make a bell housing adapter the same thickness, meaning the clutch and clutch fork assembly stay oriented correctly.

- ECU: I have had plans to go MS3 regardless and have a friend who is highly experienced with these units. with the turbo from a T5 and a solid tune it looks like we could be bumping STI numbers.

- Engine mounts aren't looking too bad. I think there are some spots on both sides of the block to throw some supports on and then a bracket down to the Stock 944 mounts. not so bad

- Cooling can be handled by a 951 radiator

- Fueling a 951 fuel pump

- Turbo plumbing can't be any worse than it is on the S40 from which the T4 comes.

So am I missing anything? anyone think there's a snowball's chance in hell that the stock NA trans will survive the T4? it is all peak horsepower and not much torque.... thoughts overall?

Welcome.
Another interesting choice of engine...
Looks like you have all the major areas figured out. The only other thing that comes to mind is how the 944 clutch MC will interact with the Volvo SC; you want to be sure you will have enough volume to fully disengage the pressure plate.... fitting a larger MC will be much easier now with an empty engine-bay.

Well i was thinking rather than trying to use the volvo flywheel ect I might try using the 944 flywheel clutch and pressure plate. This way i can get around having to adapt the volvo throwout bearing and clutch fork not to mention having to find a clutch that will grab the 944 TT yet fit int the T4's clutch pack

you would actually be easier to use the volvo flywheel and pressure plate and find a disc that fits. its really not that difficult. the slave cylinder isnt too hard either, id go with a concentric slave cylinder, like the ls1 style, just find one thats the right height, make spacers if needed.

sharkey wrote:you would actually be easier to use the volvo flywheel and pressure plate and find a disc that fits. its really not that difficult. the slave cylinder isnt too hard either, id go with a concentric slave cylinder, like the ls1 style, just find one thats the right height, make spacers if needed.

I'm definitely willing to be swayed on this thing, what makes you say that might be easier? i still need clearance to fit the bell housing adapter in there.

well, im doing an oddball swap as well (look at my thread right below yours, ecotec 944) and am dealing with the same issues. 

first off, on adapting the 944 flywheel to your engine. really, its a safety thing right off the bat. you have a 20+lb chunk of cast iron thats spinning 6, 7, even 8000rpm, and doing that inches from your feet, is that something you really want to make an adapter for? sure there is some aluminum and sheet metal in the way, but do you think thats going to stop anything in the event of a failure? next up is an engine balancing issue, im not sure if the volvo engine is internally or externally balanced, but that could become an issue. the starter that bolts to the volvo engine will also work properly with the volvo flywheel. its really just the simplest thing to start. 

next is clutch. this is actually a very easy thing to work out. look for a clutch company that will sell parts of a clutch kit, most will be able to put something together for you. start with a pressure plate for the volvo engine, next look for a disc thats the same diameter as the volvo disc and is the correct spline for the porsche, in our case its 1" 23m spline (m for metric). a number of cars share this spline including various mazdas, fords and mitsubishis. centerforce clutches put a clutch kit together for my swap, its was an off the shelf cavalier pressure plate and an n/a 944 disc. simple.

slave cylinder is pretty easy if you use a concentric slave. just figure out your distance from the pressure plate fingers to the back of the bellhousing and make a spacer accordingly.

the bellhousing is another thing that can be as hard as you make it. for my application i used an aftermarket bellhousing to mate my engine to a t56 transmission and made an adapter plate to mate that pattern to the 944 torque tube. you may be able to use a factory volvo bellhousing and use an adapter plate, i couldnt do this because the only ecotec bellhousing in an oem application is far too deep. 

have a look through my thread, might give you some ideas. ive got lots of pics in it.