My History And The Building of my "LS44"

Hey, I haven’t really ever done a "Build Thread"... So here's my attempt...

History- my passion for Porsche in general was started when I was 15 and my dad brought home an 81 924... It had this HORRIBLE clutch problem... Occasionally when you would release the clutch the car would vibrate badly till you re-engaged the clutch and it would go away... So I set out to replace the clutch, got it apart, got my ass kicked BAAAAAADDDDD by those damn 12pt Triple Square bolts on the axles. Anyway long story short, I ended up pulling the clutch apart 3 times, because even after replacing the clutch it STILL did it... Well, after the second time, I just said hell with it and started driving the car... It had been given to me for Christmas shortly after I started working on it, so it was now OFFICALLY my car... I ended up pulling it apart the last time and removing the flywheel to get it checked and to replace the pilot bearing as a last effort... WELL the damn Pilot Bearing was GONE!!! No needles, just the housing... I sold it in this disassembled state.... In the mean time my dad had bought a 944, it had a dash fire due to the plastic guard that goes around the base of the relay panel being removed and the clutch spring wore through the wires... He paid an "Electronics Expert" quite a bit of money to diagnose issues after he had laid upside down under the dash every night for a week or two soldering in splices to repair the damage... the were minor issues, blinkers don’t blink etc. Well the car ended up sitting due to these issues and normal 944 Issues. Well these two cars are what actually helped me decide what I wanted to do for a living... An unfortunate accident, and 8" Titanium plate and a dozen screws in my left ankle also helped... I saw one of those wonderful UTI commercials on PowerBlock one weekend and decided that I wanted to Work on Porsche's. I have always had a knack for working on cars, it really does come naturally for me, but I really enjoyed it, so I never wanted to make it a career, never wanted it to be a "Job"... So my wife agreed there was nothing worth staying in MI for, we moved, I went to school, Slept through MOST of it, had either the highest or second highest score in all of my classes while working fulltime delivering pizza's (really good money) Got accepted into PTAP (Porsche Technology Apprenticeship Program) which at the time they were only taking about 30 students A YEAR!!! Was lucky enough to get into the dealer I wanted and still currently work at Leith Porsche in Cary NC!!!


V8- I read online A LOT! I promise, if you are reading this, I have read your entire build End to end, top to bottom… I really liked the people who were swapping in different engines, but I wanted a swap that kept the awesome handling of the vehicle… The LS was the answer! I had been planning my build and didn’t even realize it, I would see someone’s build thread and see things I loved and things I didn’t and I would make note of it and have used that information to build my car.

My car
So the car i was talking about above, my dad's after it sat in a field for a few years I decided I wanted a project... WOW!!! I got one... When I pulled this thing into the shop The JAGUAR guys were looking at me like i was nuts... Thats bad... First thing i did is rip the origonal wiring harness out and replace it... The funny thing... It DIDNT fix the main problem.. the blinkers... All the sockets were corroded...
So i systematically went over the entire car, and piece by piece cleaned and refurbished it, replaced the waterpump and belts, the seals, Got it running-VERY well actually. Upgraded the brakes to 86 turbo brakes. relocated the battery. Upgraded suspension, manual steering. The car was a blast to drive, it was a GO-cart.... I actually replaced the clutch in 4 hours one afternoon at work when we were slow...

Pics of how it was after all that ...
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My Swap

My swap started with what i believed to be a GREAT DEAL on a LS1... I origonally wanted to go with a 6.0L LQ9 High Compression, 500HP with a cam.... But i let people talk me out of it due to weight... I got a bare longblock with intake... No accessories, etc. for $600... The only parts of the swap i actually didnt build are the uprights and the adapter plate from XSCHOP before the takeover... Once I looked my engine over, i realized that there was kitty litter/floor dry everywhere on the engine... IT was only supposed to have 90K on it out of a 99 Vette, so i wasnt planning on tearing it down... Well so much for that idea... I did origonally order engine mount plates for the car, but ordered the wrong ones and it was 4th of July weekend so I built a set off the measurements here. I ended up getting a really good deal on a truck wiring harness, PCM already flashed, DBW-TB, Pedal and TAC module for $400 shipped, so i was quite happy about that. Thenit all got put on hold because my wife and i had to correct some debt issues so we could buy a house, so it sat for about a year, till exactly a year ago today, when it was towed to my new house, to be parked in my new (to me) 2 car garage... And since I have made tons of progress... Heres a pic of it when i rolled it in and set it up for the first time!!!

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Different "Mini Projects"

Wiring
My goal with wiring was to make it as invisible as possible, How did i do?

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And just incase you dont believe thats wired...

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I tore apart a truck wiring harness Circuit by circuit, I de-pinned every thing till i had 2 bare 80 pin connectors... Laid each one exactly how i wanted it, there was some definate trial and error... I honestly rebuilt the coil harness for the drivers side 10 times... and that isnt a quick process, it took me probably 4 nights to be happy with it... Every connection has a factory style crimp connector utilizing the Porsche Wire crimping tool (dont tell work!!) then soldered and double heat shrunk (all 3 to 1 shrink tube, glue lined) I was nervous about running all circuits off one of each circuit, so I ran individual power circuits, one circuit for the coils, one for injectors, and one for the rest. All of my circuits ground through the harness to my fuse block ground which is where the PCM grounds, so no noise/interference issues having to ground through the block, Just the starter will have to do that of course. My DBW Harness runs under my intake, and my EWP gets power directly from the Alternator, and the ground side is controlled by a relay that is activated anytime the fuel pump is on, I can easily add a temp control bypass to activate it, or a switch. I may remove this setup eventually as that water pump is HUGE, and go with an inline Electric, I just found the adapters to do it, but will need to research how to run the heater if i do that. If i removed the EWP It would clean the engine bay up even more.

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Here are some pics of my Fuse panel, it is out of a early 90's GM FWD car. ITs great, has like 9 spots for fuses, spots for a couple relays, its compact, has room for MEGA fuses... Oh and I was able to grab them for less than $15 for TWO!!! So i had extra pins/terminals... The pic looks VERY cluttered because I have everything pulled out, but your looking at the main connection of everything, the connector laying on the bottom is my budy harness connector, the box on the left with wires running to it is my TAC modual for the DBW, you see the heavy Black wire with a nut through it is my Ground for the computer/Engine 2 Gauge all the way to the battery... My fuse box has a harness discconect so when i pull the engine, I simply undo 2 connectors, undo the PCM connector and unplug the TAC box and push the harness through...

Sorry for the blurry pic...
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I also have pics of how i mounted the Pedal sensor, I didnt want to mount the truck pedal so i mounted the pedal sensor to the factory pedal, i just pulled the porsche pedal out, built the pin that comes out the left side with my welder and shaped it flat, clocked the way i wanted.- Note- When mounting these, they need a slight preload at rest or you will set a fault and it will not work... I purposly set mine with a little less preload then necessary, and there is an adjustable stop now ( the bolt in the pic) so i could fine tune it perfectly! About 3/4 sweep is full throttle, now i just need to find my factory bottom pedal stop...

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Big Plus!!!- All of the wiring has been tested and works, throttle works all sensors are reading correctly ETC... So thats a nice bonus!!!

More to come, Been typing this from 856 till now 1143... Will start typing next section... See you in 3 hours...

Mark

Note.... Preview SUCKS... Sure doesnt look like it should have taken 3 hours to write that...

Headers-

Scariest part of my build... Cause i had no clue what to do... So i decided I would build my own... Heres what i started with...

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And here is what i created...

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But i have another thread on that... And they havent progressed much except for modifing the passenger front primary to tuck it closer to the other primaries, and gain clearance on the crossmember.

PLUMBING
I wanted my plumbing to be clean and more importantly INVISIBLE!!! Heres my progress...

This was my first layout...
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Then i added my Heater control Valve, But there is something still wrong with the next 3 pics, it has to do with how i have it plumbed, and has to do with the GM layout, and just assume the lines connect directly to the pump at the right... (its not the vac line)
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Did you figure it out... Come on... you should be able too...

This should help...
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figure it out? I keep forgetting to order another bulkhead fitting or i would already have it plumbed in Right next to the other too... Here is the pic showing the routing in the Battery tray...

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And here they are currently in the interior, you will see the two aluminum tubes sticking through from the top right, and the rubber hose sticking out from the copper tubes, Porsche actually made it really easy to do this, because they used 2 intermediate copper pipes that connected to the heater core, then went to the firewall, i just cut them, and will flare them so i can clamp the hose to them. I still need to bend the aluminum tubes into place.

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And here is my heater hose connection to the engine...


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And Now the oil System...

I know the filter is Huge... It really didnt look that big in the EBAY add... And it was pretty cheap, $70 shipped with the K&N!!!! The lines look beatup on this side cause i used a sharpie to mark them where they needed tweeking...

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And here is the lines... They have plenty of clearance from the wheels, and they will have a protective cover, the wheel well with be used only in the rear, it will be cut where it curves forward and i will rivet aluminum strips that i can bolt to the body to keep the liner in place, same in the front. This will protect my filter/lines. And the sensor is just waiting on a 90 bend so i can reclock it.

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You can see better in this one, the metal spot where the lines disappear is where the bulkhead 90 bends are and the rubber lines connect on the other side.

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IT appears i dont have a pic of my oil lines from the engine to the 90... Ill remedy that tomorrow... They were a pain in my ass...

Mark

Oh brother, you have the sickness

Nice work!

However, you, sir, are in the 924 section of the board.

That is pretty clean, I would love to figure your heater hoses and oil line locations out, those are the biggest eye sores in the bay no to mention having to figure out how to run them around the headers.

Thanks for the comments guys! I will PM ADMIN and see if he will move it for me...

I am willing to take any pics you need for the routing, I need to finish up a bunch of details but am stuck in the house right now recovering from a Motorcycle accident. But I will continue to add info, I have a bunch more stuff i want to add, down to what parts I have used, and what I learned along the way... Its been a long project, and i am very close to firing it up, but I have a tendency where if i do something, as i use the "Good Enough" mentality, with the intention of redoing it later... I never do.. So everything i did to this car was with the "This is how i want it" Mentality... There are always things I would change...

Mark

Engine

My "Deal" of an engine... That was full of oil dry/kitty litter.... Well I owe a friend a Pat on the back... I was going to blow off the little i could see.... IT was a good thing he convinced me to crack it open... My lifter trays were FULL of it... So i had the block dipped, and checked with a light honing... Everything was actually really good for 90K, rod bearings were just worn into the first layer... Block still had cross hatch. I had my crank dipped also, reassembled everything with stock sized bearings, and updated rod bolts. I did upgrade from my stock 853 Heads to a set of 241 that had a recent valve job and 918 springs. And i ended up replacing my stock LS1 intake with a LS6, and a late LS6 cam, so basically I paid $600 for a complete shortblock with no bearings and no cam... So the rebuild kit i sourced was a Fel-Pro kit i believe with FM bearings I think... (its been almost a year...) that was pricey... Like the best price i found was $600.... so my engine cost me...

Block/Crank/Pistons $600
Heads 241 $200
Intake - LS6 $300
Cam - Late LS6 $200
REbuild kit $600
Meizere EWP $500
oil pan & pickup $320
Then there is the misc stuff like... Coils, rcokers, sensors, bolts, Alternator, Starter......

I will eventually add it all up.... I forgot to mention... My goal is a running driving, clean example of a swap... for under 10K Im stll well within that buget, because my initial investment in the car as you saw in my history when i was driving it as a 4cyl with the brake and suspension upgrades was only $3000.... Then i sold the engine for $400<----- HUGE mistake BTW......

More later....

Marky522 wrote:Engine
Then i sold the engine for $400<----- HUGE mistake BTW......

Why do you say that?

It looks like you've got everything pretty well in order. Your gonna a great looking swap once everything is said and done.

Because about 2 months later I bought an 87 (sickness is BAAAADDDD in me....) that had been sitting for 7 years with a busted timing belt... Well I sold a PERFECTLY running engine for $400, then was GIVEN a good head, and still spent over $600 fixing the engine in the 87... Thats ok, my brther bought the car off me and smashed it...

Mark

Marky522 wrote:Thats ok, my brther bought the car off me and smashed it...

Morning laugh .....but sad at the same time.

I am currently doing a LS conversion as well and its funny but Im doing the same thing as you... Meziere electric water pump, just an alternator (love to hear what you have planned for that as far as a bracket and such), building my own headers and exhaust, hiding wires from the engine bay, fabbing something for the DBW pedal, etc.

Keep up the good work!

Thanks.. I have pics of the car my brother smashed... It really pisses me off.. and its off topic but...

RANT ON

My brother was on a road going 35, it was raining and the speedlimit was 45... It was a lowly NA 944... But i had just 100% rebuil the brakes so that damn thing would stop on a dime and give change... No ABS.. But what driver NEEDS abs... he comes up to a stop light that is flashing orange.. where a side street comes onto the main street from the right... A full size ford van runs his flashing RED light and turns left in front of him... Guy immediately freaks out and asks to leave... Come to find out guy had NO insurance, NO License, and expired tags... What do the cops do........ Drumroll please... Find my brother partially at fault because he was going to fast for conditions... so his uninsured coverage wont cover the car.... And what else do they do.... They let the idiot in the van THAT SHOULDNT HAVE BEEN ON THE ROAD IN THE FIRST PLACE drive away... Then as if the cop hadnt proven how much of an idiot he is already, asks my brother if he has AAA, my brother says no, but i have towing through my insurance company, do you want me to call them... cop says hold on... and calls a towing company.... where instead of bringing the car directly to me, they insist on taking it to there yard.... and tell my bro the next day it will be $220 for towing and storage... he gets pissed and decides to find out what his ins is going to do... they tell him a week later they cant do anything...
RANT OFF

Alt is easy... Ill tell you how i did it, and tell you how i would change it.
If you hold the alt up to the bottom right of the block you will see the bolt holes line up perfect withe the block holes for the alt bracket, I am bolting the top one with a spacer to line it up to the crank, I shaved off one of the small inverted torx bolt heads that interferred with the swing of the alt, and will simply pin the top, swing the bottom of the alt towards the crank install the belt and pull the alt back and bolt it on the bottom. You get so much belt wrap that the tension doesnt need to be 100% perfect. Other option is to cut a Y shaped plate that wraps around the alternator to the top and bottom bolt then angles up to a bolt hole just to the left of the top alt bolt hole and is slotted to allow the alt to pivot. Damn.. I just spent 20 minutes loooking for it on EBAY and the auction is gone... ill make it out of cardboard later. its a simple flat piece of steel.

The way i would do it now... I would mount it on the passenger side, that way your power lead is only like 1 foot long, mounting shouldnt be any harder, and yeah... easier wiring...

There is a $130 it that BMR makes... if you wanted to go the easy way... ( too bulky for me)

Mark

HOLY $#**!!!!!! who ever said dont add up your reciepts... they were right... ill still be done for less than 10K... But ouchie......

Mark

Someone on Ls1 Tech requested more detailed pics of the engine, i still havent taken more of the oil lines. I am currently working on the fuel system and have the wires on the back of the intake really messed up, they actually bundle up nicely tight against the back of the intake. Only other thing i need to do is attach the harness in certain spots like the harness coming from the EWP.



Mark

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You know the motor moves, right? I wouldn't run hard line straight to the motor. Something is going to get kinked. I am not so sure on the wheel well runs either. If any part of that gets crimped or crushed, you are looking at a new motor at the minimum.

Unnecessary... Will edit

Wow.

Not a naysayer or anything just curious on where your fuel lines run too from the rails? I see they go behind the motor.

The setup looks good, I bet with the harness tucked away the bay will look sharp with the headers and everything installed.

Nah, your good! If you look at my pic from directly above the intake you can see the black barbed push lock connection where my fuel lines "T" together. My hard fuel line is going to run ABOVE the torque tube, to a short section of flex!

Mark!

robstah wrote:You know the motor moves, right? I wouldn't run hard line straight to the motor. Something is going to get kinked. I am not so sure on the wheel well runs either. If any part of that gets crimped or crushed, you are looking at a new motor at the minimum.

First allow me to start my edited reply by apologizing for my quick response this morning, It really bothered me that you were making assumptions that were clearly explained in my original post. I dont believe i know everything there is to know about cars, but i do work on them everyday so i believe that i have a better understanding that the average Joe!

Yes i do realize the motor moves, and your point that something would get kinked if hard line was run straight to the engine is correct, thus the reason every auto manufacturer installs some sort of flexible connection between the engine and body.

Regarding the lines in the wheel well. Porsche has gone as far as to mount the radiators in the wheel wells with nothing more than a plastic wheel liner covering them, in the Cayenne's the lines are actually exposed. The old aircooled cars did the exact same thing with the oil filter, but it was in the rear of the car, again behind a plastic wheel well, and they routed the oil lines, as the lowest point on the passenger side of the car. I honestly have yet to see an issue with any of those situations. I actually choose my oil filter location because of the 964, they placed the A/C drier in that location. None of what i have done is "New" to the industry, its just been adapted to the 944, anytime i see something on any car that i like I make a note of it... For example did you know that some 993's actually had Hydro-boost? It utilized an electric pump, and was VERY compact. Could almost fit in your glove box... And i believe it was the GT2 that ran the electric PS pump... Also, Jaguar ran a Electric hydroboost setup, wasnt quite as compact as the Porsche Setup, but it would perfom the job.

So in conclusion, if you have any questions i would be happy to answer them!

Mark

Actually on the subject of running hard lines to your engine, the way you've done it is ok assuming it's running the length of the torque tube and is NOT attached to the frame in any way. The only rubber you would need is in the back after the fuel filter (assuming it is still attached to the frame) since the engine, torque tube and transmission are isolated together. My Mazda 3 and 5 uses an electric power steering pump. 130,000 on my 3 with no issues from the pump.

Thanks Dawgz! Great point! Thanks for the info also! Wasnt it the MR2 that everyone swipes the pump from?

Mark

Marky522 wrote:Thanks Dawgz! Great point! Thanks for the info also! Wasnt it the MR2 that everyone swipes the pump from?

Mark

Not sure on the MR2, I'm using the BMW hydroboost system with the Chevy pump.

If I ever go hydroboost, I will prob adapt an electric pump mounted above my oil filter to work it. But what I am going to do on my next swap that I believe is a simpler solution (Cleaner) is to make a 45 deg. bracket for a vac booster, but that will require clearancing the wheel well. Another idea was to move the booster to the left so it wasnt centered on the pedal anymore and make the pedal twist a rod that pushes on the booster. It would require the slave to be a reverse mount, so the cyl fit the slave would be in the interior, or make that goofy ass fbody slave work... So many ideas, no fab shop to build them.... I would LOVE to buy a lathe and Bridgeport..., no more being held back by what I can fab with the grinder/welder....

But what I am going to do on my next swap that I believe is a simpler solution (Cleaner) is to make a 45 deg. bracket for a vac booster, but that will require clearancing the wheel well. Another idea was to move the booster to the left so it wasnt centered on the pedal anymore and make the pedal twist a rod that pushes on the booster. It would require the slave to be a reverse mount, so the cyl fit the slave would be in the interior, or make that goofy ass fbody slave work...

How 'bout this:

Remove the stock brake master cylinder
Replace it with a single output master cylinder like wilwoods 260-10371
From the single output, attach a brake line/hose that routes somewhere/wherever else you want
At the end of that hose, attach a slave cylinder
Bolt this slave cylinder to the rear of your vacuum booster
Bolt your normal master cylinder to the front of the vacuum booster
Run you brake lines to the master cylinder
Done!

You could mount this all in the battery tray where the original lines are.