$700 dollars with nothing to lose... - Robstah's build thread -

[robstah]

It all started with this:

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$700 later and it was delivered to my house. It was not love at first sight. Rust had attacked the rear and sludge, the front. It was in a few incidents as well. I could not pass up this opportunity though. I've desired a 944 since I was young. At first it was the lines of the body that developed my thirst. Later on down the line, I find out that the transaxle is in the back with the engine up front. When a friend approached me about a sale of a 944, I had to have it.

After some diagnosis on the no start condition, I decided to pull the head anyway. All the intake valves were bent. A compression test would have given me my answer, but in reality, I did not want to run this motor again and end up in the same spot as the previous owner. So, the research started for an alternative.

At first, there were thoughts of an electric conversion. The budget wasn't there, the range wasn't there, and most importantly, the power wasn't there. That's when I stumbled on 944hybrids. I'd like to say that without you guys, the car probably would have been parted and I would have went on my merry way. Instead, I found a treasure chest of information and people willing to help with the conversion pieces. Around the same time, I found a local used parts connection (Josh Bare) and he made it real easy to replace the rust that had engulfed the northern based 951. Thanks guys!

The research then continued to a swap motor. The LS1s were increasing in price and the iron block alternatives were too heavy in my opinion. That's when I stumbled on this bad boy:

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This is an LM4, which is an aluminum block 5.3L vortec motor out of a 2004 Buick Rainier. 100k miles and only $500. The only problem seemed to be the oil dipstick tube. The original tube went into the oil pan which could not be reused and the hole in the block was non-existent. So drilling out a hole was the solution, but is not for the faint of heart.

I ended up with an LS1 intake and throttle body, f-body accessories (with an LS3 water pump and spacers), the modified Moroso 20140 oil pan, and the headers from Eric at Texas Performance Concepts. The clutch setup is stock LS1 flywheel and pressure plate along with a custom clutch from Gripforce Clutches.

Skip ahead a few years and a decent amount of work, and this is where I am today:

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I cranked it over a couple of days ago.

I still have an exhaust to build, clutch pedal + master, suspension, steering, and brakes to install, and then finish up on the body work. All in all, I am currently under 6 grand, which includes the car, replacement parts for the rusted ones, and all the conversion parts and motor. Hopefully it will be road worthy real soon since all I need is time to bolt everything on. Stay tuned...

[LEEEZARD7]

nice looking car

[xschop]

You'll be the 3rd or 4th person to prove Renegade wrong. Great work. You're correct, If you can't get it done for Under $6k with the 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 truck motors, then you haven't done your homework.

[eclou]

Sweet!

[Schuepbach]

nice work, theres nothing more gratifying than starting up the motor...makes me smile everytime.

[948]

Yes, very nice. Any videos?

[robstah]

Yes, very nice. Any videos?

Ask and you shall receive.

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[LEEEZARD7]

NICE!!!

[Lemming]

Yes, very nice. Any videos?

Ask and you shall receive.

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Great job!

[skywalker01]

Nice job! Hopefully you'll go out and enjoy all of your work!!

[shwinny]

nice job man. Im jealous. i wish i could have afforded a ls1 but i think i like my lt1. Its a classic. I cant wait to start mine up. I have never driven a porsche or even sat in one before i got my 84. Would it even be considered a Porsche or what. hows the ls1 compare to the turbo 944's. I love to see other people doing this. I live in a small town in mass and have never seen a 944 hybrid ever. not even a 944 around. maybe i will be the first around.

[robstah]

You'll be the 3rd or 4th person to prove Renegade wrong. Great work. You're correct, If you can't get it done for Under $6k with the 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 truck motors, then you haven't done your homework.

Well, and a ton of help from you and Eric.

Thanks guys! I'll keep everyone updated here soon enough.

[robstah]

Thanks to spence and the quick shipping from brakequipstore.com, I think I found what I needed for the master cylinder. The only flaw is that I will need to change the flares from bubble to inverted. Hopefully the double banjo will work and make adding a tee for the front unnecessary.

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[robstah]

Well, it's officially mobile! First time out felt great! Here's a video to commemorate the moment:

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(feel free to skip from 3:40 to 4:45 unless you really like grass)

Here's a pull:

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[skywalker01]

Sound like Stacey David (Gearz) laughing during the Cherry Bomb commercials. I totally understand how you feel though - the feeling of power definitely puts a smile on your face!!

[xschop]

Excellent. It sounds and runs great. Can you post a pic and part #'s of exactly what you did to complete the Brake MC. Also you could weld a strengthening bridge to that flex plate. Nice work Rob.

[Rich L.]

I agree with the camera man, "that sounds great!"

[robstah]

Here's some more information on the brake setup:

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I originally tried going with a banjo bolt for the rear channel, but due to the threads (the banjo bolt would wobble and would be crooked and not seal), I had to convert back to the inverted flare fitting. All my inverted flare fittings are double flares. I ended up reusing stock hard lines from various 944 parts cars and was able to reuse some of those fittings as well. The front channel with double banjo setup bolts in fine and the bolt itself did not need to be modified. There are 3 copper washers in there as well. All the parts came from brakequipstore.com (except for the 3/8NF fitting that came with the master cylinder order). It's easier to leave the original brakequip.com site up along side so you can reference part numbers with proper information and pictures.

[xschop]

Did you machine an angle into the MC base?
It would be good to get a consensus on the pushrod angle after the pedal is drilled upwards 1" with and without the firewall plate.

[spence]

I'm using the willwood tandem m/c and have drilled the pivot point up 1" aswell. I'm not using the fire wall plate. The angle of the pushrod was minimal (I checked before I bled the brakes). I might be able to crawl underneath the dash for some pictures... I want to take the spring out of the clutch pedal anyway....

[87-944S]

You can take that spring out from under the fusebox without crawling under there!

[spence]

I already tried that once... theres not enough slack in the wires to move it enough... I've been under there before; I'm pretty flexible luckily... lol

[robstah]

Did you machine an angle into the MC base?
It would be good to get a consensus on the pushrod angle after the pedal is drilled upwards 1" with and without the firewall plate.

Nope, no machining. I did however work in the gasket/washer that spaces out the lower part of the MC, giving me a much better angle than straight out.

The pedal pressure feels great at 1" and should feel even better once I bed these pads in. I'd still like to switch to a 1/4" plate with a machined angle in it sooner or later. As for adding a brace, what about an internal brace instead of hitting the firewall?

[fliermike45]

I was having a problem with leaks around the tube nuts in the Wilwood Tandem Master Cylinder.

I purchased banjo unions, banjo bolts and copper washers from a Brakequip dealer and finally got a dry seal to the master cylinder. I trimmed the length of the banjo bolts by two threads so they would not bottom out on the cones inside the MC.

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[robstah]

Here's a nice little update:

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2900lbs is not too shabby for a full interior and 1/2 a tank of gas. The rear right is a little goofy due to the possibility of off-indexed torsion bars. The carrier ended up coming off of another car and it could have been re-indexed before. All I know is that the rear definitely needs more spring and damper.