Here’s my 86 5.3 Swap I haven’t really started yet

This is my 86 944 na I’m planning on doing a 5.3 swap I was ready to start working on it then my landlord wanted to more then double my shop rent so I’ve been moving my shop for the last month instead of actually working on cars. Now it’s in the new shop and I only have two customer cars to work on first so hopefully I’ll be able to start on it before racing season starts. The car is super clean it’s been in one family from new until last year I did all the normal 944 maintenance drove it some and then realized it looks too good to be so slow lol I installed MCS single adjustable coilovers earlier this year and that’s the only modification I’ve done so far.

I got through my 86 944 Turbo swap to LS3 with hot cam 480hp using this forum.
I contributed my own articles such as a complete guide to having A/C since many of these cars are used on the track.

Since many of us have already completed our swap, we like to watch others as they swap. When you get stuck, just come back and post the question. You will get a lot of answers and suggestions and find more articles you can read. Everyone's question is read by someone else with the same question and all benefit from the answers.

If I did it all over again, I would have never tried to pull the engine out from the top.

Previous post covered it well. But just wanted to add 2 cents on some don't forget items that I had missed in the 10 year gap of starting and then resuming my 948 conversion. 

Keep your radiator fans, fan shroud and fan switch from the rad. 50/50 on using the fan switch or going completely GM on that but best not to throw it out. 

Also make sure you keep the wiring harness grommet from the firewall. 

I can give you some pics for ideas on relocating coils that is more of a bolt on solution with some minor rivnut mounting vs some other ideas that are rather extensive on bracket fab'ing if going hydroboost. 

I'm in the middle of doing intake and will probably have some posts on how to tackle that issue as I have taken many pictures on my attempts on this to report what works and what doesn't with help from others here. Sometimes pics of other people's intake solutions still leaves questions.

Couple other things will come up that some of the pdf's can leave you guessing on orientation and routing of hoses but you will find Raymond's thread a massive help with pictures to answer quite a few questions from the write ups.

Good luck. Great wheels, just barely swapped to those. Will be very happy when it finally gets to roll on them under its own power this spring...

Hey man, congratulations on taking this journey. It is well worth it. The car is not slow anymore. I finished my 5.3 swap earlier in the year. It was kept stock due to having to use the NA transmission until I could locate a Turbo unit. If you have any questions feel free to reach out.

Mitch,

Your underhood shots show a white car, but your finished picture shows a black car. What gives?

I had it wrapped. 3M Black Ember Metallic. Very bad Maaco spray bomb when I bought it. This spring it’s going in the body shop and going back to original

nice arrangement of your coils, how painful is keeping your hood aligned for closing with the hood pins?

heard that being a bit of a nightmare and as such i'm doing everything i can to try to keep the cone filter in the corner and maintain factory hood latch.

gonna try attempt #2 with 3.5" pipe and 2 - 45 couplers to get around the modified/grinded out headlight bar carrier bearing (not sure what its properly called) and all the back of the driver headlamp stop.

Don't bother with 4" it'll never let your hood close, perhaps some other people's LS fitments give more grace on this but my geometry on my 5.7L definitely does not let this happen. Trimming the hood latch as per second pic with the sharpie line lets the spectre 4" tight 90 from amazon fit quite well.

Hood pins are not too bad. I had to get 1 3/4 inch extenders to make it work. I’m going to change them to Aero Latches when I paint it and finish the body work. I have a rear mount turbo setup that I’m that I’m going to mess with. The 5.3 does well with boost

MitchA55 wrote:Hood pins are not too bad.  I had to get 1 3/4 inch extenders to make it work.  I’m going to change them to Aero Latches when I paint it and finish the body work.  I have a rear mount turbo setup that I’m that I’m going to mess with.  The 5.3 does well with boost

5.3 is definitely great on boost but careful with your transaxle taking that punishment. I'd say you probably should be looking hard at the transaxle reinforcement plate. 

Gonna drop my transaxle once again to put that plate in mine cause I got 4130 chromoly shafts from xschop moons ago as well as his solid mount with polyurethane bushings so although no turbo my performance cammed 5.7L ls1 is going to be delivering decent power to the turbo transaxle that has nowhere to flex after those part changes. Lot of guys say good for 400hp all day long but going above that in torque or hp is tempting fate  unless you did a tonne of metalwork and modified to fit a tremec.

Hey Gutterboy, I have the solid mount and upgraded axles from Lindsey Racing. My buddy, Matt Steedle, who builds high performance VW transaxles is going to look through my Turbo Transaxle and see if he can do something with it to hold more power. I have the reinforcement plate and the .64 5th gear so that it cruises nice on the highway.

I've been super busy this year with 110 days at a race track and a lot of time in the shop but things are finally slowing down so It seemed like a good time to start taking my 944 apart. I ordered everything I think I need to put the engine in from TPC I got the motor mounts, oil pan, C5 bellhousing and adapter I also ordered his radiator, hose kit, throttle cable and vss kit. Hopefully I'll have some parts waiting for me when i get back from Texas next weekend.

Codyw12,

I think you're going to love your build!!!

I started nearly 10 years ago and went down almost the identical path as you but with a '87S and a 2002 5.7 LS1.  I began with a Greg Sloan swap manual I received as a "gift" but soon learned it was somewhat outdated.  I'm so thankful I found this forum.  Subsequently, I relied heavily on TPC conversion products and great advice from forum experts.  

I did my best to document all my efforts so if you haven't seen my Project Post on this forum yet, click the link below and take a look.  My goal was to share my experience and help fellow builders prepare for what's ahead!

Keep us updated on your progress and be sure to ask questions as you go.

No sense reinventing the wheel!

Just waiting for the adapter plate form the C5 bellhousing to 944 torque tube ( I forgot to order) and it’s ready to go in the car.

Cody,

Your 5.3 looks great!  Very clean indeed.  I think the gold block is a nice touch too.

I couldn't tell from the pic but I trust you have your flywheel, pilot bearing adapter, clutch and pressure plate in place.

Before you put the engine in, you'll want to connect and route your starter and solenoid wiring to avoid contact with the header.  It's a good idea to bundle the wiring where possible, inside thermal split wire loom and secure it to points on the back of the block and head... same with your primary ground cable.
It's so easy with the engine out of the car.

I didn't see a PS pump so I'm not sure if your build includes PS or PB.  Keep in mind you may have clearance issues between the DS valve cover and your brake master cylinder.  Depending on your set up, you may have to relocate the coil packs for cylinders #5 and #7... in fact you may have to remove the coil pack mounting bosses as well.  I did with a 5.7.

Installing the brake master cylinder, a hydro boost unit if applicable, new clutch master cylinder, and any firewall reinforcement plate, should also be done before the engine goes in.  

Food for thought!

I’m going to be taking it back out after I figure out exhaust mostly V band location and figure out what I’m doing for masters I plan on dual masters I really like good manual brakes I’m so used to it power brakes don’t feel good to me anymore. I’m going to try manual steering I might regret it lol. I’m also trying to figure out how I want to route some of the wiring and it’s hard to do that with the engine out of the car I’m really picking about wiring and plumbing so those are going to take some time to get right.

I didn’t like how the Holley harness looked so I de pined almost every connector and put white label DR25 and heat shrink labels on as far as I could it’s hard to do on a already made harness but it looks so much better it’s smaller and better protected.

I thought I added pictures but I guess I didn’t lol.

Got the TPC adapter plate and mounted the quarter master throwout bearing I 3d printer a template for where to drill which worked really good so tomorrow I can actually put it in the car for the first time.

codyw12 wrote:Got the TPC adapter plate and mounted the quarter master throwout bearing I 3d printer a template for where to drill which worked really good so tomorrow I can actually put it in the car for the first time.

Cody,

This is my 1st exposure to the Quarter Master" brand throwout bearing.  Back in 2014 when I got my conversion kit from TPC, it came with an unnamed GM replacement TO bearing that fit this particular conversion application. I believe it was already mounted to the TPC adapter plate, and certainly required no drilling on my part. It also came with an adjustment shim if needed.

I know that very specific dimensions are required between the extended and compressed face of the TO bearing and the front bell housing surface, in order for your clutch to function properly.  You are probably all over this, but now is the time to make sure it's correct.  I'm guessing your QM TO bearing came with a shim pack.

On a side note, now is also the time to check your torque tube drive shaft extension.  This too is a very sensitive dimension and must be correct for your bellhousing, flywheel, PP, and clutch configuration.

Personally, I spent a lot of time verifying these dimensions and at times it was quite the pain.  However, once verified, knowing it's right is a great confidence booster moving forward.

Food for thought...

I’m running a spec twin disc overkill but I got a good deal it needs a little more of a Motorsports TO bearing set up the quarter master is the same style we run in most race cars so I’m pretty experienced with it takes some setting up on some cars but it was actually really good with 0.150 gap and I double checked the torque to make sure everything was going to be in the right spot and it all lined up really good. It’s nice to actually have it in the car I can’t imagine trying to do this on jack stands I’m definitely spoiled having lifts.

Just as I suspected...

With the C5 bellhousing and the TPC adapter, your driveshaft will likely fit perfectly in the pilot bearing as did mine.

As for your clutch setup, you've definitely gone the "rock crusher" route and my only other suggestion would be to consider a clutch master cylinder upgrade to handle the larger pressure plate loads.  Some others have had functional issues with heavy pressure plates and the Porsche factory clutch master.

Looking good...

What did you use for the accessory drive?