1/1985 swap to 1986 Turbo LS1 Porvette

I figured I'd show my work off too, nothing too special. But not too bad for just a guy in college working alone with his wife. Here is my Porvette, the poor man's corvette.

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I found the car when I got home From Iraq in March 2009. It looked pretty sweet and I didn't know much about them at the time, I cant say I wish I would have bought another car because I would never have done the swap.

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I tore the body apart in a frineds shop, it had dirt floors and carpet on top. Dont Ask they are Korean. Took me two weeks total of a couple hour shifts to get it stripped.

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Heres the engine bay through the processes of cleaning and painting. I think the black gives it the muscle car look to go with the LS1.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]We moved to Stillwater and I found a new 12x30 storage building to rent. It is a roof over my head and a good concrete floor. Can't beat it. The rest was pretty easy for the most part.

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She went together with relative ease, I did have to drop the engine a few times but the whole process took about another 2 weeks of nights with my little supervisor watching me.

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I keep telling people about how bad the battery tray job was, so here is a pick. I don't know what the guy was thinking, they tacked the pieces in, left gaps and bondod over it for more acid to eat right through. I dont have the tools to weld either so It still leaks, so it stays under a tarp when I was not driving it.

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The willwood brakes, I like the how you can do quick brake changes and still get good stopping power.

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You can see the seats I have, also where I have relocated the Battery too. It is not the best location but I was working with 22ft of free 2 guage wire. I had to make a choice.

I finally got the Porvette running after hauling it back to Arkansas to my trusted performance shop, Dyno Performance in Fort Smith Arkansas, for final hook up and exhaust. When I got back home this is what I found. Check the weld on the RH header pipe, this started back firing and causing the smoke issue I had go into the cab. Ya that was another 2 weeks of down time waiting for them to fix it and send the header back.
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I took this to show my brake cylinder and the relocated coil pack.

Here are my parts I purchased
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This is the RH radiator and fan assembly. It takes up the space in the front and sits as low as the body does, but it keeps me cool.(as long as the fan wiring doesnt short against the block and fry while sitting in a traffic jam in Tulsa, Ok that is).
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This harness and reprogrammed ecu I bought from Speartech. It was a nice setup they run and the removed emissions on the ecu, plus increased redline.
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A Granatelli Cold Air Airmass Sensor. It is huge.(That is a quarter just to let you know).

Finished product looks like this.
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I know alot of the members here have been here and done that. I just have a basic swap, nothing extra special. It ran for three weeks until the r&p finally gave. So I am in the search for a new body that doesn't have all the issues this one does. I am hoping to get into one that has working heat and air(atleast a fan) and does not have all the electrical issues I have.

Let me know what you think

awesome, that's just what I needed. Looks good! What was the wiring situation for you? You mentioned the new MAF sensor and re-programmed ECU, I assume those were just "upgrades" from keeping the stock LS1 system?

When I bought my LS1, I didnt have an ecu or harness. I purchased a stand alone harness from Speartech along with an ecu that they reprogrammed to increase rev and disable emissions.

The Mass air flow came along because I needed one of those too. I figured if I am buying one might as well get a good one since the LS1 already had the LS6 intake and throttle body on it.

I did not have anything else in the car but the engine, no heat or air, no power brakes or power steering. It is one of the reasons I am transplanting it into a 86 turbo now.

You can also see the wilwoods are upgrades for the n/a brakes too. I am going to be selling those as soon as I get them off of the car. I had them on the car and ran them maybe a total of one week's worth of town driving before the ring and pinion popped. But now I have a turbo car and they wont fit.

ah, I see. Well, good luck. I'm in the process of doing the conversion to an 86 turbo as well. What did you use for uprights and engine mounts? Did you use the 1/2" spacers with the same uprights and set back plates as shown in the conversion manual?

Sorry it took me soo long, I didnt see that I had a new post.

For uprights I used the ones the Renegade Hybrids sells. The kit came with 1/2" spacers.

I am not sure what back plates you are talking about since I purchased the kit through RH. I never recieved a book from 944 Hybrids.

cfgioja wrote:I never received a book from 944 Hybrids.

Did you order one?
(from 944v8s, or the Google site?)

That would be freakin' hilarious if RH sent you the one listed here...
I wouldn't put anything past that crew.

I didn't realize that you guys seemed to dislike RH hybrids so much until a little while ago. I'd recommend the manual for your new conversion, lots of useful stuff in there.

u have any pics of the rh kit

GT1SCCA, I never ordered a manual from 944. I used the online manual from the RH website.

At first I didnt know they changed some of the items until I called them back asking alot of questions. That is when all the bearing issues and the torque shaft alignment became a big problem with alot of people.

How much is a manual? It would come in handy with my upcoming swap over.

Joey Toad, as far as pictures I have some I took when I got the kit in. Most of it was for insurance reasons since Fed ex decided to run over my box, dent a header, lose my clutch disc, and other various problems with the mail. What parts would you liek to see?

mostly interested in the engine mount setup, and there bellhousing.

Here are the pictures I have. I guess I did not take a picture of the bellhousing when I recieved the parts. I know it is light, looks like casted aluminum that has a seperate bottom so you can look at the clutch assembly from below.

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thanks for the pics.

I see RH has been paying attention to the discussions here......

I see RH has been paying attention to the discussions here......

Why? which part?

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RHybrid design?
Drill a mount instead of using the right fastener in the right place...
How big is the washer that did (or did not) come with the passenger side mount?

What a fix...
Brilliant.

GRD engineering at its best

I dont remember the washer size. I know I had to drill out the slotted hole on the crossmeber and insert the upright there and put a 19 mm head nut underneath. The hole did not get much bigger at all though.

I think he is referring to the mutilated factory style engine mount? Shure wish I could afford those brakes at the moment... Thanks for the reply!

No problem
If I dont sell the brakes online, when the season opens I will be taking them out to Hallett during Porsche weekends and see if some one ther will want them.

Welcome!

And KOOOL!

Looks great! Just out of curiosity what are you doing with the air intake when the headlight is down? Like the brakes too. Get 'er done

Who says you have to have you lights down. They were wired up with some mech wire. I took out the motor and bar. LOL Red neck. I was planning on doing the flush lights that you can buy, the inset ones. And the fender area has a hole where the original air intake went to let back air from the wheel well breathe in.

The brakes were nice, had to sell them though. I am in the process of upgrading to a 86 turbo body and the brakes aren't made for turbo spindles, N/a only.

I guess I got a head of my self but I fgound a half way descent 86 body with about the same amount of issues electrically so I figured I would swap to it since I like the late dash better.

Thanks for the props. I hope to get 'er don n runnin again this summer.

Just kind of curious. I am about to move back to Ozark Arkansas, the place where highway 23 leads from I40 north to Eureka Springs. It is know as Pig Trail. A sweet windy road as long as there arent oncoming vehicles.

Anyway the point to this is I was wondering if I was going to be the only 958 in Arkansas or if some one else is there?

Hey guys,

I found a 944 specific harness bar on ebay, didn't know if anyone had seen them or had one. I recieved it today and it fits nicely where the factory bolts go. You can even use the stock seat belts if you want. But what is a harness bar good for it you are using stock belts!

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It came primered so I can paint it later. But for fitment it works nicely, the back seat still folds with alittle effort but no one can fit there anyway so I am not sure if I will keep them.

The page is here:
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That looks really nice. Are you just looking for the comfort of four or five point harnesses during autocross and track events? That won't meet any SCCA standards will it? If it did that would be awesome. Great find either way, I'm tempted. However, I'm hoping to save for this bar: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]