I need some help to get this ball rolling

I have a 1987 924S. I'm not really sure how much different the engine bay is from a late model.

So I have a lead on a motor. I believe it is either an LS4 or LS1 with all the accessories and wiring harness, and computer. I know I will need motor mounts. XSCHOP do yours work? I know I will need some bellhousing. What is the best option/cheaper option for that? This will require an adapter I assume. Then I guess I will need a new clutch. What should be used for that? Is there anything really major I am missing? I will be trying to use my stock N/A transmission for a while. This is kind of a budge build so that is part of the reason I am posting this in this forum vs. RH's forum. So any idea what these parts will cost me and maybe some instructions that I could follow to install this motor and what?

924s driver wrote:I have a 1987 924S. I'm not really sure how much different the engine bay is from a late model.

So I have a lead on a motor. I believe it is either an LS4 or LS1 with all the accessories and wiring harness, and computer. I know I will need motor mounts. XSCHOP do yours work? I know I will need some bellhousing. What is the best option/cheaper option for that? This will require an adapter I assume. Then I guess I will need a new clutch. What should be used for that? Is there anything really major I am missing? I will be trying to use my stock N/A transmission for a while. This is kind of a budge build so that is part of the reason I am posting this in this forum vs. RH's forum. So any idea what these parts will cost me and maybe some instructions that I could follow to install this motor and what?

924S's engine bay is identical to the early 944's I think. Either way it doesn't matter the job is the same on both, the only thing you will lose out on, because it's a 924S, is large tires in the rear.

Like Dawgz said. If the engine bay is the same as the Early 944, Then the mounts and C5 adapter plate will work. I did see someone state that the Early 944 TT drivehaft to TT flange relation is the same also between 924S and 944, so that would be the Maker of the deal. Oil Pan to get is the Moroso 20140 ($225) and the headers ($225-250) have just been cracked. If you can get the motor, harness, brain for less than $1000, I don't see why you can't do the entire swap for less than $3.5K. It depends on how good you are at scrounging/*baying parts like the C5 Bellhousing (I got one for $175 and another for $100) , C5 Throwout bearing....$205 (A 4-cylinder S10 TO bearing also works and is like $75). Drive your car over to an exhaust shop and ($350) later, you are being a menace to society....
Or if you are lazy, you can spend $15-20K at RH and have the same outcome.....

I have a lead on a LS motor for about 300 with all the parts included. We will see how that pans out. So do you sell the mounts and the C5 adapter plate? I saw that headers thread, but I guess that would mean I would have to mod the headers myself? Also is there like a step by step how to for this? I know that you have to drop out the motor and Mount up the new LSx motor, but what about the clutch and brakes? I'm not really too sure how to attack these jobs. Is the Wiring a really hard job. I would like to use my stock gauges if possible. The speedo is driven by the front well so I know that will work. I saw the tach rewire write up. Is that oilpan that you mentioned ready to roll or does that require mods to it for it to fit.

The Moroso pan needs to be cut and welded on the driver's side to clear the Xmember steering rack mount. That is not hard to do. The headers are being worked on right as we speek. A write up will be done on how to modify the Hooker 2312 driver's header and I will post up the Moroso mod after the 7-4 Holiday. If no-one else offers the headers and oil pan as a ready bolt-on part, I will make those happen. I have connex.

Happy 4th and GOD bless the U.S.!!!

I know that RH sells a kit that just makes it so the motor drops right in, but I remember you saying that you can make that happen for much less. I am interested in that. I saw the 944hybrids site but there aren't any prices or anything. Do I call someone? I am not much of a fabricator. I'm sure I could tackle the wiring because that is something I understand, but custom metal fabbing is not my cup of tea. I don't have a welder even. I'm a little worried about doing this swap considering that I have never changed a clutch before on a car before. I have shop manuals and am pretty good at working on cars if I have some sort of direction. Again thanks in advance for all the info.

Don't be fooled by the "it just drops right in" line - there's still a lot of work to do, not to mention fixing the issues (just read the various threads on the old board to understand).

I've got the headers 75% done. Just tacking them up this week. I'll be sourcing a short production run in the next couple of weeks, so I'll have an idea regarding the costs. I'll also post the diagrams, dimensions and step-by-step how to's so anyone can do it themselves if they so choose.

JJ

Check to make sure the 924tt and the transaxle will hold up as well, I thought I saw someone post if your going to use a 924 as a platform you may need to get a 944tt and transaxle as well.
Make sure you do your homework before you start purchasing parts and such as well, also you'll have to upgrade your brakes from the single pot calipers to the turbo 2 pot calipers or the lexus calipers they have been writing up here ( you'll need the extra braking power from all that HP with the new motor) their a huge list of things you'll need to upgrade modfy ectt.... on the car.
Make sure you get the research done so you know what you'll be getting into.
Welcome to the boards and GL on your project.
P.S. Renegades does not make a kit for the 924 anylonger just the 944 and the 928's. and they will push for the LS1 engine as well (atleast that's what they did when I called them)

My 924 is the 924S so its basically an early 944 with late offset for suspension. I have been trying to look at some of the threads. I have been searching for a thread or some kind of how to step by step of what needs to be done. I know that it won't just drop in. I saw that the wiring harness from RH is like $450. Is that worth it? Meaning would I have any problems with it or should I just modify one? What accessories need to be used like the ps pump, a/c, etc?

Does the stock dme stay in place?

924s driver wrote:Does the stock dme stay in place?

What's a DME? sorry for asking and sounding stupid

924s driver wrote:Does the stock dme stay in place?

You will rid yourself of all Porsche Evil during this project so the DME or PCM does not stay, you get a new one with the LS.

924s driver wrote:My 924 is the 924S so its basically an early 944 with late offset for suspension. I have been trying to look at some of the threads. I have been searching for a thread or some kind of how to step by step of what needs to be done. I know that it won't just drop in. I saw that the wiring harness from RH is like $450. Is that worth it? Meaning would I have any problems with it or should I just modify one? What accessories need to be used like the ps pump, a/c, etc?

As far as the PS pump, ac and all that no not the stock porsche ones you'll be using the GM stuff comming with your motor (have never seen anyone using the stock porsche parts for that).
Depending on what you put in the car like a hydroboost system (instead of the vacuum assisted power brakes) you may have to modify the PS pump or have someone do it for you ( from my understanding the pressure's are different on the GM and the porsche pump) The ac from what I have seen is either splicing the ac hoses from the posrche to the gm , or making brand new ac lines (they sell kits on summit,jegs and other sites make sure you get the right ones for your application, same for the PS lines as well )and using the gm compressor.
The wiring you can buy from other sources check on summit and jegs site their are alot of options and check prices, or you can take the stock GM harness and modify it ( that's what I will be doing) and their is a write up here on it on the boards as well.
The computer from the motor you will have to reprogram as well.
The old porsche computer you will not be using.

I understand that I will be using the GM accessories but I heard a long time ago that only certain ones will fit. Is this still true? Now what is the deal with ordering a wiring harness from Jegs or Summit? What do they do exactly? Sorry for all the questions, but I have never really done anything like this and want to get as much info as possible to make sure I can actually tackle this big task.

924s driver wrote:I understand that I will be using the GM accessories but I heard a long time ago that only certain ones will fit. Is this still true? Now what is the deal with ordering a wiring harness from Jegs or Summit? What do they do exactly? Sorry for all the questions, but I have never really done anything like this and want to get as much info as possible to make sure I can actually tackle this big task.

The same thing your stock harness will do except they are usually cleaned up getting rid of non essential things like the alarm system ectt (things you won't need for your vehicle)
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I know that is a high price but just an example of what you may need, you need to either go through the site with yr make model (which the motor came out of) or talk with someone at painless, you can probabley talk with someone from the painless company plus their the experts, sometimes I have great luck when I call these companies alot of them are very understanding and patient with you and like I said their the experts as well. Explain to them what your doing , you'd be surprised how helpfull they can be, but make sure you talk with someone who knows what their talking about lol as well sometimes you'll get people who plan and simple don't care their just their for a paycheck.
Also check around on the web , their is a crap load of info out their not just on these projects but other projects and you'll be surprised how much they have in common with our projects here.
Hope that helps.
P.S. alot of the info you are looking for is here as well look on the boards in the FAQS page....Ton of info to get ya started in the right direction.

Oh ya also their is alot of info comming to this board as well, it just got started so keep looking here I am sure you'll find more and more of what your looking for.
The old porsche boards : [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] are here, the reason that website is a ghost town is Renegade hybrids took it over and that's when people left that site, if your looking for info go through the boards their and here, though I would guess you will not get to much feed back on the old boards, my guess you'll get alot more feedback here.
Though their are some info their from the members that are here now.

The RH harness is only $450 which doens't seem like a bad idea since I'm pretty sure that would help with getting the engine running vs. me running around modifing a harness. Would this connect the LSx engine harness to the porsche harness seamlessly or is there still modification. I looked at the how to, but I'm trying to figure out what parts I will really need and don't need. I know the motor and accessories, but what about the clutch, and maybe the whole setup for that? The brakes is another thing I'm not very sure about either.

924s driver wrote:The RH harness is only $450 which doens't seem like a bad idea since I'm pretty sure that would help with getting the engine running vs. me running around modifing a harness. Would this connect the LSx engine harness to the porsche harness seamlessly or is there still modification. I looked at the how to, but I'm trying to figure out what parts I will really need and don't need. I know the motor and accessories, but what about the clutch, and maybe the whole setup for that? The brakes is another thing I'm not very sure about either.

Alot of what your asking is here or on the old boards you just have to look for it, their isn't a step by step instructions as to what exactley what you need to do ect for the car.
As far as the harness I would not be surprised if painless made the harness for RH (maybe RH makes their own who knows)If you have the cash then go for it but I know nothing about their harness just what I have heard is all.
I understand everything seems over whelming to you right now and you want the answers right off the bat, they just aren't their.
As far as RH and their kit as I said They don't make a kit for the 924's anymore (per RH)
If you have the money you can go with their kit (the 944 LS BASIC kit cost like $2,500 or something like that , I don't know the actual price sorry), and hope you get instructions with it and get the phone calls back when your stuck on something.
If you don't have the $$$$$ and looking for a cheaper alternative, then check through the boards work on one project at a time on the car ( aka brakes,hydroboost, dual MC steup ect....) is a suggestion I can make.
It makes it less daunting.
Do your research first and formost though before you start buying things.
You'll be surprised on what you can actually do by yourself, like I said it seems daunting but once you get it done you'll look at it and go I DID THAT
This is a huge project and not for the faint of heart you will be doing alot of work, espeacially if your doing alot of things for the first time.

Is the clutch still hydralic? Its seems from what I have read it is. The hardest part for me will be getting the motor in and the clutch all done. Was this hard for everyone else? Then will be the brakes, and steering. A/C will come last. I think buying a harness thats already done is going to be the way to go.

If you have been working on cars and bikes, you can swap an engine. You will need an engine lift. I bought my last one from Harbor Freight for $130 and it is a 1.5ton.....all you need to do the job

The engine lift that xschop is a good example of the scrounger's mentality. If you need to buy one, look on your local Craigslist - people buy these things new, use them for a year for one swap, then sell them because they take up a bit of room in the garage. The one I bought for $100 was used by two previous people - it was a 2-tonne folding that was not even a year old yet. New price - $375.

The savings covers the cost of a set of used Lexus front calipers, new brake pads, new rotors, upgraded cam, etc. This is the difference between a $5k swap and a $10k swap. With a little patience and investigative work, you can really get the price down on these projects, and still end up with a wickedly fast, easy to maintain and reliable car.

So when will 944 Hybrids start selling its own little kit? I thought maybe this site was going to sell the oil pan, flywheel, adapters for the bellhousing and what not. Or maybe one very similar to the RH kit but for less? I see the parts on the site but will they up for purchase in a kit form?

We're working on it!

XSchop has already got quite a few of the pieces done - TT adapter, pilot bearing adapter, Lexus brake adapters, crossmember drop kit, etc. You may need to source a C5 bellhousing and clutch throwout yourself, though we can certainly help with that, too. I'm close to finishing the headers which will go with the "forum kit", and we're waiting on some feedback about a few radiator options.

We've got to sort out how we're going to make this stuff available - do some low-volume production runs or on an as-needed basis. You've come in at the early stages, so you'll have to have a little patience. You've got a little homework to do before ordering all the parts anyways

So if you go with the 5.3l, is it a car-based or truck-based motor? If it's truck based, you'll probably want to swap out the intake manifold for a LS1, LS2 or LS6 unit - the truck manifolds are very tall and don't breath well beyond 4500rpm. Check out the classifieds section at LS1Tech.com, there's always deals there.

What we are collectively doing is offering the parts that can't be bought off the shelf. I am doing Motor mounts, engine plates, C5 bellhousing adapters, Lexus Brake adapters, and working on the Booster delete kit. I already am able to machine out a simple booster delete kit for the stock 944 master cylinder and am working on the Dual MC setup. Johnny Johnny will be offering the LS headers, The LT headers can be bought off the shelf ( Jegs 8052). I'm hoping that Gt1scca will be able to offer a wiring harness modding service. If no-one else takes up the oil pan part of the swap, I will see to it that the Moroso pan is available for a bolt-on solution.

Johnny Johnny wrote:We're working on it!

XSchop has already got quite a few of the pieces done - TT adapter, pilot bearing adapter, Lexus brake adapters, crossmember drop kit, etc. You may need to source a C5 bellhousing and clutch throwout yourself, though we can certainly help with that, too. I'm close to finishing the headers which will go with the "forum kit", and we're waiting on some feedback about a few radiator options.

We've got to sort out how we're going to make this stuff available - do some low-volume production runs or on an as-needed basis. You've come in at the early stages, so you'll have to have a little patience. You've got a little homework to do before ordering all the parts anyways

So if you go with the 5.3l, is it a car-based or truck-based motor? If it's truck based, you'll probably want to swap out the intake manifold for a LS1, LS2 or LS6 unit - the truck manifolds are very tall and don't breath well beyond 4500rpm. Check out the classifieds section at LS1Tech.com, there's always deals there.

I completely understand the time it takes to get things sorted out. I was just curious as to if a kit was going to be made that would simplify looking for parts and what not. I am still in the very early stages. The motor I am still unsure what kind it is. I hope its an LS1 or LS4. We will see today after I talk to guy. If its what I'm looking for I'm going grab that just to have it. I most likely won't get started on actually building the car for some time, but would like to get some research done and start collecting parts for it.