I've heard that its been done before, doesn't surprise me much since Anderson + others have kits for the 944. Does anyone know if the 944 kits will work with the 968? How much modification is requried?

i dream of a 968 LS1 powered vert.

 

http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum...che-968-a.html

 

Thanks for the link HotRodGuy,

I checked out renegade's website a while ago and didn't see a kit for the 968, but under the 944 kit it says the kit will work for 968. Not too pricey too, basic kit is 2100$

Now i gotta find a clean 968!

 

it has been done - i've seen a few - nobody has a lot of miles on them yet though, so reliability is a real question - many complications to overcome too - gearing is wrong - chassis is not strong enough - suspension not up to the job......the list is long

that being said, i am certain that it can be done, but don't expect to snag a $2k kit, drop a $3k motor in it, and have it work right - in reality, to do it right, you are looking at 15k minimum

 

15K?

What's the final drive in a 968? I'm assuming gearing would not be too big an issue i would just put a custom variable lockup LSD unit in.

Can you elaborate on suspension and chassis issues? what specifically is wrong with the suspension? Can you use simple means of strengthening the chassis (strut bars, etc?) or are more serious modifications needed?

TIA

 

The Turbo S and RS aren't radically different in suspension and chassis from stock cars, and they seem to handle the power ok. There are plenty of high power turbo'ed 968's, and radical 951's that make similar hp without issues.

 

that's what i sortof figured, although, if i dropped a LS1 in, i'd tune it to at least 500-550hp.

got any pics of your vert damian?

 

All of this is completely inaccurate. There is not one issue that hasn't been solved.

The 944 LS2 swap has been my daily driver for the last year, and it has been incredible. Using the 951 transmission the gearing is superb with the V8. The weight remained the same but the car does everything better. The 944/968 chassis combined with the LS motor is an amazing package.

 

did you custom fab everything or did you use a kit?

 

as i said, i've seen a few of these, but none done "right" yet (well, maybe one, but i didn't get to really check it out)

there are SIGNIFICANT upgrades in the 968 turbo, and even more in the 968 turbo rs

the stock chassis is not strong enough to handle the torque - by modern standards, the 944/968 chassis is actually pretty wimpy - the 968 turbo rs got reinforcing to handle the increased torque - it was not the same as the stock car - strut tower braces only do so much - a good amount of work is needed to handle that kind of torque - it's not horsepower that is the problem - it's torque, and moreover, how early it comes on

i've done one of these on a 944, and twisted the chassis on the first run - left a wheel in the air on the first launch - and that was with a mere 450hp, but almost 500ft/lbs of torque

the additional 100lbs up front has to be adjusted for too - not too hard, but it does require suspension changes - the torque plays in here too - the car acts differently when you apply more power

you'll need bigger brakes, stronger hubs, stiffer springs to handle the weight shifts, a change in front/rear spring rate balance to handle the torque squat, and bigger swaybars to mitigate the torque roll - taking a hint from the 968 turbo would help here

the rubber suspension bushings need to go too

there are plenty of people blowing up gearboxes with pumped up 4 bangers, so add the impact of that much torque, and you can be sure that if you drive the car hard at all, you will be in there working on it - the rs got a lot of work here too

the axle shafts and cv joints need to be larger too - the turbo rs definitely had those beefed up

this is NOT a task to be jumped into lightly - yes, it can be done, but no, it will not be cheap if you want to do it right

much has to do with the driver too - putt it around, and it may never let you down - drive it hard, and you need to make sure that AAA card is paid up - it's the same with any wound up car though, so this is just something that comes with the territory

 

CAA card, i'm in canada:P

Thanks for your input, i appreciate it.

I'm surprised to hear that the all aluminum LS1 is heavier than the stock 968 motor!
It doesn't sound like this is going to be too feasable, there's no way i'd throw a 450hp V8 in a porsche and "put put" it around town, and i would have to be crazy to rip out the motor out of an RS just for the chassis, unless i found one with a blown motor or something.

I'm still going to do some research on this, but it looks like its going to be much more practical to buy a early 996. Too bad, really, because i must be crazy, but i love the look of the 968.

 

the engine itself is actually not too far off - it's all the other stuff that goes with it that makes the net about 100 lbs more - again though, not a huge difference, and it can be mitigated pretty easily

i would guess that the total cost, if paying somebody else, would be about 40k all in - i would never stick a used engine in, and a lot of people count their time as free, so some people think it's a lot less - i don't - any time i spend on it would be time away from making money - that has a real cost - i do a lot myself, but i also bill myself

still, pretty cheap though if you consider the end result and what it would cost for any other car that would have that level of performance - heck, i've got that much in mods on my car, and i haven't even gotten inside the engine yet

 

German Performance. Ft Lauderdale, FL.

There is so much misinformation in this thread posted by flash968, that I don't know where to begin. He posts the same inaccuracies on the 968.net forum. Lots of purists have issues with the swap that are not founded in facts.

Prove that it's not strong enough....

So you lifted a wheel?? Those are some magically sticky tires. You should sell them to the drag guys and make a fortune. Mine just go up in smoke, like everybody else with a V8 swap....

Wrong again. The 968 looses on average 30lbs with an LS1 swap.

All of the other stuff? I can't imagine what you're adding up front to add 100lbs....lead weights? Perhaps you're confused with the LT1?

40G's...wow! Bad guess.

propr`one- Just call German Performance to get the straight scoop. They are building and racing these cars constantly. The owner of the shop has a 968 LS2 swap that is beautiful.

 

lol - i would be happy to prove it, but i don't think the owner of the car would be

i am not a purist - in the 30 years of building cars of all types, including some V8 conversions, i have done more things that have upset "purists" than anybody i know - i certainly have no issue with the idea, and in fact, applaud it

it cracks me up when i see kids trying things on the cheap though - like anybody who has been around long enough, i've been there done that - broke it in short order every time - customers who insist on cheaping out are exactly why i closed my shop years ago, and went back to just doing it for myself - it just wasn't worth the frustration

the chassis is NOT up to the task without help - the stock chassis is barely able to handle the power of the stock engine, let alone triple the torque - i find them to be very mushy - all those rubber bushings are a mess - even the few chassis stiffening pieces i have designed for the 968 show very quickly how soft it is to every owner on whose car we have installed them - a quick hop into a caged race car and you will see just how bad it really is

as for the one i bent, they were sticky tires indeed - big drag slicks - i told the customer it was the wrong car to do this with, and that he needed to do a full cage on the car, and that the chassis would not handle it otherwise - half way through the job, he ran out of money and he insisted that i finish without it - i said "fine, but you get to pay for the rework, or i own the car afterward" - when it was done, we took it down to the strip - he hopped in, dumped the clutch at 6k, the tires took a couple of spins, and lifted the front end off the ground - when it came down, it left a front wheel in the air - we pushed it back into the trailer and took it back to the shop - he couldn't afford to rework the car, so i then had my guys yank the engine and cut the car up right in front of him, and hauled it away to the scrap yard

i have yet to see anybody with a post install corner scale measurement disproving the math that shows a clear increase of 100lbs - i keep seeing people with engine weight claims, but failure to weigh the cars before and afterward - in their "math" they often fail to add in the clutch, bell housing, radiator, etc

the complete dry 968 engine is 379lbs - the crate LS1 is 390 dry and bare - after you add in the accessories, clutch and such, it's a lot more - check this:

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...06/ls1ls6.html

as for the budget, that's probably low: 10k for the engine, 4k for the kit, 12k for suspension, 3k for chassis work, a good 10k to put it all together - i haven't even gotten into the transaxle work at that point - it could easily get up to 50k

i still think it's a great idea, done right, but have yet to see one done

always happy to be proven wrong though - i crave more power myself, and would do this if i had the time to work out the frame work

 

You seem pretty set in your thought process and I'm not going to argue with you. If you really are interested, you need an open mind and do a lot more research. A lot of your information contradicts not only my findings, but most everyone else who has done a successful swap. No offense, but because you can't make it work and haven't seen a good one, doesn't mean they don't exist.

If you're local I can show you how it's done right, and that the chassis is more than adequate! Just let me know.

Take care.