3 litre turbo conversion??

[Mike_Pollock]

Robo - I'm sure with your experience, you could have a great deal to contribute to the forum.

And I for one would love some details of your car and of course some pictures[]

I really like the way there are so many different ways of extracting more performance from these cars.

 

[Robo1968]

Hiya A9
Sure mate, mine is a 1991-2 Turbo cab. I bought it with damage 3 years ago, the previous owner had bolted loads of bits on it and had it Dyno'ed at 420 BHP so it was by no means slow.
When I got it all it had was a custom chip, after I'd repaired it (rear wing damage) I found it quite quick but the bug had bitten me by then
I got Jon Mitchells to fit a Dual port wastegate, a fabulous add on, boost went up and it flew

After that I trawled the internet for parts and got a 340RWHP kit, this included 55lb injectors, 3" exhaust, Maf kit, Mafterburner, 3Lb regulator, super 65 turbo and a load of other bits (about £700)
It just got stupid but the 2.5 had had the life thrashed out of it so I went for the 3.0 conversion.
I bought a 3.0 bottom end and a 2.7 motor for the head, (£500 for both) here is what I then did
Crossdrilled the crank to prevent bearing spin (F.O.C)
3d modelled the pistons and machined them for a 8.5:1 CR (£50)
Fitted a cometic head gasket (you could probably get the thick on and leave the pistons be, I have never looked at doing that) (£150)
Bearings/gaskets (£250-£400)
I can't remember what else at the moment, it was a while ago

Then I got a stage 2 intercooler, Wideband sensor (important), (£250 for both)

the car is much more driveable, I get 25 mpg until I put my foot down but then its worth it, I fitted the boost controller in the cabin which is good for the wet, it span the wheels in 4th today.
I don't thrash it that hard but the clutch holds up fine and I just plain love the car.
How much could you do it for? it depends what you are going to use it for, if I was a racer I'd have got new pistons, liners/whatever which would push the price right up but with sensible mods I'd say around £1.5K, then the bits above

 

[Mike_Pollock]

Looks and sounds fantastic, very rare to see a modded Turbo Cab, even Tony on here has kept his Turbo Cab standard (not so his Coupe!)

Would love to see it in the flesh one day,

Thanks very much for sharing

Cheers

 

[Robo1968]

No problem, I agree about keeping it standard, I have retained ALL the standard parts and should I ever want to sell it will probably convert it back.
Trouble is what am I going to buy that goes that well, is a softtop and is a proper make for the same money.

Until then I'll just enjoy it

I've had S2s and turbos, they both have their advantages, I found the S2 great but a bit of a deadend when it came to making it faster. if it was a daily driver I'd go for the S2 but it would p*ss me off and would no longer feel like a treat so I have a daily driver as well as the turbo

 

[944Turbo]

ORIGINAL: AndrewS

All,
3.0 conversions are possible as are the 2.8 stroker conversion (my original 2.8 is still running [after a light refresh], 13 years after the original 1999 upgrade in Eire).

Your 2.8 had a number of head gasket failures though didn't it? ( I have one on video somewhere) admittedly it was driven very hard! In fact most of the Wayne modded cars got through head gaskets when driven hard, It was what sent me down the path of off the shelf chips from the US in the first place - the bigger power figures (over the custom mapped cars) were a pleasant surprise.

Tony

 

[944Turbo]

ORIGINAL: A9XXC

Looks and sounds fantastic, very rare to see a modded Turbo Cab, even Tony on here has kept his Turbo Cab standard (not so his Coupe!)

Would love to see it in the flesh one day,

Thanks very much for sharing

Cheers

Robbo lives near me, we must manage to meet up this year! there is a red tubro cab local as well,
Tony

 

[944Turbo]

ORIGINAL: MarkK

Cheers Andrew[]
Time flies eh!
Car is Ace still[]

ORIGINAL: MarkK

Cheers Andrew[]
Time flies eh!
Car is Ace still[]

ORIGINAL: MarkK

Cheers Andrew[]
Time flies eh!
Car is Ace still[]

Just out of interest how many miles have you put on it now Mark?

 

[Diver944]

Hi Robo, thanks for the pics and the details [8D]

I remember that car when it was owned by the previous owner with all the bolt on goodies, he posted on the forum about it being the fastest 944T in the country at the time []. He gave me a drive (on a very damp day) and it was fantastically fast when on full boost, but quite laggy when off. Now that you have a 3L engine you will have removed that problem and should have a very responsive beast.

Still love those split rim black wheels - they look awesome in the flesh!

 

[Robo1968]

Hiya Tony
Yes it'd be great to meet up, feel free to drop me a line when you have the time.
Pete sold his 944 red turbo cab last year

 

[Robo1968]

Hi Paul
My pleasure, I have followed the progress of yours on these forums, it's a sleeved 3.2 isn't it?
I'd love to do a 16V 3.2, I have all the bits, have even made an inlet manifold but have been bogged down with work at the mo.

Yes mine was really laggy, to the point where I just didn't enjoy driving it, I recommend the 3.0 conversion, it makes the 944 a much better car,

I got the speedlines last year, it was a treat to myself, thanks for the kind words

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: Robo1968

My pleasure, I have followed the progress of yours on these forums, it's a sleeved 3.2 isn't it?

Well it was mine, until last night when the funds cleared and it finally belongs to Jon at JMG [&o]

I'll have another Turbo one day, but I think it will be a while, until then I'll enjoy reading yours and others exploits with these awesome cars so keep up the good work []

 

[Robo1968]

Oh I see, I'll go and see them and take a look, I work in Christchurch

Just out of interest why did you sell it? I love to have a chat and pick up some hints

 

[944 turbo cabrio]

Hi Robo!

Have you done any body reinforcement to your cab?
I am tracking mine on track days and feels the load being a bit much at times - and that's with standard engine and a Gaz Gold coil over.

Cheers

Niels
Owner of No. 290 of 529 turbo cabrios

 

[Robo1968]

Hi there
I haven't reinforced it at all, I don't want to change anything that can't be easily reversed and wouldn't track the car.
Mainly because it is rare and because I'd wind up sticking it in the scenery at some stage.

Being a cabrio, I just like it for the road.
Have you got any photos of yours?

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: Robo1968

Oh I see, I'll go and see them and take a look, I work in Christchurch

Just out of interest why did you sell it?

Because in the six and a half years since the conversion was started, the car was only in my possession for 9 months and I only managed to cover 10,000 miles in her before the engine died. The last repair took 14 months and wasn't covered by any warranty by which time I'd almost forgotten I had a 3.2 Turbo, in fact I haven't seen her since June 2009.

In the end I sold her due to lack of interest and before I sunk any more funds into her. It's great to hear of stories like yours with lots of DIY work to create a pretty special engine for a special Turbo Cab. I look forward to hearing more and more as you progress with yours and hopefully it will inspire others too []

 

[944 man]

Im sorry to hear that youve sold yours Paul. Its the only Turbo Ive seen that I have ever coveted. I first saw it i a 911&PW article and Ive quietly admired it ever since.

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: Diver944
Because in the six and a half years since the conversion was started, the car was only in my possession for 9 months and I only managed to cover 10,000 miles in her before the engine died. The last repair took 14 months and wasn't covered by any warranty by which time I'd almost forgotten I had a 3.2 Turbo, in fact I haven't seen her since June 2009.

In the end I sold her due to lack of interest and before I sunk any more funds into her.

Really sorry to hear that...!!
My 3.0T build has given me hard times but I probably couldn't have borne as much frustration as you may have.

I'm surprised it took so long to have your engine repaired though... Without intending to rub salt into the wound, would you mind sharing what went wrong with it?

 

[Robo1968]

I popped into JMG yesterday and had a good chat with him

The car still looks nice even with the motor out, apparently the engine has been sold.
Incidentally, to all, they are having a 944 parts clearout for anyone interested.

Apart from too slow idle when cold (which I am trying to resolve when I have the time) I am now just looking for a Lindsey racing intake