My 944 1uz-fe V8 swap

[Sandspider]

Grind 2kg of beans, pour them into the coolant reservoir then go for a spirited drive. After approx 300 miles, you can drink the coolant (warm, alcoholic and caffeinated) and your reservoir will be clean!* * Your engine may need serious coolant flushing, however. Soda blaster might be simpler [&:]

 

[George Elliott]

Did you go the coffee bean route or the blaster Paul [] Hope things are progressing for you George 944t

 

[Woodsport]

Hi George, haven't had a chance at the moment, things have gone mental at the garage so the poor V8 has had to take a temporary back seat. I have made the new bulged bonnet for it now, grafted a 924 turbo vent into the nose panel and started work on the exhaust manifolds, i'm very happy with how the bonnet is turning out, i was wary of spoiling the 944 lines, but it is looking better than a stock one so far as it bulges out in the same way the wings do with the same profile, still a long way to go though.

 

[GPF]

Come on, Paul - we really need piccies of these, sounds great [8D]

 

[Woodsport]

A little too soon to show pics, still in the very early plating and shaping stage, from experience people are too quick to judge during the fabrication process, i'd much rather show pics of it at least in primer, but the shape is very pleasing indeed and i was very worried about the bonnet spoiling the project.

 

[Woodsport]

Oh what the hell, here you go, all i have done at this point is form the basic frame and plated over it, the profile of the bulge is taken directly from the outer wing swage line, still a very long way to go though.

924 turbo vent graft...

It still baffles me how some are saying that oil cooler is supposedly not going to see airflow through those vents.... air will enter, pass through and exit, that to me equals flow, i can't see why it wouldn't. I'll update the bonnet work with better pics as i progress, it will look a 100% better when fully blended/primed/painted.

 

[GPF]

ORIGINAL: Woodsport from experience people are too quick to judge during the fabrication process

Yes, that looks absolute shite, mate - you don't want to do it like that - yada yada yada [] Seriously though, looking good - will be interesting to see how it comes together when it's prepped and in primer as you say.

 

[Woodsport]

The camera doesn't really capture the lines at all, in person it works very well, has a lovely flow to it definitely in keeping with the styling, my opinion may change again though when it goes into paint, we shall see.

 

[edh]

looks very subtle - will be interesting to see it in paint

 

[George Elliott]

Thanks for the pictures Paul, it has potential [] a delicate area but cue's like matching other features are how the factory styling dept would have approached it. Any room for a triangular brace in there? its something i hear talked about at home here [8|] but again, like you work is interfering with progress. Keep up the good work George 944t PS I think I can see the airflow exiting the badge panel [][][]

 

[carreraboy]

Nice Modified 944 .....[]

 

[Woodsport]

Thanks chaps, i shouldn't really be showing half finished pics, but you can see how it is progressing. The bulge itself is only 1" tall, and it only needed it in a 18" area of the bonnet, but i thought it looked odd just having a small section raised. So i've taken Porsches styling cues from other areas of the car and repeated it in the bonnet...... have i got it right? Who knows, i'll reserve judgement myself until it's painted, if it doesn't look right i'll try again.

 

[xschop]

I like the lines. Let's the other guy know what's up. I'll have to copy Dinsdale's hood when I mount my 1GZ V12 to my 928. Keep up the great work. Its all worth it when the torque kicks in.

 

[Woodsport]

Time for an update, exhaust manifolds, we don't have any that work in a 944 with a 1uz fitted, the stock 1uz headers are.......well..... garbage! So i've seen some attempts on the internet that made me roffle, log style....well logs are only fit for burning in my opinion, so i put a bit of thought into it and measured available space between the engine and chassis rails (it isn't a lot). So with the brief to get some flow going, make them out of something more robust than tinfoil but ultimately fit in the space i have (flow can go screw itself if it means it not working at all) i set about with a big box of 45* and 90* steam pipe weld els, a 1uz 10mm thick header flange and a 2.5" output flange.....

About 25-30 man hours later we have this....

I'm very pleased with that, they are thick wall tube so will last forever, but i am only 50% of the way there, the amount of fabrication this took was insane. I bolted the flange to a 3/4" thick plate of steel so that the welding would not pull or distort the flange, and it has ended up very straight.

Sadly none of this work will get seen from the engine bay, they are totally obscured, still i'm happy with that, one of the hardest things i've ever made. Let us compare mine v the original LS400 one....

One down one to go!

 

[vitesse]

Brilliant but heavy,I imagine--how did you get the bores smooth or did you do that progressively with a die grinder as you went along?

 

[Woodsport]

Yep, progressively ground as i went, i have a Snap-on die grinder which came in very useful. It turned out lighter than the original cast LS400 item so i'm happy with that, my engine is lighter than the original 2.5NA anyway.

 

[George Elliott]

Mig Tig or both Paul? Good job, the heavy support Plate for strength and heat sink was a good idea After all that effort maybe Santa would treat them to a zircotec coating for you [] George 944t

 

[Woodsport]

I have both MIG and TIG sets George and much prefer working with the TIG making fully stainless systems, but with my header flange being mild it was easier and quicker to use the MIG, it's going to rust eventually like the stock cast one anyway. Yep might get them coated for no other reason than heat.

 

[Woodsport]

I've now completed the other bank manifold, there is a slight difference between the two because the drivers one needs to clear the steering shaft which narrowly misses the pipes, but at least they are done now, next step is Tig welding the rest of the stainless system which will be 2.5" on each bank, going into a crossover X then splitting into two separate silencers and twin exit out the rear.

I think there has got to be a BHP gain from my manifolds given the state of the stock ones, i think i have some decent flow going on. Going to look into getting them Ceramic coated.

 

[JagdHamster]

Nice work! Russ