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V8 conversion

of course..

the ultimate v8 for just about anything is the "stick two hayabusa topends on a bespoke bottom end" job fitted to the radical SR8

thats small and light enough to fit in almost anything, revs to 10,000 rpm and makes about 360bhp, twin turbo it and its bonkers

shame they're £20,000 ish



s_v8eng.jpg
 
We are still in the realm of 'should' and 'could' but as no one has actually done any of these things I think we should stop complicating poor Rd944's research [&:]

Remember he specifically asked about the Rover V8 because he can get hold of one for virtually nothing (which is the best price in the world to me [:)] )
 
fresh idea's always welcome Paul :)

its the "why bother?" stuff that grates..

but yeh, this would be done for minimal outlay.. if it starts to cost north of 3k i'd be looking at a different project, like a kit-car.. or an elise .. or big-boring and fuel injecting a zxr400, or .. well many things really ..
 
I'm afraid "why bother" is an obvious question for any transplant that results in no more power than a straighforward tune on a production model of the same car, at least to me, and I confess to being prejudiced against the Rover V8 which has always struck me as pitifully puny given its capacity, and a bit "70's Street Machine".

That said I tend to agree that if you can get one for what it's worth (a couple of beers being about right IMO) and you really don't like forced induction then you should either stick with that plan or look at a different project.

Having owned an Audi with the V8 engine I'd be surprised if it is as small as quoted above, though it might be as the apparent size of mine might have been largely down to the turbo paraphernalia. Regardless I don't see it fitting if it's blown (not that you want to do that). It makes widely varying amounts of power in NA form, but the bigger numbers variants from things like the RS4 and R8 are going to be pretty expensive to buy would be my guess, and the lower output ones are back in the 350bhp range which is "why bother" territory again. I'd also venture it's going to be more expensive to tune than the alternatives.

Not knocking the idea if someone wants to try it though, and please don't take offence at my lack of enthusiasm for the Rover/Buick transplant.
 
Well i've seen photo's of 944's with 928 engines in there without the front end being spaceframed. I'd be very surprised if a modern Audi v8 is larger than a 928 engine. The engine bay on a 944 has always struck me as being quite large, but I suppose looks could be deceiving. Bear in mind they manage to get one in an A4 engine bay, and an A4 is quite a small car.
 
Have you seen this link?? http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/Porsche/default.asp?storyId=7895

Might be worth tracking down a Rover V8 944 owner and asking how they did it. Personally, i would only replace the Porsche engine with a Rover one if the Porsche engine failed and was beyond economic repair.
 
ORIGINAL: morris944s2john
Have you seen this link?? http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/Porsche/default.asp?storyId=7895
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yup

Might be worth tracking down a Rover V8 944 owner and asking how they did it.
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thats what i was trying to do with this thread [:)]

Personally, i would only replace the Porsche engine with a Rover one if the Porsche engine failed and was beyond economic repair.
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The V8 will cost less than the full house service my "no service history and obviously maintained by a muppet" 944 currently requires :) .. if i had a nice, tidy, well looked after 944 with FSH and no issues, it would stay as such. As it is, i bought a ropey one with the conversion in the back of my mind.

 

Just to add to this thread. I agree that it seems a bit of a redundant exercise to utilise the Rover/Buick V8, however I imagine that you might find someone on this site that could give you some ideas. Granted that most of these guys would use Corvette motors for their conversions however as the Rover block was originally a US design, you might find guys in there that have experience in this switch?
http://www.porschehybrids.com/php/index.php?sid=d41031c37a2944a76666ce3906ab2642



Oh, and here's a pic of the 928 motor in a 944. Spaceframed and racecar only. Still, thought it would be relevant.



42F45BC274CD42B29490D5AAE38EB2F7.jpg
 
The V8 will cost less than the full house service my "no service history and obviously maintained by a muppet" 944 currently requires :) .. if i had a nice, tidy, well looked after 944 with FSH and no issues, it would stay as such. As it is, i bought a ropey one with the conversion in the back of my mind.
Click to expand...

OK, fair enough then. I think it's a good idea if the car is basically knackered and has no history then why not! I was only trying to help and am actually quite interested in how you get on. Looking at that pic, it seems the Rover.Buick V8 fits in the 944 engine bay like it was meant to go in!

If I was to do this job, I would think about getting the 944 gearbox and clutch to fit the Rover flywheel. Or what about adapting a 944 flywheel to fit the Rover crank?? Do you know a friendly engineer with a lathe and milling machine?
 
If you want power as opposed to pistons, then a 944 turbo conversion would provide many benefits:
fully bolt in
considerable development potential
light weight (almost every option listed will destroy the beautiful 944 balance)
fairly easily available
fairly reasonable cost (£2K budget if I read correctly)
reliable

worth considering again ???

either way - good luck, I admire your ambition

George
944 T
964
 
Rd944, don't want to add to the debate about coulda woulda shoulda other than I think you should and admire you for it. I personally think the Rover V8 is a stonking engine, and I doubt there is a better V8 out there for the cost of yours. Back in the early 90's there was a company that offered a full Rover V8 conversion kit for the 944, but alas I have no idea what they were called (but I do seem to think they had something to do with convertible conversions too like a 924 club member has)

If you do manage to fit the V8 into your 944 and it is possible as has be proved, you will have one of the best sounding 944's in the country, good luck too you.
 
I agree. As a technical exercise it is interesting and I for one will be hanging on every instalment to track progress. However whether or not dropping a v8 into a 944 improves the car is up for debate - and we love a debate on this forum ;-)
 
Good luck to Rd944. Please let us know your progress and issues etc. If this is a successful project then no doubts that it will be a very attractive upgrade (and also for those with a cooked/failed n/a engine) for some n/a 944 owners who doesn't want a forced induction option.

Who knows, we may see a new breed v8 (Rover V8, Audi V8 etc) converted 944s to top the 944 bhp charts. [;)] And also potential for extra superchargers too( [:-]. (if there is any space left). Watch out 951 owners [:D].
 
Well i'm confident that what we might end up loosing in the straights we'll make up on the corners! I have seen a photo of someone who'd put a 911 engine in a 944. That seems an intriguing idea. If you use one of the later air cooled ones - say out of a 993 turbo, get rid of the water cooling system, you'd have one hell of a car. I don't think it was a simple job though. I'd imagine the inner wheel arches would need some fettling to say the least.
 
Hi Pal , if you like messing about , then why don't you try the V8 engine out of a 928 into the 944 ! Now that would be diffrent ! Then why don't you round it of by fitting some big Turbo's on it each side ! 5L V8 Twin Turbo ! Bet you a £10 you can't do it ? And if you do then that would be good to watch going down the strip at Santa Pod ! Now that would be intresting and very eccentric !
 
Brake servos don't have to act directily on the brake pedal. Years ago my friend put a 5 litre ford engine into a 1947 slant back ford anglia, and the servo was slaved up to the master cylinder so in theory the servo can go anywhere as long as you can run a vacuum hose to it. Pity you have the engine because if half a 928 engine goes in a 944 then without the sevo the other half ought to go in too, and the S4 would give you 320. Oh for your facilites and budget if I had them I'd have half a mind to do it to a 924S and have a 924 with 320.......

NOTE to self: must real all posts before typing
 

ORIGINAL: morris944s2john
Do you know a friendly engineer with a lathe and milling machine?
Click to expand...

a couple.. and i should have my own 1300sq/ft workshop equipped in the new year [;)]
 
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