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Got an Upcoming Mod Project? Tell Us About It!
Mr_Shiftright
Member Posts: 64,481
This topic is for those of us with big ideas but temporarily small budgets.
We aren't exactly dreaming in this topic but the projects we are describing here might take 6 months or a year to see the light of day.
I'll start with the next post.
We aren't exactly dreaming in this topic but the projects we are describing here might take 6 months or a year to see the light of day.
I'll start with the next post.
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Given that these Porsche V-8s have indestructible bottom ends and a nice roomy "V" between the "stand up" cylinder heads, as well as good space fore of the engine, I'm thinking that a Supercharger running about 6 psi would be perfect for this car.
With any luck, the installation you see below should produce about 330 HP and plenty of low end grunt.
Cost? I'm estimating about $7,500, including a professional install.
Of course, I'd take the Texas approach and do a stroker Chevy small block (over 400 ci, probably 406), with aluminum heads and Accel DFI. And a nasty, lumpy cam and Flowmasters, so folks would know there was something strangely wicked hiding under the bonnet.
But no need for a Chevy...I have the car set up with a Y-pipe back of the header and a free-flow Ansa exhaust...it sounds GREAT, and with the whine of a supercharger, it would be dee-vine. Sounds very much like an American car right now but the firing pulses are just a little different than an American V8...and it revs faster and higher than say a stock pushrod engine.
Some nut actually build the 928 engine up to 600 HP but I don't expect it is very tractable either.
I'm really aiming for a very versatile car and decent fuel mileage.
Also we have to think about the drivetrain...this has the engine in front, transmission and differential as a single unit in the rear...I don't think a big brute Chevy would hook up to the Porsche 5 speed, so we got big conversion problems here...
Basically to run a Chevy I think you'd have to gut a complete C5 Corvette, which has a very similar driveline and rear suspension (GM, have you been peeking under 928s?)
Your best bet may be to bring to some little smog shop that has never seen the engine bay of a 928 and hope they think that that is the way it's supposed to look. I'd go for black tubing connectors though, the blue ones really scream aftermarket. I have them on my car and that';s the only thing the guy challenged me on last time I had to go to a "Test Only" center. I managed to convince him that the piping was all stock (which was true) and that I replaced the cracked rubber factory hoses with blue silicone, which should be legal. After that it was just a matter of passing the sniffer test, which my car did easily.
Next question is, do I spend $7,500 for a hotrod older 928, on a car I know is good, or sell it for $6,000 and add another $7,500 and buy a later model and faster stock 928? The newer 928s are not supercharged, but are 32V motors. Faster but way more complex as well. Damned if you do, damned if you don't, sounds like.
You can ask for a pretest to check your emissions before doing the real run. I always do that with my MR2. Once I avoided having a "Gross Polluter" classification hung on my car by doing that. Once you have a GP label on the record, you have to go to the referee station to get it off. Downside is you'll have to pay for two tests each time.
And I misread your earlier question. You wanted to know how you would know before you decided to pursue this whether it would pass the sniffer.
You'll probably have to rely on the outfit that makes that kit for their experience. I don't know enough about how 928s handle fueling and ignition at WOT, open loop conditions vs. partial throttle, closed loop conditions and how the system you are looking at affects that but generally, the smog test is run at light load, partial throttle, closed loop conditions so the engine essentially self tunes and the cat cleans up any off nominal output. I'd guess the sniffer test won't be a problem.
That makes a lot of sense to me, unless you really want to enjoy the hobby aspect of modding your ride. Gets expensive either way (hobbies seem to do that).
Btw, the title requirement is geared to forum improvements in the pipeline - we can't seem to stop modding around here either (and our speed has greatly improved just in the last six months!)
Steve, Host
Now to sell that off and get "new 928 Mystery Car X" for double what my car is worth---well, a used 928 is not a car you want to have to rebuild. Also the newer 928s go to an interference-fit engine (which mine doesn't have) and higher compression. So then I'd have to run premium fuel and sweat a broken timing belt or change it out every 30K, which is expensive.
So there are plusses and minuses here. If I keep the old car, I save $250 a year on gas and maybe $600 a year on maintenance (easy).
As for performance, a newer 928 puts out 326HP and my car stock is I believe 231. So presuming a 35% increase in HP with this blower, I might hit around 310HP without much stress on the engine.
On the downside, I have the dreaded twin clutch disk, which grips like crazy but doesn't release quickly, making shifts a bit slow and clunky. But then I'm not drag racing.
http://www.renegadehybrids.com/928.htm
Looks like by the time you buy everything you need it's about the same price down the road.
And then I have a Porsche with a 350 Chevy in it rather than a supercharged stock motor that's all neat and tidy and costs the same.
If I SC the stock motor, I'll have more HP than a N/A stock LT-1 motor.
But of course, one can punch out the LT-1 motor to correct that for not a lot of money.
I want a sleeper. I want to leave a $60K sportscar in the dust like you see in the viewing screen on the starship Enterprise when they punch the warp button.
Oh, decisions, decisions...
right now it's tax time, and I'm watching my supercharger dissolve before my eyes....at least temporarily.
My friend Monty (you know, the one who blew up two C5 motors?) has a Porsche 914 with Corvette power. It's freaky-fast. He needed to flare it out all over to get a fit.
You don't have to follow me in the "I'm from Texas, I have to have loud Flowmasters" train of thought....
Maybe I can FIND an LT-1 or trade for it. I'll need an injected motor because I'll never pass smog with a carburetor. I bet with a late model injected motor I could pass 1980 Porsche emissions standards without a catalytic.
California allows you to "upgrade" a motor (to a newer year) but theoretically then you have to pass the standards for the motor, not the car.
Question is, will the crazy Russians who run the local smog station be able to tell a Porsche V-8 from a Chevy? I guess it depends how well you clad it with plastic pieces. But I could play it straight and probably be okay.
It would be an interesting car to drive, but not technically so interesting as a SC ohc motor.
Not too many red 5-speed 928s around anymore. Mostly I see white and gray and black.
We are in Minneapolis, but if you have any questions let me know.
--Adam
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I'm thinkin' "stealth" here....the car has to look stock.
kirstie_h
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Okay the mods I've done to it.
1. run elwire along the dash and behind the meters (yes blinks to the music)
2. mp3 stereo
- Massive amp
- 2x 12" Sony Xplode subs (waste of money buy something else and save $)
- 2x 9" 100 watt rms mids for the doors
3. Cathodes around the spearkers, under the seats, in front of the gear shifter Reds
4. Modified the ashtray to be the controler board for all the lights and to switch the amp on and off
(Yes this is a pony I'm talking about now stop laughing)
5. Cleaned up the engine and replaced all the hoses and most of the cables
6. Battery swap unit that allows for 2 batters and the ability to recharge them both without having to switch anything over.
7. stearing wheel and seat covers (yes the all important red seat covers and floor mats) Improved the look of the car by 1000x
I say again, YES it is a pony I'm talking about.
Mods I want to do to it. I'll split this into "has a purpose" and "No reason really"
Has a purpose:
a) I want to put a straight pipe exhaust in and change the muffler. Not sure how yet
b) Change the muffler tip/exhaust pipe in some way. I want to split the pipe and redirect the outputs to be wider and distort the noise a bit. I'm still learning about how the exhaust system works.
c) I want to add a new speaker box so it fills the trunk with a lift cover so I can stash stuff under it. Can't explain this one very well.
d) I want to add mags but because it's a pony my options are pretty limited until I found out how difficult it would be to change the mounting system. Right now it looks like 4 x 100's but I found some nice mags that are 5x something. I also have to look into conversion plates.
No purpose at all:
a) Put a wing on it. Not one you just buy in a box, but one I make myself that only has a look and no real purpose (yes it's a pony)
b) Once I get new rims I want to pain the calipers and light them up
c) under lights
d) flame thrower out the front (Not as hard to build as you might think)
e) Lower the car ( will probably do this one but don't know enough yet )
So um.. that's my big Toy Free junk yard parts makes this crap doable and fun.
And yes I hear a lot of laughter.
Any ideas what I could do to it? It's all a learning experience on this car so if I mess up, I don't really care. Oh and I beat quite a few cars off the line. I don't have the top spead of most civics but I can tick most of them off by getting across the intersection first.
(okay you can stop laughing now.)
As far as your performance is concerned, I'd make sure that the fuel system was running strong. For a mid-eighties Korean vehicle, that Pony is surprisingly reliable. Just go for Higher octane gas and clean up the exhaust system as best you can.
Best of luck to you.
Thanks in advance
-Sepul
The car is a pretty popular choice for people making kit cars and replicas of European cars since it is the only mid engine in GM's modern line up. I haven't fully decided whether I would like to build a kit car or just swap the engine and be content that even with stock parts people don't know what they are looking at. But thats my project idea. For about 5K I can have a aggressive little coupe that should be capable of lifting the front tires off the ground. :surprise:
We dynoed it at 325.7 horses at the rear wheels at 7230rpm, and 285.5 lb-ft of torque at 5760rpm. Almost all of the go fast parts came from RSM Racing's online catalogue. You'll have to utilize a standalone engine managenemt system, but you'll have a car that can run with the best of them on a whim. Porsche, Ferrari, Viper, whatever.
It was upon learning that his 16 year old son was the culprit who performed all of the tuning and upgrades on this car (with trips to the dyno shop)that I was truly amazed. From that point on, I never put it past anyone willing to pick up a wrench, as a hobbyist or otherwise, to do amazing things.
thanks!
Shifty the Co-Host
Any info would be helpful. Thanx
Steve, Host