Daily Slideshow: The Porsche That Came With a Free LS Engine
A job well done is its own reward, in a perfect world.
Drove It home
The first thing you need to know about this build is that the fellow who executed it goes by the screen name of not_hans_stuck, which is humorous enough, but the appellation under it (subtitle?) tells the real story: Swapper and Ruiner. He undertook this journey in 2009 with the following preamble, posted in the Pelican Parts forum: "Here's the car. It's a 1986 3.2 Carrera with 125k mi. I bought on eBay from Ann Arbor, MI. I flew up there, inspected it, paid cash, drove it home all in one weekend. Quite the experience. If you haven't done it, I recommend it. I booked a round-trip flight in and out of the same airport on the same day. That way, if I didn't like, I just hop right back on the same plane and go back home."
Out with the old, etc.
"This stuff weighs approximately 3000 lbs," the owner said after stripping off the original bumpers and brackets. His plan was to replace everything with aftermarket RSR IROC body parts. "So at some point in these projects you have to grab a Sawzall and cut into your car," he said frankly. He laid out the flares by hand, tracing over them first on the factory fenders. "Once you have your line drawn, grab your package, smoke a cigarette if you need to, then cut. It was a little nerve-wracking to start with, but after a couple minutes, you figure, what the heck. Who cares. It's only [the] Porsche that I wanted my whole life." When he was all finished, the 911 wore Dansk Steel Flares front and rear, fresh red paint, and Carrera stripes.
In with the LS
The engine build thread section of this swap starts out thusly: "Just got my RH (Renegade Hybrids) kit today. I still have some small items to purchase before I start. Like, for instance, an engine." When he did track down a powerplant for the Porsche, it was of the 5.7 liter LS1 variety, from a C5 Corvette, which he mated to a rebuilt Porsche 915 transaxle and LSD. Tarrett engine and trans mounts were called into duty, and though the stock shifter was retained, the original throttle linkage was supplanted by a new drive-by-wire system that tied directly into the LS1's computer. A completely new clutch and throw-out bearing assembly were utilized, as was a Meziere electric water pump. The engine exhausts through a set of JBA headers meant originally for a Chevy Silverado, mated to a custom stainless steel exhaust with Magnaflow mufflers. The battery was moved to the rear passenger floor area to make room for a new aluminum radiator with dual SPAL cooling fans up front. The LS1 puts out an estimated 390hp and 400 pound-feet of torque, a substantial improvement over the 207hp and 192 pound-feet of the original engine.
Firm footing
The builder fit Koni coilovers shocks with Eibach springs and ERP spring plates to the 911 and lowered it on raised spindles. He installed an uprated Rennline front sway bar, and the suspension also features Tarrett aluminum spring hats and monoball camber plates. The brakes were likewise updated, using a TRE Boxster brake kit and a 930 master cylinder. Staggered-size 17-inch replica Fuchs wheels keep a bit of the RSR look intact, and wear Sumitomo HTR-ZII tires. The chassis is described as being 'communicative.
In through the out door
The interior of the 911 got less attention than other parts of the car—the original black leather seats were in nice shape—but still received some love in the form of AppBiz RSR door panels, Rennline pedals, and a Rennline floorboard. The rear seat was deleted, and the A/C system was converted using a unit from Old Air, which reportedly operates perfectly. The heater is another story. In the builder's words, "I'm bypassing the coolant flow-through on the throttle body. If it's too cold to start it, it's too cold to drive it. I am in Houston after all."
Tally
The builder weighed the old engine assembly when it came out, and the new engine both with and without the transaxle installed, and he says the LS is 50lbs lighter than the original flat-6. The full car, when completed, weighed 2,566 lbs., compared to 2,578 lbs before the build. His scales showed that the weight balance of the car shifted an inch and a half towards the rear—he figures it's due to the relocated battery. He drove it about 2000 miles, which brought the total miles up to 130,000 for the chassis and 32,000 for the engine before he decided to sell it. With over $50,000 in receipts for parts and labor, the 911 sold for $42,300 on Bring a Trailer in June of 2016. When offering a reason why he did an LS swap in the first place, he wasn't shy in explaining, "These are tiny little engines that are capable of making seemingly infinite amounts of horsepower. There are tons of parts for them – the Summit Racing catalog is an inch thick." In a perfect world, infinite horsepower is as good of a reason as any. In the real world sometimes that translates out to a finite financial loss.
>>Join the conversation about this LS1 Swapped Classic 911 right here in the Rennlist Forum!
For help with maintenance and repair projects, please visit our how-to section this forum.