zerosoul914

Guys' first off I'd like to say this is probably the best open public tech forum around.

Short story: My 2001 Boxster engine did the oil & coolant dance. With no one offering a real solution to the problem without spending gobs of $$, I figure it's time to turn to the trusty LS1.

I've found someone who makes an adapter kit for the motor and trans, and now it's onto how to mount the thing.

I don't need a full k-member, just the engine and tranny cradle. The stock set up uses 1 motor mount in the front and 2 tranny mounts to support the entire thing. I was thinking of taking some of the ideas from tubular K-members but would appreciate any feedback from the forum.

T.I.A
Ethan

jfg455

iTrader: (5)

There are bolt bosses on the front of thew LS motor that you could make or adapt the porshe front motor mount bolt to. It is that or make a short bolt in K member that will pick up the LS motor mounts in thier stock location. Any pics of the engine bay? G

zerosoul914

Cool thanks I did not know that. I'm pulling the motor this week, and will post up pix of bay.

Ethan

1dirtyZ

iTrader: (1)

use a motor plate that some of the sponsors sell over here , bolt it to the front of the engine and just make beleive that you are working with a porsche engine .
you will either have to run an electric remote water pump or the 2008 pontiac water pumps ( shallower) and use corvette style accessories and damper to keep engine length to a minimum .
definatly sounds like a cool project ! just make sure to post up some pics !

rao

iTrader: (18)

I'd really like to see pics of what you come up with.

zerosoul914

Thanks for the heads up !

To simplify things, this motor will not have a power steering pump, water pump, nor a/c compressor for now. My goal is to just get the car to drive under it's own power and have headlights, tail lights, and dash to light up.

zerosoul914

1dirtyZ

iTrader: (1)

i see ,, the front motor mount is different than the carrera models .

you can actually make a front motor plate and extent out a "shelf" to mount where porsche motor mount is .

and if i were you , i would start with having the p/s and water pump in mind and work around them , so that you don't have to redo stuff later down the road.

one more thing,,, does the boxter come with a dry sump oiling system?

will this car be driven on the street regularly ( i sure hope so ) or just a track car?

zerosoul914

Oh yes sir as long as I'm breathing, this thing will be driven as much as possible

I'm doing research on the power steering, this is one of the few luxuries I would like to keep. There should be plenty of answers from the Mazda ppl about this one.

In the 914 V8 world, we use remote water pumps and this will probably be an answer to this one as well.

Porsche says it's a semi-dry sump, but in reality it is a wet sump motor. The only issue is that the oil pan really is flat and shallow and a big percentage of cooling the motor does come from the oil. I'm going to add a 3rd radiator before the LS1 comes in.

I did find a universal crossmember kit, looks promising and cheap

rao

iTrader: (18)

The water pump isn't going to be the problem, the crank pully is right where that mount is. You will have to find another way, depending on the relative position that you want the engine to have.

What would really help for ideas is a picture of the underside of the Boxster.

zerosoul914

Sorry about that it's difficult trying to find photos of this engine bay without the motor. Unfortunately theres not many DIY articles on this car.

So far here is the only photo showing the motorless engine bay. The left side is going towards the front of the motor. Note the 2 radiator pipes protruding.

I'm pulling my motor out this week and will be updating with pix then.

GIGAPUNK

iTrader: (2)

So the boxter is actuall mid-engine, not rear?

I'm using aluminum motor plates, and a steel mid plate, on my nissan hybrid. The front motor plate sandwhiches behind the water pump. The I'm using a small spacer and a corvette water pump to get an f-body accessory belt alignment.

That tubular kit looks very promising btw.

Also, who makes the trans adapter?

1dirtyZ

iTrader: (1)

Any updates???

themachasy

iTrader: (5)

x2, would like to know as well.

waterhook1

iTrader: (1)

http://toy-jet.com/

Try this site for Ls1 conversions, they may be able to help.

Steve VanS

iTrader: (1)

You're going to be the lone ranger on this swap. Where is the oil pan sump? How much head room do you have? Looks ok for header clearance. Buy a foam LS1 engine mock-up, then figure out oil pan, etc. Corvette pan may work. The GTO pan has (4) bosses around the front end of the pan that are for M8 bolts. This would allow for a cantilever-type mount up the forward Porsche engine mount, and "below" the LS FEAD (Front End Accessory Drive).

Explore ways to use the side mounts on the LS block: there are (7) M10 tapped holes, all in one plane on each side of the block. Can you mount to the side structure of the engine bay? The LS engines have a lot more torque than the peakey motor in there now. Are the aft two mount locations in your car spread apart far enough for reacting the torque loads?

What about electrical systems integration? Does your car have a CAN bus?

It could be alot of fun, but its going to take a lot of creativity, skill and $$ to accomplish.

boardertj

any updates on this?

gnx7

iTrader: (28)

I contacted Renegade Hybrids about this swap a year ago and they said there is no "bolt in" kit. You would need to cut out the firewall behind the occupant seats and "get creative" to make an LSx style engine fit they stressed. I think the swap could make a bad *** little ride.

You can run a G50 or 930Turbo transmission flipped upside down (some oiling mods are needed) with an adapter plate to mate it up to an LSx.

frojoe

iTrader: (10)

I second the idea of utilizing side-of-motor mounting if possible.

Having one of the main motor supports so near the crank centerline may reduce torque resistance and overall rigidity when compared to supporting the engine from the side.

I am a Porsche-noob, is the Boxster engine mounted longitudinally or transversly?

If it's transverse, this might be moot point because the entire engine/trans assembly will want to rotate about the output centerline for the halfshafts when you hook, so the lever arm of the front mount relative to the shafts might be sufficient when compared to the alternative of mounting the engine from the side..

Good luck and some pics please when you can manage it!

Capown

iTrader: (5)

lose interest or are u still working on it??