martsink

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Today I finished on the chassis reinforcement plate that should be welded in to replace all the cut sheet metal. Renegade offers this plate for $135USD, but I suggest you just make it yourself. I picked up a 3/16" plate from a local metal market for around $15 CAD. There's really nothing to it. I also bought a can of weld thru primer, Spray Max 2k primer, and a seam sealer to protect it from the elements. I have a whole lot more info and pics on my blog.

martsink

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I've heard some bad stories regarding the stock rocker arm needle bearings, so I picked up a Comp Cams kit from Summit. The installation is pretty straightforward. The kit comes with two spacer washer so you don't crush the new bearings when pressing them in.

martsink

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I came across some red vinyl on eBay, so I thought I'd give it a try on the amber portion of the tail lights. I'm actually really happy with how good this looks for $10.

martsink

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Last week I made another trip to the border to pick up more parts. I really hope that this is the last one, because I'm going broke way too quick. I gotta give special thanks to Rennline and Corbeau Seats for hooking me up with amazing deals on their products.

martsink

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Hey guys! I haven't really had time to make detailed updates recently. We spent the last couple of weekends working on my friends 2005 E46 320. Dropped in a 330 engine and also changed one of his wheel bearings and an axle boot. In the process, we noticed that his rear subframe mounts are cracked, so this weekend we will be welding up the cracks and reinforcing the body. He also got a set of poly bushings to replace his old ones while we are at it.


The work on the Boxster is progressing nicely. The fuel lines and fuel regulator are installed, the brake vacuum line is hooked up, the stock throttle cable (from early Boxsters) is hooked up and working perfectly with no modifications, the harness is 90% finished, the alternator bracket is finished, the starter motor has been modified to fit. Next week I will be getting some parts to get the PCV valve installed, and hopefully the necessary parts to finish the intake and cooling systems.

martsink

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I got my hands on a nice AD244 145 Amp alternator at a local scrap yard which I was planning to use for this build. This is an alternator that came on some GM trucks in the early 2000s, and it's a very popular upgrade for the LS1 guys. I made a bracket for it to match the new harmonic balancer, but once I put the engine in, I realised that it wasn't going to work. The mounting bracket on this alternator is just not ideal for this build. It would take a lot of modification to the alternator body in order to make it work, which I wasn't really too keen on doing.


The original Porsche alternator on the other hand is a pretty easy fit. Renegade sells a bracket for around $140, but I think you can make one yourself in an afternoon with some scrap metal. The front bracket mates directly to the block and requires a spacer to align the pulley with the harmonic balancer (you will also need to file down the block in one spot where there is interference). The rear and the top brackets require a custom mount. Save yourself some trouble, and make the bracket while the engine is still out. Below are some pictures of what I made. These are not the finished product, I still need to buy proper bolts and give it a coat of paint.

martsink

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Renegade recommends using the Meziere water pump with their kit, but I decided to go with a local manufacturer called CVR. Their pumps are a little cheaper, but the build quality is still there. I've seen this pump used on other 911 swaps as well. The inlet/outlet orientation of this pump is not ideal for the Boxster, and given another chance, I'd probably go with the Meziere setup. I got an extra engine mount bracket with my Renegade kit (no surprises there...), which works out great as a pump mount. Below are some pictures of the bracket. Once I have the complete cooling system figured out, I will post more pictures of the pump location and hose routing.

martsink

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Many people will tell you that the stock throttle pedal/cable will not work for the V8 swap, but what most of these people don't know is that the early Boxsters came with a full cable setup (no drive by wire). I purchased mine from a 986Forum member with a pedal for $50. The cable length is great and the TB travel is spot on. Today I made a custom bracket to hold the cable in place. The clamp that comes with the wire can be attached to one of the intake manifold bolts to hold it in place. The end of the cable has a metal sleeve that flares out at the end towards the TB. I used small metal plate to wedge the flare to the bracket (you can see it below held by two stainless machine screws).

martsink

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The fuel system is pretty straightforward, just buy some reinforced fuel line and compression fittings. If you have an LS1 or LS6 fuel rail, you will also need a fuel pressure regulator/filter. The GM regulator mounts perfectly in the old location of the Porsche fuel filter. I cut the fuel lines just before the filter and used -6 AN compression fittings to transition to a flexible reinforced line.


BTW, if you decide to run truck ignition coils (which are better than LS1 ones), the fuel rail connection will not clear. You have to cut the tab that holds it to the rest of the fuel rail and bend it off to the side. I don’t have an up close picture, but it should be visible in the one below.

martsink

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I don’t have a hoist, so it was pretty difficult to snap good picture of the fuel system. Here is a basic diagram of how I did it. I decided not to run heater lines, since it will probably be hot enough in the car from the engine compartment. I do not plan to winter drive it.


This is a pretty simplified diagram. You will also need a tee on the vent line, to hook up the engine vapour lines. It was impossible to find a 0.5″x0.5″x0.25″ tee, so I just put one together from plumbing parts. BTW, if you are looking for hose fittings or connections, head over to JTR (Jaguars that run) website.


The line sizes are:

• Two big coolant lines running to radiators are about 1.5″
• The filler line is 0.75″
• The vent line is 0.5″
• Renegade fittings are 1.25″
• Thermostat housing is 1.25″

'
I suggest you get a reducing silicone sleeve on the main Porsche coolant lines (1.5″ to 1.25″), and then run the rest of the system in 1.25″. Make sure to stock up on unions and hose clamps. I think I used something like 30 clamps. Some 90 degree silicone or aluminum elbows will definitely come in handy.


So Renegade made this beautiful aluminum intake, yet they couldn’t make enough clearance for the timing cover bolts… The heads are already filed down in the picture below.

martsink

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The wiring on this project just doesn’t stop… The entire harness in the trunk had to be replaced. The previous owner was building a track car and cut half the stuff off. He even cut the ABS/speed sensor, which I don’t think he was supposed to. Thanks to Woody on the 986 forum I was able to pick one up for cheap. The engine harness was a bit of a pain to tear up since the Porsche diagrams are a huge pain in the butt to read. Most of the connection pins come out easily, but for some you need to make a special tool. BTW if you need any help with the wiring, just send me an email.

https://i.imgur.com/ztQ4L3y.jpg
I’m slowly making some progress cleaning up the wiring. I used a couple of no longer needed relays to power the GM PCM and the water pump.The LS1 PCM is massive and won’t fit on the firewall like the Porsche DME. I had a sheet of aluminum kicking around so I made a mount. I don’t have the latest picture of the wiring, but it is starting to look pretty clean.

martsink

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The shell came with no headlights, but luckily I was able to pick up a decent set for $150 CAD. The lenses were so bad though, that I decided to take them out altogether.


Somehow I didn’t notice that I purchased mismatched headlights until I put them on. One is painted silver, and one isn’t.

martsink

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Forgot to mention, I started the engine for the first time last Friday. Here's a short Instagram video. Sorry about the quality, we really weren't expecting it to start the first try.

https://instagram.com/p/6YWIQsASWc/?taken-by=porschelsx

Revolution909

Sweet, fired up nice and quick!!

martsink

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Starter Motor:

I picked up an $50 starter from a local scrap yard which came off a 2005 Silverado. The Kennedy Engineering adapter plate was designed around LS1 starter, so I had to make some modifications. The moulding in the dome is a little bigger I guess... I spent a good hour filing away, but eventually I got it to fit. The reason I got a truck starter over LS1 is because it's cheaper and I heard LS1 starters tend to crack.


Oil:

I didn't want to start the engine without priming it, so I purchased a drill pump at Princess Auto for $15. One end of the hose clamps onto the filter threads on the oil pan and the other into a jug of oil. This pump has no problems reaching 45 PSI. I stuck a gauge on my remote mount oil pressure switch hose (I will eventually post part numbers and pics for this part).

As for the tranny, I called Porsche about gear oil, which they quoted me at $55 a liter!!! I ended up purchasing some Swepco 201 which is manufactured locally, but surprisingly difficult to find.


Engine Cover:

The engine cover still fits, but it had to be cut a bit to make room for the throttlebody.




Rennline Floor Boards:

Rennline hooked me up with a wicked deal on their racing floor boards. I really didn't want to put carpet back in this car, so these things are great.


Corbeau Seats:

I also gotta thank Corbeau for hooking me up with a deal on these FX1 Pro seats and rails. My friend started working on the brackets the other day while I was making brake lines.


Cracked Rear Subframe:

I noticed a crack on the rear subframe side section where it mounts to the body. It seems like it was put together with a bent stud by the previous owner that caused it to crack. While taking it off, one of the lower control arm bolts got stuck inside the bushing and pretty much pulled it apart. This was a huge pain in the ***, but at least I got a sweet deal from Woody for the replacement.


Brakes:

Pretty much all the brakes lines are gone on this car. I tried making some hard lines out of the copper-nickel stuff, but had a hard time getting them to flare properly. I ended up buying some poly vinyl fluoride coated metal lines from NAPA. This stuff is great, they flare perfectly and are easy to bend. I would also recommend Lisle tube pliers if you plan on doing any kind of brake line work.

txcarbuilder

If you route the coolant flow from the heater connections through your expansion tank and set it up as a header/fill tank with pressure it will make getting the air out of your system much easier. The cooling system on LS engines works better if there is flow through the heater connections. This allows coolant to circulate through the engine before the thermostat opens. Also connect the steam lines to the top of the header tank.

martsink

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Thanks for the tip. I'll look into doing that.

martsink

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I had a bit of an accident that set me back a week or so, but I'm back on track now. Below I posted some recent car pics.

I bought some sheet aluminum for $20 and made a firewall cover. I wish I had fitted the seats first because there isn't enough leg room for me at the moment. I will have to add a bit of an angle to the cover in order to move the seats farther back. I mounted the hand brake housing just above the "tranny tunnel" just to simplify things. Putting it where Renegade does is a pain, and it requires twisting the wire a little more than I like.


I also got a new intake manifold due to some serious defects in the old one. A 1-3/8" freeze plug from Napa worked great to plug the EGR opening.


The car is 95% done at this point. I’m just waiting on a couple of intake parts and need to get the exhaust made. I am also looking to install a fire suppression system in the trunk.

The big things to do now is get insurance, safety, and emissions done.

Another quick video of it running https://instagram.com/p/7Qi5nigSR_/?taken-by=porschelsx

hayabusa

iTrader: (7)

How tall are you? How many inches of legroom did you loose from the engine cover?

martsink

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I'm 6'2 and it's driveable the way it is now, but I can easily get 1.5 to 2" more if I make slight modifications to the cover. It should be perfect for me then