jcochran

I'm gearing up to get a LS1 swap kit from you for my 944 Turbo, but I just don't have any confidence in the stock transaxle holding up for long against a heated up LS1. Rebuilding is a pain in the ***, buying used transaxles from Ebay is like living on borrowed time, and the "stronger" 944 transaxle ring and pinion sets I've found are unproven and expensive.

Have you guys considered selling an upside down G50 mount (like the ones found in some 928 GTS cars) or a conversion to another beefier transaxle for the LS1 kit you sell?

James

renegademike928

James,

the 944 trans axle configuration vs. the 928 is TOTALLY different, the 944 is more like the g50 where the trans has a bell housing and the diff is up in the front of the thrans. the 928 is way different, the diff is way in the back of the trans and does not have a conventional bell housing. the biggest down fall is the shifter, sure we have a kick butt side shift set up with a sweet cable shifter but the shifter would look like a palm tree planted in the middle of the console. the tunnel is shallow and the shifter is not, the OEM Porsche shifter would not work because it went thru the bell housing on the 944 trans and the trans itself is designed to have the shifter come out the top of the trans not the back. the shaft size is not the same so a coupler would not be fun to build, the axles are probably the easiest, but would run somewhere in the area of 800-1000 bucks. i said easy not cheap! so, as you can see, yes we have done the research here, let me know what you think.

next, what are you gonna do with the car, what kind of horsepower do you want to run, and what year is the car, turbo or not? let me know and i can help you, i know these cars very well! i have had a few. and built several.

jcochran

First, thanks for the verbose response. Much appreciated.

Next, I've got a '87 Turbo with plans to start with a mild (~320rwhp) LS1 and build it up as time goes on. I'm going to beat the hell out of it (hey, that's what project cars are for, right?) on race days, weekend cruises, and the occasional drag. I've already got the line on new A-arms, steering rack, and CVs, but the tranny concerns me the worst. I've been reading a ton from the Rennlist boards regarding tranny failure on higher powered 951's, and the recommended solutions are not encouraging - replace or rebuild. A band-aid solution in my book.

I've done some hunting, and I do know that there are a few old school 944 and 928 racers that have done custom mounts for upside down G50s transaxles in their cars. It's been a real bitch to find this info, as no one on the web has written this kind of work up and posted it. I've got a line on a local fella that might have the information I need on this tranny mount. If my lead pans out, I'm going to spread the good word (and mount plans) to the board as soon as possible. I figure if you guys had a better idea, like an alternative transaxle or really solid R&P sets, I'd just wait and order a kit from you. =)