The V8 Owners Forum -

I just managed to find a Manual SD1 V8 for my Porsche 944 conversion, it has the flywheel and clutch, which I think was a bonus..

Last time I was involved with these engines, it was to fit one into an MGB, and the way to keep it short was to fit the P5 / P6 water pump and crank pulley.

Since then the serpentine engines have come and gone, can a serpentine front cover etc. be retro fitted to the SD1 block & crank? if so does it reduce the overall length of the engine? I'm not worried about the distributor I'll use a 36:1 trigger, but how is the oil pump driven?

Cheers.
Pete.

Why go from the standard 944 engine for a RV8 3.5. With equivalent level of tune the 944 engine is more powerful (less torque) and has lots of scope for improvement.

Just curious.

I agree the 944 engine isn't bad, and mine is pretty good, but has some bore and ring wear, I fitted new rings, and whilst its a little better it still smokes a bit, the Alusil bores are extremely expensive to recover, steel liners usually, then special pistons...............

Now the real reason, I like the look of the 944, and I like the sound and feel of a V8.

The conversion has been done before, so I thought why not have a go...

Later engines have a crank driven oil pump. It might be cheaper in the end to source a complete serpentine unit than mess around converting an earlier one - especially as you haven't fitted it yet.

You're probably right Dave, I paid little more than flywheel / Clutch assys are changing hands for so nothing lost really.

I'll measure up the P5 route first, I'm sure I've seen some short hot rod water pumps too.......

I have a 924 with an RV8 conversion and a standard 944. So I can talk you through some of the challenges you might face. I'll precursor this though with the fact that I didnt do the engine conversion but can clearly see and understand what was done to do it.

First up here's some pics of the 924 engine bay with the RV8 installed

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144556909 ... res/DwE6Uo

Overall the engine fits well and in some respects there is actually more room around the engine. But, you will have to relocate some stuff. Primarily the brake booster, there is no way of fitting the engine without moving it which will probably require an aftermarket booster and rerouting of brake pipes / lines. Pop up headlight mechanism and motor might also cause a headache, my 924 has had the fixed light conversion hence extra space at the font of the bay. The 944 radiator is probably not going to cut it either, I believe the one fitted to mine is custom made triple core with end chambers made to fit standard SDi hoses.

In terms of actually locating the engine in the bay you will need some custom engine mounts (will try to get a pic for you when I'm next under the car). You will also need to modify / get custom made oil pan to get the clearance for the cross member. Headers might need to be custom as well in order to accommodate the steering shaft.

Will you be going Carb or EFi? As you can see my engine has Edelbrock 4 barrel carb (CFM 500) and the smallest performance air cleaner I could find, even still the bonnet needed cut and a scoop added to accomodate the height. It does look pretty cool though.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/144556909 ... res/0V4d59

Clutch and front bell-housing, I believe the bell housing on mine was custom made and uses the rv8 clutch setup with clutch cable, not the Porsche hydraulic system. The rest of the drive train will be fine.

This could be quit a seriously involved project for you. The rv8 works well in the platform, and sounds great, and creates quite a lot of interest. But, if you are seriously thinking of going down this route then you should consider starting off with a more modern larger capacity rv8 so that you end up with more bhp and torque and therefor bigger grins
at the end of all the pain and headaches.

If you are having to do this on a fairly tight budget other options might be Audi/VW 1.8 20v turbo which can easily be tuned to 250bhp on standard components. Or, upgrading to 944 S2 engine. Or simple get another 944 2.5 engine which are still going for peanuts right now ~£400 spend a bit on it in terms of belts, seals, waterpump, head skim and gasket ect, get a promax chip, linear throttle cam, and performance air filter and enjoy.

The Range Rover P38 engine is the shortest engine. I can't remember if you can fit the crank driven oil pump to the earlier engine as they altered the front of the crankshaft a bit.

Chris.

Thanks for the advice chaps.
Prophead that does look really cool, thank you for taking the time to do that write up, its most useful and motivating.

I was thinking of a gm180 bellhousing and concentric slave, maybe Saab, they seem common place in kit cars,
Id hope I can get one for a fraction of the lt77 housing prices.

Not sure on efi or Holley yet, I just efi'd a 4.2 E Type with bits of xj6 skyline and imprezza, I might mod a manifold for port injection and a central 4 barrel throttle body...

Its sill replacement this weekend though...

r1_pete wrote:Thanks for the advice chaps.
Prophead that does look really cool, thank you for taking the time to do that write up, its most useful and motivating.

I was thinking of a gm180 bellhousing and concentric slave, maybe Saab, they seem common place in kit cars,
Id hope I can get one for a fraction of the lt77 housing prices.

Not sure on efi or Holley yet, I just efi'd a 4.2 E Type with bits of xj6 skyline and imprezza, I might mod a manifold for port injection and a central 4 barrel throttle body...

Its sill replacement this weekend though...

No bother at all mate. Sounds like you have a fair bit of experience with this sort of thing. If you want to know anymore details pm me or ask on here. Good luck with the sills! I just learn to weld!