I usually don't think twice about swaps but this one is perfect. I like the fact that the weight of the LS3 is very similar to the stock engine - makes the build even better. 80s Porsches are getting old and need a refresh with more power. Perfect daily and track car. I'm thinking of doing this myself and currently shopping for a 944 with no rust. Thanks for the video.
944s will seldom have rust because Porsche galvanized them and unless someone grinds through the galvanizing down to bare metal you shouldn't have any rust come up. You're going to need a turbo model because the transaxle is stronger, unless you can have a non-turbo trans built stronger or buy a beefy one.
@@manstersr I bought a 944 NA with a complete 951 swap. Everything was swapped by Porsche master tech - engine, trans, suspension, etc. So far the power is nice and focusing on restoring the paint, cleaning the engine bay and interior.
@@Oncewaslostbutnowimsaved I joined the Facebook group for 07K swaps, and bought a 1989 944 Turbo. Thanks, I'll look into it further if the time comes! :)
@ModuSublime I have 2 matching 1985 944s. Keeping 1 stock and using the other aa my parts car. Eventually I'm going to just strip everything down and have the parts on a shelf then I will use the rolling chassis one for a 07k swap
I owned a new 1986 944 Turbo and sold it to buy a new 1988 BMW E30 M3 - both were amazing cars and a joy to drive, but very different experiences. I drove the M3 for 28,000 miles and sold it for more than I paid for it, thought I was a genius as a result, and bought a 1989 944 Turbo S - it took everything I loved about the 1986 and turned it up to 11. What a privilege to have owned these legends and icons of the era. My daily driver now is a 2023 Tesla Model 3 Performance, and I have a 2013 Scion FR-S as a dedicated track car. Even at 56, I’m still a kid and car junkie at heart!
This is one crazy 944! Sounds raw and looks elegant at the same time, the sound of the engine is music to the ears, thank you for reviewing this beauty!
Had a 944 for my first car in high school! Such a fun car.. just recently picked up a 87 944 turbo a couple year back with only 98k original miles. I will have it to the end!
I've driven three 944's after doing timing belts on them. They are great cars stock, but as someone who knows them and the LS platform? This is golden. Which adapter kit did they use?
@@boywonderrr71 Yeah, that's where I first heard of it. I think I'd want one of the 914 conversions over the 944 if they had the same rust protection on the body.
I had a white on white ‘86 944 with factory Fuchs wheels back in the early 90’s. Selling it is one of my greatest automotive regrets. Everything you like about this car is what I liked about that one: balance, looks, gearing, handling, comfort, etc. hard to imagine with 500hp. I’d love to have that experience. Thanks for sharing!
This car looks like a whole pile of fun! Having owned and driven an 86’ 944 turbo I can fully appreciate the reliability and power of the LS. However, the balance and the way the power is delivered relative to the way the chassis acts with the 2.5 turbo is either a very well researched combination or a wonderful mistake. Many hours spent under the hood replacing onion skin gaskets, and strange oil/coolant heat exchangers but the end result was one of the best driving cars (in my opinion) I’ve ever driven. This includes many generations of M3’s, Supra’s, and an r34 Skyline. I don’t love the 2.5 turbo from a mechanical perspective but it does it’s job and does it very well. Call me boring but Porsche really did something exceptional with the Turbo 944! Nice review and nice swap.
The LSX is actually just lighter than the full 2.5 Turbo engine and it’s necessary components if I remember correctly, so balance really isn’t messed with much. People do these swaps for many reasons; far more reliable, far easier to maintain, far cheaper to maintain, parts are easier to find and cheaper and of course the weight being so similar
This model Porsche reminds me of an FC RX7. I have an LS3 but it doesn't sound as good as the one in this video. A fine example of a modified Porsche & excellent review👍🙂.
That engine fits and looks well in the bay. I spun a turbo on a roundabout in the 90's in the rain didnt hit a thing phew ! this is exactly what i would do with a 944 the chassis is suited to this set up .
Hey Glenn! Really enjoy your videos, I heard about your channel through Car Lifestyle podcast years ago haha. Yes! Thanks for the correction. It was poor wording on my part... 🤦 what I meant by that was the 924 came ahead of the 944, while the final version (5.4L) 928 was in production long after the 944 was gone.
Roads Untraveled thanks, ! That’s funny. I was on Ferretti’s podcast for 3 years but only on one Car Lifestyle podcast... I love your video I have been watching since I heard your name on the Everyday Driver podcast. Of course I like your E46 M3, E92 M3, Z3M, Z4M videos best. Your R8 V10 manual and Cayman video were great and this video has me shopping for LS Swapped cars. If your ever in the New Jersey area let me know and we can collaborate. Take care !
If you ever want to drive a modified '86 944 turbo in Guards Red (with the original motor) and see the difference between LS and I4 Turbo let me know, I'm in NorCal and would love for you to come take a drive!
@@jackkost967 where are u..’86 944T here too (but not guards red!), as u know weather is finally getting nice around here hoping to get in some nice drives
Great video, I have owned 86 944 turbo for 17 years and they are very special cars. Great balance, great looks, great power, comfortable and forgiving. I personally like the stock engine, but I am sure this is a hoot. Just an FYI, those seats were an option on 944s as well as 911s. They are the factory sport seats.
best wishes from a german 944 enthusiast! As I am the 1111th thumb up, i am pleased to leave a comment:-) By the way, I also have a 944 engine swap with 420hp and nearly 600Nm torque. My engine is an Audi 2.2 20V turbo engine, known for its reliability, great sound and the possibility to get even double the power out of it... but I also think that the 400+ hp already fits perfect without overloading the powertrain. It simply feels like this car was made for exact this class power. A V8 conversion with same power, more sound and no turbo lag would be even greater, but unfortunately nearly impossible to get legal on the road here.
This has been an elusive dream of mine and your video has just brought it to life in the most perfect way. It sucks that the prices for these porsches are now on the rise. I think this is maybe the best all around car you can have for the money.
Very awesome! I remember working as an apprentice mechanic at a VW/Porsche/Audi dealership back in/about 1986 and I did some work on the oil cooler of a Porsche 924S, I believe. Took it for a test drive and did about 90 in a 35mph zone. I would love one of these with the LS3 swap and I would take it any day over a Corvette especially with the trans in the rear and how well balanced that makes the vehicle. I drive a 2010 VW GTI today as my daily driver.
Fun video I’m a huge fan of the 944 I agree it’s just the ultimate chiseled muscular sleek look. Very nice to see/hear American power under that hood💪🏼
@Thor Odin son Okay, I thought you meant the VW. The 944 has a rear transaxle. I doubt there is room for a front transmision. Are you saying switch to a corvette rear end?
Looks better and sounds better than today's porsche cars. 1980s sports cars in general looked like spaceships. 1960s muscle cars were also amazing. Same goes for 1990s Japanese cars.
15:22 NO, NO, NO... no... The 928 came out in 1977 in Europe and 1978 for the US. The 924 ALSO came out in 1977. The 924 was originally a joint development with Volkswagen for a low-budget sports car, that ultimately lost out to the Scirocco. It used a 2L inline 4 from the VW Quantum. The 944 body was based on the 924 Turbo race cars. The first year 951 that you're driving gave way to the 944 S2 3.0L inline 4, that was later used in the 968. Porsche re-released the 924S that was a narrow body 944 in 1987, complete with 2.5L engine and NA transaxle, along with narrower wheels and tires.
when i was a kid i wanted a firebird, all the ones around me in my late teens were to trashed for high prices but since porsche snobs never saw the 944 as a true porsche i was able to afford one. i saw it as a scaled down firebird at first because of the beautiful big glass hatch, pop up head lights and overall proportions. now i love the car so when you said the ls and the 944 make a perfect german and american muscle car i couldnt agree more.
This was my favorite Porsche growing up. I now own a Boxster S with a blown motor that I'm planning to LS swap. This video helped give me reassurance that I'll be making the right decision :)
Kyle DF Yup! That’s the direction I plan to go. I’m not sure if I’m capable of doing it myself...I like to wrench a little here and there but my most involved project to date has been replacing a water pump and thermostat so I’m gonna have to work up to it 😅
I owned a 944 back in the 90s, and never liked the front bumper and always wanted to do the 951 Turbo front bumper swap. Now 2023 and I like the 944 NA bumper better than the Turbo bumper. Something about the NA bumper design makes the 944 look badass!
I’ve just bought a early Porsche 1982 944, achieving a dream goal of mine! Out of curiosity I wanted to see if people had swapped a V8 into one of these because I always thought it would be too small but wow I was wrong! Sounds absolutely magnificent and if I actually had funds I would so do this, being British I would probably fit the wonderful Rover 4.0 litre V8.
With the earlier 944s, you also have to change out the transaxle because it couldn't handle the power that the turbo transaxles could. So find yourself a turbo transaxle in the junkyard
I have one we built with a ~350 horse aluminum lc9 engine (LS) from a 944 N/A platform. Upgraded the front suspension to 996 Brembo brakes and drilled rotors. The thing eats even with the stock na rear transaxle. Suspension and brakes work beautifully. No complaints here my guy
@@cartermackenzie1135 still rolling! Drove some long trips to cars and coffee this fall probly put 500 or so miles on it last few months of the season this year before storing it.
Id be interested to see you take the 944 to a weigh station and get axle weights so that we can see how much the ls affected the weight distribution of the car. Car looks super clean and classy and sounds amazing by the way, Great Vid!
The 944 looks great and just about any color but black. The black contrast of the tires , the interior and the rubber rear spoiler against the outer color is one of the things that makes it look great.
88 Turbo S with minor tweaks is a 300 rear wheel hp car. Koni adjustable, ride height adjustable, 928 big black brakes and limited slip diff, 90% of the performance and you keep original value...Just saying. I love mine.
Though dreaming of a 944 LS3 swap, I respect your feelings. :-) I would never do that to a 911 though. There are certain things in life you do not do haha.
The driving experience between your car and a stock turbo is completely different, 250hp difference, coil overs/springs. It’s a whole different experience. Badass though. Great video.
To put it in perspective, this is a car that is lighter and with more power than a Lamborghini Countach or Ferrari Teatarossa of the same year. And having driven the 944 it is an amazing handling car that just needed a bit more hp
I like the original turbocharged M44/51 engine, idk why but everyone is LS swapping, it’s just so overdone. The turbo lag and stuff is what makes the car fun.
I personally like the US spec bumpers better idk why everyone hates on them. I think the big black rubber pads add a lot to the look, almost giving it a more rally feel without anything else being done to it. But to each their own I suppose. Proud owner of a US spec 944 🙏
944's have always been one of my favorite Porsches of all time. I would rather restomod a 944 than buy a new GT3 I enjoy the history and the build process over a out of the box car.
I had a 1988 Porsche 944, and it's the best car I ever owned. It was in Alpine white with black interior. Sadly I wrecked it before I could do an LS swap.
I just was at SEMA, and there was a 944 with an LS swap, racing on the circuit course. It might have even been this one! It was by far my favorite car on the course, and now I’m looking to buy one and build it haha
Ill say i LOVE my 944 LS swapped daily It is just as nice and clean as this beauty and i cannot wait to finisb the video on her because this just makes me wanna go drive her more!
@@user-fo2el6jm7n Sorry for such a late reply. mainly becasue cars are going up in value a already blown motor or missing motor find is preffered to start. Manual transmission only and lsd is best. AND IF YOUR DONT! upgrade them damn brakes your going to die.... TOO fast with too much power, with very skinny wheels, and anorexic brakes. These are a must ESPECIALLY IF you go manual brakes over hydro boost, power assisted, or other means. I build mine by hand spending only money on adapter, clutch, engine. and my total was under 4k. Friends I've build theirs for 7-44k depending on what they want. mine are bolt in optional power steering, A/C, heat, and all the bells and whistles work like cruise control like factory. Time and patience is the biggest factor. also not these so claimed "kits" suck. and suck bad 944's being this old flex and settle. of the dozen or so I have made ever frame rail was a little different in its buldge or flex. This makes parts like the headers, heads, brakes and other things some times a pain in the butt to fit unless you tailoring these to EACH car by hand. Simple things like the intake routing isn't the same car to car as oddly enough as one of my personal cars I built a plastic elbow that fits PERFECT. on my other 944 it wouldn't fit if I cut it in half.... and no idea why. VERY quirky cars.
@@alorrick7546 thats awesome man. thanks for taking the time comment and share! Amen on the brakes lol They seem like a rewarding and unique project if you invest in one. Might have to try before the end of the gasoline era!
Shut the front door damn it. I haave one of these weathered but, for the most part rust free in the midwest. lots of videos about this machine "which I love the stance" now comes this video explaining the swap. Good job fellas. Now i know whatta gotta do....yeah.
These cars have a huge cult following and a racing heritage, this would be considered an Outlaw Porsche, by the enthusiasts. Great Video and Sound, I would research a little more next time, so your Technical information is a little more on point for the Purists and 944 Fans. 924/944/968: 4 Cylinders 928: 8 Cylinders
Only bad thing is that monster engine is mated to a dicey rear drive train, bad clutch, propshaft, and a dicey transaxel. Hope you beefed it up or you will be snapping parts back there. fjb
I have an '88 Turbo and wish I could drive it more but don't want to put the miles on it (at 77k at this point) and don't want to have to change the timing belt all the time. I want one of these LS conversions but not with my car, it's value is too high as it is stock. It's a fairly rare color, Nautic Metalic (dark blue metallic). But I'd love to have the HP the LS puts out (twice my turbo) and no more timing belt. Maybe I should just buy a Vette but I like the sleeper qualities of the 944 with a LS. I used to drive a 19 VW bug that I built a hot rod engine for and used to love it when I'd surprise Trans Ams or Camaros on the street or at the drag strip. I'm not saying I was blowing them away but I damn sure kept up with them. 944s are known for their 50/50 weight distribution and handling due to that and the super rigid chassis. I've heard the LS is actually lighter than the 944 turbo engine but I'm not sure how because the 944 engine is all aluminum 4 cyl. First car I could jack up one corner of and the door would still close properly.
Doing an engine swap with this car is not all that different than having a Pantera that's an Italian bodied car with a Ford engine. This is a fit to me that makes sense. I've always loved this particular body style.
I love this build, always loved the 944 turbo and i just sounds perfect now with that LS in it.And yeah i wanted to say that the suspension setup is to soft especially in the front,you can see it hopping while it's driving around.Seems dangerous at high speeds, like trow you off the road dangerous.But i love to own a '86 turbo one day since i am born in '86, would be perfect.😉👍✌️👉 PS: purism is the most ridiculous thing there is, IT IS CAPITALISM IN DISGUISE.It's a rich fools idea so these old cars go for ridiculous amounts of money. And what they say that it needs it's original parts to be pure and that modification is blasphemous is BS.Porsche themselfs from the factory modified they own cars for R&D and for racing ally. How do you think that it is possible that the gt3's and gt2's exist today??? Well guess what it's a factory modified 911 carrera2. And without all those years of modifying their own cars, porsche was able to create streetable trackcars.Without the MODIFICATION and the ''IMPURITY'' porsche did to their own cars, a 911 today would still have been a stretched out VW beetle grocery getter.So purists count your money and shut the fuck up,and drive your cars that are meant to be driven instead of keeping them in a climate controlled tent for when the time is right to sell it.Now that is IMPURE because cars are meant to be driven, and porsches by all means are meant to be driven hard.
Purists are like capitalists? You have no clue what you're taking about. Capitalism is the free market fueled by entrepreneurs, as in mod your car however you want...
944 Turbo, A.K.A. Porsche 951. Selling my pre face-lift 944 was one of the saddest days of my life. Back then, only a few questionable swaps of the super heavy, cast iron LT1 existed. Most of the time, it was better to just upgrade the factory turbo engine and preserve those amazing (perfect?) handling characteristics. I dreamed of an LS swap back then (especially after later owning an LS1 Trans Am.) The I-4 2.5L non turbo 944 was basically the 928's V8 cut in half and stuck under the hood, and was far from special, meh power wise, and expensive (in the U.S. at least) to maintain. The turbo was much better, but also difficult and expensive to upgrade. An LS swap would probably make it the ultimate "analog" sports car. Swapping The LS into this car isn't blasphemy, it's realizing the true potential of an otherwise epic vehicle. When the 924 came out, Porsche purists scoffed at the idea of a liquid cooled, front mounted engine "sports car " tarnishing the legacy of such a prestigious automaker. Little did they know that this "poor man's Porsche" and it's future iterations would save the company from going broke in the 1980's. After all, the LS is just another fuel injected, liquid cooled front mount engine, with better aftermarket/tuning support, parts availibity and reliability right? On a side rant, LS swapping the RX-7 is blasphemy! The Wankel engine is integral to the identity, purpose, intent, and history of that vehicle. If you want a perfectly balanced LS sports car, leave Mazda alone. The 944/951 is the proper choice. That being said, it is a goal to one day have both cars again [I also had a 1988 FC (2nd saddest day was selling it)]. Anyways great video and thanks for revealing that my dreams can now come true.
