Hey I just have a bunch of random questions about what i can and cant do to my 1984 944... Im looking For a donor 944 turbo to do an engine swap/steal the parts.. Im wondering about certain parts and how easy it is to swap them.. Ive been wanting to change the front bumper and lip to the turbo nose, is this a bolt on bolt off process or do they differ much? Same question with the 924 nose part between the lights? The rear ero part from the turbo? My other question is do any of these cars have a volt gauge that I could use in place of my clock? I know how to do all these things I am just not extremely knowledgeable about my car quite yet. Thanks fir the help. In new to the forum and more questions will follow lol.

 

Well since nobody has replied yet il ask a couple more questions, does anybody have any input on good short shift kits and clutch kits? Is the e-brake front only? please answer any question you night know. Thanks

 

Well to do the turbo nose you will need the entire front end off the turbo. Header panel, headlight covers, fenders, bumper cover, aluminum bumper support, etc. Then it will bolt on, lol.

Short shift kit: At the transaxle end you can use the Schnell SSK, and at the shifter end you can use the kokeln shift handle....will need a different **** though.

Ebrake is rear only.

Clutch kit.....stock is fine.

 

The problem with doing a turbo swap on them is you'll need to swap everything down to the DME. It makes a lot more sense to sell it and get a 944 turbo and then upgrade it from there. You can snag a 944 turbo project that needs very little work for about $5k maybe a little more. A pristine one will set you back.

To truly answer it, yes, you can do a swap, you can find a donor car. It would require a lot of work to do it. Starting with a 944 turbo is more cost efficient and time efficient longterm and short term.

There are no volt gauges on the 944, however, the 924 has a voltage gauge, I may have a spare if you're looking to buy one.

The shifters are already pretty short, it's the linkage that sucks. You can look around, rennshift may make shifters for them, but I think they work more around 914 and 911 models. Not sure what you mean about e-brake being front? The e-brake works inner drum style brakes that sit behind the rotor of the rear disc brakes.

As to clutch kits, check pelicanparts.com - there are plenty of options available. You need only open your pocket book

A few questions:

- What are the goals? You are inquiring about a lot of performance mods, but the style of driving will have a lot to do with it.
- What's the budget?
- Do you plan on reselling the car in the future?

 

Hey guys for the input, to answer your question I just want to make a good car better. Im not the kind of guy that thinks I can Just bolt on a turbo either. I am asking these questions because I haven't found a forum or any info that talks about my car in enough detail. I want an idea of what parts it shares with the turbo model and what will be possible with my car. Everybody tells me to just buy a turbo car but with the deal i got on my car and the shape it is in with only 60k miles I dont really want to sell it.. The engine has all forged internals with the exception of pistons so turboing it won't be all that hard internally.

About the budget, I don't really have one I'm just going one piece at a time..

And about that volt gauge you have, silly question but what color is it? Mine are black and yellow and I kinda want a match lol..

Seriously, thanks for all the help!

 

Most the parts on the 944 series are directly swappable with other years. If yours is an early gen, however, the suspension will be slightly different. However, a lot of the other parts are interchangeable.

The thing to remember is that with an early year the DME is entirely different than the later year models, therefore to upgrade a part of the car with a different engine, or setup, will require the DME of that car. The later model DME models had performance chips you could also upgrade with. Early models did not.

If indeed it's in very good original condition, I'd almost say worth keeping. If it were a project and you just wanted it to make it stinking fast, well, strip it down the the bones (they have PLENTY of weight to be removed) and you'll notice the horsepower that is there far more.

If you're intent on a turbo go for it. I've never turbo'd an N/A motor so I'm not sure what sort of strain will put on it (even with the upgrades you've listed). The turbo platform is just a neat platform how they put it together and would require little effort to go even faster. They're also a totally different monster.

Here's a picture of the OEM gauge.


Also highly recommend 944online - they have a lot of parts for all cars and a forum with sections dedicated to each make and model of 944 for people to ask technical q's on them. If you call them for parts, ask for Ian or Jamie, they are amazing when it comes to the 944.

 

Awesome thanks a ton! I'll look at that site. I like the gauge, not a perfect match but it might look good, ill let you know.

 

If you end on there tell'em CorsePerVita sent ya

 

The 944 community is bigger over at rennlist. The ultimate 944 site (though the forum is slow) is clarks-garage. His shop manual will walk you through most jobs. The 944 forum at pelican is also fairly big.

 

ah forgot about those ones