Quote:
Originally Posted by Homeboy981
Show us the way….and watch us beat a path to your door!
Good stuff!
Awesome welds BTW. Never seen anything that precise outside of aviation.
You do really good work, but can I'm asking, "Can I afford it?" I know you said you were not ready to sell the Audi V-8 as a kit vs. the Subie kit (from your race car)….BUT can you HELP those of us who have blown Porsche engines? Seems a shame to scrap a perfect car, aside from the engine.
There HAS to be a less expensive alternative than spending $10-12 grand for a Chevy LS/LT conversion by Renegade or a Raby rebuild - so us "regular guys" can afford it.
Has anyone seen a Honda engine in a Boxster? There are tuners for those engines pushing 800HP for less than $10k. Was looking to spend around $6k myself. Could sell my engine (and a kidney) on ebay for a couple grand and only be out labor and $4k or so.
Would you be able sell the "old" Subie as a kit kcpaz?
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The truth about QUALITY engine conversions is that no matter what engine you use (Subaru, LSx, or Audi V8) it's not going to be cheap. Just yesterday I was going through some of the invoices from customers in the past where we did engine conversions for. I just don't see how you could do a conversion for less than $10-$12 in parts, and that's not including the cost of the engine. There is just too many details that need to be factored in that most people don't even think about. Simply mounting the engine and transaxle in the chassis is the easy part. There are so many other systems that need to be integrated and need to be modified to work properly. It's not like the old days of small block Chevy's where all you had to do is bolt the engine in, run a fuel line to a carb, hook up an ignition box and a throttle cable and go on your way. There is a lot more to it than that. Here's just a quick run-down of things that you would need to address in a Subaru conversion...
- Subaru turbo engine
- Engine adapter kit
- Clutch
- Engine cradle
- Motor mounts
- Headers
- Post-turbo exhaust system
- Complete engine management system for Subaru sie of things
- Turbo scavange pump
- Complete intercooler system (air-to-water system means adding a third radiator up front on the non-S cars)
- Speed sensor kit for Subaru ECU (bolts to CV joint)
- Plumbing for fuel system
- Plumbing lines (hard lines) for coolant line adaptation to chassis
- RPM signal modifier for tachometer
- DBW throttle pedal kit (if Subaru engine is drive-by-wire
- Turbo charger (the Subaru turbo won't work in the Boxster chassis very well at all
- Plumbing for the turbo charger
- Custom A/C compressor lines
- Custom power steering lines
- Modified brake booster reference line
These are just the items I can think of off the top of my head.
The point is, it's not as simple as most people think. Having said that, I still think that the conversion is worth it to the right person, in the right circumstance. If you are someone who is in love with the Boxster chassis (and I think that most people on this forum are), and you are interested in owning your car for a decent period of time (longer than a year), then I think in the long run, the conversion makes sense, especially if you find yourself in the position of owning a car that blew it's engine. If you're a Boxster owner who is looking to make more than 300HP at the rear wheels, and also meet the criteria above, then I think you may be a good canidate for an engine conversion. If you purchase a car with a blown engine solely for the purpose of doing an engine conversion, then I think you are the right person for this sort of conversion.
On the flip side, if you aren't willing to spend at least $12K in parts to improve whatever it is that you don't like about your current Boxster, and your car runs and drives perfectly fine, then an engine conversion is not for you. If you're a "tinkerer" who thinks that an engine conversion sounds like a fun weekend project, then an engine conversion is probably not right for you.
Personally, I LOVE the Boxster chassis, and they are a blast to drive. I don't however, have any love whatsoever for the M96 engine. I think the Boxsters could have become greater than they were had they not been cursed with such a problematic engine. An engine, that never really made impressive horsepower on top of all of it's other flaws. Once the early cars started becoming available for around $3000 with blown engines, I knew the time was right to start developing an alternative to simply scrapping the cars out, or spending way too much to replace the blown engine. The cars are too good to simply write them off as a loss because the engine are an issue.