LS V8 swap into a Boxster S

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by outsidetheboxster

And once again I forgot to say I'm planning the GM LS swap of some sort. Thinking a 5.3 with a cam but this is my first venture into LS territory. Suggestions for a guy with a limited-ish budget?

Don't bastardize the best driving car ever made, Improve it with my 300 HP 2001 Boxster 3.6Lengine to maintain the benefit of Porsche engineering & resale value.

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by piper6909

That's a tough one. the tricky part is getting the cleaning solution to go up into the heater core since it's relatively high compared to the rads.

One thought, and it's just theoretical, is to jack up the back of the car, so the ends of the hoses are higher than the heater core. Or close to it. Then get a submersible pump from Harbor Freight, put it in a 5-gallon bucket or bigger filled with your cleaning solution. Connect the output from the pump to one of the rad hoses, and run a hose from the other rad hose back into the bucket. turn it on and let it circulate for a while. In theory that should work.

Now, what kind of solution to use?

Good luck!

Hey Pipe!

Shout. The stain remover. I've been following the 2 vids on utoob. Guy bought a car with coolant/oil mixture... and he used up 2 jigs of the stuff, and mixed with water. The engine was in... car running. Granted, it's a 911... same concept.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JcjbYPHgjw

That's the first vid.

I like your idea... rear end raised. If you can... try to get everything sealed up so the water has a little pressure. The guy on the video did around 2-3 flushes with the Shout/water mix... then flushed it garden hose a couple of times until it ran clear... then a flush with distilled water.

The challenge I see is the heater core... for it may be closed because the water temp will be cold... tepid. Unless you can get around that... you'll have a little residual coolant in the system. Very small given the 6 gallons they hold.

Good luck!

[outsidetheboxster]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Don't bastardize the best driving car ever made, Improve it with my 300 HP 2001 Boxster 3.6Lengine to maintain the benefit of Porsche engineering & resale value.

Good thought, but too late!
I bought a 6.0 from an Escalade this morning. 345 HP factory. Same engine they put into the Silverado SS.
Adapter on order as of yesterday. Need to source an oil pan, intake manifold, stand-alone ECU, and a bunch of brackets to make. See? Piece of cake!

[outsidetheboxster]

Hey All. Happy Friday to you!

I appreciate the post about cleaning the passages of oil/antifreeze scum. Going to give that a shot this weekend if I can rig up a pump. I'll likely use Castrol Super Clean as that works EXTREMELY well and has become my go-to product for nasty situations.

I have an engine adapter and clutch parts on order from Eric at kitcarchassis.com. They don't list a kit on their site, but they do have one available. And the price was extremely reasonable and it includes a clutch set up. He said 2 to 3 weeks out and it's been a week, so hang in there and I'll post pics. Super guy to work with so far!

I am most likely going to build my own engine and trans mounting brackets at this point as the source in Vegas is simply too expensive for the few pieces I need. I appreciate all of their hard work on the prototype pieces and they need to make money to stay in business, but I'm pretty sure I can create something that will work.

I'm bad with specifics off the top of my head but will post sources for the best bang-for-your-buck pieces as I find and utilize them. I don't want to post info about a find only to later find out it won't work.

Stay tuned!

[Racer Boy]

Keep us up to date, please!

[outsidetheboxster]

So I got a little creative today and got past my fear of making that huge V-8 fit. I just could not envision all of that actually working out, so I made a fake engine block out of plywood so I could maneuver it into place without fear of life and limb. I priced mock up blocks and they didn't exactly fit my budget I wanted to spend. As I said, spend smartly. That's my new motto!

Pics don't do it justice but what I did was hold cardboard against the bellhousing end, hit around the perimeter with a rubber mallet to trace the outline. I then transferred that to plywood and got to work on the rest.

I wound up with a block (without oil pan), removable heads (including enough height to include the coils), a fake round crank pulley shape of the correct depth and diameter (cardboard and packing tape) and it was light enough to set in place and move around with temporary props to hold it in place. Seems simple enough but kinda a pain to build.

The result of a few hours work is beyond cool and very much a relief! I believe the engine will fit without nearly as much cutting as some folks suggest so long as I can find a front crank pulley for either a Corvette, CTS-V, or a G8. Anyone have something laying around their shop they will part with?

I did find out the son of a guy I buy electrical parts from has an oil pan that may work they need to unload due to job loss. He was going to use it in a 350-Z LS conversion.

I'll see about flushing the cooling passages tomorrow and let you know how that goes.

Talk to you tomorrow!

[xoo00oox]

Really cool project! I happy to watch from the sidelines. I replaced my 2.5 with a 1.8t and and thrilled with it. keep the updates coming.

Andrew-

[outsidetheboxster]

Flushing the water passages and radiators clean and free of milkshake residue went pretty well.

Used a 30 gallon drum, a submersible pump with a 2" outlet, a second pump with a hose bib fitting for the heater core and lines, a 25' garden hose, several pipe clamps of various sizes, electrical tape, and of course duct tape! (actually Gorilla tape, incredible stuff and highly recommended for your tool boxes just in case)

Added Super Clean to HOT water and turned the pumps on. Then shut them off and tightened the clamps and moved the drum to catch most of the mess. THEN was able to re-start the pumps and fill everything with solution without it spraying all over the place. Shut the pumps off to allow things to loosen up and gave it about 10 minutes to soak, repeat. Eventually got clear water coming out. :dance:

Next step was connect the trusty shop vac and let it run until everything was sucked dry. My shop is only heated as needed and we are supposed to be below freezing and possibly have the first snow of the season this weekend. Don't want to lose anything to solid water. Porsche parts are expensive!

Got on eBay and ordered a Davies Craig 8650 remote water pump kit for an LS, with a 150LPH pump and controller. And now another 2 week wait for that from Australia.

No huge news other than finding the remote pump kit. I'll let you know how that hooks up and include pics. Expecting the adapter plate and flywheel soon so you may see that and test fitting to the engine bay first. I get to see the oil pan tomorrow. Wish me luck!

[Racer Boy]

Does your Escalade mill have an aluminum block? Do you know what the weight is compared to the stock engine?

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by outsidetheboxster

Flushing the water passages and radiators clean and free of milkshake residue went pretty well.

Used a 30 gallon drum, a submersible pump with a 2" outlet, a second pump with a hose bib fitting for the heater core and lines, a 25' garden hose, several pipe clamps of various sizes, electrical tape, and of course duct tape! (actually Gorilla tape, incredible stuff and highly recommended for your tool boxes just in case)

Added Super Clean to HOT water and turned the pumps on. Then shut them off and tightened the clamps and moved the drum to catch most of the mess. THEN was able to re-start the pumps and fill everything with solution without it spraying all over the place. Shut the pumps off to allow things to loosen up and gave it about 10 minutes to soak, repeat. Eventually got clear water coming out. :dance:

Next step was connect the trusty shop vac and let it run until everything was sucked dry. My shop is only heated as needed and we are supposed to be below freezing and possibly have the first snow of the season this weekend. Don't want to lose anything to solid water. Porsche parts are expensive!

Got on eBay and ordered a Davies Craig 8650 remote water pump kit for an LS, with a 150LPH pump and controller. And now another 2 week wait for that from Australia.

No huge news other than finding the remote pump kit. I'll let you know how that hooks up and include pics. Expecting the adapter plate and flywheel soon so you may see that and test fitting to the engine bay first. I get to see the oil pan tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Awesome! Glad the submersible pump idea worked!

Looking forward to reading more as you progress!

[outsidetheboxster]

Originally Posted by Racer Boy

Does your Escalade mill have an aluminum block? Do you know what the weight is compared to the stock engine?

New engine is cast iron block with aluminum heads.

I read (somewhere) that the aluminum block engine is 50 pounds lighter than the 3.2, and the iron block is 50 pounds heavier than the 3.2. All depends on accessories and such of course.

As I'm going to have 345 horsepower instead of 250 I feel I'm going in the right direction regardless of a few added pounds.

[Quadcammer]

trouble is the steel engine cradle you need to make up will likely add a good chunk of weight as well.

agree with 345hp and way more torque, it will be less of an issue.

[SMK Shoe]

I remember back in the day ( late 90's), a company that made fake, complete engines out of plastic which weighted about 75 lbs and had everything. Alt, water pump, A/C. So someone modding up something not stock could build brackets and motor mounts with a fake engine. Just wish I could remember the name. Might be worth a little research.

[SMK Shoe]

P-Ayr Products Replica Long Block Engines 2046

Summit racing has a variety of the engine blocks. Little pricey but reusable so might be a benefit

[SMK Shoe]

Serious question tho, Would a smaller engine be easier to make fit. Like a built V6. Been a lot of years since I played with engine building.

[outsidetheboxster]

Originally Posted by SMK Shoe

Serious question tho, Would a smaller engine be easier to make fit. Like a built V6. Been a lot of years since I played with engine building.

It absolutely would be easier to make a V-6 fit length wise. I looked into it a bit and could not come up with an example with a low enough intake to clear the engine top cover. The LS has a very short overall height measurement so making a few choice mod cuts into the front engine firewall seems easier than giving up on being able to lower the top. And the LS is the new "small block Chevy fits all solution". Lots of aftermarket stuff coming out for it to make it user friendly.

I have seen mockup blocks before but not for the LS. The one I built seems to be close enough for scale and was all scrap wood I had in stock. There seems to be plenty of room for the engine in the bay. Once I get the adapter and bolt the block and trans together I can get it hung in place and go to town on fabricating mounts. I have a few good ideas in mind but they really depend on the final location.

The issues I can see coming are placement for the alternator and optional A/C pump, and routing the coolant lines. Might see about a shaft with pulleys on both ends driven off the crank pulley with a belt, and move accessories to the back end of the engine space. Might being the key word. Again it all depends on available space and engine placement.

Looking at stand alone ECM's this morning. Anyone have experience with Fitech products?

[Cosmo Kramer]

Theres a guy on Rennlist putting a Honda K24 turbo into a 997S (ya I know, crazy)!! He said it fits with tons of room and can be tuned to 500 hp easily. I personally thought a Boxster would be a much better platform for this.

Heres the thread.

https://rennlist.com/forums/rennlist-canada/1157940-turbo-honda-k-series-swap-into-my-porsche.html

[Racer Boy]

That Honda swap is pretty neat, and it does make a lot of sense. The Cadillac V6 mentioned in that thread also sounds like a good swap candidate.

[outsidetheboxster]

Hi Guys

I was able to purchase the used oil pan. Sheet metal, no name brand or numbers, about 5" deep with remote oil filter mount and lines included. $200 and helped out a friend so all in all a good deal.

Also ordered and received (yay amazon!) a crank pulley for a front drive LS4. Super narrow and only a single flat belt drive. That will save a bunch of space and therefore cutting, I think.....

Still looking for a car type LS intake manifold, and looking at stand alone ECM's. So much to choose from with options all over the board.

Met Sam last week and he knows some guys opening a dyno shop that are LS savvy and may have parts or good sources at least. He is busy now soaking up info from my Bentleys manual. Lots of good info in there to go along with the 101 Projects bible.

Had a buddy refer to the project car as the Frankenboxster. Kinda like that but WAY too long for a license plate where you only get 7 characters. Actually looking for ideas how to create a red letter "L" to go in the trunk letters so it reads Boxster L S. Ideas on that?

[outsidetheboxster]

I got my coolant pump set-up from Davies Craig out of Australia. Very nice machining and seems fairly straight forward but lots of control items to sort out if I'm using that controller and the factory ECM and the stand alone ECM. They all need to be able to run the cooling fans. Gotta make them all talk nice to each other.

Still researching ECM's. And intakes. Will likely need to convert to a cable operated throttle. Too many options but leaning heavily toward the Fitech unit.

The adapter from kitcarchassis.com is taking longer than anticipated but they had issues with their machinery. Stuff happens! Should be on the way this week. Fingers crossed.

Once I get the adapter I can bolt everything together including the balancer pulley and get going on mounts and clearance issues.

And now, back to the show!