My 944 1uz-fe V8 swap
- Thread starter Eldavo
- Start date
Hi chaps, my name is Paul, i was asked on the FB group to post my project here, so hopefully some of you will find it informative or even mildly entertaining, we shall see!
I have been in the motor trade all my life and for the last 10+ years have been running a successful Toyota Mr2 engine conversion garage www.woodsport.org , i've carried out literally
hundreds of Toyota and Lexus based engine conversions in my time, and even dabbled with the Lotus Elise installing a Camry V6 into that.
Anyway i digress, i have owned my 944 for several years, she is a basic 2.5 NA and i really enoyed it until this happened.... a bus decided to not want to take a corner properly, locked up and took me clean out.
So she has been off the road for 18 months now while i fight this company to admit wrong doing.
Recently i have had the urge to bring her back to her former glory and beyond, being an engine conversion specialist means i have all the tools and equipment (and a fair whack of knowledge) to make just about any engine
swap a reality, so it made sense to me to put a V8 in.
Now i have spent over a year researching and even parts buying, originally the plan was to use the Audi S8 motor, the AHC variant, in keeping with the Porsche heritage, i bought an engine, a 924 bellhosuing and an Audi V6
spacer plate to go between the 924 and AHC engine. We had even got as far as designing a new lower sump pan.
The 924 BH on the AHC, you can see it only picked up on 3 bolt holes...
Using the V6 spacer it gave a lot more attachment points....
Working with a friend of mine in the US we quickly discovered how insanely big the AHC is in the 944 bay....
We did get it sitting pretty....
But with serious sump pan and oil pump clearance issues to the rack....
We did a new oil pan in solidworks....
From there things went downhill, other stuff proved to be so difficult to get around we binned the Audi V8 route. So as you can see we've given this some serious thought.
I found a few threads showing a guy had already put a 1uz into a 944, and began researching that route, the 1uz is a monster and can be tuned to silly levels with bombproof internals.
Last week i bought a complete 1uz and an adapter plate from XSchop in the US to mate it all to the 944 torque tube...
This uses the T56 clutch slave....
I will be using a modified Camry Fidanza flywheel with its ring gear reversed and an Mr2 turbo clutch pressure plate, an Audi V6 240mm 23 spline disc completes the drivetrain.
The car itself has had its 2.5 removed, bay gutted, cleaned and ready for hotwork.
Ok so as part of this swap the 944 brake servo gets in the way, and has to go, now some 944 V8 swappers just mount their master cylinder unassisted onto the firewall as a solution, but i want assisted brakes on this thing.
After a few hours research i found i can use the BMW 635 hydroboost system, it basically uses the power steering pump supply to aid braking, quite clever.
So that is it bang up to date, i will update as i go. I realize putting a jap engine into a 944 may not be everyones cup of tea, but i yearn for a V8 944 and for me the 928 engine is just too heavy and expensive, so hopefully i won't piss
too many purists off with my build, thanks for having me.
I have been in the motor trade all my life and for the last 10+ years have been running a successful Toyota Mr2 engine conversion garage www.woodsport.org , i've carried out literally
hundreds of Toyota and Lexus based engine conversions in my time, and even dabbled with the Lotus Elise installing a Camry V6 into that.
Anyway i digress, i have owned my 944 for several years, she is a basic 2.5 NA and i really enoyed it until this happened.... a bus decided to not want to take a corner properly, locked up and took me clean out.
So she has been off the road for 18 months now while i fight this company to admit wrong doing.
Recently i have had the urge to bring her back to her former glory and beyond, being an engine conversion specialist means i have all the tools and equipment (and a fair whack of knowledge) to make just about any engine
swap a reality, so it made sense to me to put a V8 in.
Now i have spent over a year researching and even parts buying, originally the plan was to use the Audi S8 motor, the AHC variant, in keeping with the Porsche heritage, i bought an engine, a 924 bellhosuing and an Audi V6
spacer plate to go between the 924 and AHC engine. We had even got as far as designing a new lower sump pan.
The 924 BH on the AHC, you can see it only picked up on 3 bolt holes...
Using the V6 spacer it gave a lot more attachment points....
Working with a friend of mine in the US we quickly discovered how insanely big the AHC is in the 944 bay....
We did get it sitting pretty....
But with serious sump pan and oil pump clearance issues to the rack....
We did a new oil pan in solidworks....
From there things went downhill, other stuff proved to be so difficult to get around we binned the Audi V8 route. So as you can see we've given this some serious thought.
I found a few threads showing a guy had already put a 1uz into a 944, and began researching that route, the 1uz is a monster and can be tuned to silly levels with bombproof internals.
Last week i bought a complete 1uz and an adapter plate from XSchop in the US to mate it all to the 944 torque tube...
This uses the T56 clutch slave....
I will be using a modified Camry Fidanza flywheel with its ring gear reversed and an Mr2 turbo clutch pressure plate, an Audi V6 240mm 23 spline disc completes the drivetrain.
The car itself has had its 2.5 removed, bay gutted, cleaned and ready for hotwork.
Ok so as part of this swap the 944 brake servo gets in the way, and has to go, now some 944 V8 swappers just mount their master cylinder unassisted onto the firewall as a solution, but i want assisted brakes on this thing.
After a few hours research i found i can use the BMW 635 hydroboost system, it basically uses the power steering pump supply to aid braking, quite clever.
So that is it bang up to date, i will update as i go. I realize putting a jap engine into a 944 may not be everyones cup of tea, but i yearn for a V8 944 and for me the 928 engine is just too heavy and expensive, so hopefully i won't piss
too many purists off with my build, thanks for having me.
Interesting, and thanks for the photos - I'll watch with interest for the updates. I have heard of GM V8's in 944's before, as well as Rover V8's but never a Jap V8. I do know the 928 V8 is to wide to fit between the strut towers so it requires a LOT of engineering to make that particular one work. Shame the Audi V8 didn't work. It would have been good to keep it 'in the family', so to speak. Oli.
MartinRS2K
New member
I wish I had the engineering capabilities that a few on this forum have [
] It amazes me to see the feats of engineering that can be done and I look forward to seeing this project progress []
] It amazes me to see the feats of engineering that can be done and I look forward to seeing this project progress []
Hi chaps, thanks for not tar and feathering me, this one could have gone either way as i know how fanatical some owners clubs can be about originality etc, so thanks for the welcomes. Yes Oli it is a shame we couldn't make the Audi swap work to keep it "in house" , it probably is possible with a lot more time and money thrown at it, but things were always going to be tight with that unit. Hi Diver, the 1uz-fe is from the Lexus LS400, 260bhp and 270lbs.ft of torque in the earlier ones (which mine is) , i could have chosen one with VVti or a higher output but the goal with this is a "sensible" everyday V8 944 that isn't going to break my clutch or gearbox, so i chose this one to keep things civilized. It will weigh less than the 2.5 unit and have a fantastic spread of torque all over the rev range, not to mention the sound it will make, should be pretty sweet. Now can anyone tell me if the turbo gearbox is stronger than the NA and how common is it to find a turbo gearbox with LSD for sale? I have a feeling i'm going to need it.
ChasR
New member
From my vague knowledge the Turbo gearbox is said to be stronger (IIRC it has a larger input shaft) but the ratios of the N/A 'box are more suited to a 944. With your spread of torque however, a Turbo 'box may well end up being an ideal candidate. Remember that your power delivery shall possibly be smoother than that of a Turbo as well. A fantastic project for sure!
pauljmcnulty
New member
Great project, I think this is the first V8 I've seen with a Jap engine being used instead of the usual Yank lumps. Just as a thought on the "keep it in the family" idea. Would any of the other VW group engines be an easier fit? Thinking VR6, or the five-cylinder in-line.
Thanks Chas, i'll start looking for a turbo box i think, preferrably one with LSD. Hi Paul, the 5 cyl Audi swap has been done before and relatively easy in the scheme of engine swaps, the Vr6 doesn't produce enough power for me, i think at that point i'd be looking at some of Audis V6 turbo engines instead as they are true V6 engines, the Vr6 motor is not a V6 in my book, just has slightly stepped cylinders on the same bank, but i'm too far along the 1uz route now to turn back. It is an amazing engine with huge tuning potential, i was always going to be limited to stock power with the Audi V8, the 1uz has massive aftermarket support, ITB kits for £550 for example....
Which with a standalone to get the best from it will produce a noise like this.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ivUbc1fAEQ Do i want my 944 to sound like that? Hell yes. Hi Ross, yes the LS1 route is very costly for us UK folk, it is a simpler swap with most things in kit form, but a huge price tag. I will be running the Lexus ECU to start with, then moving to AEM or Solaris when the time is right, at that point it will probably have the ITBs or asupercharger mounted in the Vee, there are kits for that too with the 1uz. I have just fitted a Harrop supercharger to my Mk1 Mr2 with Lotus Evora 3.5ltr V6 fitted, which as you can expect, goes like a stabbed rat....
Engine arrives today, so i will have updates soon.
VanhireBoys
Member
That will be one sweet car when you get her out.. I really have to take my hat off to you for taking this on. A lot of head scratching ahead but the end result will be worth it... I knew a few "hucksters" that were going to fit a V10 Diesel from a Toureg in a 944 (and run green diesel[])but unfortunately the enormity of the project soon dampened their enthusiasm []
])but unfortunately the enormity of the project soon dampened their enthusiasm []Yeah the Audi V8 is a huge square lump basically, it just about fits in between the rails, but not much room for anything else. For me the 1uz wins over any other V8 for cost, tunability and "ease" of fitment, of course it's still a major mission but i feel this is the best route for me to get a working V8 944.
Small update, my Fidanza flywheel arrived so i removed the ring gear by heating it up, flipped it around and refitted it, this ensures the chamfer on the teeth faces the correct way for the Lexus starter motor....
Also my T56 clutch slave arrived today, this will need extended pipes making to exit the Lexus bellhousing so that supply and bleed are taken care of, no biggy.
My V8 didn't arrive on Monday, the courier cocked up, so it comes tomorrow, looking forward to getting stuck in to that.
Build thread is even more impressive than I thought it would be! And I'm sure you can do it to. Will need to see it..... Thanks Mike Pollock from FB
Cheers Mike, this is bread and butter to me to be honest, so pretty sure it will all go to plan. As an aside, why has nobody ever put the Audi 6 speed gearbox into a 944? Or maybe they have? I've looked at this and apart from linkage mods and a lack of speedo drive (there are ways around that) i can't see why this wouldn't work?
Thoughts? I think longer gearing from the A4 TDi or V6 model would be perfect, also gets a nice modern/fresh unit in there.
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