2001 Porsche 996 LS1 Conversion Thread by 1dirtyZ

6 minute(s) of a 536 minute read

got the suspension parts in today , but upon installing them found out i was missing a few important bolts ( alignment excentric and a few others) but no biggie , will order them soon :

here is how the stuff looks on the car ( going to be a roller soon ! ): 

i also messed around with the cradle some more , now the "U" part is finally done :

and this is where the original porsche mount will bolt up to the new cradle :

next up will probably be the parallel tubes that the engine will sit on , i have to cut and weld these on next . those should go from the "U" part to the plate i have on the crossmember , i won't make any "pedestals" yet untill i get the headers and trans in.

another option that i'm really contemplating ( well thinking of as a backup plan) if the trans measurements i got were not correct and the trans ended up pushing the engine further towards the back of the car ( from pics i saw the tranny sits on to and past the cross member towards the back of the car- but the measurements i got place it just ahead of the crossmemebr) is a new cradle like andy has.

the parallel tubes under the engine would just extend past the crossmember ( either above it or through it) all the way to where the original trans mount bolts and attatch there . then the tranny can be slid forward a few inches ( can do that cause there is a drive shaft i can shorten infont of the trans) and mount it to the cradle. that way i have a complete suubframe for the engine and trans ,,,, but that's just me thinking way to far ahead 

i also did not get the exhaust yet , waiting on the owner to call me to get it 

any how , next up on the list :

- use regular bolts for now to finish bolting up the suspension 

- slap the wheels on there to make it a roller ! ( end of stage 1 )

- weld up the two bars underneath to finish the cradle 

- fab up a bar that holds the mock engine inplace teporarily so i can get rid of the bungee cords

- install the stock exhaust ( if i get it today )

03.02.10

i just had a "DOH!" moment last night ,,,, i just figured out i can't run the cradle like i intended ( to the crossmemebr ); if i do weld it to the plate i made on the crossmember it will be rigid on that end and flexible on the porsche motor mount end !

so there are two options: first, run it from the original mounts to under the engine and stop just before the crossmember ( then maybe attatch it to the block on the bellhousing surface with a plate ).

second option is redo the "u" part where is it soilidly mounted to where the original porsche mounts are ( remove those and replace with a plate ) and then attach the other end to the crossmember plate , and use original F-body motor mounts.

either way is easy , and i might just end up doing them both and choosing later down the road which one to pick 

aside form that , i'm done with stage 1 ! the car is a roller now ! 

i just need to get the correct bolts for the control arms ( just put temporary ones now ) later .

after i put the thing on the ground i couldn't help but check how the crossmember i made would look from behind the car , so i slapped on the bumper ad what do you know ! it doesn't even show when looking at it from about 1 foot above ground! ( you could see it through the exhaust cutout in the bumper)

and incase you are wondering how much space is there to run the stock exhaust , well here it is :

this is how much space i have with the intake on , notice how unlike on 993 models ( the older body style ) i don't have to flip the intake and use the funky looking elbow on the throttle body . but due to how slanted the engine cover is , i can't run a carb style intake and elbow cause it sticks up too high ( unless i use a sheetmetal elbow that is super low- and before you say edelbrock,,,, i checked - the stang has a GMPP carb intake and edelbrock ultra low elbow- sits about 2 inches too high ) :

as you can see , its pretty tight when it comes to belt clearance , but i can't make a %100 judgement untill i have a tranny in there , but worst case scenario is i have to notch the brace and reinforce it ( which i really don't want to do ).

and why is it every time i look at this picture:

i can't help but see this in my head :

so i guess from the looks of it i can't make any real progress in the engine compartment side untill i get a trans in there ( or do some measuring myself on another car ), other than that , i can just build the other cradle and tack weld suff . 

so , next up :

- finish the cradle 

- build the damn brace i've been talking about forever to hold the engine 

- strat looking into the fuel and return lines.

- take the center console out as well as the pedal assembly 

- order more stuff