944 turbo finally started up after tons of work.

[basinbeater]

I bought a sweet car back in September, and drove it for a bit, but being 25 years old, to have a reliable fast car, there were a few chores to take care of.
So I did the following, all after the 2yo went to bed.:
Replaced all the coolant hoses on the car
Replaced all the seals on the front of the engine
Replaced the water pump, pulleys, and belts, thermostat, gaskets, etc...
Replaced all the vacuum lines air oil separator seals and hoses
Replaced all gaskets that are accessible on the side of the engine (no head gasket replacement)
Had the turbo rebuilt
Installed a maf kit that modernized the ignition and fuel systems
Added a wideband o2 sensor
Installed a sophisticated apexi avcr boost controller
Larger fuel injestors
Higher pressure full pressure regulator
New fuel lines
Dual port wastegate
Cat delete was already done
Clutch and all seals were done 20k ago
I'm about ready to call the engine work done for (hopefully) the next 5 years.
Check it out...

Took quite a while, but last night I had success starting it. It's going to be fast. Should be around 300-310 hp at the wheels or about 340 hp. I need to take it to the dyno once it is all sorted. Breaking the 10hp/lb barrier.
I'm obsessed.

[splat]

Love it!

[single]

Hell yeah dude!

[jamal]

Nice work! but...

Installed a maf kit that modernized the ignition and fuel systems
Added a wideband o2 sensor
Installed a sophisticated apexi avcr boost controller
Larger fuel injestors
Higher pressure full pressure regulator
New fuel lines
Dual port wastegate

Do you have an ECU and a tune to go with that stuff?

[guroo270]

Huge fan of the 944. How the hell did they get 300hp out of a 4 cyl back then. Does that turbo run 33 lbs of boost or something?

[stfu&gbtw]

That's awesome. This thread needs some video.

[Gman]

I'm guessing you're running an aftermarket turbo? What size injectors are you running?

[Harry]

Very nice car.

[4matic]

How the hell did they get 300hp out of a 4 cyl back then

The 3.0 liter is a huge engine. It looks like four Harley pistons lined up. I believe it's the largest 4 cyl production engine made.

Beater. How's the alternator? Those cars draw a lot of electricity. A new factory one is $900 and I found out the hard way a rebuilt one is a dice roll.

[milton]

Nice work!

Did you ever consider dropping an LS v8 in there instead? My co-worker has one about the same age (non-turbo) and is thinking about doing it.

[creaky fossil]

Nice work. Where'd you find the car? Doing anything to driveline suspension tires brakes to max the use of new HP?

[basinbeater]

So the engine is a 2.5l turbo. The 968 and the 944S2 are the 3.0 l engines, and they have 16 valves, etc...
I do have a tune for it. The MAF kit was purchased from Vitesse, and is the MAF+ kit. It comes with the MAF hardware and a replacement for the stock fuel map chip. It also comes with a Manifold Air Pressure sensor that it uses to determine ignition timing. So MAF measures air coming in, and chooses amount of fuel to add, and MAP measures pressure and is used to determine timing. Basically modernizes both systems. I am using a rebuilt stock turbo. The 89 cars came with a larger turbo than a normal 944 turbo. It also came with larger brakes, larger anti roll bars, koni coilovers in the front, stiffer springs, etc...
I plan on running around 17psi of boost once everything is sorted. I'll be working on it again tonight. Here are a few more pics, and a video...
Tial wastegate on the bench getting prepped.


rebuilt turbo on the bench with downpipe. Had it rebuilt by Evergreen Turbo in FL. Dude knows his shit.


This chip has 6 different fuel maps on it. And the factory DME has 7 settings for fuel that allow you to add or subtract fuel in 3% inrements, and pull timing as well. So I should be able to get my air fuel ratios right where I need them.


80lb siemens injectors going into the fuel rail. Vitesse sells the injectors with the MAF kit, everything is set up to work together.


Here is a video. It failed to start on the first attempt, I had forgotten to put the fuel pump fuse back in. I didn't rev it like this the first start up, I had let it idle a bit and warm up a bit before the start for the camera. My video editing skills are lacking.

[stevesmith7]

Congrats on what should be an awesome build. Don't overdo it and start breaking stuff, can get expensive.

[creaky fossil]

Engine & turbo sound smooth, nice! Was it able to run when you got it? The tune-able chip is good, good to not be hamstrung by someone's software.

[Caucasian Asian]

Great project!

[sb]

Sweetness, we want lots of pics of all the poontang you pickup with this shitngit mobiler.

[Harry]

awesome dog in the video !

[PassTheDutchie]

I changed a flat tire once...

[basinbeater]

Dutchie, did you remember to check the blinker fluid when you were done?

[Cono Este]

Great stuff, I was just admiring one in a parking lot last week. Keep us updated.

[grskier]

You'll be pulling a lot of 45 year olds with that ride



That thing is looking seriously sweet.

[simple]

Solid build. Friend has a 89 944 and he loves it even with the maintenance

[basinbeater]

It ran well when I got it, but would smoke a little bit on boost, hence the turbo rebuild. I actually bought it in Chicago in september and drove it back to Park City. Even with cruise set to 95mph, nebraska is a long ass drive. I just figured that with all the rubber bits and seals being 25 years old, if I tackled everything at once, I wouldn't be trying to track down random vacuum/coolant/oil leaks as it continued to age. Get all the "while you are in there" stuff done in one go. An added bonus, I really know the engine now, and should I have a problem, it will be much easier to diagnose and repair.

[basinbeater]

Nice work. Where'd you find the car? Doing anything to driveline suspension tires brakes to max the use of new HP?

I found the car using search tempest which is a craigslist aggregator. If you haven't used it, you should... I found my mtn bike on there in CO, found my BMW on there in WI, and my Porsche in Chicago. Also sourced my apexi avcr from craigslist, same with the tial wastegate. Currently trolling it on a regular basis for a set of 17" wheels for the car.

I will be doing suspension here in the next month, I wanted to wait to spend the next $1k on suspension stuff until I was sure that the engine would run properly. I'll be doing a custom coilover setup on the front with koni inserts and will be setting the M030 bits aside for a future rebuild. New shocks for the rear, and possibly some fatter sway bars from a 968 M030 package. That should get me zipping up and down parleys pretty well for the next year or so, and function as a good base for further upgrades.
The tires on it are in pretty good shape, but not a real good tire, so I may spring for a set of Bridgestone Re-11. One of the few street tires still available in the correct sizes.

[Peruvian]

That's a great ride for your girlfriend. What are you going to get for yourself? 928?