Welcome to my Porsche conversion site. Hopefully, this will show the trials and tribulations as I perform a Renegade Hybrids conversion of my 1983 Porsche 944. Sure - the car may not look like much now, but please leave feedback and a rating. I'll do the same for you. 

Update:  Sparco seats and other interior work, in progress. . . . (Page 3)

06 October 2008 -  Recognized as SOTW by the Cardomain.com Community!! 

Thanks to everyone who has supported/voted over the past couple years.  Evidently, the folks at Cardomain.com wait until a project is completed, but it appears that my project is worthy of recognition in its unfinished state.  Don't know if I can call this historic, but it sure is humbling to be chosen out of such a wide and outstanding field of rides!  Special shouts out to the guys at porschehybrids.com, militarytuners.com, and renegadehybrids.com.  Glad to be representing those of us who are building our dream cars on a family budget out of his own garage as he finds the time between helping with kid's homework, mowing the lawn, and the daily 9-5.

 
Well, here's the patient - a 1983 Porsche 944 Coupe. I bought it in 2006 off EBay for a paltry $1850. At first, I thought I had gotten a pretty good deal, but then a rattling noise came from the engine compartment that ended up being a totally shot passenger-side engine mount. Since the engine had 128,000 miles on, and was blowing significant oil. I knew I was going to be looking at a significant investment on engine work. Having done my homework in advance, I knew the 944 was notoriously underpowered, and decided to go for an OVERHAULIN' style restoration (without the pranks), and a Small Block Chevy Conversion. After watching Bullrun, I believe my project car would be a perfect entry - from the outside, everyone would think it's the typical lightweight 944 - maybe a turbo; but underneath, it's really a 380HP heavyweight with the handling capabilities of a car made famous for its 50/50 weight distribution. May not be running yet, but stay tuned! That day is not far off! Some of you have asked why put an Americian engine in a German car - well it's simple: I like the 944, but getting parts for the engine (especially performance parts) are next to impossible (or impossibly priced). The LS1 conversion is a logical choice - both from a financial and performance point of view. My in-laws are German, and they think it's amazing that a Corvette engine fits in a Porsche and are really excited to see the car on the road!!!

Nice shots of the interior - What do you expect for 1800 bucks?? If you take a close look at the dash you can see the typical porsche dash warpage (or is it? - stay tuned)
Shots of the engine bay with the typical 2.5L engine (Note the Haynes manual). Need all the help I can get at this point.
Shot of the *ORIGINAL* transplant 'organ' - 5.7L LT1 out of a '96 Corvette. **UPDATE 21 JUL 07** Replaced by LS1 that can be seen on 2nd page.

28 November 2008 - Still drunk from having too much turkey and cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving, I went to work early on the car and decided to take the car for a quick spin to see how things were working.  Here's the video..........

The following video is of Marc A of Virginia racing his 944/LS1. Once completed, my car should have the close to the same performance. Notice how easily the thouroghbreds are caught and overtaken? A turbo 944 would need tens of thousands of dollars in engine modifications to perform this well.

Renegade Hybrids - Creators of the 944/LS1 conversion kit

Page 1 - Introduction <- You are here
Page 2 - Engine and Drivetrain
Page 3 - Interior and Related
Page 4/5 - Bodywork and Paint
Page 6 - Suspension/Tires
Page 7 - Letter to the Porsche 'Purist' ("Haterz")
Page 8 - Videos and misc