Porsche 944: Actually there is a substitute

[Palf70Step]

Very nice!

[sparkydog]

I eliminated the extra bends out of the Camaro plastic fuel lines. I used the sections I cut out to practice making the splices. I'm glad I did this because the hot air gun technique I watched on Youtube did not work well for me. It was difficult to judge if the hose was too cold or too hot. Eventually I punted and used my propane torch to heat the splicing nipples and the hoses were much easier for me to manage.

Now the fuel lines route nicely under the 944's A pillar and I think I may be able to use the Camaro steel lines for the next section under the floor. I'll get back on the fuel lines later in the build. For now the forward section of nylon is GTG.

[sparkydog]

Next up was fabricating the gas tank upper mounting brackets and a stiffener/strap attachment brace. It involved a bunch of overhead welding which is... meh. "I like my overhead welds like I like my women - functional but ugly." (Mrs. Sparkydog does not think this is as funny as I do.)

Anyhoo the stiffener and upper brackets are in and I've put out my share of seam sealer fires for the day.

[Zoomin]

Whole lotta cool fab going on here!

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Very nice!

Originally Posted by Zoomin

Whole lotta cool fab going on here!

Thanks guys!

OK nothing to report but I need to put this picture up so I can hot link it to a Porsche forum and ask a question... (I'm designing the lower mounting brackets for the gas tank.)

[sparkydog]

The tank mounting brackets and straps are finished with fab. Donor metal for one section of the brackets was from a Takisawa CNC lathe we bought at my work. (The sheet metal was for an accessory we didn't want.) And the fence post rear bumper is just so I have something to push the car around with.

Next is the fuel filler pipe and evap canister mounting.

[sparkydog]

Originally Posted by sparkydog

Donor metal for one section of the brackets was from a Takisawa CNC lathe we bought at my work.

The 944 now has metal from Germany, USA and Japan in it. All I need now is something from the USSR and I'll have all the major players from WWII!

[sparkydog]

Evap canister install. This is off the Camaro but with a DIY metal bracket to tuck it up into the fender well of the 944.

The last picture shows my gas tank fill pipe stub poking up out of the deck. This pipe came off the Mustang fill pipe but was designed to plug into a special grommet on the Mustang gas tank - not sized for a standard fill hose. So I've got a little challenge ahead of me to rig a new hose onto it.

[Palf70Step]

Very nice!

[TexasLS1]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Very nice!

Indeed, straps and brackets came out awesome!

[Palf70Step]

[sparkydog]

Pic 1 is my attempt at an artsy, surreal photo of the inner world of tank welding!

Pic 2 & 3 of my pressure testing rig on the gas tank and filler pipe. My friends the little soapy bubbles revealed about a dozen leaks!!! But after several hours of screwing with this stuff I am leak free*.

*which means I think I am leak free but doesn't necessarily mean I AM leak free!

Pic 4 of the amazing pile of hoses, pipes and s*** that I somehow hoarded and thought I would use... what the heck?!!

[sparkydog]

There is a Ford 8.8 rear axle hanging under a Mustang at the local yard and it's calling my name. The diff is a 3.27 ratio limited slip. I believe the ratios on the WC T5 from the Camaro are: 3.53/2.75/2.19/1.41/1.00/0.72

My tires are about 26" diameter. The car will be about 2800-3200 lbs when done.

Do you guys think the 3.27 diff will play nice with the stock L36 (160?? HP) and later on with a stockish L67? (250-300 HP crank)

[sparkydog]

Starting in on the fuel and evap lines.
FWIW the caulking gun + tube flare clamp trick for pressing connectors into plastic fuel hose actually works well! A little Vaseline and some assistance shoving on the side to keep everything aligned were the only things I had to learn.

[sparkydog]

The 8.8 rear end is still hanging there in the wrecking yard, calling out my name. It's in a 94 Mustang which means it has the 28 spline axles and diff instead of the 31 spline. Perhaps this explains why nobody has yanked it out yet. For my car the 28 spline should be fine - I doubt I'll ever put more than about 300hp (to the crank).

Any advice for me gentlemen?

[TexasLS1]

Haha the wedge-o-stick is quite innovative. Not gonna lie, I'll be adding that "tool" to my bag of tricks hahaha!! Awesome work as usual!

[Palf70Step]

AS always, enjoy seeing how you will mate something together that wasn't supposed to be!

[sparkydog]

Thanks for the continued interest in my build guys!

Well a little progress - the drive shaft tunnel will eventually need to be widened. With my engine shifted 1" to the right the tunnel will need to encroach into the passenger seat. So first up I added 4 simple tabs to the passenger seat rails and this moves the seat 1-5/8" out.

Next up is fabbing the trans tunnel. I mocked up the HVAC unit just to double check clearance and discovered that I no got any - clearance that is. In those photos you should be able to see that I've already cut out the bottom of my 944 HVAC housing. I did this in order to understand what lay inside the housing in that area and learn whether I have any wiggle room in that direction. I don't. Now I have more work for myself! (To re-seal the HVAC housing.) For now I have decided to just press on with the tunnel fab and know that I've got an issue there. When I'm back on the K member mods I may be able to drop the motor lower. If I do then I can come back to the tunnel and tweak it a bit to open up some room.

A final shot of the start of the tunnel fab. I'm enjoying this little task. The donor metal (dark gray) is courtesy of a Brother R450 CNC mill from my work. These mills come from the factory with a "shroud kit" that we never use. Each kit has about 4 large pieces of flat sheets. They were headed to the scrap bin but a few are now in my garage.

[Palf70Step]

Looks almost ready to drive.

[sparkydog]

I managed to get most of the trans tunnel fabbed this weekend. I should call it the bomb shelter - it's pretty darn stout. The new metal is probably 2-3X thicker than the material on the 944.

[sparkydog]

I finished the detailed section of my pocket in the floor where the Cat converter will tuck into. I had to put a small clearance pocket into the top of it so that it would clear the passenger seat rail.

That meant the trans tunnel area was 95% done. Since I had built it around the motor and trans while they were in the car, I felt it was time to discover whether the motor and trans could be removed.

I was glad I did this because there were a couple of small issues where I will need to add some more clearance in the footwell of the pass side.

I also learned that if I pick the motor using the middle exhaust header pipes, the motor hangs at the perfect angle to come up out of the engine bay. I didn't even need to rig a 3rd leg to my hoist.

[sparkydog]

And with some primer on it.

[fear_nothing]

Any updates? This has been a fun project to follow so far!

[Palf70Step]

Sounds like me...3 or 4 times before your close to finalizing things.

[Palf70Step]

Really enjoy seeing how you tackle all these issues. I think my 3lb sledge would have been over worked by now.