How did I not know about this?

Jan 10, 2011

When it comes to motor swaps I’m not a purist in the slightest. I’ve said time, and time, again if a motor from another manufacturer is cheaper, faster, and more reliable than the one that came with your car and it’s financially feasible to swap in then swap it in.

That being said I had absolutely no idea people put small block Chevy motors in Porsche 911s so when I saw this ’75 Porsche 911 with a Chevy small block in it on Night-Import I did a double take.

Well as much of a double take that’s possible when viewing a car on a laptop.

After doing some searching last night I’ve found out that this swap has been performed by a few people and you can actually buy a kit from Renegade Hybrids (fitting name) to ease the dropping in of Chevy grunt.

porsche_v8_1 — I'm not sure how the weight distribution is now but the overall weight remains similar

porsche_v8_3 — Front end of the same car via cardomain

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Looks pretty sorted

After doing a little poking around I was able to find some specs on this particular hybrid:

Steel slant nose and turbo body

400hp Small Block Chevy
Electronic port fuel injection by Edelbrock
Porsche 930 transaxle & brakes

Ron Davis radiator & Meziere 55 GPM remote mount electric water pump
9 and 11 inch Fuchs – 3 Piece (Fuch centers & BBS halves)
345 tires on the rear

Fresh suspension and corner balance
Weighs 2600 lbs (Porsche 930 had a claimed weight of 2635 lbs)
No smog check required in California (1975 and older are exempt)

Current California registration
Looks like a Porsche, sounds like a healthy muscle car

and for 30,000 US it could be yours!

Photo Credit: Will @ Night-Import and Steve Buchanan.

8 COMMENTS

zach Jan 10, 2011 At 1:30 pm

I’m a little biased on cross-swapped hybrids. I like seeing American and European cars with Japanese power plants, but for some reason, no other hybrid swaps do it for me. This Porsche, for example, doesn’t do it for me.

Joe Jan 10, 2011 At 1:38 pm

As if 911’s didn’t have enough problems with oversteer to begin with.

- DaveT Jan 10, 2011 At 5:08 pm
  
  Ya Joe something tells me this isn’t the most practical swap.
  
  zach, how do you feel about Japanese with German? Might have that this week…
  
ollie Jan 11, 2011 At 2:40 am

grrr i wrote a comment minuets after this thing went up but it didnt load damn internet! ewww flat nose turbo 😛 the ginger kid in the 911 family, joe your right man (as usual) that things gona make all sorts of proplems with the handleing altho ive seen a viper v10 conversion that has got to be worse

ollie Jan 11, 2011 At 2:44 am

oh and ive seen widened fuches loads of times but never 3 peaceers NO MIGUSTA

Tweets that mention How did I not know about this? – Stance Is Everything - It's all about how it sits -- Topsy.com Jan 11, 2011 At 3:21 am

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Trent Landreth, StanceIsEverything. StanceIsEverything said: Prior to seeing this Porsche on Night-Import I had no idea people put small block v8s in 911s http://fb.me/xsFq32dP […]

zach Jan 11, 2011 At 5:32 pm

I don’t know Dave…. Sounds questionable at best.

Steve Buchanan Jan 23, 2011 At 4:53 pm

All Porsche 911’s are tail happy. This car is actually slighly lighter than a Porche 930 Turbo, and weight distribution is very similar to the 930. The V8 does result in a higher center of gravity than Porsche’s flat 6. For the most part, it handles like any Porsche with stiffened suspension. The big difference between this car and a regular Porche is the horsepower, torque, and sound. It’s difficult and expensive to get 400 HP from any air cooled Porche engine. This car is amazinly fast and agile, and just about every car enthusiast enjoys it sound. Night-Import, thanks for starting this thread and thank you guys for the comments.