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Don Nguyen | My Porsche 911 V8 Build

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    Don Nguyen | My Porsche 911 V8 Build

    "I couldn't find the sports car of my dreams, so I built it myself" - Ferdinand Porsche

    I bought my 964 when I was 20 years old. Probably not the best financial decision at the time, but I did it anyways. I knew nothing about Porsches, but after one test drive, I knew that this 964 had to be mine. Since then, there have been several times that I have come close to selling my 964. Whether the reason was due to lack of resources or not enough time to build and restore my 964 into the car that I had hoped and imagined it would be. However, luckily, I never went through with selling my 964, as it would have probably been my single biggest automotive decision that I would have regretted making. It's now or never.

    I like Porsches, I like American V8s, and I like race cars. What am I alluding to?
    Well, to simply put it, I will be taking my Porsche 964 and putting a Chevy LS based engine into it with the overall end results of a streetable race car. Because what fun, really, is a car that can't be driven whenever you wanted to.

    However, to me speed is only one part of the equation. The car's going to take on styling cues of a race car from the exterior, but have a relatively tolerable and factory-esque interior, aside from a few various interior race bits here and there. I like to think of it as a wolf in wolf's clothing. Sounds wrong in every way? Sounds perfect to me. Speed, handling, styling, and comfort. The best part about building a car how you want it is that there is no bad part.

    Why? I will only answer this question once. Because.

    No fancy tools, no fancy garage, no team of engineers. One man, one car, and countless hours spent doing research. I will be doing as much of the fabrication myself as possible, from building the engine mounts to redoing all of the leather work on the interior.

    I can go into details and tell you all of my plans and ideas for the car, but what fun would that be if I told you everything upfront and didn't leave a little bit of mystery to it. As I was always taught, show, not tell. You'll just have to tune in and watch as the progress goes along.

    I am not trying to build the best car in the world, but to build my perfect car, which to me makes it the best car in the world.

    Smiley face,
    Don Nguyen

    #2
    This is how the car looked like when I first bought it. These pictures were actually taken from the original ad that were used by the previous owner. Funny thing is, I actually did not remember saving these pictures, but I randomly happen to stumble across them the other day when looking for something else.





    It took me only one week of searching to find my 964 and it took me only one more week after that before I put in an order for a set of coilovers for my car. I figured why wait to buy them, when I could buy them now and enjoy it right away.







    This is ultimately what the car last looked like before I decided to put it up on jack stands and start the reconstruction process. Keep in mind, all of these pictures that I have posted thus far, including this one, are from over a span of several several years.



    As of yesterday, this is how the car looked like. I actually had started taking the car apart before I decided that I would take pictures and document my build. I was never really one to start or have any detailed build threads for any of my other project cars, but I felt like this is one that I would share the process and progress as it goes along with you guys.







    -Don

    Comment


      #3
      I love 964s. Good luck man! But will a V8 even fit in the back? And how much more tail-happy will the car be?

      http://arcautomotive.com.ph/
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      Service • Detailing • Parts • Accessories
      BMW Car Club of the Philippines

      Comment


        #4
        brave, but awesome.

        Comment


          #5
          subscribed! gl

          Comment


            #6
            I'm interested to see how this goes. The 964 is my favorite Porsche body style, and it's definitely an interesting project. Good luck!
            88 325is - S52 powered

            Originally posted by King Arthur
            We'll not risk another frontal assault, that rabbit's dynamite!

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by frag View Post
              I love 964s. Good luck man! But will a V8 even fit in the back? And how much more tail-happy will the car be?
              It will.... just barely though.



              Good luck with the build, pretty ambitious but you're a lucky guy to have owned a 964 at age 20!

              Which forum do we follow for the most updates?
              Last edited by Raxe; 02-25-2013, 06:58 PM.

              >> 1988 3.1 ITB E30 /// 2002 E46 M3 6MT / 2008 335xi 6MT / 1991 S38B36 E30 (sold)

              Comment


                #8
                Cool thread cant wait to see some progress. Are you on other forums. Like clubrsx selling rims or doing vinyl wrap? I think you are.anyways bump for a clean porsche

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by efficient View Post
                  Cool thread cant wait to see some progress. Are you on other forums. Like clubrsx selling rims or doing vinyl wrap? I think you are.anyways bump for a clean porsche


                  Originally posted by Raxe View Post
                  Which forum do we follow for the most updates?



                  A quick google search finds this build on many other forums, take your pick.



                  The aluminum LSX engine is lighter than the Porsche flat six BTW.
                  Lorin


                  Originally posted by slammin.e28
                  The M30 is God's engine.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by LJ851 View Post
                    A quick google search finds this build on many other forums, take your pick.
                    Yeah exactly, I'd like to know which one he'll be answering questions and stuff on because I doubt he'll be actively updating and interacting with all of them.

                    >> 1988 3.1 ITB E30 /// 2002 E46 M3 6MT / 2008 335xi 6MT / 1991 S38B36 E30 (sold)

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Raxe View Post
                      It will.... just barely though.



                      Good luck with the build, pretty ambitious but you're a lucky guy to have owned a 964 at age 20!

                      Which forum do we follow for the most updates?
                      that is a tight squeeze!
                      NRG Quick Release/MOMO Hubs|NRG Limited Edition Deep Dish Wheels|NRG Wood Wheels|Nardi|
                      9five Eyewear|Day of the Dead Tees|
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                      STÄTUS|
                      Got Juice?|

                      Comment


                        #12
                        this is awesome, gl with the build- look forward to progress

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by frag View Post
                          I love 964s. Good luck man! But will a V8 even fit in the back? And how much more tail-happy will the car be?
                          Yep. It fits. The car is a C4, so it is awd :) I am sure it'll still be tail happy, but that's part of the fun of driving anyways.

                          Originally posted by matthugie View Post
                          I'm interested to see how this goes. The 964 is my favorite Porsche body style, and it's definitely an interesting project. Good luck!
                          Mine as well, although I do like the majority of the other 911 body styles as well. The 964 is just a perfect blend of them all in one for me.

                          Originally posted by Raxe View Post
                          It will.... just barely though.



                          Good luck with the build, pretty ambitious but you're a lucky guy to have owned a 964 at age 20!

                          Which forum do we follow for the most updates?
                          I will be posting the updates on here. It's a lot of work replying to all of the threads that I have made, but I think each forum has its own unique members and style, so it's worth it to me to take out the time to come to each forum and reply to the posts there.

                          Originally posted by efficient View Post
                          Cool thread cant wait to see some progress. Are you on other forums. Like clubrsx selling rims or doing vinyl wrap? I think you are.anyways bump for a clean porsche
                          Yes, I am on a lot of forums, but that's what happens when you've worked in the automotive industry for ~10 years :)

                          -Don

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I am porsche newbie so excuse me if this is a dumb question

                            weren't these air cooled engines? how are you adding two more cylinders and also getting a radiator that was never even in there in the first place
                            sigpic

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Yes. They were aircooled.

                              Custom radiator set up will be mounted in the front of the car.

                              -Don

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