I am looking at buying a 92 960 Wagon for a V8 project. The car lost the original motor to a careless timing belt install. I already have a 94 daily driver, so this will trulely be a project car. I am thinking "outragous" project car. What is the best conversion motor? We kicked the idea around about a Ford Cobra crate engine, but have heard that the latest 5.7 GM is also a great tramsplant. Also, any ideas on suspension?

Thanks.

Cobra crate engine is DOHC, right? Could be too wide for your 900 engine bay. Converse make a kit of parts to swap the older pushrod Ford 5.0 into 700/900 cars. Many have used this kit...but there have been comments about the lack of customer service after the sale, too.

GM's LS1 engine (late Corvettes, Camaros, F'birds) is an all-aluminum unit which would not upset the balance of the car, plus deliver a lot more low-end torque than the Ford - what you want for 95% of driving situations. Volvo diff. won't last long if you use that power, tho'. A lot of custom fabrication needed. Yes, check the V8 forum, but be cautious about enthusiasm in the guise of expertise.
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Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F, dtr's 83-244DL B23F, 'my' 94-944 B230FD; plus grocery-getter Dodge minivan, hobbycar MGB, and numerous old motorcycles)

When I checked into this type of conversion for my 92 960 I found the wiring harnes to be pricey around $1,000 aleast from the place that was offering wiring kits for the 940 (not as complicated as the 960). I would leave the suspension alone just check out the bushings and probably be worth you effort to put in new bushings. Rear end will only take so much HP.

If the rear end will only handle so much HP, what about cganging the rear end? Any ideas?

There is a forum on this board that's dedicated exclusively to the V8 conversion. (Check out the "Forums" dropdown menu at the top of the page.)

That being said, finding an independent suspension rearend that can handle high torque is going to be either hard or pricey... you choose.

If you were talking about the conversion on a 740/940, that would be a different story. With a solid rear axle, you could literally use a truck rearend (with some modification). That would handle all the torque you could throw at it.

Jeff Pierce
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'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ), '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece -- sold to a loving home), '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow

If you were talking about the conversion on a 740/940, that would be a different story. With a solid rear axle, you could literally use a truck rearend (with some modification). That would handle all the torque you could throw at it.

A 1992 960 wagon has a live axle. I believe the Ford 9" is a popular choice if you need a really beefy rear end.

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alex

(Quote: A 1992 960 wagon has a live axle.)

Ah, right you are. I was thinking sedan. Good catch.

Jeff Pierce

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'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ), '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece -- sold to a loving home), '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow