'95 960 goes T5

[narancs]

Chapter 1: 964 T5 build
Chapter 2: 945 T5 build starts at page 5.
Chapter 3: 965 T6 build start as page 9

Chapter 1​

Hi,

Finally I have something to make a build thread about.. I have a 850 T5 since 2006. Love it, done many things with it.
It has/had:
-Konis/springs
-the original 2.0 T5 gave up, so a 2.3 went in with NA cams
-18T
-customized RICA tune
-SSW wheels
-projector retrofitted headlights
And took good care if it..
It was kinda fast, kinda fun, but I missed something... Friends were drifting, spent quite a lot of time with them.... yep, the RWD bug bit me hard, aaand baammm, that was what I was missing.. rwd-ness
Tried to buy rwd nissans, but never had the money to afford 2 cars, tried to sell the 850, no one wanted to buy it... this went on and on..

But in January of 2013 this showed up in the local "craigslist" (photos of the original ad):

It had all I need, whiteblock car from factory, rwd, m90 + I really, really like 960s. And it was cheap, paid a whopping ~$900 for it.
It is not even remotely close to perfect. Front end was crashed, still straight though, front bumper... let just not talk about it...rear end.. I'm not sure, trunk doesn't line up 100% and there is a tiny bit of rust on the pass. side rear fender. Goes straight, quiet as hell, no squeks and rattles (apart from the front end bushings ) so I reckon the body is straight.
All the door panels are peeling, but the seats & wheel are in a surprisingly good condition and God those seats are comfy!!... anyway.. it was not a bad deal.

This thread has two intentions:
1. I hope I can keep You guys entertained with my suffering
2. keep track of what needs to be done and what has been done + it might be useful for future t5 swappers.


First of all, BIG thanks to a good friend of mine, Greg. Without him this project wouldn't even start. He swapped a T5 into a 740 few years ago. He ditched the car and drives a s70R now..
Most of the parts are needed for this swap came from him.
Thanks Greg




The Goal:
A stealthy looking 964 with a healthy T5 engine, working A/C, bit of a stereo thing, a good stance (not stanceworks kinda stance..) some nice wheels. Nothing extraordinary.
I have no power goals at the moment. The 2.3 engine has NA cams and 13g for now @15psi, 12.1 AFR @ WOT, RICA ignition map. Torque is really nice, so nice my clutch can't handle it, slips between 2k and ~3.5k rpm, than it grabs and the car just pulls.... a little... it is a 13g...

The journey:

Engine mounts:

Stock 960 mount work almost perfectly:

1. - intake side: 3 out of 4 bolts line up. 3 bolts hold just fine. The PCV breather box needs a little modding, about a 2 min job. Also the mount needs a bit of a chopping to clear the remainings of a breather box, another 5 mins. (pics later). However, the AC compressor won't fit when using the 960 mount.
   
   
   • Option a: ditch the AC. Nope. I'm fat + hot summer = sweat. Don't want that, especially in the leather seats. And I'm getting older, I like comfy stuff...
   • Option b: KL Racing mounts. Linky. Actually they are not the expensive! About $300
   • Option c: ask fabricator friend to make a new mount that clears the AC can You hear how cheap this sounds?
2. - exhaust side: 2 out of 4 bolts lining up. Not enough. The bosses are there, but way off, drill and tap + a plate needs to be cut under the mount. (pics later).
   This can be bought in sweden, but I can't find the link...

Transmission:

I'm lucky enough to have a M90 from factory
Clutch: 850 OEM resurfaced with kevlar
Pressure plate: 850R


More to come..

Peter

 

[narancs]

Pictures!

Slow as sh*t 2.5 straight six gas guzzler lump...

Now this was interesting. Both hydro mounts were hacked up. I don't see why. The bolts were cut out and the engine was just sitting on the mounts without anything holding it down besides its own weiht!

Dummy engines going in:

Originally this engine was meant to go into a Mazda Rx7 (FD). This manifold was built to fit in the FD's tight engine bay. I already bought a electric power steering pump, so no worries

Modified tstat housing. The pipe actually fits really nice, no interference between the intake and the hose.

This is how it sits now:

Progress is slow, the shop doesn't have any kind of heating... it is the middle of april and the snow has just melted... I just don't work at freezing tempratures

 

[500dollar744ti]

Nice, you should get this done rather quickly then!

 

[okoye]

in for win! i can't wait to see pictures and progress. take pics of the mounts and what you have to do to the intake mani.

 

[narancs]

Nice, you should get this done rather quickly then!

I wish! the plan was to finish by 26th of april (my bday), but that is not gonna happen.
I have 2 days at most/week to work on the car. And still need to buy a VEMS, for which I need money I don't have at the moment

 

[FlyingTog]

Very cool. People talk about this all the time but no one ever does it. Still kinda silly in my opinion (swapping a 6 for a 5 when you can make a badass 6) but it's still a cool project. Certainly makes sense for you since you had the engine. If I had the money I'd buy the 2.5 rods and crankshaft from you. Good luck with it! I'll be keeping tabs.

 

[doucheNozzle]

I like. What turbo?

 

[tomcat]

Reading with interest

 

[propav8r]

I wish! the plan was to finish by 26th of april (my bday), but that is not gonna happen.
I have 2 days at most/week to work on the car. And still need to buy a VEMS, for which I need money I don't have at the moment

Happy Early Birthday from another 4/26 baby.

 

[shaved240]

does the t5 bolt up to the stock mounting location on the 960?

 

[narancs]

Very cool. People talk about this all the time but no one ever does it. Still kinda silly in my opinion (swapping a 6 for a 5 when you can make a badass 6) but it's still a cool project. Certainly makes sense for you since you had the engine. If I had the money I'd buy the 2.5 rods and crankshaft from you. Good luck with it! I'll be keeping tabs.

Agreed... but it is waay to much hassle to build up the 2.5. And I don't have any T6s laying around.. so I gotta stick with the 5 banger
I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the 2.5...

I like. What turbo?

Undecided, yet. I have a tiny 13g at the moment. But I'm looking for a Holset hx35, or a td05-20g.. something in this range.

Happy Early Birthday from another 4/26 baby.

Nice 1985?

does the t5 bolt up to the stock mounting location on the 960?

Yes. The only difference is the mount -> engine block.

 

[Harlard]

I wish! the plan was to finish by 26th of april (my bday), but that is not gonna happen.
I have 2 days at most/week to work on the car. And still need to buy a VEMS, for which I need money I don't have at the moment

Hey, my birthday too!

Looking forward to seeing more of this project!

Undecided, yet. I have a tiny 13g at the moment. But I'm looking for a Holset hx35, or a td05-20g.. something in this range.

As for availability, I don't know how easily you could procure this, but it's a turbo I've been very keen on as of late:

Super 16G

Super 20G

 

[narancs]

Hey, my birthday too!

Looking forward to seeing more of this project!

Cool!

As for availability, I don't know how easily you could procure this, but it's a turbo I've been very keen on as of late:

Super 16G

Super 20G

Yess, I'm keeping an eye on them. Actually a friend of mine just bought a Hahn td05-20g.. We'll see how that works out for him.

 

[narancs]

Basically all the oil and water lines are ready... or at least everything has its place, water and oil lien will be fabbed up when the new engine goes in.

Still don't have EMS

 

[okoye]

hurry up! and pics pics pics!

 

[Old Iron]

Cool project, get yourself an egg crate grill from a 780 or something mod it to fit and get rid of that ugly ass 960 grill!

 

[narancs]

Update!

Got some stuff done.. finally..

The opening of the intake manifold was rotated waaaay to much, so I had it re-welded..

And voila, throttle body sits level:

Water pipe done, the feed and drain pipes will be fabricated when the "final" engine goes in.

oil feed and drain also done, forgot to take pictures

Got a stock 940 turbo intercooler.
Volvo was nice when they used the same radiator in the NA 960s as in the turbo 940... 960 rad has the "punch" on both sides for the IC pipes.

IC pipes... they will be short... real short not done, yet... need to figure out how to plumb the IAC valve.

 

[narancs]

Oh, and figured out my what engine management to use problem.
Keeping the stock 4.3 for a while.. I made a "krabblock".
A 940 turbo and the 850 distributor cap was cut up and put together..

I need to seal it up, but so far it looks good..

I hope it will work....


Getting closer to the swap

 

[narancs]

Unfortunately my resin for the fiberglass is reallllllly old, so it takes some time to cure but it is getting to look like a distributor cap

So I did some cleaning. Alternator, AC pump and the accessories bracket looked like crap... full of oil mud.

They turned out pretty decent.

 

[+Kardboard+]

Love the detail in your photos. That's half of an awesome thread. Thanks for documenting and keep it up!