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It seems like just yesterday that The Drive video producer Tom Gorelik embarked on a quest to affordably revive his Porsche 944 by swapping in one of the tuning community’s favorite engines: a Honda K-series. A year may seem like an eternity in social media terms, but in terms of shadetree engine swaps (which can sometimes rival geological time scales), it’s nothing. And that’s how long it took to get the K-swapped 944 running.
Yes, running! The project has seen its share of twists and turns, but now, the K24-swapped (and turbocharged!) 944 can officially move under its own power.
Gorelik apologizes up front for making us wait this long for updates on the 944, but at least the payoff is solid. The last time we checked in, needless to say, things were not going well. After attempting to diagnose the issues himself, Gorelik eventually admitted defeat and called in the specialists.
After tearing down the K24 and identifying several issues (including at least a couple of bent valves), the folks at Fulltime Fabrication managed to help Gorelik get the whole mess sorted. Virtually everything, from the motor itself to the gearbox and hydraulics needed attention before the 944 would move an inch.
More than a few of the issues were a direct result of Gorelik figuring things out as he went along—and he admits as much. Fulltime’s Kevin Maecha said he was nonetheless impressed by Gorelik’s DIY attitude.
“What he did, in the back of a shop, in the ****ing cold weather, on the ground? I respect that,” Maecha said. “You cannot pay me enough to do that **** on the ground.”
“For a DIY guy, he got it there,” Maecha said.
With the car running, it was time to tune it. 35 years ago, a stock 944 Turbo S would have shipped with 247 horsepower at the crank; the 2.5-liter made just 188. With just the turbo, Gorelik’s 944 is already pushing nearly 300 horses at the wheels, and while it may not have the instant torque of an LS swap, it still makes goofy noises.
In Gorelik’s own words, the car is by no means perfect, but now that it works, he’s been slowly cleaning it up. In the meantime, he has his eye out for a fresh body, so that he can tackle the same thing all over again, with a nicer result. And this time around, it’ll have a garage to live in from the very beginning.
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Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
