2000 Porsche Boxster S V8 480HP Chevrolet LS3 6.2L Conversion Renegade Hybrids

2000 Porsche Boxster V8 LS376/480 Description

It is time to move onto the next project so I am officially offering my LS3 V8 Boxsterfor sale. It is more 95% driver and 5% project now, but my feelings are that with a car like this is will always be aproject! This entire project has been documented from day one on 986forums dot com in the "Show and Tell Gallery" and has become apretty popular thread with over 70,000 views now! You can see the ups and downs of the entire process with pictures and
videos along the way.
Basic Information:
2000 Porsche Boxster S - Slate grey metallic exterior, light grey top and interior.
147,xxx miles on the chassis. Lifelong Georgia car, clean Carfax with no accident history
Chevy LS3 crate engine with Chevy "hot cam" conversion with 480 horsepower! Approx. 5,000~ miles on conversionCar weighs just about 2950 lbs with the "race" exhaustRenegade Hybrids "conversion kit"
Retains Factory 6-Speed manual transmission with KEP adapter plate and upgraded clutch
Uses Chevrolet factory controller kit with ECU, Harness, throttle, oxygen sensors etc.
18" BBS SR Wheels
H & R RSS Coil over suspension
Electric Power Steering Conversion
Cooling system replaced and upgraded with 3 CSF all Aluminum radiators
Brakes rebuilt powder coated and upgraded with HAWK pads & Stainless Steel brake lines
Custom exhaust system with high flow catalytic converters! Passes emissions!
2 different "cat-back" exhaust systems - Street setup w/2 mufflers & Race pipes which are OMG loud! I usually run the
straight pipes :p
~Detailed Information~
Intro:For better or worse I am a very open and honest person and want to make sure you know everything I know about this vehicle. I have been working with cars for about 8 years now having given up a boring life of computers to pursue something more interesting. I currently manage a small Porsche repair and restoration shop. This has been my personal side project for the past 2 years. I have always loved the idea of a big motor in a nimble little car i.e.. the Shelby Cobra... So being a Porsche guy the Boxsters' mid-engine layout seemed like the perfect platform to try this out with!
I'll spare all the details here but after much deliberation and searching I found this car through a Copart auction as having "mechanical damage". Unlike most cars through Copart, this vehicle had no cosmetic damage and was actually quite clean looking, seems it had had been donated probably as a tax write off for someone when they diagnosed the engine problem. When I finally got the car I expected it to have a bad IMS bearing which is the common issue but I actually charged the battery and it fired right up with no funny noises!! A quick look in the front trunk revealed 2 fresh bottles of pink coolant so I figured it was an over heating issue. Upon further examination the water pump and T-stat had recently been replaced, so I think the PO may have over heated the car which lead to the motors untimely death. After a new oil cooler anda few weeks of mixing coolant & oil, I deemed it a lost cause and officially dubbed it the LS conversion project car.
It has now been about 2 years since I first got the car and it is now a completely different animal! So much more powerful then any standard road car and yet still nimble, fun and easy to drive... Once the car was finally finished I wanted to prove how well it worked, so I signed up for the "Wanna Go Fast" 1/2 mile drag racing event in Clayton, GA in May of 2016. The car was very consistent and I was able to make 4 runs before I finally broke an axle (see driveline section below!). My 3rd and 4th runs were the fastest and both were exactly the same speed at 142.4953 MPH!
Run 1 - 141.3317 mph
Run 2 - 142.0455 mph
Run 3 - 142.4953 mph
Run 4 - 142.4953 mph
Engine Conversion:
I did all of the work on this conversion myself along with a bit of help from the experienced techs at my shop! Since the original motor was shot I debated on which route to go with the motor, and at the time was intending to offer conversion services to customers so I wanted to be able to replicate the project if necessary. For that reason I chose to purchase a brand new factory Chevy crate motor which is based on the 2013 Corvette LS3 motor. The best bang for the buck in my opinion was the LS376-480 crate motor. The "480" is the horsepower rating and itis a 376 cubic inch 6.2 liter motorwhich came with the GM factory "hot cam" installed making480 horse power and 475 lb-ft of torque. Quite an improvement to the factory 6 cylinders' 250hp/225tq!
I had spoken to the guys at Renegade Hybrids and even took a trip out to their shop in Las Vegas to check things out which was one of the biggest driving factors in doing this conversion. While I'm always up for a challenge I didn't want to have to recreate the wheel so I felt comfortable purchasing their "kit". So I put in the order for the V8 conversion kit and purchased everything they would sell me, well i'll let you read through the 20+ page forum posts where I documented the build. I'll just say that for a "kit" I was quite disappointed.
So utilizing a new factory Chevy crate motor and the Renegade Hybrids "kit", the basics were in place. I also purchased a new Chevy factory LS376-480 engine controller kit which included a brand new harness with fuse box, ECU, throttle pedal, oxygen sensors etc. The Chevy wiring is integrated into the Porsche system so the tachometer and check engine light all work on the dash board. All electronics fit nicely into the rear trunk along side the factory control units with the OBD2 port mounted by the coolant reservoir. When it is time for emissions simply direct the emissions person to the trunk rather then the port under the dash and you should have no problem passing.
The motor itself required some minor modifications in order to fit into the smaller engine bay so an LS4 harmonic balancer was added, a new oil pan was installed, and the intake manifold was removed and turned around 180* so that the intake faces towards the back of the car. The intake system is all custom made and makes a turn towards the drivers side of the car where I made a custom cold air box which pull air in directly from the intake vent on the drivers side of the car.
The A/C system is NOT INSTALLED. I really wanted it and tried to make it work but the A/C bracket I bought from Renegade does not line up correctly and causes the belt to squeak badly with the compressor installed. I currently have the compressor off the car and have installed an oil cooler in its' place to help cool the motor a bit better but it could be relocated easily enough. The wiring for the A/C system is still in place so all you need to do is install the compressor & belt, then have the 2 factory A/C lines shortened and re-crimped with the factory fittings. The hard part is going to be getting the A/C compressor situated well enough so that the belt does not squeak!
Cooling System:Due to the mileage on the car and theunfortunate demise of the factory motor whichmixed oil into the cooling system, I decided to clean/replace the entire cooling system. I removed all of the factory hard pipes, cleaned everything thoroughly and replaced all of the factory cooling hoses in the front of the car. I also decided to upgrade all of the radiators toinsure that the new motor stayed coolso I installednew CSF 1 piece all aluminum radiators in which offer 40% more cooling capacity. All 3 radiators were upgraded, both sides and the center mount. Leaving no stone unturned I also replaced the expansion tank and heater corewith a new Porsche units, removed and cleaned all of the pipes to it to make sure that no oil could remain in the system.Again due to the lack of space in the engine compartment there is not enough room to run the factory water pump without it intruding into the passenger compartment so the "kit" I purchased from Renegade also included a Meziere 55GPM electric water pump which mounts to the engine cradle. It is wired into the power for the Chevy ECU system so the water pump fires up as soon as the key is turned to the "on" position.The system uses a Meziere remote thermostat housing which currently has no thermostat in it so the system is free flowing and will typically run about 180* or less if you are driving. This is terrific until it starts to get really cold then you will want the thermostat and extra heat if you are like me and like to ride with the heat on and top down!In the winter time i'll run a160* thermostat and in Georgia with 75*+ temperaturestypically runs at about 190* when you are moving and will climb to about 215* in stop and go traffic according to the gauge on the dash board**. I highlighted that to explain that the cooling system is the one portion that could still use some refinement. The system is currently set up using 2 different coolant temperature sensors. The GM sensor is still in it's factory location on the LS motor which is right where the cool water enters the motor, thus this sensor always reads cooler then the gauge on the dash board. In order to get the gauge on the dash board working properly the Porsche factory wiring was retained, and a Porsche coolant temperature sensor was simply installed into the Chevy cylinder head. This causes the gauge on the dash board to read higher then what the Chevy ECU is actually seeing.There is one issue with the cooling system which I have not been able to figure out, although it may be as easy as an air bubble in the system I can't get out. Worst case it may take some slight re-design of the system. The problem is that when the engine warms up to quickly once the thermostat is open and get to about 190-200 degrees, it causes the red flashing "low coolant" light to start flashing on the temperature gauge. This happens almost every time like clockwork since I built the car. I have tried to work around it by putting in a reset switch but the only way to turn the light off is to turn the car off and back on again, once that happens then itacts just fineuntil the car cools off again. I have also installed a toggle switch for the cooling fans in the center console to manually control them if desired.
Transmission/Clutch/Driveline:
The car retains its' factory 6-speed manual transmission which is bolted to the LS motor via a Kennedy Engineered Products (KEP) adapter plate which was purchased as part of the Renegade kit. The transmission shifts very smoothly and I recently serviced it with new factory synthetic gear lube.
In talking with the folks at Renegade they said the factory clutch "would work" but they basically said it would fail so I opted for the upgraded clutch and flywheel setup which also turned out to be a KEP unit. I have used several of their upgraded clutches in the past with great success and must say the same about this experience. The clutch setup came with all the necessary hardware, clearly labeled with instructions and has worked flawlessly! I also opted for the IMI high torque starter that they offer for the adapter plate setup and while the stock mounts "would work" as well I boughtWEVO transmission mounts to ensure no problems.
Axles - I have had some ups and downs with the axles (see forum posts) and have tried several different options. I have tried to come up with a permanent solution but have come to the conclusion that having a set of axles custom made by "The Driveshaft Shop" in NCfor the car is the best solution. That is a very pricey option so I have been using either factory axles (expensive)or aftermarket axles which are very inexpensive. With the amount of power the car makes it has been wearing out the outer portion of the outer CV joint after a few thousand miles. You can tell when they start to go bad as the car will have a slight vibration under acceleration which will progressively get worse until it is replaced. I have just installed a new set which is of much higher quality then the cheaper aftermarket ones I had been using and so far they seem very good. I have only broken 1 axle when I was drag racing the car at the Wanna Go Fast event in Clayton, Georgia. It was a very cheap axle but it had managed to survive 4 pretty hard runs before it let go! I have a video posted on my You Tube channel if you would like to see it :)
Body/Chassis:
The exterior is Slate Grey Metallic with a light grey top and light grey interior as well. The car shows signs of age but is in excellent overall shape for a car of it's age.
Car was recently detailed, buffed and polished, the paint is in very good condition. There are some dings throughout the body but nothing which couldn't be fixed with paintless dent removal.
The car was weighed on a set of Longacre racing scales with the factory wheels and approx. 1/2 a tank of gas weighed in at 2,991 pounds with the heavier muffled "quiet" exhaust system which adds about 40 pounds~ With 480 horsepower on tap you are only moving around a little over 6 pounds per horsepower!
The convertible top is fairly new and has an upgraded glass rear window.
The engine cover itself is stock but has been modified to work with the new motor. It seals very well but does still rub on the motor just a bit.
The firewall cover is customer made from fiberglass and steel mesh, then finished off with 2000* fire protection. It seals well but due to the nature of the area a small amount of warmair come through the center console. Alsothe center console the lid is broken off of it but still locks in place.The drivers seat back bolster is torn and worn from getting in/out of the car and needs to be replaced. The driversseat switch was also having some intermittent problems I have not addressed, I was just going to buy a new set of seats once I found a good set.
The car has HID headlights which were professionaly restored andsprayedwith clear-coat so they look like new and should notfog over again.When I parked the car for the conversion it had about 1/4 of a tank of fuel, now the gauge no longer falls below that point. I think it is the fuel level sender but have not even tried to recalibrate it. May need a fuel level sending unit to be 100% accurate again. In the mean time I have just been filling up when I get to 1/4 of a tank..
The interior lights will stay on if you don't open both doors, probably just a door switch gone bad but hasn't bothered me enough to worry about it.
Steering/Suspension:
Due to the lack of available space in the Boxsters' engine compartment there is not enough room for the GM factory accessories. I did not want to lose the power steering so I also opted for the Electric power steering upgrade option from Renegade. It is basically steering pump from a Toyota MR2 Spyder so it is very reliable and works well. The nice thing is that it also works without the motor running! The pump has been mounted in the front trunk which unfortunately does not quite leave enough room for the spare tire to fit in the factory locationbut could be modified to work.
After driving the car for a whileit became apparent that the tired 145,000 mile suspension was not up to par with the new power output. After searching around I ended up refreshing the suspension system with an H&R RSS Clubsport Coil-over suspension kit! "While I was in there" I went ahead and replaced all other wearable components of the suspension system with exception of the rear strut mounts which appeared to be in excellent condition. The setup can be a bit aggressive on bumpier roads but overall offers a firm ride and very predictable handling.
Wheels/Tires/Braking system:
The wheels have been upgraded to 18" BBS SR's with new Sumitomo Tires, 225/265's. This was the last thing done to the car just before the Wanna Go Fast event in May and have about 1000 miles on them. While the factory brakes did a pretty good job of slowing the car down, it was pretty obvious that the extra power was a bit more then the factory bits were meant for! With the mileage I wanted to make sure everything was tip-top so disassembled and fully rebuilt the calipers with all new seals and had them custom powder coated in neon green with "Boxster V8" to add a bit of "pizzaz" :) All new cross drilledhigh carbon content coated brake rotors were installed along with Hawk HP Plus brake pads which provide the extra stopping power the car needed. I topped it off with a full set of stainless steel brake flew lines which give the car an excellent solid pedal feel.
Exhaust System:
The crate motor came with standard manifolds which after researching were pretty good so I opted to simply build the exhaust using the manifolds rather then getting headers. I built the exhaust system using 2.5" stainless steel mandrel bent piping and used V-band clamps wherever possible to make the exhaust easy to get on and off. The system consists of the 2 down pipes connected to the exhaust manifold with the standard 2 bolt clamp, just down from there the oxygen sensors are mounted. The downpipes are finished off with Vibrant Performance high flow catalytic converters and V-Band clamp flanges for easy swapping of the cat-back exhaust system!
Speaking of the cat-back system I have built 2 of them which are included with the car, a quite system and a loud one! Both sound fantastic in their own way, just depends on how much attention you are looking to receive! I built the quiet system first which consists of a polished stainless steel x-pipe which then goes into 2 Magnaflow mufflers. I have added an additional oxygen sensor bung into the X-pipe as well for tuning purposes or a wideband o2 sensor. With the quiet system installed most people, including experienced Porsche guys do not realize that it has a V8 in it, let alone 480 horsepower!
The "loud" exhaust system is exactly what it sounds like, it's loud! It's also pretty basic as it is simply 2 pipes with v-band clamps that attach directly to the downpipes and straight out the back, no mufflers! If you don't like your neighbors and love the sound of a raw V8 then this is the exhaust system you will run most of the time, ask my neighbors!!! The sound is truly amazing at full throttle and under deceleration sounds like you under attack fromsmall arms fire popping and growling, absolutely awesome :)
The best part is that the systems are very easy to swap out. Takes me less then an hour to install the mufflers when the straight pipes are on, and about 30 minutes to swap back to the straight pipes. I have pondered building another exhaust system with electric cutoff valves so that you can go from stealthy to rowdy with the flick of a switch but would require the whole system to be rebuilt and I just have not had the time.
All parts purchased new unless otherwise noted~
Conversion bits include but not limited to the following:
2013 Chevy crate motor, LS376/480 376CI 6.2 Liter All-Aluminum V8 with optional GM hotcam, Makes 480 Horsepower and 475
pound-feet of torque! Nice shakey cam you can feel in your butt
GM factory controller kit including ECU, Throttle pedal, Oxygen sensors etc. Everything needed to run the new engine AND make
it EMISSIONS COMPLIANT!!! Car is currently registed in Georgia with current emissions but please check your local laws.
Renegade Hybrids full installation kit used...plus a lot more... Renegade Hybrids - Basic installations kit, Power steering
kit and ALL optional parts were installed on this vehicle, Meziere Electric water pump, High performance clutch etc.
CSF Aluminum radiators - all 3
Porsche Heater Core
Porsche Coolant Reservoir tank
USED Corvette C5 engine mount brackets
Hinson Supercars Urethane Engine Mounts
WEVO Boxster V8 transmission mounts
High flow Vibrant Catalytic Converters
Magnaflow Mufflers and X-Pipe - (Quiet Touring Exhaust)
Additional set of muffler bypass pipes~
IMI High Torque Starter
FEQ Aftermarket Axles
H&R RSS Coil over suspension
Fully rebuilt brake calipers, powder coated
Hawk HP Plus brake pads, Stainless steel brake lines, new Rotors
Customer Fiberglass rear firewall
Refinished Xenon headlights - look like new!
Plus lots more...
I have done my best to list everything as accurately as possible, but feel free to email me if you have any questions and i'll be glad to answer them for you. I have the car listed for sale locally and reserve the right to end the listing early if the car is sold. Car is being sold as-is with no warranty of any kind expressed or implied. I will help to assist in shipping any way possible or might deliver the car personally if the price is right!Thanks