Many people will tell you that the stock throttle pedal/cable will not work for the V8 swap, but what most of these people don’t know is that the early Boxsters came with a full cable setup (no drive by wire). I purchased mine from a 986Forum member with a pedal for $50. The cable length is great and the TB travel is spot on. Today I made a custom bracket to hold the cable in place. The clamp that comes with the wire can be attached to one of the intake manifold bolts to hold it in place. The end of the cable has a metal sleeve that flares out at the end towards the TB. I used small metal plate to wedge the flare to the bracket (you can see it below held by two stainless machine screws).

Renegade recommends using the Meziere water pump with their kit, but I decided to go with a local manufacturer called CVR. Their pumps are a little cheaper, but the build quality is still there. I’ve seen this pump used on other 911 swaps as well. The inlet/outlet orientation of this pump is not ideal for the Boxster, and given another chance, I’d probably go with the Meziere setup. I got an extra engine mount bracket with my Renegade kit (no surprises there…), which works out great as a pump mount. Below are some pictures of the bracket. Once I have the complete cooling system figured out, I will post more pictures of the pump location and hose routing.

CVR Remote Electric Water Pump

Bottom of the bracket. I’ve seen welded the seam.

I got my hands on a nice AD244 145 Amp alternator at a local scrap yard which I was planning to use for this build. This is an alternator that came on some GM trucks in the early 2000s, and it’s a very popular upgrade for the LS1 guys. I made a bracket for it to match the new harmonic balancer, but once I put the engine in, I realised that it wasn’t going to work. The mounting bracket on this alternator is just not ideal for this build. It would take a lot of modification to the alternator body in order to make it work, which I wasn’t really too keen on doing.

AD244 145A alternator

The original Porsche alternator on the other hand is a pretty easy fit. Renegade sells a bracket for around $140, but I think you can make one yourself in an afternoon with some scrap metal. The front bracket mates directly to the block and requires a spacer to align the pulley with the harmonic balancer (you will also need to file down the block in one spot where there is interference). The rear and the top brackets require a custom mount. Save yourself some trouble, and make the bracket while the engine is still out. Below are some pictures of what I made. These are not the finished product, I still need to buy proper bolts and give it a coat of paint.

Stock Porsche Alternator

Hey guys! I haven’t really had time to make detailed updates recently. We spent the last couple of weekends working on my friends 2005 E46 320. Dropped in a 330 engine and also changed one of his wheel bearings and an axle boot. In the process, we noticed that his rear subframe mounts are cracked, so this weekend we will be welding up the cracks and reinforcing the body. He also got a set of poly bushings to replace his old ones while we are at it.

Old 320 motor from my friends E46

The work on the Boxster is progressing nicely. The fuel lines and fuel regulator are installed, the brake vacuum line is hooked up, the stock throttle cable (from early Boxsters)  is hooked up and working perfectly with no modifications, the harness is 90% finished, the alternator bracket is finished, the starter motor has been modified to fit. Next week I will be getting some parts to get the PCV valve installed, and hopefully the necessary parts to finish the intake and cooling systems. I just made a huge order on www.siliconeintakes.com, so hopefully that will cover the last of the major parts that I need.