944T calipers on NA spindles?

[Maynard]

I am in process of putting 944 NA brakes on a '74 Super Beetle. I was wondering if there is a safe way to attach the 944T front caliper on the 944 NA spindles. I understand that the mounting holes are spaced wider in the front for the 944T. Would it be safe to weld on extra material in order to mount the 944T calipers? Also, would I be able to use the 944 NA rotors or would I need to go with the 944T rotors (are they the same thickness)? If I need the 944T rotors, would they mount to the NA hubs?

My understanding is that the rear calipers would just be a bolt on. Would the rotors be the same thickness in the rear so that I could use the NA rotors in the rear?

[Michael Ghia]

1986 only 944 Turbo (951) uses the same hubs as the early car but uses thicker disks, just buy some disks and they will match the calipers.
If you can find a competent welder (it will have to be Tig) then you should be able to have the spindle welded to accept the caliper.
The other way of doing it is to find the 1986 only front turbo hubs but... they are not drilled for the speedo hole so you then another problem!
At the back.. use either 944 turbo/944 S2 or late 928S2/928S4 etc rear disks. Again these will match the caliper for width and... you will need 4 porsche spacers which are used when Porsche bolted on the 4-pot calipers onto the 944 and 968. They should be pennies.. pat number 999.025.131.02
Mike Ghia

[Superman]

Originally posted by Michael Ghia
1986 only 944 Turbo (951) uses the same hubs as the early car but uses thicker disks

Mike, sorry to disagree, but the hubs are not the same. Yes it's true the discs are thicker but to compensate for that Porsche made the Turbo's hubs thinner than the N/A.

In short...

thick hub/thin disc = N/A
thick disc/thin hub = Turbo

Reading many experiences (on a 944/951 forum) from Porsche owners I've learned this type of mixture of the Turbo and N/A parts is next to impossible to make work correct. Some that have gotten the calipers mounted with custom brackets reported problems that the Turbo calipers would crack the thin N/A discs. In the end the conclusion and what ended up working for a few were Boxster monobloc calipers on N/A brakes. The Boxster discs are more the size of the N/A for better fitment.

[Maynard]

Originally posted by Superman

Reading many experiences (on a 944/951 forum) from Porsche owners I've learned this type of mixture of the Turbo and N/A parts is next to impossible to make work correct. Some that have gotten the calipers mounted with custom brackets reported problems that the Turbo calipers would crack the thin N/A discs. In the end the conclusion and what ended up working for a few were Boxster monobloc calipers on N/A brakes. The Boxster discs are more the size of the N/A for better fitment.

Thanks for the responses. I want to make sure this conversion is safe, so I would rather use the NA brakes if I have to. I did some searches on the Boxster calipers and found that I can use adapters to mount them. The only thing I saw mentioning monobloc calipers were that they were rear Boxster calipers. I assume that this would mean that I would use these rear Boxster monobloc calipers for the front and rear but can you (or anyone) tell me what year(s) I should look at?

I'm not sure what you mean by "Boxster monobloc calipers on N/A brakes". Do you mean that I can use my N/A rotors or would I need different rotors?

[Superman]

Yes, the 986 calipers mounted on 944 spindles and using 944 hubs and discs. I've seen one set up like that and the owner reported good results. Sorry I don't have any specs but he told me that he made his own caliper mounting adapters.

[Michael Ghia]

Superman,
Good point, I just checked on Pet and the part number is different. I never put them side by side.
There is no reason why you should be able to use only rear Boxster Mono Block calipers.
MG