QUOTE(Joe Ricard @ Jun 12 2007, 05:04 AM)
Pass them up. you do not want them headaches.
Because they have Porsche dollars attached to all the parts it will kill you in repairs. the engine with the broken timing belt is not worth as plugged nickle but will cost you better than 5 G's to fix.
If you do a lot of the work yourself - which is fairly simple on a 944 - you can take that $5k head job down to $2500-$3000. Although, if I had a timing belt break on a 944 I owned, I'd swap it out for a converted 16v unit from Lindsey Racing and have fun from there.
Swapping engines cross-changeover is going to be a bitch. Be prepared to sit around with at least two sets of wiring diagrams trying to tie the newer engine's wiring into the older chassis. They changed over the electricals from that crappy fuse-relay panel in the driver's footwell to a central-electrics system (much like on 964s). Don't forget the DME for the later engine as well.
Just to repeat myself: Automatics = part them out. You'll be in over your head switching over to a manual trans as you'd need the bellhousing, driveshaft, transmission, axles, linkage, shifter, different center console.
Part them out and post on the Pelican Parts board.