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I bought this car from a track / PCA acquaintance - we have the same friends, know the same people. He and his son have (more his son) rebuilt motors for a while with no negative experiences. Long story short - I bought this car on the recommendation of my indy - as having a rebuilt motor - ARP studs, IMS, ect.... basically - I was buying a rebuilt motor so I could overlook all of the 'little' things.
The motor wasn't rebuilt as it was advertised to have been and as such, was, and continues to be, rife with issue - mainly oil pressure. Even after replacing the piston, the spring, the sender, and now the oil pump itself - it is still less than 1/2 bar at hot idle and unable to get to 3bar at any RPM.
The prior owner had committed to making things right if there were any issues - and thus far, he has been a stand up guy. I emailed him last night telling him to pick an option 1) Take the car back and refund the purchase price. 2) Have the motor professionally rebuilt. 3) Refund me all of my money less what I think is a reasonable offer for the car given its history, overall condition, and basically - shot motor.
The real B$#ch of this is - I have $1200 in Tarret suspension parts installed, an FVD deep sump X51 oil pan with baffles, X74 suspension installed.
I will remove the Tarret and the FVD pan - as there isn't a whole lot of labor involved - but the X74 suspension will likely not be worth paying to remove to re-install the blown suspension that the car came with.
Shorter version - my introduction into 996's involved taking $5K or so, lighting it on fire, and going on with my day. For the 66 miles that I have driven the car - especially with the X74 - I REALLY liked it.
I bought this car from a track / PCA acquaintance - we have the same friends, know the same people. He and his son have (more his son) rebuilt motors for a while with no negative experiences. Long story short - I bought this car on the recommendation of my indy - as having a rebuilt motor - ARP studs, IMS, ect.... basically - I was buying a rebuilt motor so I could overlook all of the 'little' things.
The motor wasn't rebuilt as it was advertised to have been and as such, was, and continues to be, rife with issue - mainly oil pressure. Even after replacing the piston, the spring, the sender, and now the oil pump itself - it is still less than 1/2 bar at hot idle and unable to get to 3bar at any RPM.
The prior owner had committed to making things right if there were any issues - and thus far, he has been a stand up guy. I emailed him last night telling him to pick an option 1) Take the car back and refund the purchase price. 2) Have the motor professionally rebuilt. 3) Refund me all of my money less what I think is a reasonable offer for the car given its history, overall condition, and basically - shot motor.
The real B$#ch of this is - I have $1200 in Tarret suspension parts installed, an FVD deep sump X51 oil pan with baffles, X74 suspension installed.
I will remove the Tarret and the FVD pan - as there isn't a whole lot of labor involved - but the X74 suspension will likely not be worth paying to remove to re-install the blown suspension that the car came with.
Shorter version - my introduction into 996's involved taking $5K or so, lighting it on fire, and going on with my day. For the 66 miles that I have driven the car - especially with the X74 - I REALLY liked it.
:-(
Wow. sorry to hear of the issues. That's unfortunate as it sounded like you were on your way to a fun track toy.
Gook luck going forward.
That sucks man. Sorry to hear it. At least the PO is working with you. But it's a good reminder that this isn't an engine that just anyone can rebuild.
FYI, it may take a weekend, but it doesn't take a lot of tools to swap the suspension out yourself. And if you have a little patience, it's kind of fun. I think you still have my contact info and I'd be more than happy to provide tech support along the way. Just let me know how I can help.
+1 for the suspension swap being pretty straightforward. The x74 bits would be nice on another car, or someone here would certainly take them off your hands to put some money back in your pocket.
Whoa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... It feels like there are a few posts missing between 12/10/16 and yesterday... Wha hoppen? Did the guy toss you the $5000 you felt like you got jacked for? Did he pay to have the engine done right? Please shed some light on this sitch...!
Without going into too many details - they just aren't all that important - he and I went to lunch and worked out how we were going to address this, the clearly defined next steps, the time lines, and the remedies.
Suffice to say - we worked it out. It has been a back-and-forth and a time consuming one at that. Fortunately, the car has been at, what I believe to be one of Central Florida's best indy's, and one that is mutual to both the seller and I. He has been a standup guy the whole time.
So that said - the car is getting the cooling system worked on (center rad, hoses, etc) to compliment the new therm, water pump, etc.
The car's first track 3-day event is set for 2nd week in February.
Without going into too many details - they just aren't all that important - he and I went to lunch and worked out how we were going to address this, the clearly defined next steps, the time lines, and the remedies.
Suffice to say - we worked it out. It has been a back-and-forth and a time consuming one at that. Fortunately, the car has been at, what I believe to be one of Central Florida's best indy's, and one that is mutual to both the seller and I. He has been a standup guy the whole time.
So that said - the car is getting the cooling system worked on (center rad, hoses, etc) to compliment the new therm, water pump, etc.
The car's first track 3-day event is set for 2nd week in February.
Good enough - minutia not necessary! Glad you got it sussed and good luck at the track!
First track weekend done with the new car... Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
I didn't set any barn burning lap times at all - just learning the new car - so I was focused on consistency. I had a couple of others drive the car as well - one raced one in H class for MANY years and the other is a damn fast driver - both liked the setup - both had some similar feedback about the car and it's 'rotate-ability' lol....
That said - I like the feel of the X74, the sways are set neutral as well. The car held together fine - there are a couple of things that I feel will need to be addressed.... my biggest complaint was the tires (which is to say - it's in pretty good shape).
The Yokahama Advan AD08R's are a very capable street tire - but have some interesting characteristics on track being pushed... First - they are WAY pressure sensitive... hot pressure of 32/36 was the right combo... that meant starting off with 26/30 or so. Over that and they are greasy - under that they are really spongy and non-responsive.
Even at the 'right pressures' they had a fairly quick breaking point (IMO). They were fairly predictable until they weren't. When they broke - they were gone (requiring VERY fast hands).
The car is a whole different animal from the 997 but in a analog, raw, gritty way. It was the difference (to me) between riding and driving.
12-10-2016, 09:27 AM
Good enough - minutia not necessary! Glad you got it sussed and good luck at the track! 
