1980 SC Restoration
 

Background:

The car has been in the Family for 30 years...

1980 911 SC Original motor
Car has been sitting for 8-10 years
Car is in Northern California

The 911 was passed on to me by my father with the hopes that I could bring it back to life.

The 911 was taken to a local trusted mechanic who performed three leak down tests and a compression test all confirming the motor was gone.

My father had hoped to increase the displacement to a 3.2.

The questions I have so far:

If i rebuild the 3.0 what should I expect in cost?

If I increase the displacement on the original motor, should I switch the injection system? What else am I not thinking about?

Any recommendations on a shop:

-Rebuild the 3.0/3.2?
-Purchase a fresh rebuild/possibly keeping the old motor
-Thinking of having the transmission gone through. Worth it or should I get the motor done first and then decide.

Steve Will be along shortly to give you the exact information you are looking for .. but from what I know ...

911 engines are NEVER gone .. they just need rebuilding .

Cost can be very expensive however. Mine is in really good shape and i am taking it apart to do a minor repair and i am budgeting 5K or so. Rebuild costs will depend on what is gone . could be anywhere from 10-15K even higher if you are not doing it yourself and issues are found which will run up the tab.

to increase displacement to a 3.2 you can do it without replacing the intake system. cis can handle a 3.2 without twin plug or changing intake but you will need larger 3.2 Carrera cylinders and pistons and the cylinder spigots in the case will need to be machined to fit the larger cylinders. None of this i am sure is cheap. You would likely go with a different cam too ( 964 grind ) so keep tacking on.

someone on here was selling a rebuilt 3.2 just a couple of days ago for 11 Grand.

I would be grabbing that engine if yours is really gone. i dont think you are going to do better than that for a freshly built Carrera engine .
you will need the DME and harness on top of that , as well as a alternator and/fan and housing. having seen the pics. but i would be jumping all over if i were you .

The only thing that makes me wonder is the validity of a leak down on an engine that has sat for that long.

id tear it down measure and go from there if the 3.2 engine wasnt an option.


Good Luck

https://rennlist.com/forums/911-foru...-for-sale.html

Here is the 3.2 fs, seem to be a good deal for a complete rebuild and no core.

i thought so too.

On the face of it, this makes no sense. Only way an air cooled is "gone" is if it has a rather large hole in the engine case from a lower end problem (rod thrown from lack of oil or bolt failure...but rod bolt failures are pretty much a 3.2L thing).

Ultimately, you have a number in your head on what you're willing to spend. If that number isn't 2X what a similar car is out there is selling for, unless you're 100% DIY you'll come up short in completing your project or you'll have a half-assed result.

Poor Choice in Words when I said "Gone."

The Shop told me the motor could be rebuilt but to expect 25K. From what I can see here that seems a little excessive.

I did see the thread here with a users advertising a 3.2 for 11K. Will this work for me? Is it the best option? What else should I be aware of when purchasing a motor from anybody?

First, these cars are becoming collectable. which means that cars in original configuration will maintain their value.

Second, engine swaps will compromise originality.

Third, rebuild on a "tired", but in-tact 3.0 engine should be about $12K or so... $25K is ridiculous.

Fourth, anybody selling a used motor is selling it for a reason. IMHO, if your budget is in the $11K range, rebuilding the original motor is the best bet.

If it were me i would spend the 11K on the motor if it checks out as a fresh rebuild with good numbers

Buy the pparts to put it in and get driving.

Then over the next X years rebuild the original . There are tonnes of books and threads on pelican on how to do this.

Then resell either motor , keep the extra HP or the originality .

Thanks for the input everybody. I'm going to look into getting the motor rebuilt elsewhere.

If you tell us where you live, somebody on the site probably knows a good shop to use. If you are in North Cal, there's a lot of excellent Porsche guys... I wouldn't blink twice spending $500 to ship the car a couple hundred miles to a first rate shop.

What are you trying to do with car? Weekend driver? Daily driver? Flip it? Rebuilding the 3.0 would be the most straight-forward approach (imho).

The Car is located in Chico, Ca. Shipping the motor and transmission is a great idea. Any suggestion on shops within California/Nevada/Oregon?

I want to get the car drivable so I can enjoy it a little. The overall goal is to have the bodywork done too and have the car as a Weekend Driver.

My goal for the 3.0 rebuild would be to increase performance slightly without compromising durability, and drivability.