mpiffaretti

Good morning gentleman. I own a 79 SC that is a blast to drive, but when compared to others SC's I've driven, mine is feeling "tired". My engine has close to 200k miles on it. I haven't done a compression or leak down test on it yet to know exactly where I stand, but I have a feeling my compression is probably down quite a bit. My question is, how much would it roughly cost to rebuild the top end of the engine? is it worth to go all out and do a complete rebuild?
The reason Im asking is because a buddy of mine has a 76 with a 2.7, factory non-sunroof, continental orange (rare color) engine has been sorted and upgraded for the usual faults of that year, has upgraded 964 brakes, koni suspension, oil cooler, front brakes coolers, and the 915 tranny feels solid and precise. This car was a track car at some point of its life and was given lots nice upgrades.

So Im torn between either go spend money and upgrade my car, or sell my SC to another friend, put money on top and get the 76 all ready to go.
Any advice?

Amber Gramps

I would not go near a 2,7....but that aside, I would rather have the car I know than the car I don't know. Your top end would be $10,000 to farm out, at most. Are you willing to sell your car to a friend knowing it's got a $10,000 time bomb ticking out back? Then again, I do like Continental Orange.

mpiffaretti

Yes, I've read a lot of bad press about the 2.7 from those years in their stock form, never been a huge fan of magnesium cases either. But, I've also read the engine is fine once sorted/upgraded, which in this case it is. The fact that it was setup and used at the track is the best indication the work must have been done well in order to whitstand the heat and added stress. The car feels extremely nimble and quick, makes my SC feel like a pig. Its just hard to find non-sunroof cars in Conti Orange, which happens to be my favorite color on an older Porsche.

JCP911S

First, is this a street or a race car.... assuming this is a street car, this is my advice.

First, the bottom end on these engines is really robust. Unless there is evidence of a catastrophic failure of the rod or main bearings, or really bad oil pressure, i'd guess a total rebuild is not necessary.

Second, at 200K, a top-end rebuild is due. The $2K question is what do you plan to do with the car? If it is just a sunday driver, a top-end rebuild would work.

Rings, re-build cams, re-built heads, new timing chains and sprockets, steel head-studs, gaskets seals, and some miscellaneous stuff should run $4-6K at a good Porsche shop.

This will give you a car thats good for another 10 years of driving.

mpiffaretti

JCP, I was actually hoping you would chime in, I've always respected your good advice around here.
Yes, my SC is a street car, which I drive very spirited about twice a week, most especially in the South Florida winter when its nice out (AC has been removed). Even though its street car, I want to be able to take it to the ocassional DE track and autoX events from my local PCA club for some good old fashioned analog fun.
The 1976 2.7 I drove would cost me probably around 6k over what my SC is worth, so based on your above estimates I'm probably better off rebuilding the top end and even the 915 tranny for a few bucks more and have a fresh tight drivetrain. On another note, do carburetors make a big difference on the power band compared to the CIS? if I go with the top end rebuild, I may consider some Webber's carbs while there.
Martin

Scott997

If you need a top end rebuild, there's a lot of great shops local to you. PM me if you would like a recommendation. Then you can call can get quotes and timeframes.

Even if you do decide to sell, it's the right thing to do for the next owner and will add value.

tcsracing1

take the SC and do the top end and go through the whole car.
Hot rod it. Bumpers, brakes, interior.
79SC is a good 911 for road or track. Going up in value too.

Question is, what color is it?

It appears the 76 is nice because it is modded right, turn key and a cool color.

You could make your SC even better as it already has the rear fenders and good engine.

After seeing what Accumoto did to their SC, i became a SC hunter

pu911rsr

The 2.7's 7R case motors are great when properly built- The 3.0 aluminum cases have many advantages but for a weekend fun car either one is completely acceptable. All air cooled 911's are valuable right now- they all deserve to be taken care of. Rebuild the motor in your SC and you'll have a good car for a long long time.
Phil

WPOZZZ

I'm all for the rebuild! If you were planning to sell the SC and throw in $6k on top of that, that would be quite a budget. With that you could go for a motor swap!

JCP911S

Thanks, I'm the 78th most knowledgeable guy here.

If you are going to do Carbs, PMO are the way to go, and you can put more aggressive cams in the engine.... also bump the CR... and do headers.... you can probably bump up 30-40HP, or more, but now you are on a $lippery $lope... start budgeting in increments of $5K.

If you are doing a full gearbox rebuild, and not doing PCA racing, close ratio gears will give you significant performance increase with even a stock engine... lots of bang for the buck.

Save all your stock parts.

Steve W, Winders, etc need to pick up the ball on that stuff.

jellonailer

What pu911 said. ^

He's forgotten more than I know.

And, if I had all the money he has made on P-cars I would throw all my money away!

rstarga

On a 200k motor, I wouldn't spend 10k and not do the rest of the engine, just to be sure. What a drag to have to do it again. If your car had a 100k different story.