What are used engines going for these days??

I think my spare engine got its crate damaged in an extra garden shed in which it was stored, as the shed developed a leak and the gardener mysteriously knows nothing about what happened or that the crate was not to have stuff placed on it..!!

The block and heads have white aluminum corrosion dust on them as I live near the ocean and the valve stems have surface rust.. I'm going to look more and see if it can be cleaned up, but may need a complete tear down and rebuild.

So much for the storage 60k mile motor

 

Probably a 5-10x delta between a rebuildable S4 motor vs. a drop-in-and-run GTS motor, if such a thing existed. Say, $2K to $20K.

I take it the intake was off the motor in storage?

 

Can't that surface build up be cleaned up with a little bit of oil and a toothbrush?

 

Hi Rob,

Yes, the intake was off, and it was covered with a tarp. The tarp deteriorated and moisture was able to enter the intake ports.

 

I don't know as I don't know how deep the corrosion is yet. I'm going to look into it this weekend.

It was also a 5 speed motor so no TBF issues.

 

Richard-

For future reference, I have several stored engines "pickled" inside in kerosene (full), sprayed on the outside with marine preservative, then bagged in heavy poly with lots of dessicant. Mine are a little smaller, 60's-70's vintage Lotus and Cosworth units. But the process is the same. If you plan to keep yours in the garden shed, build a crate on top of a pallet to protect the bag. Maybe double-bag just to be sure. Mine are on pallets but no crate. I have casters under the pallets but the little tires are pretty flat-spotted from sitting so long.

 

I just picked up a used S4 engine from a 1988 S4 with 109K miles. It has all the harnesses, ac compressor, air pump, alternator, and power steering pump. It was on ebay and had a video showing it running in the car before it was pulled. Price was 1999.99 with free shipping.

 

I have (2) of everything 2 GTS motors price range $20-$40K and if you think that's high you can always have a custom stroker motor build for around $70K.

 

Gotcha on the Kerosene.... Funny you mention that, my dad used to dunk the bits of 4cylinder Lotus/Brit spares in a 55gal drum with oil..

My bad..

 

Interesting to know.. Maybe fleabay can turn up something worthwhile.. I'll check on occasion..

 

Hermann,

I had 2 of everything, now I have 1 engine and 1 crate of corroded parts.. And yes, I was planning on doing a stroker of the one currently in the car, but if the crate/shed relic is salvageable, I might do it on that one now... I doubt it will be 70k to build a stroker. 6L, not 6.5L, as I only need crank, rods and pistons plus the bits like bearings and misc pile. Granted, I'm not counting my time, which would take the stroker into..........

Anyway, c'est la vie....

 

This one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/89-Porsche-9...p2047675.l2557

Did you tear into it before you installed it? Just curious how much more money needs to be invested before its road-worthy again...

 

Yes that is the one. I have not dug into it, I have kept it wrapped up till I have need of it. All the holes are plugged and all components are there. It looks like you can just drop it in.

Of course I would make some changes, like greg brown fuel hoses, and a new wiring harness from Sean.

I bought this so that I could swap engines and do a complete tear down and rebuild of the original engine. Knowing it takes time I still wanted to drive the BLUE GEM.

Harvey

 

The 'barrel of oil' option never crossed my mind. I spoke to some guys whe were doing long-term marine layups and they initially suggested the kerosene. Crankcase and cylinders are filled, with manifold ends blocked to contain the mess. Whole thing gets a wetdown with a CRC marine preservative stuff. Then the bags and the dessicant bags inside. There's something like 10 lbs of silica gel dessicant thrown in each one.

I had a look at one engine after some damage done by roofing contractors where the cars are stored. Cars in crates were winched up against the flat ceiling, contractors walked on the crates and stepped through one, damaging some original aluminum Lotus skinwork. Engine look was to support the value claim against the contractors' and landlord's liability insurance; they wanted to verify my "as-new, untouched by fuel" claim of condition. They wanted to do a full teardown, but settled for a borescope look once their agent saw how it was all packed. And how their proposed teardown would even further diminish the originality of the car. They had no concept of how one received a race car from the Lotus factory in the sixties. In crates.

 

Funny you mention boats... I told my boat buddies about the Porsche engine and they all laughed and said I should have known better than to leave it in the shed in a crate.

They said diesel or kerosene bath is worthwhile too..

Anyway, maybe I will find a good deal on a complete car and just have this engine as a paper weight...

Or, maybe I'll get lucky and it will be rebuildable after using some aluminum jelly and a complete disassemble followed by ultrasonic cleaning then put back together..

I can always hope.....