swesna

I had a very long discussion with Bob Farmer regarding the 964 engine. He claims he has never seen a reason to have to rebuild the bottom end on these engines.

swesna

can't really tell unless you tell us.

i would not fear the high mileage.

strange on the color repaint..that is suspect if anything as it would seem cheaper to buy a silver one than to repaint. but ppl have done stranger things.

congrats...i think the car is setup nicely and a good price.

pcar964

Thanks. It's not a done deal yet, though. The original high bidder fell through, so the seller contacted me as a backup. I've been talking to the seller and emailing him detailed questions to get a feel for the car. He seems like a nice honest guy, knows 964s fairly well, etc.

I'm just a little nervous that it would be a hard car to sell if time came I had to sell it.

pcar964

That's very interesting, and very good to hear

Rocket Rob

PCar - I'm not an expert but on my car's engine what was worn was the valve guides, cam chain guides and cams. My cams had pitting which in talking which after talking to Steve W, was caused by poor quality oil (low ZDDP). My rebuild had mainly been disassembly, cleaning, reassemble with new gaskets/seals, bearings, chains and cams.

If you want a more in-depth discussion, contact Steve Weiner at Rennsport Systems. He knows the 964 engines really well.

pcar964

Thanks Rob your input is much appreciated!

Porsche964FP

It's possible, there are a small number of 964s here that have done huge miles without needing a rebuild - but I would say you're tempting fate the majority tend to start having issues over 100,000 miles. I would always budget worse case scenarios.

The reality is as always the same - get a PPI done and go into ownership with your eyes wide open. Asses your: costs, risk and consequences. It's a gorgeous looking car and the RUF items I think are a good selling point as the car is unique.

Well I would disagree - there are plenty of examples of why a bottom end should be done. 1 of them was a crank case that had a connecting rod rip through it... another was a bearing failure... another was a snapped con rod... examples are out there.

Let's say for example, these engines last 100,000 miles before needing a top end. I would say it's not wise to assert all bottom ends will last another 100,000 miles after a top end.

I just think that you're taking a risk by just doing a top end. The risk may be small but the consequences aren't worth thinking about IMO. I'm of the opinion that if your going to do a rebuild after big milage it's worth going the extra mile for piece of mind and do the bottom end.

End of the day it's all about: costs, risk, consequence.

pcar964

Definitely food for thought. Thanks!

MusicMadMike

If that car was in the UK I'd buy it in a heart beat. The engine would get looked at straight away, but that's about it. It looks very a classy and subtle streetfighter. I keep going back to have a look. The wheels really update the overall look. I love RUF cars. One of the reasons I'm into Porsches is because of the Yellowbird.
I want it. Alot.

swesna

Rob -- you did the work yourself too correct?

What was your cost on doing this level of work yourself? I am curious as I want to attempt the same.

Rocket Rob

Yes, I'm doing the work myself. The cost has gone higher than I expected. Once you start taking things apart, you have to clean and inspect them and decide to decide if you can reuse the part or if you need to replace it. I'm replacing a bunch of the rubber vent hoses that are hard and a leaky oil cooler. Plus you can get tempted to do some "upgrades". While I've had it apart, I'm going with RS cams, lightweight flywheel, J-pipe, a Steve Wong chip. If you decide to do it yourself, you can save $4-5K in labor costs. The parts and machine work costs are the same whether you do it yourself or pay someone.

swesna

totally understand the temptation of doing more...it gets addictive.

do you have a build thread??

Rocket Rob

No build thread but I've been taking a lot of pictures. I just need to organize them before publish.

911Jetta

Sounds good, can't wait to hear your impressions.
Can't remember, is engine going in the coupe or cab?

Rocket Rob

Jetta - My rebuilt engine is going into my coupe. I moved the coupe's engine into my cab. The cab is just a daily driver and the stock engine performance is more than sufficient. Since the cab's engine is being rebuilt and that was my opportunity for some "upgrades", I decided that it was best put into the coupe.

+964 - I can't wait to have the new engine running too.