mdvigil

Greetings fellow Rennlisters,

A few days ago the unthinkable happened. On our way to a race event here in Alaska, the Porsche stopped abruptly and the engine would not turn. The car was running fine until we filled up with race gas. It turns out the race gas had a significant amount of water in it which resulted in a hydro-locked engine. We pulled the oil pan and confirmed our diagnosis.

I discussed how to move forward with my sponsor and very good friend, Ralfy, owner of Culmination Motorsports, and my other very good friend and sponsor, Tony, owner of a local pastry shop and restaurant. We then connected with Sam of ByDesign who provided the prices of the various engine packages that John at Evo Spec could build. Goals and budget are factors to consider in any engine build. We settled on a $50k budget and decided to go with a stage 2 signature build.

The Porsche already has a stage 4 power package with methanol injection. The video below is of a test and tune event at the beginning of the race season. Our fastest time at the track was a 9.97-second pass at 140.30 mph. We struggled with traction issues on the Michelin PS4 tires and data logging sent to Sam revealed a misfire on bank 2. Not a bad time considering the issues we had! Later we resolved the misfire with new plugs and coils.

Sam and John have been supportive throughout the process. They both have years of experience with the 911 platform. Their communication and support are unrivaled. Sam has treated me like family since I acquired the car and to me that is priceless. The Porsche community is unlike any other car community I have had the pleasure of being involved in. Stay tuned for details and photos of the build!



-Mikey

SamboTT@ByDesign

Hey Mikey. It’s a pleasure working with you guys. I’m so bummed out that this happened to you but we will turn it into something bad *** and rewarding I promise! Think of it as an adventure and get ready!

mdvigil

Thanks Sam! Definitely an adventure.

The first night we were able to drop in the engine in about six hours. Not that difficult. Having the right crew, equipment, and lift made the job relatively brief.



Tonight we removed most of the ancillary systems. What a puzzle!


Tomorrow we will separate the engine from the transmission and prepare a pallet for shipment to John Bray at Evo Spec in AZ.

Some pics of the Porsche prior to the teardown


.

Michael_s

Unfortunate... sorry to hear. When life gives you lemons, make some lemonade! Please update this thread with lots of pics as you go. Love following projects.

PorscheJN

Sorry to hear about your accident but I’m sure this will be forgotten once you have the engine built and ready for the first ignition!

I would also like to add that John is the worst guy to deal with and if not for @SamboTT@ByDesign i wouldn’t even deal with him, he’s such a liar and can’t keep his promises , we ordered from him a 4.0 stroker kit for my friend 991.1 turbo that had a scratched cylinder.

First we settled on Mahle pistons and all the sealings etc etc, paid full. His promise was to send everything within 2 weeks

6 weeks later he managed to send the pistons and rods only and the pistons were not Mahle as promised and written on quotation but Wisco and it’s not even coated, also he sent wrong pistons rings

several weeks after he send the pistons and rods he sent the rest of the package” and let me tell you he sent half the sealings and no head gasket basically we had to order them by ourselves.

We tried to send him message and emails but after several tries we decided to just call Wisco themselves to get us the correct pistons rings and they confirmed that Evo spec should have not made us wait 6 weeks for pistons because last time they purchased a batch from them was over 4 months!! So it was all a lie that pistons are not in stock! But moving forward. They said they will give them warning as this is ruining Wisco reputation and they don’t appreciate it, of course they had to ask for proof and I surely provided all!!

So yeah John might be doing good in USA but for overseas customers he’s not so good…

all in all I wish you best luck!!!

2fcknfst

I am sorry to hear about that; hydro lock is the absolute worst.

I am curious to see that your engine build can be done at the $50k mark; I just put a new gearbox in my 996 and when the dust settled, it was close on $40k (CDN), so perhaps building an engine up is something in my future.

Cheers,

onfireTTS

DAYAAAAAM..... $40k for a box..!!! $%!#........... I'm officially a dinosaur....used to buy RockCrusher 4 speeds for $250 and take 2 hours to install.....I'll keep some type of a warranty now on my 911....DAYAAAAAAM......

SamboTT@ByDesign

Regarding the price. I think what Mikey means is that he’s setting a budget there. To get the engine sorted and whatever else we can stick in like the clutch and some more upgrades.

PorscheJN, i’m sorry to hear that. Regardless of the details I can imagine how quickly things can spiral out if control. Over the years I know John has been very very busy getting business worldwide and just trying to juggle it all. We’ve teamed up and been through some ups and downs together and he’s a good guy. Sometimes juggling can just become quite overwhelming. With lots of research and development now behind the engine upgrades and teaming up with the right staff as well as support systems in the industry he can focus on what he does best. I’m hoping to be able to provide a good piece of the puzzle on the customer communication and organization side. We all look forward to more growth and positivity.

2fcknfst

To be fair, that included new box, import broker, core, tranny mount, cables, shifter, engine mounts, fluids, break in fluid swap and installation.

Yes, it was a little more spendy than anticipated.

mdvigil

@2fcknfst, $50k is a tentative budget. These projects can go either way. Ralfy is allowing us to utilize his shop as a resource which negates the labor cost involved in this build. We are hoping we can stay within budget while remaining flexible.

@PorscheJN, that sounds like an unfortunate experience. I can't comment too much about John as I haven't had many interactions with him. However, he promptly responded to my calls, emails, and spent time with me on the phone discussing the various engine packages and engine catastrophes he has seen. So far a positive experience.

Again, I can't say enough about how amazing Sam is to work with. He has remained positive through the whole experience and he has eased our minds with his knowledge and guidance of this platform . This will be the story of the Porsche Phoenix!

2fcknfst

I would like to build a 3.8l for my 996, I see it can be done for around 25 - 30k USD, so, it is interesting to hear your estimate.

If I were to get into building something for the 991, I would probably source a block, which would likely push the build cost up.

Neat project, I will watch with great interest.

vrybad

For the 991, you're saying you'd start with a bare block and perhaps heads and add components to spec?

mdvigil

Update. Night three was quick. The wife was happy I arrived home at a reasonable hour. We removed the remainder of the ancillary components and separated the block from the transmission. We took a moment to stare at the engineering marvel that is the heart of the Porsche.

Further inspection of the casings revealed punctures on the upper sides of the left and right casings. No Bueno. Sam and John said we would need new casings which are not cheap. Sam stated that good used casings are challenging to find since more people are doing high horsepower builds on this platform. I like a challenge. I was able to source casings from a 2010 to 2013 turbo s with minor scoring on the cylinder walls. Part numbers matched (superseded numbers) and detailed pictures from the seller compared with our casings were similar. The scoring will not be an issue as we are boring out the cylinder walls for larger pistons to increase displacement to 4.0L. I pulled the trigger, purchased the casings, and will have them shipped to John.

We will be upgrading the OEM PDK clutch pack to the Dodson unit per Sam's suggestion. Even though we will be running the stealth 68mm turbos and not the larger Xona units, Sam said we can push more torque with the Dodson unit. On Monday the long block will be shipped out. Then we wait. I wonder if in the meantime I can convince the wife into letting me purchase those bigger turbos...I mean I did come home early one night of the week.

Stay Tuned!

mdvigil

@Michael_s, I will update frequently. Thanks for tuning in!

2fcknfst

Perhaps, another used block is in your future?