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In other news, I was looking for a "contingency plan" in case Porsche doesn't come through with a new body for the project - I've bid on several 992s on Copart and finally won a very nice 2022 992 S. It was hit in the front, like the GT3, but not nearly as severe of damage. I've ordered a new GT3 front clip - going to swap out the standard 992 front end for a GT3 front end. If I'm unable to purchase a new GT3 body from Porsche, then this will be the starting point. If I do get a new body, then I will build this one up as a S/T clone with GT3 suspension, but with a 4.0L (or possibly 4.2L) twin turbo engine and 2WD. The NA engine really suffers up here in Wyoming at 6,000+ ft, so a twin turbo w/ 1,000+ HP and RWD might be a pretty fun little scooter. . .
If the stars align, I'll end up with two S/T projects - one with a 4.5L Deman NA engine, and one with a 4.0L TT.
To accomplish the front end swap, I found a very nice Celette frame jig - it's really the proper way to do these swaps as factory Porsche jigs are available, and one can guarantee that the body is absolutely perfectly straight. This one is an M7 platform, and I ordered the 992 tooling directly from Celette. There was a special add-on jig for the GT3 front end, which I also purchased, so looking forward to doing some sheet metal work!!
The S/T / RS carbon roof panel showed up today from Porsche - beautiful! No just need to decide if it's worth retrofitting these to my GT3 Touring - the XM wart really bugs me for some reason, and I also really like the profiled look of the RS panel. Changing out the roof is a TOTAL PITA though - it took a full, frustrating day to remove the existing carbon panel from the project car.
special ordered with no cutout for XM antenna . . . very please with how these look!
That roof is sexy. I’m curious how the retrofit turns out. I wonder if XM delete will need to be coded out and if it returns and error with the antenna unplugged. I hate the wart. I’m assuming headliner uses same attachment points as standard since you aren’t using the perforated ST headliner?
Although personal I too would love to know what you nabbed the GT3 for and what your total build cost will end up being. I only ask I I've always thought it would be very cost effective to find a wrecked GT3 so long as you could care less about title.
yeah - i'm sure there will be some programming involved in the antenna delete - worst case is I'll just plug the antenna in and hide inside the headliner.(or at the PCM if I delete the wire) . .removing the old roof is a total PITA, but that was primarily due to the fact that it's very fragile, and I was trying to keep it pristine to reuse - took about 6 hour of frustrating work to remove it, but in the end, got it out undamaged. Installation is easy - it basically glues right in. I assume the headliner will attach the same, but haven't looked into that yet. Yes, I'm going w/ standard GT3 Alcantara headliner, at least that's the plan now - I'm not familiar with the S/T perf unit - have to check that out - would be simple to recover to match.
On cost, the GT3s on Copart have been going for crazy money lately and are pretty rare - I got this one for $80K, but as described above, the body was beyond economic repair. Replacing the front clip is totally doable - the entire front end sheetmetal is around $15K w/ shipping from Europe (Porsche won't sell to you in the US). Really, it only makes sense if you have a shop and are handy at this kind of stuff and want to do something custom - I don't really think it's worth the effort if you just want a lower cost car. There are too many unknowns purchasing from Copart - its truly a crapshoot as its very difficult to inspect the cars before purchasing them. The S I just purchased had been F'd with to look like it wasn't damaged - IE they screwed on body panels with drywall screws and rattle canned them to hide the damage - pathetic. It really didn't matter to me as I'm replacing everything windshield forward, but just illustrates the risk of purchasing from Copart. They also swapped out headlights - they car came with PDLS+, and they put in broken LEDs without the controllers.
There are some good deals to be had, but it's truly caveat emptor . . .
Quick update on this project - 4.5L engine was successfully completed and installed by Deman Motorsports in NY - I opted to install this engine in my silver GT3 for now as the project is a ways away from being ready for it. We trailered the GT3 from Deman down to Jacksonville, FL (where I had some other business), and proceeded to put the break in miles on it before our appointment with M-Engineering on Monday morning.
The Deman guys were amazing - we dropped the car off around 2PM on Monday, and by 10AM on Tuesday morning - they had the swap completed - clearly they have done this before!! The car runs flawlessly - no faults and seemingly quite a bit more low end torque. I've limited it to 6,000 RPM for the first 500 miles as prescribed by Rick, but right now I have about 650 miles on it, and tomorrow going to put another 100 before the dyno run, and will run her to redline a few times.
I'm very excited to see how she performs after the custom ME tune - they are also doing the PDK tune, so should be a very substantial difference. I'll report back after the tune - I'm not sure the number from the dyno will be that relevant as we don't have a baseline, and the DA here in S. Florida is aweful ..
Now if we can just get the new body from Porsche, this project will be well on it's way!!
Quick update on this project - 4.5L engine was successfully completed and installed by Deman Motorsports in NY - I opted to install this engine in my silver GT3 for now as the project is a ways away from being ready for it. We trailered the GT3 from Deman down to Jacksonville, FL (where I had some other business), and proceeded to put the break in miles on it before our appointment with M-Engineering on Monday morning.
The Deman guys were amazing - we dropped the car off around 2PM on Monday, and by 10AM on Tuesday morning - they had the swap completed - clearly they have done this before!! The car runs flawlessly - no faults and seemingly quite a bit more low end torque. I've limited it to 6,000 RPM for the first 500 miles as prescribed by Rick, but right now I have about 650 miles on it, and tomorrow going to put another 100 before the dyno run, and will run her to redline a few times.
I'm very excited to see how she performs after the custom ME tune - they are also doing the PDK tune, so should be a very substantial difference. I'll report back after the tune - I'm not sure the number from the dyno will be that relevant as we don't have a baseline, and the DA here in S. Florida is aweful ..
Now if we can just get the new body from Porsche, this project will be well on it's way!!
Looking forward to seeing the numbers this thing puts out.
Made it to Pompano Beach last night for appointment w/ M-Engineering tomorrow - car running great! We have a bit over 700 miles on her now, and have progressively brought up the RPMs so she is now ready for the dyno tomorrow . . we did one last oil change and cut open the filters - CLEAN! It really seems like Rick and his team did great work! I'm anxious to see her under full grunt on the dyno tomorrow . . . stay tuned. .
Oil looks very clean! Changing the oil in the hotel parking lot - flexibility - the key to airpower! Officially re-badged - thanks @m3inline6!
Made it to Pompano Beach last night for appointment w/ M-Engineering tomorrow - car running great! We have a bit over 700 miles on her now, and have progressively brought up the RPMs so she is now ready for the dyno tomorrow . . we did one last oil change and cut open the filters - CLEAN! It really seems like Rick and his team did great work! I'm anxious to see her under full grunt on the dyno tomorrow . . . stay tuned. .
Oil looks very clean! Changing the oil in the hotel parking lot - flexibility - the key to airpower! Officially re-badged - thanks @m3inline6!
You're welcome! The badge looks sweet on that beast!
05-30-2024, 01:03 AM
