mcgousha

Hey, that's my car

Happy to start a thread if anyone's interested to feedback to the forum how this goes and what I end up having to go through to get this to work. And of course if it was worth it in the end.

moburki

Absolutely! I'm sure many would love to see this chronicled.

strathconaman

ALL OF MY YES.

wsrgklt

Oh my yes. Even though I wouldn't consider an electric drivetrain for my 996, I find electric cars fascinating and would love to see every bit of your build.

wsrgklt

Why does Porsche even install a grease seal on the bearing if it reduces service life?

808Bill

It was a mistake.

Charles Navarro

Supposedly for the same reason they put a sealed 6204 bearing inside the manual gearbox, when in all prior models all grease seals were omitted, allowing for splash lubrication with the gear oil. These are known to fail as well from what I am told.

wsrgklt

I got a DM on the topic of 9xx pricing, so I thought I would post more info here.

It's important to note the 9xx listings on eBay are really for their rebuild service, which has some variable pricing. I called them up to get the scoop. The prices listed in the spreadsheet for 9xx motors reflect that my block is damaged and they can't take it as a core, so they have to sleeve it or replace it. Your situation may be different if your mode of failure is different.

Here are my notes from the call:

$8,250 + repairs
+3500 Block charge for stocked 3.4 engine
+5800 to resleeve up to 3.6
+400 to 3.8

Stock block includes installation if you ship the car to them
11,750 + shipping for installed stock motor
14,050 + shipping for resleeving up to 3.6L

If you are close to Long Beach and your block is in usable shape, this is probably one of the cheapest options available. Better than a used engine for similar money.

Flat6 Innovations

And this comes from a purchaser of ours from 2008 that knows the differences, and has lived with them for more than a decade of first hand experiences. Hundreds of track hours have been spent with our engine propelling his 996, and he has owned two different combinations of my engines.

That said, the point of "the engine costs more than the value of the car". This lies in the eyes of the beholder. For those who buy a cheap Porsche, they will soon learn that it is the most expensive Porsche they will ever own. For those that appreciate the car for what it is, the price is more than fair if they love the car. The very first question I ask anyone on the phone is:
"Do you love this car?"

If their reply is no, they'll likely sell the car broken (if they are smart) or they will be tricked by some cheap engine price, and therefore will spend even more money, on a car that they don't value with love. Today we hear all the time "I am exploring my options"... Well, we remember when there were no other options; you either bought our engine, or one from Porsche. There were no other options. We were literally laughed at for doing what we do back then, because a new engine was available from Porsche for 5-7K, 100% complete. Back then, we were still charging 16-20K for our engines, and maintained a 6 month backlog with no advertisement.

Over the years almost every shop that has popped up to do this work is doing it as an ancillary objective to their normal shop activities. They may "work on race cars" or whatever, and then they offer engines as well. None of them have a single objective of specifically working with engines, and therefore they lack capability, resources, and dedication to this single objective. Also, most all of these people have attended one of my training classes, either hands- on, or with Worldpac Training Institute where I instructed from 2011-2015, and travelled North America instructing their M96 class with Tony Callas. That said, I know when those people attended the class, and what their internal experiences with these engines were at that time.

This said, the amount of money that someone has doesn't make any difference to what they buy. We have customers save money for YEARS to finally be able to purchase an engine, and we work with them to balance their three equally spaced payments at a time that is favorable to their budget over the year- long period that we work with them. Not all of our purchasers are "loaded", many are just the opposite. They are hard working people who want to make sure they don't have to buy the same engine TWICE. They are smart people that understand that value, and cost are not related. They are people who have experienced the face of death with their engine, and don't want to go there again. Lastly, they are people who do their homework, and want to deal with an honest, upfront company that has earned their place in the industry. We make sure to give these people more than they pay for, so they tell their friends, and neighbors about us- so we don't have to advertise. This business is ran by the "Golden Rule", the rule that has been forgotten in modern business, especially those with fast talking sales people telling you what you want to hear.

We are booked solid for completions through July 2020 and not accepting new work at this time. If you want to be added to the wait list, submit a ticket, and we will add you in the order that your request was received. This weekend I had to start a newsletter just for the guys on the wait list, to get onto the wait list- we will always keep you informed.

Rather than going the route of every other provider, my experiences with the cars, and engines have driven my choices in how to offer what we create. We don't allow engines to be installed by other shops, we do not offer engines on a generic "exchange" program, and we take our time, and do each job like it's the most important job we will ever do.
It is.

AA717driver

Jake—Is your calendar full for everything or just rebuilds? I’m planning on doing the Solution in the next year or so and you’re the closest authorized installer, I believe.

TC

Flat6 Innovations

Yes, completely booked.
I may do some IMS Solution work personally between classes at the Research/ Training facility, as long as the car isn't a tiptronic!

Other than that, we're not taking on any IMS Solution, or repair work till further notice. I refuse to over- book things here, or add new employees to meet the demand, only to have them create problems because I can't spend the time necessary to train, and test them.

NuttyProfessor

Right up the road from you...

Till’s Import Car Clinic
1830 Boyscout Drive
Fort Myers, FL 33907
Phone: (239) 277-0797
Fax: (239) 277-9692

Flat6 Innovations

Dave at Tills is a great installer. He does a very good job of pre- qualification, and from time to time he does "down" jobs. That tells us that he is doing his part, and doing it right.

AA717driver

End of discussion! Thanks guys!

TC

wsrgklt

I know folks are interested in which way I decided to go with my car, and the answer is...the short block swap. I dropped my car off this afternoon and I'll get it back in a few weeks. My mechanic is going to document things as he goes and I'll start another thread to post pictures.

Why did I go this way? Once you figure in head work, the short block swap ends up being around the same price as a cheap rebuild, but with more new parts. Additionally, I just couldn't get comfortable with the sleeving options available. This way, I can worry less about whether the block was done properly - it's from the factory. The short block comes with a two-year warranty (my mechanic is Porsche certified, a former dealer tech). Given that I'm only going to put on a couple thousand miles per year, I'm pretty confident the the factory block is going to give me many years of service.

Additional things I'm having done in addition to the new short block:
* Rebuilding the heads (machining, valve guides, pads, chains, springs etc.)
* New clutch kit
* New coolant tank
* New AOS
* New fuel filter
* Swapping the muffler-delete exhaust for some Agency Power cans
* Replacing a seat belt buckle with a bad sensor

I'll report my results back here. I know lots of people would make a different choice. If anyone does go a different route, please post your experience here. If it's something not included in the spreadsheet, I will add it.