wsrgklt

@NuttyProfessor It addresses some issues, but not others. However, most cars run for a very long time without any of the major issues. So, someone who isn't going to put a ton of miles on the car can look at this in one of two ways:
1. It's another roll of the dice in a game where the odds are very much in your favor.
2. It resets the clock for an "inevitable" failure by many years.

Both of those are fine bets in my case. I can get this done at a fraction of the cost of an expensive rebuild that corrects every design flaw in the motor, and I'll still have the overwhelmingly good chance of driving trouble-free for the next decade.

sequel95

OP: Looks like the shop that will do the shortblock is also having the heads done. I'd think the M96 heads are somewhat complicated that some American muscle machine shops find too intricate to work on. FSI sends heads to a world class shop that knows M96 heads better than most in the US. I just had a Passat 1.8T 4 cyl head reworked and I spent $1500 or thereabouts. Did you estimate the head work in your short block estimate, as I don't know how a shop would do that part alone for under $3000 for the machine shop work alone. I'm definitely not an expert and have not shopped around. I did take my Passat 1.8T head to a muscle car shop and they were amazing, but they did comment on how German cars have a lot of tiny spaces that make work more challenging. Thank you for the informative thread!

Porschetech3

The minimum mileage requirement really apply's to the Porsche replacement battery. We had customers who would (knowingly) not drive their cars routinely or put a battery maintainer on it and the battery would fail after 18 months and would require to be replaced again. The requirement to drive at least 15 miles per day or 6k miles per year is to keep the battery charged, or buy the Porsche battery maintainer and use it, then if battery fails bring in the car and charger and have the battery maintainer checked along with the charging system.

Other things to consider when car is stored is overinflate tires (to keep from flat spoting), and add fuel stabilizer. You should check with your local Porsche dealer for any other requirements besides the routine maintenance described in the owners manual. Most Porsche owners do the maintenance more often than required.

wsrgklt

@bazhart Thanks for stopping by the thread. I've learned a ton from the things you've written on your website and on other forums. One of the main reasons I started this thread is so many of my searches lead back to Hartech, and I would get excited for a moment only to realize it's UK-only. As I stated in the first post, I wanted to collect rebuild options for the US in 2019.

There seems to be a market in the US for the Hartech offering. I hope you find a way to do business here. Pop back in this thread once you have blocks available for export, and we can add Hartech to the comparison spreadsheet.

wsrgklt

@sequel95 Yes, the short block estimate in the spreadsheet includes headwork. The cost is comparable to the quote from EBS Racing. My heads will go to a machine shop in near Chicago that specializes in European cars, including Lotus, Ferrari, and work for a high-volume Porsche indy shop. I'm not sure why your VW head cost so much...was it a high performance port and polish job? I'm not doing that stuff - just machining surfaces flat, replacing valve seats and other worn parts, and a valve job.

wsrgklt

@Porschetech3 That's helpful background info, and I'm already on top of all the things you recommend for storage. Thanks for all your input on this thread. I appreciate it.

turbogrill

Why would anyone pick the RND option for $20k when the FSI is $22k?

Ignoring shipping then the engines cost the same, unless you install the engine your self.

Just asking, I am sure the RND is great.

dporto

Because the RND engine is basically "off the shelf" - i.e. no to short wait time... FSI is anywhere from 6 mos. - 1 year depending on how busy they happen to be...

jobyt

Plus, if you have your original block, the FSI build will still qualify for a COA (I think), if that is something in which you're interested.

wsrgklt

I think the primary reason is wait time. As Jake stated above, FSI is booked solid for the next year and then there is a waiting list after that. That might be OK if you're doing an elective rebuild for an upgrade. However, if your car is currently not drivable, FSI isn't really a viable option.


Other reasons you might choose RND: you want to keep your car the stock displacement for the sake of originality, or you and Jake Raby don't think you would enjoy working together.

wildbilly32

I don't know about everyone else but when I look at a 996 I have trouble determining if the engine is 3.6l or 3.8l on the inside. I believe the racing term is "stock appearing". I have a 2005 C4S, one 728 produced, and am having a 3.8 installed. I didn't go for a more aggressive build as it would require freer flowing exhaust and a 997 intake. I would have loved it but preferred to keep the car "stock appearing." To each their own...

Flat6 Innovations

Time makes the biggest impact on the decision between my engine, and anything else.

That said, 20k really doesn’t buy an engine here, anymore. Considering that we are now to November 2020 with engines that are proposed, and underway, I have had to query my suppliers and Mfrs to make sure that the prices will remain the same so far out.

They are not, so prices are going up for those transitioning from the wait list, into the program moving forward. We make the final invoice at the onset of the project, so being so far out takes a lot of preparation.

This year I had 8 engines “in stock” as Stage 1 and Stage 2 levels of preparation. None of these were advertised, and all sold in a 4 week period, as soon as spring hit. Each year over the winter I personally work over time to build a few “on- demand” engines for stock, and they always go fast to those who don’t care to lose their original engine numbers.

wildbilly32

Just my personal opinion...it is/would be worth the wait.

Flat6 Innovations

I figured this would be a good time to post part 1 of the video series that I will be doing with your 996. We will add parts to this as the build progresses, to show people what someone endures when they have bore scoring, and what we do to bring life back to the car, and make it so much better.

You can really hear the noise with this one when I back the car up, toward the camera. I shot this with an iPhone 10, and thats just the microphone from the phone picking the noise up that well... Yeah, “sounds like a lifter”...... NO, its NOT!

As we tear down the engine, and it moves through the processes, I’ll post more parts of this adventure, then once complete we will compile all the parts, and make that the volume 8 of the “Focus on Bore Scoring” series.

Here we go... Enjoy!

808Bill

Excellent series!

Billy you and your 996 are going to be famous...