The auction I am watching is the LS powered 996.1. It will be interesting to see the demand/price. If it's successful, we may see more potential swaps for big hp and tq.

 

And much lower maintenance and rebuild costs...

 

Maybe, maybe not. I am not sold on the "grass is greener" rhetoric, but I do appreciate the innovation.

 

A brand new 430/425 LS3 crate engine is $8241. The Renegade install kit is about $2K. I know there will be incidentals to add to that $10K new LS engine but how much is a rebuild on my M96 engine if it grenades? I'm not advocating for the LS and I love my M96 engine just as it is thank you very much. Just saying the LS seems like it might be more cost effective if there is catastrophic engine failure on the M96...at least until you want to sell. I agree that it will be interesting to see what the "cost" of the non-standard engine will be.

 

I think what he was saying is the engine itself, LS' are notorious for dropping valves... so much so that Chevy knows it and does nothing to rectify it. It's an awesome swap, makes great power but has a downside.

 

More weight at the a$$ end?

 

Definitely hear you.

Pound for pound it may the best money spent for power enhancement. Dunno.

But i am not sold yet on durability for the track. Nor am I an expert on what it will take to make them durable from a part, procedure and cost standpoint. They fail on the track for many of the same reasons the m96 will fail. But hopefully someone will swap their m96 for an LS and give us an honest assessment on costs, issues, parts, work arounds, etc. Would prefer a set-up for track with this demonstration because street driving is nothing in relation to track durability requirements.

I am enjoying Baysides build with the K24. He seems to be very transparent with the issues and costs. But with the headaches he has and how he has chopped up the car to fit the tall skinny 4 banger into the engine bay, I would have much rather seen him use his incredible fabrication skills to make the m96 a better engine.

But my personal preferences don't matter. What matters is what everyone wants to do with their 996.

And the market prices will tell us how much something is valued. Hence my interest in the 996 LS auction.

 

That I'm not sure of but I have a lot of Vette buddies and the valve thing is indeed... a thing. It's cheaper to rebuild but imagine doing all that work for a valve to drop and redo the engine.

 

Serious question. If I got behind the wheel of a 996 with a LS3 engine swap and wasn't told what engine was in the car, would I know after driving it, other than maybe by the sound it produced?

 

Link to that auction for the LS 996.1?

I mean, to do a 996 rebuild right is a ton of money. The LS swap was definitely something I considered when my motor failed, but I'm glad I did the rebuild.

However, I'm considering buying a 944, and rebuilding all of that is going to be big money as well, so I'm considering the swap on that. Lots of people are very happy with their 944 LS Swaps, so I'd be interested. I was considering bidding on this, but then we ended up moving so it wasn't going to be a reality:

LS1-Powered 1989 Porsche 944 Turbo 6-Speed for sale on BaT Auctions - sold for $43,500 on June 8, 2022 (Lot #75,566) | Bring a Trailer

It was also in my favourite 944 colour....alas, no space.

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...1-carrera-288/

 

The owner states it weighs 3042 lbs with a full fuel tank ("a few months ago I put it on a set of proper scales and it weighed in at 3042 lbs with full interior and a full fuel tank") -- if that's accurate, that's pretty impressively light. Not digging the dashpod thing, but otherwise looks like a nice conversion.

 

interesting auction to say the least. different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

Looks like the market values a beautiful 996.1 with an LS. Opens up plenty of future possibilities. Imagine what a GT3 swap in a similar quality car may go for. Will rebuilds from reputable shops start rising in price as well?

Two things are undeniable, (1) the 996 is a beautiful car that has aged extremely well, (2) the chassis is incredible as a "drivers car".

 

There is so much more to upgrading a car with a boost of horsepower than a simple engine upgrade. You need to consider suspension, brakes, wheel/tire sizes, and possibly the transmission and CV joints as well. It all works as a system.

There are somethings you can't do with a Carrera (at least not practically compared to a GT car) and that is seam welding the chassis. The point is that the expense can quickly build and getting your investment back out of something heavily modified is difficult.

First, the market segment for extensively modified cars is much smaller. Second, buyers are Leary and you need all the documentation to prove its worth. On the GT forum people are always advised to remove and restore the car to stock, then sell it and part out the aftermarket parts.