VGC

So after the engine failure on our pristine 2005 Carrera S, 1 month old to us btw, we have to redo/rebuild/replace the engine. After TONS of phone calls, countless emails and hours of contemplation, we went from the super cool LS swap option...to something near and dear to me: A Honda K24 swap! And manual trans conversion.

Why the K24? I've been a Honda racer and builder for decades. And those powertrains are THE most reliable and powerful (per liter) of most any 'non race' engines every built! And I know how to build them and make them FAST! And funny part was before we bought the 2005 911 Money Pit, I was going to track down a 88-91 Civic Sedan to tub/rollcage and turbo...just for fun.

So full circle....got a sweet chassis to stuff in a 500hp Honda motor info! Win win.

Working on all the specs now with Nick, the OTHER K24 Honda swap pioneer that many of you may know...and my buddy Steve will be doing a lot of custom piping and work on this as well. Stay tuned! I'll try and update often for those of you interested.....

Hootsama

With your background, that seems like a really smart choice. As a former Civic, Integra, S2000 guy (and many other Hondas), I am extremely curious how it will come to life. Was there something about the LS swap that you ultimately didn't like or was this simply going back to your roots?

​​​​​​Best wishes with the process, and look forward to the updates.

VGC

Thanks much! And not sure...just seemed the RIGHT THING to do....was looking forward to the LS, but just a 'roots' thing I guess. I love those Honda engines!

Hootsama

I think the K swap makes much more sense in a 911 and will be a hoot to drive, I'm sure.

VGC

yeah...kinda like when I was in Nevada racing cars around the SpeedVegas track....the Loud obnoxious GT500 was the most "fun" car to drive...it was just lumbering, loud and obnoxious....but the GT3 RS was THE best car of the bunch! And the one I'd take in a heartbeat! LS is loud and obnoxious for sure...and fast!....but, I want FUN and playful!

aasilvia

Nice - I think you're officially the first one on this forum to use Nick and his engineered solutions for this swap. Please keep us updated on your progress. I'm super interested to see if this becomes the defacto solution for us. What issues did your 3.8 end up having?

VGC

Will do. However… The guy that I’m working with here in Cleveland is an old friend of mine who build race cars for fun so we are taking what Nick doing and enhancing it.

i’ve got some pretty trick things up my sleeve for this one!!

VGC

Stage I:
-Ordered a JDM K24 RBB3 engine today. The RBB3 has 36mm intake valves vs the RBB1 35mm intake valves....more air!
-Ordered a Skunk2 Magnesium low profile valve cover. It's cool sure, but you do need a low profile one to fit the engine in the bay.

Martyb3g

Very interested in this. My engine is in great shape, but if something g should happen I don’t know that I want to spend $30k on another Porsche engine. I have tiptronic so I would have to swap the manual as well. Guessing it will still cost $30+ when all is said and done though.

VGC

Actually...this one in parts alone will be in the $10-12k range. And that's not getting crazy...I might be a bit more depending on what I end up doing in the end. But the Porsche engine quotes are $43,000+ anywhere I asked, and then the same issues are always on the table with them.....

Martyb3g

Does the 10-12k for parts include the manual trans and related items?

jbkusa

Seems like a blast to drive!

VGC

Yes. I'll get a closer total here as I add things to the list.......and we are considering doing this more "mass market" style in case anyone wants to do the same.

Hootsama

Whoa. That's kind of surprising. Dare I assume that those quotes are all-in, installed, with a displacement increase (4.0)?

VGC

no, for a 40-ish thousand mile replacement engine put in by Porsche. It was about $43,000? And the brand new Porsche engine was $57,000 installed… With a big Asterix on both.