Brian C in Az

I have the ticking time bomb 3.4 with the IMS 2006 987.1S.
No problems thus far, but it's over 42,000 miles old and it is a question of WHEN, not IF the IMS will grenade.

I'm considering the 3.8L or 4.0L that Vision Motorsports on the left coast and there are a couple shops in FL offering the same.
I'm looking for any advice or recommendations from others who have taken the plunge and bored and stroked their engines.
Estimates range from $24000 to $28000 depending on what they find upon disassembly and inspection.

My thought is that I can buy a GT4 for $90,000ish or spend <$30,000 for the same power output.
GT4 will depreciate as miles go up. GT4 insurance and license plates in Az will be at least $1000/ year more than my Cayman.
I already own the Cayman and the value won't drop much if at all at this point.
I can hang with the GT4's everywhere on the track until we hit the straights and then the 3.8 just walks away.
Won't cry if I back the Cayman into a wall somewhere. (Would be seriously pissed at myself if I backed the GT4 into a wall)

RaceDevelopementCenter

Brian ,
We send you a pm about the 3.8l we have forsale.

HarmonyJim

For what it's worth, I removed my IMS bearing (single row) from my 2000 C2. The engine had approx 60K miles, and upon removal (for an LN Engineering replacement ceramic bearing), the OEM bearing was perfect. I have heard the horror stories as well, and ended up spending about $3k including labor and a new clutch disc and RMS, to address an issue that in my particular car, was non-existent. For what it is worth.

daylorb

I'd go with a 3.8 upgrade. That is my long-term plan. The platform you have is just fantastic - everything you mention is spot-on. You'll get almost all the performance and won't stress about the GT4, and spend less money... really like that route. I have not investigated the 4.0, but sounds .2 better.

Byprodriver

Call Flat 6 innovations

dan212

Difference between a Vision motor or a Bavaro Built (Bodymotion) engine isn't just the size, they build out a durable, high performance race engine. Bavaro built mine and it is epic

Brian C in Az

I haven't heard of Bavaro Built or Bodymotion....

What did they do for your engine?

dan212

Bavaro maintains a separate facility with clean room where he personally polished and assembled all ports. Many subtle things he does. My crank went one place for polishing, Pistons went to a shop in NC for coating. Mike uses a lot of aircraft retaining hardware which increase durability. A full rebuild such as mine as opposed to a "refresh" takes time. I was in a hurry and we actually sent the block to Vision to be bored and lined. They use a different liner than mike uses - nothing wrong with either., just builders taste. Mikes builds always come out with max power. Vision also builds a fine engine. A lot of love and care goes into an engine build. Bavaro treats his builds as a very personal product. When he dyno'd mine it came out even better than he hoped. That is typical.

Talk to Vision. Ask what they do. Talk to mike Bavaro and ask what he does. Make your decision. It's not like you will make a bad choice. There is usually a queue on builds. Can only put a few on a stand and build by hand.

Also talk to Jake Raby of Raby Engine Development. I know exactly what he puts into his engines. He has a very long queue of customers.

Talk to them all.

Phil McKrevice

I have a 2006 Cayman S with a 3.8 conversion. The builder said 3.8 or maybe 3.9 is as far as you can go without needing to tune the car. He said once you punch it to a 4.0 all sorts of things need to be addressed, which is why he favors the 3.8 over the 4.0.

Blue Chip

I have a 3.8l in my 1999 996. It's FSI/LN Engineering built. Has every upgrade that could be done and pulls like a freight train.

Milo2361

I had my 3.6L in my 997 rebuilt by Vision, great place to have it done in my opinion. Dwain has tons of experience, and while a little slow on correspondence due to high volume of customers and Dwane races sometimes too (plus since I'm east coast I couldn't just roll in and say hey hows my stuff) they did an excellent job at an extremely good price.
My crankshaft broke in half (didn't PPI, lesson learned) because the one of the previous owners had a TON of level 5 overrevs. had I known that from the start I never would've bought the car. the full rebuild (stock but with polished and ported heads, knife edge crank) plus upgraded IMS bearings, rods, etc. ran me $13,100 for the whole thing (minus my engine removal/installation, shipping to/from CA from NC). for an extra $5k he said they could bore it to 4.0 and now I'm kicking myself for not just dropping the cash. I don't know exactly what his 4.0 build entails, but the master mech at Porsche Wilmington I talked to had his 3.8 built to 4.0 by him and said it is amazing.

I had briefly talked to Jake Raby, because everyone says he's the best and highly recommended him, but there was no way I could've waited almost a year to get into his shop, let alone a $24k price tag after only paying $30 for the car. nothing against him or his shop(definitely regarded as the best in the country - wish I had the patience and cash for it), never heard of a single bad experience, just way too expensive for an otherwise stock rebuild (except bearings and other little but important fixes). even if It is a Porsche.- that option just wasnt for me