[Jack Olsen]

My feeling would be around 17-18k, if the mechanicals and cosmetics were all in top shape. Maybe more if it was a real stunner in person.

The appeal of a car like this is not its 'restored' status as a 'collectible,' obviously. It's that it's an early impact bumper car (light and nimble) that will have the power to leave any n/a production Porsche -- from just about any year -- in its wake.

But it's also not a race car, per se, because the big displacement will kill it in most groups, classification-wise. It's a fun car that will impress people on track days, and -- again -- outrun virtually all non-turbo 911's. This is a niche market, to be sure, but it's also one that's growing. Look at the number of 3.6 swaps on this board in the last year alone.

The cost of this type of car could easily get up to 30K (or more), if the builder is serious about his mods (the SC brakes and stock suspension components on this particular example points away from that), and still only have a value (on the market) of around 20K.

So, is it worth it to go out and find one of these, already-made, on the open market? Well, yes -- but only if you happen upon one being up for sale (rare) that also happens to have been put together by someone who never imagined he'd sell it (rarer) and also from a guy who knew what he was doing (rarer still). Otherwise, you pay double to build your own, but have the peace of mind of knowing it's not going to fall apart.

If I were in the market for a finished 3.6 conversion, my first stop would be Steve Timmins, who occasionally sells his own 911's to make room in his garage for new iterations. I'd be very cautious buying one on the open market, without extensive documentation of what had been done, and how.

A reasonable assessment of my car, or Thom Fitzpatrick's car, or Bill Verburg's car, might put the market value at only about 20K -- maybe even less. But I think you'd be hard pressed to get any of us to part with our cars for that kind of money. In that sense, it's a little like Bruce Anderson's values for early 911E's and 911S's. Some do change hands at the prices he talks about. But the worthwhile ones don't -- pretty much ever.

Thom Fitzpatrick's 77 3.6 swap does 0-60 in 4.7 seconds. A 2002 911 coupe does it in 5. From this perspective, the 3.6 swap makes good economic sense, in my opinion.