3.0 engine swap in a '88 Carrera Targa

[FRHeinsohn]

Welcome thoughts / opinions about putting a 3.0 in an '88 911 Carrera w/G-50.

Backstory:

Long term project, begun in 2017/2018. Restoring a former '88 911 Carrera Targa to its former glory & road worthiness (car needed everything -- electrics, fenders hood, rear deck lid, transmission, engine, rims, tires, interior, et al).

Got a core 3.2 years ago, recently learned it had catastrophic internal damage. Seller who sold me the "bad" core offered me a 3.0 core.

Welcome feedback. Resources have thinned. Just want to get the car back on the road.

Grazee... .
Frank

[PeteKz]

A 3.0 would certainly work, and you could increase it to a 3.2 short stroke easily. I would still prefer a 3.2 engine, because the later cars get heavier with the G50 and other stuff added to the car, so I would want to get all the torque I can to push around that added weight.
“There’s no replacement for displacement.”

[FRHeinsohn]

PeteKz -- thanks so much for your feedback/guidance.

Frank

[Rusty911]

Do you know what type of damage happened to the 3.2? If you’re interested and have the time, you could disassemble it and see what happened and then evaluate. If not too bad, maybe you’ll have more options.

[Jim Dorociak]

The difference between the 3.0 and 3.2 is basically a shape of the engine case at the bottom, the crankshaft stroke 70.4 vs 74.4 and CIS vs moronic - size of engine intake/exhaust port size. Both used 95mm size Pistons/Cylinders -
You could use the 3.0 case and find a 3.2 crank and make a 3.2 if you have everything else needed to make the 3.2. Jim Dorociak - others will chime in shortly on their thoughts

[FRHeinsohn]

Good morning and thanks for all the great feedback and info. Split the case last Friday. Crank was broken in half... . Folks at Eisenbuds believe it was improperly machined. Case has slight gouge on inside (RH) near #2 cylinder. There are several cracks visible on the outside of the RH case at the #2 cylinder well... . Welcome your words... but suspect I'm needing a new case... . Grazee, Frank

[PeteKz]

If the case is cracked, sayonara. But have a pro look at it to be sure. Keep your 3.2 heads--they have larger ports. Ask if your engine supplier will give you a swap for a 3.0 to 3.2 crank and rods. If not, you can sell the 3.0 crank and rods and buy a 3.2 crank and rods for not much more.

Then mix and match to build a 3.2 74.4 stroke engine, or even a 3.4 engine. The 3.0 case its dimensionally the same as the 3.2 case, so you can drop in the 74.4 crank and rods, but it has an oil strainer plate on the bottom, which I prefer.

Contact William Knight or one of the other Pros here and ask advice about building up a custom engine.

[FRHeinsohn]

Thanks much to all for incredible advice -- some awesome ideas! Well, decided to stay stock and stick with a 3.2 case, found one today with the help of a fellow Pelican. Appreciate all of you for reaching out and trying to help me out.

Grazee... .
Frank

[PeteKz]

Frank, if you already plan to buy new pistons and cylinders, consider a 98mm drop-in set that increases the displacement to 3.4 liters. They will cost about the same as the 95mm set.