Wheeler Dealers, 997 episode

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

Last night I watched a new edition of Wheeler Dealers. They buy a 997 for 15,000 pounds, and it has bore scoring, so it needs an engine rebuild.

They have some cool footage of the engine rebuild, and the machine work needed to truly fix the issue. That part is neat to see.

Then they buy some ugly fiberglass ducktail to replace the factory decklid, and put on hideous fake Fuch painted gold, and a gold Carrera strip kit. Gag. The good news is they said the new owner gets the old parts so they can put it back to stock.

Interesting episode. They do make money, but only because Elvis did most of the engine rebuild labor. I had never seen the guts of a 997 engine. Interesting stuff, and he even mentions it is a huge engine and I have to agree.

Sooner or later · 12-02-2021, 05:54 AM

I have it recorded. Will watch today

Nickshu · Nickshu's Garage

Hope they have good footage of the engine rebuild. The actual mechanical work footage became much less after Edd left and Ant took over, and I have noticed it is even less now this season now that Elvis is the guy. Bummer.

matthewb0051 · matthewb0051's Garage

Those were the worst wheels ever. At a distance the car look like it had white walls.

Mike was all crazy about backdating but I'm not so sure a car of that vintage can or should be backdated to attempt longhood styling cues.

Elvis is great! I'd say right there with Edd. Ant is just a TV guy now.

Sooner or later · 12-02-2021, 07:01 AM

Fugly wheels.

matthewb0051 · matthewb0051's Garage

The wheels aren't this bad though.

Scott Douglas · Scott Douglas's Garage

I happened to be flipping channels last night and caught a glimpse of it just as Elvis was lowering the engine and wheeling it out from under the car. When I realized it was a Porsche I was actually dumbfounded as the engine was GIGANTIC sitting on the dolly.
No, I didn't watch it any further than that. Enjoyed the show when Edd was on it and have seen a few with Ant but no more for me. TaTa.

MBAtarga · 09:00 AM

I watched the episode. There is a thread over on Rennlist about it as well.
They claimed Elvis spent £3500 on the rebuild for the machining/sleeves/pistons/IMS/bearings.

Edit - I just pulled up the saved episode - the line item is listed as "Engine Rebuild and Parts"
I don't know if they didn't include machining - which was done by Hartech according to the Rennlist thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-forum/1279249-wheeler-dealer-997-bore-scoring.html

GH85Carrera · GH85Carrera's Garage

From what I remember of the episode, he did most of the labor, and the machining alone was 3,500 pounds. Mike said it would have cost over 10,000 pounds it Elvis had not done most of the work. That is a bit under $14,000 for the rebuild. It sounds pretty cheap. Elvis did bring them just the torn down engine block, so all the intake and exhaust was removed. He may well have torn down the entire engine, and they showed him vapor blasting the engine parts. So if it was just machine work, and Elvis did all the rebuild, maybe. They did not mention if they replaced the clutch "while they were in there" or what other things were needed.

911boost · 911boost's Garage

I watched it and in typical WD fashion none of the true costs are shown. Which is fine, it is a TV show.

The end result was not to my liking, I agree with the comments above. The front wheel offsets were all kinds of goofy.

One thing they did not mention was that car had PCCB's, heck in good shape they are worth almost as much as the car!

matthewb0051 · matthewb0051's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

They did not mention if they replaced the clutch "while they were in there" or what other things were needed.

It was tiptronic.

But I have noticed on other episodes that they usually leave off items that were done from the cost sheet. Some far more obvious than others

rcooled · 12-02-2021, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

They buy a 997 for 15,000 pounds, and it has bore scoring, so it needs an engine rebuild.

That motor looked like it was pulled out of a lake...what a mess. And yeah, that backdating effort, with those cheesy gold wheels, was a complete waste of time.

I also thought that the segment on the machine work was interesting. I didn't realize that repairing the bores was such an effort.

klaus · klaus's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcooled

That motor looked like it was pulled out of a lake...what a mess. And yeah, that backdating effort, with those cheesy gold wheels, was a complete waste of time.

I also thought that the segment on the machine work was interesting. I didn't realize that repairing the bores was such an effort.

The wheels and graphics might not work on the 997, but I think the ducktail can work, and in this case I liked it. But then again I am thinking of a ducktail for my 996, and I had one on my SC, so maybe I just like the duck.

sc_rufctr · 12-03-2021, 01:11 AM

I thought it was a good episode and I've always liked the 997 interior.
Yes the engine and gearbox looked huge but there are a lot of gubbins stuck to and on top of that engine. Is that really necessary?

On the bore scoring: According to Porsche only 4% of cars are affected.
- If it is only 4% then why doesn't Porsche replace those engines regardless of mileage?

It's not horrible but I've always preferred OEM looking cars.

KNS · 12-03-2021, 03:24 AM

I haven't watched WD in a few years - I think Mike needs to cut back on the Cheeseburgers...

Nickshu · Nickshu's Garage

I just googled Marc "Elvis" Priestley. His resume is much more impressive than I knew. I have felt like he comes across as a bit milquetoast, but he has an impressive background. Changed my mind.

https://www.hotcars.com/fast-facts-about-marc-elvis-priestly-from-wheeler-dealers/

He even wrote a book:

https://www.amazon.com/Mechanic-Secret-World-F1-Pitlane/dp/1787290433/ref=asc_df_1787290433/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312748656151&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6837734156320811&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028896&hvtargid=pla-548904471261&psc=1

rfuerst911sc · 12-03-2021, 04:53 AM

I haven't seen the episode , what did they do for cylinder bore coating ? Nikasil or Alusil or ???

Nickshu · Nickshu's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I haven't seen the episode , what did they do for cylinder bore coating ? Nikasil or Alusil or ???

They took it to Hartech, who are the UK's version of LN Engineering. Can't recall which they used. I have heard Hartech invented the sleeves that LNE uses here in the USA, but not sure on that.

matthewb0051 · matthewb0051's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by KNS

I haven't watched WD in a few years - I think Mike needs to cut back on the Cheeseburgers...

He has actually lost weight. Shocking I know. I believe he started working out earlier this year.

The old skinny photos of him are a hoot.

Steve Carlton · 12-03-2021, 08:19 AM

I thought those Fuchs look-alikes looked like ass. They looked like hubcaps, much worse than the stock wheels. I also think black and gold is done and over- looks like a craze that failed.

I'm sure there's better looking Fuchs style wheels, and I suspect in silver, charcoal, or black chrome might have looked awesome along with a different color graphics and tail.

What does a proper rebuild cost in the US? $25,000? The free labor always distorts the profitability of that show's cars, but it's a TV show. Picking cars that would make money would make for an uninteresting show. How long does the IMS bearing replacement last? I don't believe they're one and done.