Indeed, that's already half a Chevy with the water in there. There are a dime a dozen 996 out there, so it isn't like you ruin a collector car!

G

I would not do it to any Porsche.
I love mods, but not that.

looks more Ford than Chevy, Cougar dash, Probe mirrors door handles & rims..

I know of a very solid, 1999 996 MO30 w/ Hollow Spoke Twists Ocean Blue Metalic 996 for sale with 88k miles for around $20K.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1335661533.jpg

there are several driver quality boxsters with just over 100K miles on the LA Craigslist between 6K and 9K. as for the 996, there are a few under 16K-17K with no damage history and clean titles. cabriolets, but 996's nonetheless.

If it's high miles, kind of run-down and a blown motor - the likely next stop is the crusher. Why waste a wonderful machine because the value of its major failed component exceeds it's overall value?

I say put an LS chevy into it and fall in love all over again.

I know...I know...I'm a heretic. But I've put a rotory in a fiat X1/9 and a chevy in Jaguar sedan. I'm currently looking at a one-step-from the crusher 944 as an LS candidate.

angela

Not being a smart ass but
 

If Fred really wanted to race a 996 with a transplanted Chevy engine, with which sponsoring bodies would he be able to race? How would the car class? I'm serious, because the Chevy transplant is intriguing -- if it would be competitive.

Insane, isn't it. But I wouldn't want a 996 for $15k. I'd rather have an SC. :)

G

at 6K, with a manual tranny, a disposable boxster would be pretty fun.

For what repair will you toss it though? It needs Porsche replacement parts - $$$, even if it isn't an engine, keeping it maintained and up to snuff will cost more than the car is worth.

I just cant get over how cheap and dated the 996/986 look today. Maybe it is because they are as common as a Camry here in CA?

G

I paid $7500 over a year ago for a 1999 Boxster with 60k, mint condition, clean title, no accidents or paintwork. Except for one ignition coil it was flawless over a year's worth of daily driving.

Knock the series all you want, but no Porsche before has combined daily driver comfort, performance, and reliability like the 986/996. When you can easily find a 986 for under $10k and a 996 for under $20k they make a very compelling proposition. For the same money as a nice 996 that you can drive daily you could buy an SC with a 3.0 on the verge of rebuild, a 915 that probably grinds first gear, and A/C parts in a box because it never worked correctly. I love the older cars, but it annoys me that Porsche owners hold them up as the gold standard of all things motoring. I'll take the very rare chance of an IMS failure over the guarantee of a $10k 3.0 rebuild at relatively low mileage.

im with matt. ive had plenty of SC's and Longhoods. The 996 is a better driver, all around.

as for when i'd drop one...my rule of thumb has always been, when the repairs total 50% of what i paid for it, excluding routine mx, it's time to dump. i buy cheap enough that ive never lost money doing this..including the price of replacement parts.

Sorry, I'm from the old school. Daily driver comfort does not a sports car make. My Murano is comfortable. Hell, my Toyota pickup is comfortable. And they'll probably both out accelerate my Speedster. I wouldn't hold a Carrera up as the gold standard of all things motoring, but I definitely would hold them up as the gold standard of sports cars
Keep talking air cooled Porsches sports cars down. They would be much more affordable for enthusiasts if people would just realize they are sports cars and they suck as transportation appliances.
I remember similar discussions in the late 60s - early 70s - Porsche guys were saying the 356 was such a POS - the 911 was more comfy, faster, cooler, had a heater, etc. Car and Driver even did a comparison between a '55 Speedster and a new Karmann Ghia and proved that even a Volkwagen was faster than a old Porsche. According to them I was a fool for buying my Speedster + an extra body for $1700 just because I liked it when I could have had a new comfy 911 for 6x that.
I'll be happy to start scooping up Carreras and SCs for $3-4k and enjoying the hell out of them once people realize they suck as freeway commuter cars.

Fair enough, just so people are honest about the strengths and weaknesses about the air cooled cars I totally agree. As an EXPERIENCE they are difficult to match, and I love them just as much as any modern Porsche. But it gets really old hearing from some how an SC is faster and more reliable than a 996.

For a non-collectible car, the value of one non-running is $0. Maybe a couple hundred bucks if you're into the parting out game (giant PITA, no way I'd ever waste my time but some people are into that and make a few bucks doing it...)

Got this in my email box today.

NEW DONOR CAR 2000 996

Well, it's worth $0 to $200 according to the expert

Make 'em an offer :D

They are parting it. PH is a great place but cheap they are not. Even if you can get the whole car ...

Shows you however that it is more cost effective for an owner to sell the car to PH for scrap than to repair it! :D

G

The only place I wouuld put one of those is straight up Roy Mark's kazoo.

angela

I think you missed my point. The purpose of a non-collectable car is to DRIVE. If it doesn't drive, it has no value. It's a lawn ornament - and I don't need or want crap on my lawn, so its value is $0.

For someone who's into the whole home-junkyard business there's a different value based on what they think they can get for parts and all that, but I'm not even going to speculate since I have no interest in doing that for a living. If I were buying a whole non-running shell to use as a donor for a fix-up project or something, the dollar value would be driven by the end value of the fixed-up car and the estimated value of whatever leftover parts I could sell. Again however, I don't really have the time or the inclination to get into this. I have no desire to get into the junkyard business at this point in my life.