is this a good deal ???

http://cgi.ebay.aol.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=591406219&r=0&t=0

Is this a good price ?
Is the damage really insignificant ?
Off course it is necessary a close look, but what does your experience can say.
Thanks.
Ed

I dont know if the damage would have been bad or not.

But I cant see from the pics what damage they are talking about. And if its Gemballa why dont they fix it and sell it as a perfect engine?
(but hey, Im not an expert by any means!)

I dont understand why it was an insurance write off though? What kind of policy covers engine failure, and if it was cosmetic why didnt the policy cover it?

And I guess the engine is only of use if you have a 996. AFAIK it wont fit anything else, at least not without major work.

Alex.

Yes Alex, all your points are right. But why they name Gemballa....? And sorry for my lack of knowledge but, what is Gemballa ?
I am evaluating the idea of changing the engine in my car (an early 911) and was thinking in something like Jack Olsen has done to the B.B.
Do you think it will not fit in a 911 because of the water-cooled system ?
Maybe I have to look for a air cooled instead.
Well, I have still 30 more days here in the States to look for an alternative.
Thank you Alex for your opinion.

Alex is right. Something just doesn't fit with this picture. No insurer replaces an engine for minor cosmetic damage, especially one that runs perfectly. It sounds more like a damaged engine that has been repaired, leaving only the cosmetic problems that couldn't be fixed easily. Which gets back to the original question, what's wrong with the engine that they don't just fix it so that they can sell it in perfect shape?

Nice Dolly!

Gemballa is a high-line tuner that does a lot of exotic conversions on 911s for big bucks. They did really outrageous (and ugly IMHO) slantnose 930s with big ducts, pointy airdams and huge wings.

See their stuff at: http://www.gemballa.com and leave lots of time to get through their nutty Flash intro that you can't bypass and popup weasel site.

It's conceivable that they have insurance to cover these expensive parts; if they were building me a $150,000 car and there was a piece of metal cracked off the engine, I wouldn't take delivery, would you? Maybe it fell off an engine stand, or they dinged it when they were uncrating it.

It's my understanding that you can buy a brand-new 996 engine direct from Porsche for about $9-10k, so this would seem like an okay deal, but it would be a nightmare to put it in anything except a 996 or a Boxster. It would be a great upgrade for a Boxster, actually, and you'd never see the crack.

Vic
88 Carrera

Thanks Gents,
Very good advices.
I'll rather search for another options.
Maybe asking Porsche about for some 3.6 air cooled with their support....
Thanks again.
Ed.

A 3.6 from a 993 or 964 will go in a treat.

Just ask Jack who has got a thread going at the moment:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/Forum3/HTML/009241.html

Alex.