thoughts on this engine please!

Reg · 02-14-2003, 06:15 PM

Hi

I have found this engine for sale fairly local to me. As some of you may know, I am not an expert on the mechanicals of cars and most certainly not Porsche's. My car is an early T coupe and as much as I love driving it, I'd like more power.

I know most seem to look for a 3.0 - 3.6 L swap and maybe perhaps that is the way I should go, but I saw this engine posted and it looked like a somewhat realistic possibility for me pricewise.

I have weber's (40's though) and SSI's and two mufflers to choose from, but I only have the stock CD unit and coil, plus a 901 transmission and no front oil cooler.

Would this engine be fun on the street and reliable? Under normal use, is the lifespan of this engine much lower than a factory engine?

here is the link :

click here

Any thoughts would be appreciated,
Reg

Eric Mckenna · 02-14-2003, 06:21 PM

SO what is this motor kicking out in this set up?
do the Carbs help out this 3.6 ltr very much .. or is it really a throttle response things more than raw power ..
I think this answers the question .... This was last winters project. Modifed 1995 993 3.6L with 46mm PMOs, Webcam Super-Sprints, Electromotive HPX etc.??

Eric

Paul Thomas · 02-14-2003, 07:49 PM

The only thoughts i have on the subject concern the distributor. Pro and con. Sound like a good deal though.

Pro: even if it is a conversion (probably) it is worth some cash-ola. I say probably because a real Bosch twin plugger is worth $3000 all by itself.

Con: A cap and rotor for that distributor will cost you a cool $1000. The rotor alone is $600, cap $400, and those are two years ago prices.

I know all this cause i used to have a real one. Sold it and bought Electromotive, rear sway bar, new tires and lunch.

Paul

dd74 · 02-14-2003, 08:10 PM

I don't know...I'm mechanically deficient myself which is why I bought a good car and later transplanted into it a good stock engine. If you're at all like me (read: mechanically deficient), this thing sounds like a bear in the areas of upkeep, diagnosis if something seems wrong with it and finally repair.

Yet it also depends upon what sort of driver/owner you're willing to be with an engine like this. Can you/are you willing to adjust your driving style and where you drive to accomodate everything this engine has in store for you?

If you answer all this in the positive, go for it. It seems like a sweet engine. But just a warning: all the stuff it doesn't come with is enough to make me wonder if it's as good a deal as it appears.

Reg · 02-15-2003, 03:57 AM

Wow! That thousand bucks = $1500 for me.

On the plus side, I think I could change them myself!

I have a mechanic about 45 minutes to me who would be able to tune this engine. I'd be thinking 1k - 2k miles a year to be about my average.

There is a bone stock 3.2 local to me with 60k miles and the owner is looking at 10k vs the 6k ( CDN) for this one.

Either way, I guess I'd need to upgrade to a 915 as well....

Perhaps the 6k would serve better rebuilding the original T engine I have into something like Curt's 2.5?

jluetjen · jluetjen's Garage

Running that engine on Weber 40's and through a 901 would most likely work just fine on the street. The issue is the ignition - I think that you'd have a hard time keeping it alive with your single plug ignition. So figure in the money to buy some sort of twin-plug set-up.

The 901 should be fine as long as you aren't doing drag racing starts.

Reg · 02-15-2003, 09:08 AM

I remember autocrossing years ago and there was a purple early 911 with green fuchs. I knew even less about them then but that car got out of the hole like few other cars I've seen.

I would'nt be taking it to the drag races thats for sure , but I would like to be able to use the power.

I suppose if I had the engine for 6k, I'd likely drop another 6 in the install, getting the oil cooling and ignition set up and tuned etc.....

Here is another reason to buy the car already made the way you want it! Let someone else pay for it.

pwd72s · 02-15-2003, 09:24 AM

Reg, a 2.8 has been a dream hot rod engine of mine...but I'd have preferred the MFI. I think you've got a realistic idea of the true costs involved here.

red70tcoupe@pca · 02-15-2003, 10:23 AM

Hello felow canadian, red70tcoupehere. I aspire to the same type of performance you do. My goal is to get the ignition working 100% with the addition of optical pick-ups for the distributor and either a Crane or MSD multi-spark unit. I noticed an instant gain in drivability after adding the K&N filter, Jacobs energy coil and Jacobs high curret wires. I really like the performance of the car but I am apprehensive about doing too much to it because that would make it more valuable to me than what it is worth. For the kind of money you're talking about , you could sell yours and buy a late '70's or early '80's with a bigger motor.

rs911t · 02-15-2003, 02:34 PM

Reg, I have this identical setup in my '72 T, except mine is single-plug. Needless to say, I'm also interested in this block. Anyway, I really don't think you'd like it. Honesty, the more I think about it, big engines in lightweight Porsche tubs simply suck! Yeah, it sucks. You wouldn't like it at all. Keep repeating to yourself - it sucks!

pwd72s · 02-15-2003, 03:08 PM

Greg is right, his engine has been just awful for decades! He ought to yank it, send it out my way so I could take it to an Oregon recycling center...

jluetjen · jluetjen's Garage

Keep in mind that this isn't a "Real 2.8" as in an RSR engine, but rather a 2.8 as in a little bigger then a 2.7 and somewhat smaller then a 3.0. There's nothing magical about the displacement or the bore-stroke ratio. All of the things that this engine builder did (46 carbs, twin-plug, "S" cams, etc) could be done to any of the 911 motors from 2.0 up to 3.6. That being said, the price does seem pretty good for what it is.