Rebuilt 912 engine
 

I'm starting the process of rebuilding and noticed all the costs. Is it less expensive to buy a rebuilt 912 engine than it is to actually rebuild it?

Oh yes.

The rebuilt engine in my 912 cost around 7k to rebuild. My father bought it for 3k. Now that I want power, I'm probably going to sell it to fund my Type 4 powerplant. 912 horsepower costs a lot of money for what you get.

Efrain
68 912 Coupe

Not true. It takes a lot of time and effort, and making a lot of friends, but you can rebuild a motor for way less than buying a rebuilt. For example, my old 912 had an awesome motor, total rebuild costs were under $1K and that included a new PC and rebuilding both heads. Sure a $10k motor from Harry Pellow is wonderful, but for 1-3K you can make a motor just as good (if not better) and you get an awesome experiece. The key is getting everything cleaned and magnafluxed to see what you can reuse. These engines were built to last, so go ahead, reuse the parts. Clean them up and have a blast rebuilding and...

Keep the 912 faith!

I just finished up a fresh track rebuild for under $1400 total. All Porsche, with the strength and long-term reliability that comes with it, and true 127 HP on the dyno. Shasta forged 1720cc P and Cs and fully machined heads by the best in the area. All new bearings, valves, valve guides, motor seals and pushrod tubes. The 912 motor is not a hard motor to rebuild. (Or substantially improve for that matter) If you cannot rebuild a 912 motor don’t rebuild motors. ;)

Get a good book. Don’t take shortcuts, work in a clean environment and take your time. Find a fellow 912/356 enthusiast (join the local PCA) and pick his brain. It is all the little things people learn and then pass on that make it worthwhile to retain the 912 motor.

When you rebuild or have the motor rebuilt, you retain control of what is done. I have seen motors (And ones by well known rebuilders too) that are made of what ever was in the shop that day. 3rd under cranks, knurled valve guides and the like. Yes they run, but are a box of compromises. You want a good motor, the rebuilder wants his $.