912E rebuild costs

[gwl123]

Was told by a Porsche mechanic that a 912E engine rebuild will cost $5000. It will include work on suspension as well. The car I'm looking at has over 300k miles on her. There were previous engine work done in past. Is that too much? I would like to source out the parts myself to bring the price down.

[Jaems]

It is Probably reasonable. A regular 912 engine, alone, would cost over twice that much; if done by a competent Porsche mechanic. Much cheaper, if you have the skills to do it yourself.

There are so many factors that make the costs for a rebuild. Has the engine the original Bosch fuel injection or is the FI replaced by carbs, which new parts in the engine, what (machine) work will be done, is the shop used to work on the 912E engines, and so on.

What kind of suspension work will be done? just replacing the bushings or does the work also include powder coating parts and new shocks?

There is more info needed regarding the work to be done before we can say anything about a "fair price" for the rebuild. Apart from that I think it is important to have on paper what is to be done for the money and perhaps also what is not included ... Discuss it before and not afer the work is done.

I don't think you will be able to get the price down very much by sourcing parts. The hours of the mechanic will be a major part of the bill. And how would you agree with the mechanic regarding the warranty on parts you sourced?

Otto

[gwl123]

Well it did make it to over 300k miles so it essentially will be a driver. It isn't perfect anyway. Passenger seat is torn up, ding, dents, and a few rust spots. Just need it to start running again reliably for the weekend drives.

[WFBowen]

GWL: I've had two of these cars (only because I got them for almost nothing years ago) & I'm not a big fan of this model. You'll invest a good amount of money into rebuilding it and even more in terms of time spent hunting down model-specific parts when you need them (clutch cable, cyl. heads, smog system parts, or anything with a 923 parts prefix) All this for a car that has marginal performance. If you're looking for a smile-bumper car, IMO an SC or pre-SC with an up-spec'd 2.7 is a better deal. JMO.
Bill

[Matt Monson]

Yeah, $5000 is about right.

Just keep in mind a regular 912 is going to be $8000-10,000. And a 911 is going to be $10,000-12,000. The 912E is the cheap engine in the Porsche world, even with its unique parts.