Name That Price - An Engine Rebuild
 

I am working with a reputable Porsche shop on a 3.2 to 3.4 rebuild (slip fit Mahle pistons and cylinders - no twin plugging). They are big into club racing and have done this motor many times…the quote was WAY beyond the budget number they shared with me from a similar build back in December. I have seen various posts online documenting the cost, but nothing recent. So if you have experience in this arena, please share a ballpark number.

Here is the “quote” that came as an email without the actual price included:

…wanted me to pass a quote on to you for work on your 3.2 rebuild. Split cases, machining, all new parts including Carillo rods and webcam cams. Oil lines, seals and all associated hardware. New clutch, powder coating of select parts, and all labor to complete this job along with state sales tax…$$$.

Thank you in advance for playing!

Minimum $20 - $25K for that.

I did that build myself and have $10K into the motor for parts and machine work. Add $10K for labor and you have $20K, maybe more depending on the labor rates...

I'm gonna go for $30k. I think the old $20k quote is the new $30k one.

You beat me to it. 30K-ish is my thought.

I'm doing a 3.2-3.45 litre build for myself. Using a 3.6 crank and 98mm pistons. I think people call this a 3.5 litre build more commonly but it is actually 3.45litre.
https://www.facebook.com/mikedsilvaengines

It is creeping up in cost..

These days, I’m thinking realistic is $45k…depending where you are located, it could be around $60k depending on how impressed the shop might be with themselves.

Blu…are you saying this from experience? Last year, as I was prepping for this project, I had a few different conversations with mechanics. The 17-22K was typical from standard Porsche mechanics, and I did encounter one mechanic who fell into the “impressed with themselves” category that was ~50% higher. My current quote is even higher…:confused:

My very recent experience is, if you are paying a shop, the $20-25k budget simply won’t cut it. Especially in SoCal or the northeast.

I was recently shopping around just to get headstuds and the northeast shops didn’t want to just do a top end for fear of more major repairs needed in the next few years afterwards. So they all quoted me high 20’s as a minimum. So I did it myself.

In SoCal, I went thru the exercise of a full rebuild with case split. That got wrapped up late last year. My numbers were based on that project. And close second hand experience of a rebuild like you are planning.

I’d be interested in seeing the split of parts versus labor. Parts prices have skyrocketed in the last year. How much of the change in the new quote is parts?

...And most reputable shops are backed up and won't be able to get to you until the summer or later if you accept.

Sort of in the same vein - the quote I received from a well known local shop was $14,000 for just a reseal.

Is a reseal exactly as it sounds? Ie, complete strip and clean, and assuming all parts measure within spec and do not have wear or damage, the motor is re-assembled exactly the same?
Does that mean they do no machining of heads etc?
I assume they install new bearings and rod bolts etc?

Curious to learn.

These are all details we are planning to hammer out next month. I presumed the answer is "yes" but I'll certainly let you know.

It's part of a laundry list of items I'm having done and the detailed list of the big ticket items haven't been fully fleshed out.

These $50, $60 and $70K SC's and 3.2's being sold daily on BaT and elsewhere most likely all need to be rebuilt. Can you imagine the shock when the new owners realize what they've gotten themselves into?
Caveat Emptor.

Maybe they should talk to John W.

Maybe they don't care. Maybe they accept it's part of the landscape. It's strange times with how people are spending money with reckless abandon.

It's end of world thinking. You've got covid, which triggered a lot of live for today thinking. And you've got the looming death of the ICE, which is creating a golden age of vintage hot rodding. People aren't waiting until they retire for living.

For a decade I sold almost nothing for 964 and 993 gearboxes other than LSDs. Now, these customers are spending as much as it would cost to rebuild a cup car gearbox, on their hot rods. It's not just Singer and Gunterwerks, but is market wide. I had stopped making G50 5spd gears. For the last two years now, I sell out my packages almost as quickly as I make them.

^^^
I've said this since covid hit in '20' "Crazy times we're living in. Everything is up and not by just a little either.

It feels like the 80s and the rise of the yuppies. But less coke.