[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by rusnak

I'm still learning about the 987.2. I feel like a dinosaur.

It's got around 38K miles on it. I did the 40K mile service last year, but did not have time to drive the car much. I feel like pulling the plugs next oil change and also changing the water pump and coolant. Maybe when the weather warms up.

I have heard of 3.8L Caymans, but my impression was that they were punched out, not engine swaps. I would wonder about the Varioram being retained, and using the stock DME and Sport Chrono. I guess the best option is to retain the stock motor when and if it needs to be rebuilt. I am not expecting the same sort of engine life as in my aircooled 911.

I also heard about using GT3 control arms, but I assume that is for more neg camber? And GT3 air deflectors on the front control arms. That's maybe a good mod. And the center radiator. I think that is a very good idea.

As to price, which this thread is about, it was bought as a private sale from an estate liquidator. The owner had passed away, and the family was having a lot of trouble selling the car for some reason. I won't say what I paid, but I believe it was on the level of half of the market value, which was around half of what the guy paid new.

Just maintain it per the book and you'll be fine, 40k sounds really premature for coolant, water pump, and spark plugs. I think 60k is the interval for plugs and coolant on the earlier 986 and 996 cars, and it moved to I think 80k on the 987.1 and 997.1. Water pumps are normally good for 80-100k, though I've never changed one despite owning a bunch of these things. My 986S has 85k with the original water pump, I'll change it in the spring along with a coolant flush and cleaning my radiators.

You can send the engine to someone like LN for a performance build, I know they do a 3.8 and I think maybe even a 4.0. If you don't mind the price, that's definitely the preferred route because it's still your engine. Of course that's probably $20k+, but damn it would be fun. You'll be doing this because you want to, not because you have to, these things typically last a long time. You won't be doing a top-end at 100k like most air-cooled cars.

GT3 control arms are for more negative camber, and you can add the air deflectors for the front brakes. There's really no need to add the center radiator unless you track the car heavily, though I suppose it can't hurt.

Sounds like you did well on the price, congrats! They are incredible cars, a blast to drive but very livable daily. My 986S has winter tires and a hard top right now, I leave my wife the 4x4 truck and I tackle the snow in my Porsche.