[CJFusco]

The more I dig, the more fascinating this thing gets.

I mean, the normal recourse would be to have the engine rebuilt by my local shop or have one built (I know that the Flat-Six Innovations 3.8 is a popular option). BUT I'm not going to shell out $10K-18K on this thing. For starters, the car has a "Rebuilt" (formerly "Salvage") title due to being rear-ended about two years ago; I also now have a one-year-old daughter and have more pressing priorities than shelling out thousands and thousands of dollars into the car.

I suppose that another option might be to seek out an engine from a wrecked car. I'm not sure at this point how that compares, cost-wise, to option #1.

Another recourse would be to have an LS engine installed in the car. But I dunno... seems like it wouldn't really be a Porsche at that point.

Another recourse would be to sell the car as-is to a dismantler. I'm not sure how much they pay for broken 987s, especially ones with a "salvage" title (although I guess it doesn't really matter if the car's being dismantled...).

I guess my other option would be to part the car out, which could be a headache, but would probably net me more than selling it whole.

Of course, it might end up being a minor issue... at this point, all I have is a strange engine sound. But I'm learning enough about these engines to suspect that the diagnosis is going to be terminal.