A lotta car for not much $$ and a 3.8L will slide in there real nice. :)

Putting in a motor from any of the 9X7s into a 9X6 is actually a pretty big pain. They fit but working out the ECU interface is a challenge. It's been done, but you are much better off just swapping a 996 motor into a 986, I think 300-320 HP is more than adequate.;)

I came close to buying a 97 a couple years ago. I went in with low expectations but remember really liking the car. Sure, not tons of power but it was to be a street car for me and to me at least it us a nice package as is. Maybe upgrade the struts and put on some nice tires, done. I just couldnt/cant get over the engine issues. Now with more IMS bearing options maybe its time to rethink?

Will a 3.8L fit into a '11 Cayman (987.2)?

I would think you could swap the 3.8L from a 997.2 S model, but I've never seen anyone do it.

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.

This is Duane Selby's Cayman S with a 997S 3.8L motor. His campaign of the car in GT3 Class has been very successful and the car has been reliable.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1483391563.jpg

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.:cool:

Looks like a 987.1 Cayman, correct? I've seen plenty of 3.8L swaps into the 987.1, but none into a 987.2. The 3.8L in the 997.2 911S moved to direct injection, which I suspect would be challenging to swap into a base model 987.1 without DI. The 987.2 S models did have DI, so that might be easier. I'm sure it's been done by somebody though. Anymore it's not so much the challenge of performing the swap, it's integrating the electronics with the remainder of the car that poses the challenge.

^ Oh wow, ok I'll put off the water pump thing. Where I live, the heat is crazy in the summer time. As you know, heat = pressure, but somehow the Cayman handles heat very well. I take care to park in the shade with the right side toward the prevailing wind, so the intake fan can suck cooling air in after shutdown.

I think the third radiator and control arms are on the agenda for this summer. I'm also thinking about the GT3 shifter as a replacement for the stock, which is getting sloppy for my tastes. Just a quick calculation of how many miles the previous owner put on the car - at 8~9K miles per year, it had to be a fair weather ride, or perhaps the guy worked from home. I suspect it was a weekend only car with occasional trips out of town.

For those looking to get a deal, pay attention to auctions and get on the radar of people who broker cars. You'll find something great that way.

Exactly.

The 2011 GT3 shifter is a really nice upgrade, you get about 30% shorter throws and metal bushings so it is much more precise. I had a 997S with one, it is one of the nicest shifting modern Porsches that I have driven.

Come to think of it, I believe Duane did start time trialing this car in a stock configuration in early 2010. It must be a 987.1.

Yes, Selby drives a 987.1 (06-07) that has been the trial horse for Vision Motorsports for a long time. Vision has resolved most of the motor/ECU compatibility issues and has a large displacement upgrade motor available for most 986-987 cars. My brother has a 2008 w/Vision 3.8L that is well-sorted. 987.2 has a more flexible ECU that can be re-flashed to adapt to different displacement up to 4.2L. Lots of possibilities within the 987 platform.

So, they ARE the modern 914!

Here's a 2006 Cayman S with a Carrera engine put into it. 911-Powered 2007 Porsche Cayman S | Bring a Trailer

And then this shows up on the for sale section. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/941483-2005-boxster-s-400-hp-3-8-997s-engine.html

Can you just imagine how much fun a 987 with Motons, wing, splitter, and a 4.2L HP would be to drive on the track :eek: It would feed on GT3's.

I watched for a few years for a good cheap manual boxster to be listed around the Charlotte area, never saw one. Tiptronic, yers, but not a manual.

Now that I've added the XK, I'd have to ditch a 944, and I'm not sure I want to do that, so I've stopped looking.

Its no longer trendy, and that effects the price it can sell for.

For a two seat open top fun car, it seems to hard to beat though. Flat Six, vs a Miata's 4 cylinder.

I still want to go in with 2 other guys, drop $3k each and get a track only $9k Boxster S that we share track weekends with. Even if it gets crumpled in the first year, it's not a terrible lose for getting a good dedicated well sorted track car...

In theory, that's a great idea. In reality, one guy will be driving when the motor blows. Two guys will blame him for a mechanical over-rev and not want to pay 1/3 each. The result will be a homeless track car and three friends who don't speak to each other. I was Chairman of the Porsche Owners Club Performance Driving Series for three years. I witnessed this happen on several occasions.