Should I always avoid cars rebuilt by MM
 

I'm a newbie diving into the wonderful world of old 911. I really want the 911S 2.7L instead of 911SC 3.0L mainly because the the chrome trims, which I think gives more vintage look (even though I've read all about the 2.7L issues). I'm looking at a car posted on eBay and the seller happens to be local. I was advised by a friend that the red fan is an indication that the motor was rebuilt by Meister Motor and should walk away. I did a quick search here on Pelican regarding MM :eek:. Shouldn't I at least give it a chance and get PPI done?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1363674241.jpg

I would talk to the seller and see what they say. See if they volunteer info regarding whether or not the engine has been rebuilt, then you can ask about who did the rebuild job. It mostly comes down to price. At a certain price level that car becomes very attractive, even if MM rebuilt it. But I wouldn't jump to assumptions just based on the fan paint. The valve covers and heater blower motor are also painted red. Maybe the owner just got happy with the red paint...

What is the deal with the rear trunk release cable?

Kirk

If the appeal is the anodized trim/brightwork...doing that to a nice later SC is a far less expensive proposition than a correctly done 2.7 rebuild.

And, keep in mind most SCs through1980 have the anodized trim you like.

2.7 + MM sounds disastrous.

Look at it. The more you see - the more you learn.

I've seen a lot of painted fans, and most were not MM rebuilds.

If the engine rebuild happens to be MM, just have a mechanic thoroughly inspect the condition of the engine. The majority of MM engine rebuilds are just fine. The problem is that when their rebuilds are bad, they seem to be really bad and apparently MM does not make an effort to make things right.

For some reason the release cable was relocated...

As suspected the motor was rebuilt by MM, but the previous owner (it was passed by from current owner's father-in-law) sent it to another shop for another rebuild little over a yr later and spend a crap load of money!

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...psd05d1e6d.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ps1e6038d6.jpg

Then:
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ps2443c151.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ps54faffa9.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...psc9acc54c.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ps6b71b0f2.jpg

Pretty sure that's part of some aftermarket security system.
It would not work as a lid release

Wow! That's not a very good ad for MM, is it?

If I'm understanding what I see, the Motormeister rebuilt engine came back with the crank locked in the case and not turning. It cost $16.4K to put it right? This person was taken advantage of twice.

Lots of oddities in the Kirberg invoice. It seems a bit paranoid to magnaflux a new crankshaft, but when you're charging $16K to rebuild a 2.7 long block, I guess money is no object.

Nice how MM cut the support rib out of the engine case:rolleyes:

Well i just bought a 993 that the top end was done by mm. Believe me i was goin to walk away from it from the get go. Just for.that reason. After talking to a few of my pcar friends about it, they all basically told me that mm didnt screw everyone.

So when i had the ppi done i told the mechanic the top end was done by mm, who himself was screwed by mm. So he understood my concern. He thoroughly inspected the engine. Compression was 180 across. And 3-5percent on the leak down. He advise me that everything chcked out and the car was good.

Believe me i used the mm thing to my advantage. The owner new he made a mistake
By having mm touch his car as many buyers walked.away just the mentioning of mm.

If the ppi checks out. You are good

Many years ago, I bought a car from a well know and highly respected forum member. It had a fresh MM rebuild. The PPI was done by an equally well known and respected wrench in Venice Beach. He told me to run away from the car and not to touch it. I wish I had followed his advice.

To this day, I stop reading an ad when I see MM is associated with the car/engine.

Same thing with Victory Motorcars. They probably have a good car here or there but after all the horror threads and reviews, I dont even look at their ads anymore. Not worth the risk.

I don't see a crank on that invoice. It looks to me like they reused the one from the MM build. Though for $3200 in 2005/6 I sure hope they got a set of RS Ps&Cs and that wasn't what they were charged for plain old 2.7l ones. Back then I think I was selling new kits for under $2k. The really brutal charge on that invoice is the labor. That's 50%+ more than what it would have cost to rebuild that engine back then.

The $3200 item is of course not readable, but ends with a "t" which crankshaft does and "pistons and cylinders" don't.

YMMV

But we can all agree that $16K for that rebuild was not kosher.

But piston and cylinder set does end with a t. ;)

Ya got me there!

Wow...
 

With all the "bad press," I always wondered how MM stayed in business.

$16.5k rebuilds (for a 2.7!) every once and a while can go a long way towards keeping the doors open...

You can PPI it and see what happens. But for me, there are so many cars out there, I'd just look at a different one with a few less stories.

Yikes! What Tech said, somebody got taken advantage of twice.