stock 99 3.4 motor- what's it worth?

[kwiktsi]

I am thinking of pulling the stock ~70k mile 3.4 from my 99 Carrera to upgrade the car and was curious what the 3.4 was worth? Also, with the higher power goals, I'd assume I'm going to need a different trans, so that will probably be for sale as well. The motor and trans both work as they should. The buyer would be able to drive the car prior to purchase if I get prices and get them listed soon. I would rather offer the parts up on the forum than put them on fleabay, so I am curious what fair prices were to ask for either. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Joe

[Flyer007]

I am thinking of pulling the stock ~70k mile 3.4 from my 99 Carrera to upgrade the car and was curious what the 3.4 was worth? Also, with the higher power goals, I'd assume I'm going to need a different trans, so that will probably be for sale as well. The motor and trans both work as they should. The buyer would be able to drive the car prior to purchase if I get prices and get them listed soon. I would rather offer the parts up on the forum than put them on fleabay, so I am curious what fair prices were to ask for either. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Joe

Trans should be fine.

An orig. 99 3.4 with 70k is a possible timebomb. Therefore it will not fetch too much $$ as is.

What are your power goals? The car you have is non egas and the older DME. Swapping to a 3.6 or 3.8 is going to require a lot of mods.

If you feel your current engine is solid, then a supercharger is probably your best bet.

Goodluck.

[kwiktsi]

I am thinking of pulling the stock ~70k mile 3.4 from my 99 Carrera to upgrade the car and was curious what the 3.4 was worth? Also, with the higher power goals, I'd assume I'm going to need a different trans, so that will probably be for sale as well. The motor and trans both work as they should. The buyer would be able to drive the car prior to purchase if I get prices and get them listed soon. I would rather offer the parts up on the forum than put them on fleabay, so I am curious what fair prices were to ask for either. Thanks in advance for any advice.

Joe

Trans should be fine.

An orig. 99 3.4 with 70k is a possible timebomb. Therefore it will not fetch too much $$ as is.

What are your power goals? The car you have is non egas and the older DME. Swapping to a 3.6 or 3.8 is going to require a lot of mods.

If you feel your current engine is solid, then a supercharger is probably your best bet.

Goodluck.

Thanks for the info. To be honest, I wasn't going to discuss the replacement here since I know many will shake their heads in shame, but the power goals are going to involve a twin turbo LSx motor- if I do this. Far beyond what a 3.4 with a supercharger will provide :). I was going to just turbo the 3.4, but there is no DIY tuning software available that I have found and I am not going to over pay a shop to tune it just because of the name. Even if I did, it still won't provide nearly the power I am looking for. With the LSX, I can do all my own tuning and fab work. I am the "nobody touches my car but me" type and this is EVERYTHING from paint to engine work to custom fabbing to tuning- I do it all. I used to own a shop doing performance work, now it is just a hobby. I just can't justify paying someone else to do it for me when I am more than capable and probably have more experience than they do :).

I sold my twin turbo GTO and am just kicking around ideas for a suitable replacement power wise. I was going to buy something else, but already own this and the car is already a repaint with a non-oem color, so I figured it is already "ruined"- I might as well go all the way :).

[etwd]

"An orig. 99 3.4 with 70k is a possible timebomb. Therefore it will not fetch too much $$ as is"

You my friend, are what they call a pessimist. A MIS-INFORMED one at that. Please read before you make such lame statements. My only thought to your uneducated remark is that you cannot afford a Porsche and you think by polluting/trolling the internet will 'pull-down' the resale on these cars to where you might be able to purchase the car. I said purchase, not maintain, get it?

"However, the key thing for us is the

five to ten percent figure. That means

that around 90 to 95 percent of early

996s out there are likely to be free of

major trouble. And that, we reckon, is a

gamble worth taking".

This quote was taken from the HP Motorsports website

Edited October 14, 2008 by etwd

[Loren]

Folks -- please get this thread back on the topic and stop the personal attacks.

Please re-read the board Guideline/Rules if you are unclear on the rules here.

Thank you.

[GranburyChuck]

Don't know if you have seen this recent posting but there was a thread showing that a rebuilt 3.4 motor was about $12k from the dealer. I assume that doesn't include all of the peripheral stuff on the motor. Something used like this personally I would only give maybe $4k for, typically I would pay less than half for something I cannot get a warranty on and not new. I am not sure about the tranny. Good luck in your endeavors. I for one appreciate your enthusiasm to delve into the unknown. Although, I really enjoy my 996 these are just cars and are not worth getting all upset about.

[kwiktsi]

Don't know if you have seen this recent posting but there was a thread showing that a rebuilt 3.4 motor was about $12k from the dealer. I assume that doesn't include all of the peripheral stuff on the motor. Something used like this personally I would only give maybe $4k for, typically I would pay less than half for something I cannot get a warranty on and not new. I am not sure about the tranny. Good luck in your endeavors. I for one appreciate your enthusiasm to delve into the unknown. Although, I really enjoy my 996 these are just cars and are not worth getting all upset about.

Thanks for the info. As for warranty, I agree- I would not pay top dollar without one either, but I will let the buyer drive the car to verify that it is in good running condition if they get to it before I pull it out :). I would also be selling it with everything bolted to it- intake, throttle body, sensors, starter, belt driven accessories, etc. Pull it out, drop it in another car and go. I'm sure that will add to the value some, I'd hope. Either way, even $4k is a good start on the project if I decide to do it :D.

[gsieck]

You can look at some of the dismantlers to get a sense for price--probably not much more than $4,000 in a great economy. You can have a look at some of the other boards about engine swaps and adding a supercharger (http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/996/146192-vf-supercharger-thread.html). Putting a 3.6L or 3.8L engine in a 996 seems to result in a need for a compelte rewiring of the car. Depending upon where you live, you may have issues with emissions certification, etc. You're looking at ~$12,000 for a SC. Guys get really enthusiastic about the power increase (who wouldn't!). I spoke with my race shop and they've done a few SC installs. His advice was to buy a TT and avoid the cost and hassle.

Edited October 15, 2008 by gsieck

[kwiktsi]

You can look at some of the dismantlers to get a sense for price--probably not much more than $4,000 in a great economy. You can have a look at some of the other boards about engine swaps and adding a supercharger (http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/996/146192-vf-supercharger-thread.html). Putting a 3.6L or 3.8L engine in a 996 seems to result in a need for a compelte rewiring of the car. Depending upon where you live, you may have issues with emissions certification, etc. You're looking at ~$12,000 for a SC. Guys get really enthusiastic about the power increase (who wouldn't!). I spoke with my race shop and they've done a few SC installs. His advice was to buy a TT and avoid the cost and hassle.

Thanks for the info. Read my follow up post about the swap though- far more power planned than a TT has for a LOT less money (I do all my own tuning and fab work) :D. The car is going to pretty much get a complete re-wiring anyway :).

[td873]

Thanks for the info. To be honest, I wasn't going to discuss the replacement here since I know many will shake their heads in shame, but the power goals are going to involve a twin turbo LSx motor- if I do this. Far beyond what a 3.4 with a supercharger will provide :). I was going to just turbo the 3.4, but there is no DIY tuning software available that I have found and I am not going to over pay a shop to tune it just because of the name. Even if I did, it still won't provide nearly the power I am looking for. With the LSX, I can do all my own tuning and fab work. I am the "nobody touches my car but me" type and this is EVERYTHING from paint to engine work to custom fabbing to tuning- I do it all. I used to own a shop doing performance work, now it is just a hobby. I just can't justify paying someone else to do it for me when I am more than capable and probably have more experience than they do :).

Awesome. Good luck with the upgrade and please keep a log or at least post some updates. The P world would be greatful for details along the way!

As for the engine, you might get more for it if you can document that it is working, provide repair/maintenance history, and have it removed by a reputable shop. Selling it sight unseen from a stranger with no additional probably won't fetch much. I think the 3.4 would be a nice upgrade for an early boxster ;)

-td

Edited October 16, 2008 by td873

[kwiktsi]

Thanks for the info. To be honest, I wasn't going to discuss the replacement here since I know many will shake their heads in shame, but the power goals are going to involve a twin turbo LSx motor- if I do this. Far beyond what a 3.4 with a supercharger will provide :). I was going to just turbo the 3.4, but there is no DIY tuning software available that I have found and I am not going to over pay a shop to tune it just because of the name. Even if I did, it still won't provide nearly the power I am looking for. With the LSX, I can do all my own tuning and fab work. I am the "nobody touches my car but me" type and this is EVERYTHING from paint to engine work to custom fabbing to tuning- I do it all. I used to own a shop doing performance work, now it is just a hobby. I just can't justify paying someone else to do it for me when I am more than capable and probably have more experience than they do :).

Awesome. Good luck with the upgrade and please keep a log or at least post some updates. The P world would be greatful for details along the way!

As for the engine, you might get more for it if you can document that it is working, provide repair/maintenance history, and have it removed by a reputable shop. Selling it sight unseen from a stranger with no additional probably won't fetch much. I think the 3.4 would be a nice upgrade for an early boxster ;)

-td

I bought the car used from a dealer, so there is no previous maintenance history :(. It runs and runs strong, which is why I figured if I can get a potential buyer to look at it and drive it prior to me pulling it, they can verify that for themselves.

I agree it would fetch more if pulled by a "reputable" shop, but not enough to justify the cost of paying said shop and having it towed back home- besides, doing a swap like this, I would rather pull it so I can see how/where everything goes in stock form :).

I am still not 100% convinced I want to do this, but if I do, I will certainly take some pics and such along the way. Not much for taking detailed pics and doing a writeup though- I typically just keep working when I start and am done before I even think to take pictures. I will try to get as much documented as possible though.

Thanks again for the info guys. One more thing- where is a good source for wiring diagrams for this car? I'll certainly be needing them and would like to browse them prior to making a decision..

Edited October 16, 2008 by kwiktsi

[viper501]

Having gone through the replacement engine search for my 99 996 C2, I can tell you that the engines are 1) fairly rare from dismantlers and 2) very very very expensive for a used unknown condition engine. Most were qouting me between 5 and 6k for a used engine with no idea of the history or true condition. In fact, some didn't even know the mileage on the engine. When the 'new' Porsche reman'd engines were 8k and change from Sunset Porsche, it was a no-brainer for me, esp. with the two year unlimited mileage factory warranty. However, if I could have found one for 3 or 4k with a known history I would have probably jumped on it.

Good luck with the LSx project. I know it is considered a sacrelige but I think it could be really neat.

Oh, and I forgot to add, the Porsche reman'd engines are a great deal at 8k when you consider that it is *fully* dressed with everything replaced from injectors to wiring harnesses. The only thing that got reused on my car was one radiator hose fitting and the a/c compressor.

Edited October 17, 2008 by viper501