Topic: Interesting call today....

[rrocket]

Just as I woke up, my phone was ringing with call display saying "Private Number". I answered. The gentleman introduced himself....and the name did not ring a bell. Then he says "I'm the guy with the 1.2 million km Porsche 911 Turbo and 500k Supra Turbo".

I don't remember how or when I reached out to this guy, but it was certainly when I had my Porsche. I never heard back, so I wrote it off as me not having the right contact info and forgot about it.  But sure enough it was right and he finally got back to me.

Was fun to "talk shop" with him. His 911 makes over 600hp now...drives it daily...as much as possible...year round. Winter too! Says he rebuilds the engine every 125k or so. Supra is stock. Offered it to me, but his price was bananas...especially with 500k. 911 is staying in the family though. Had lots of little interesting stories.

All in all, a very interesting way to start my day!

[Nate4x4]

Thanks for sharing.

[quadzilla]

Its funny when random things like this happen. Did he say why he finally called you back?

[aquadorhj]

if he's rebuilding the engine every 125k, it doesn't really say much about porsche durability though.  body, sure, but engine....

[johngenx]

If it's an air cooled turbo that's been stepped on enough to make 600hp, then 125K between builds is amazing. My experience with the 3.3L engines is that 450hp can be done with reasonable reliability. More than that, and you're really compromising longevity.

That said, even after 400hp, most owners were beefing up internals. For a while Andial sold a 450hp "crate" 3.3L that was supposedly bullet proof but had a lot of internal mods.

[rrocket]

If it's an air cooled turbo that's been stepped on enough to make 600hp, then 125K between builds is amazing. My experience with the 3.3L engines is that 450hp can be done with reasonable reliability. More than that, and you're really compromising longevity.

That said, even after 400hp, most owners were beefing up internals. For a while Andial sold a 450hp "crate" 3.3L that was supposedly bullet proof but had a lot of internal mods.

It's a 76, dude! First year turbo!

[rrocket]

if he's rebuilding the engine every 125k, it doesn't really say much about porsche durability though.  body, sure, but engine....

Every 125k MILES. For a 1976 engine. That originally made 235hp. Now making 600hp. Pretty amazing.

[johngenx]

He’s making a 3.0L air cooled engine last 200K-kms making that kinda power?  That’s damned impressive!

Also impressive he’s making that power with the 3.0L.

Those old 3.0 and 3.3L engines are strong, but 600hp is a big stretch for them.

RUF sold a few 3.3L engines way back when that made 450-500hp and we’re super durable, but they also offered a 750hp variation that was still pretty durable, but was extensively modded and hella expensive.


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[rrocket]

He’s making a 3.0L air cooled engine last 200K-kms making that kinda power?  That’s damned impressive!

Also impressive he’s making that power with the 3.0L.

Those old 3.0 and 3.3L engines are strong, but 600hp is a big stretch for them.

RUF sold a few 3.3L engines way back when that made 450-500hp and we’re super durable, but they also offered a 750hp variation that was still pretty durable, but was extensively modded and hella expensive.


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Yea, he was talking in miles, because the car's odo is in miles. His car has "about 800k miles on it"...I switched it over to Kms in my first post.

He did say he has had "a bad build or two" over the years...but the guy he has now is a genius and no problems since he's been doing the re builds. And I'm unclear what kind of rebuild. Open , inspect and re-seal are popular in the 911 community, so I'm not sure if that's what he's doing or if he's changing everything.

He's also running a stand alone ECU now...which all by itself would make the car much more durable.

[dkaz]

I had to rebuild a 125cc making a lowly 7.5 HP at 33,000km lol.

[rrocket]

I had to rebuild a 125cc making a lowly 7.5 HP at 33,000km lol.

And it was a bad re build, wasn't it?

[dkaz]

I had to rebuild a 125cc making a lowly 7.5 HP at 33,000km lol.

And it was a bad re build, wasn't it?

It went well but it was expensive and other issues popped up. So overall I wish I just sold it for parts when the engine grenaded.

[Seafoam]

How much to rebuild a Porsche every 125,000 miles or so?

My guess is more than any late model used car is worth.

Just curious.

[johngenx]

How much to rebuild a Porsche every 125,000 miles or so?

My guess is more than any late model used car is worth.

Just curious.

How long is a piece of string?  It depends. A minor refresh can be done for as little as $8-10K depending on what you need to do, a full rebuild can easily get to $25K, and a redo with the best power handling bits can break $40K.

I had a friend with a 993 TT that grenaded the engine with a missed shift and the bill got very close to $50K.