Car/engine has been sitting for 40+ years so will obviously need to work...Any recommendations?

A place called Flat 6/Renworks quoted them a $2500 diagnosis fee to take it apart and see what the engine needs...Said it's gonna need cylinders, pistons, seals etc, but the owners aren't sure they wanna pay that much for a diagnosis.

Any other recommendations?

12/29/2016 9:25:54 PM

I mean...that's not really a "diagnosis" in the sense of taking your case to the shop and saying "can you guys figure out what this noise is?" It's not "Tell me if I need to rebuild the whole engine."

That's saying "I want you to rebuild the engine", and the shop saying "OK, the absolute best-case scenario is $2500 for a basic rebuild with no weird surprises, and obviously it's likely to cost more than that if/as we find additional stuff wrong, or as you decide that you want to be more extensive or higher-end than the bare-bones job."

it's a VW engine. It can't be too expensive.


[Edited on December 29, 2016 at 11:05 PM. Reason : ]

12/29/2016 11:02:39 PM

Quote :

"That's saying "I want you to rebuild the engine", and the shop saying "OK, the absolute best-case scenario is $2500 for a basic rebuild with no weird surprises"

Oh no. This is just a diagnosis fee as I indicated. They will tear the engine down and detail what all actually has to be replaced. This isn't any of the work to rebuild the engine, outside of said tear down.

Quote :

"it's a VW engine. It can't be too expensive."

My understanding is the actual rebuild can cost $10-$15k, due mostly to the high cost of actual Porsche made parts, versus inferior Chinese made parts or used stuff.

12/30/2016 12:34:03 AM

$2500 just to pull the thing apart and give it back to you in a bucket? wtf? any moron can take the things apart.

[Edited on December 30, 2016 at 2:19 AM. Reason : sounds like their way of saying they don't want to fuck with it]

12/30/2016 2:19:15 AM

Change the oil, gas, and battery, then crank it.

12/30/2016 7:12:29 AM

$10k-$15k sounds outrageous, couldn't you buy a turnkey ready VW engine for less than half that?

$10k-$15k could probably get you a nice subaru boxer swap

12/30/2016 10:37:37 AM

Quote :

"$2500 just to pull the thing apart and give it back to you in a bucket? wtf? any moron can take the things apart."

Yeah like I said they're not gonna go that route, but it's not just a tear-down fee...they'd provide a detailed estimate of what all needs to be replaced and then do the work (after giving them more money), not give it back to you in a bucket.

Quote :

"$10k-$15k sounds outrageous, couldn't you buy a turnkey ready VW engine for less than half that?"

Probably, but then it wouldn't be a numbers matching 1966 Porsche 912. And I think that number is based on doing a full restoration of the engine, not just to get it running. Like I said, evidently the parts for this thing are outragous, but I'm getting all of this info 2nd hand.

Anyone know of a classic Porsche shop in the area?

[Edited on December 30, 2016 at 11:45 AM. Reason : They're probably gonna tackle it themselves, but a 2nd opinion would be good]

12/30/2016 11:33:49 AM

I am afraid one day I will be asking a similar question. My dad has a restored 1970 Barracuda sitting in his garage that he hasnt cranked for I would guess at least 15 years that I will likely get one day. Expect it will be expensive to get it back running especially because I dont know a whole lot about cars or working on them haha.

12/30/2016 3:54:10 PM

maybe install a factory reman engine and keep the original engine to sell with the car

12/31/2016 11:31:22 AM

LS-swap

/thread

12/31/2016 11:39:17 AM

Quote :

"Change the oil, gas, and battery, then crank it. "

1/1/2017 9:18:06 AM

Quote :

"$10k-$15k could probably get you a nice subaru boxer swap"

1/1/2017 10:20:48 PM

There's a place in Goldsboro that does work on Foreign, really GREAT work.

They are super cheap and really really good..the guy that owns it and works it has plenty of money so he just likes to work on stuff that intrigues him.

If you want his contact info, I'll get it to you all you have to do is PM me on here.

1/2/2017 8:50:37 PM

You'd have to be an idiot to swap in a Subaru engine. Depending on the mileage a restored Porsche 912 is worth $70k+

1/3/2017 8:55:50 AM

the subaru swap is actually pretty common for these

1/3/2017 12:09:24 PM

I knew it was pretty common for the 914...

But I bet it became "common" well before Porsches started commanding stupid amounts of money on the collectors scene. It's been a tidal wave large enough to propel even the 912 and 914 to ever increasing value.

1/3/2017 1:06:06 PM

I wouldn't expect a car that sat for 40+ years to be a good candidate for original restoration. Might as well swap in a cheaper, more reliable engine with more power and fuel efficiency to go along with it.

1/3/2017 1:27:07 PM

would one that got driven daily for 40+ years somehow be a better candidate for restoration?

1/3/2017 7:47:06 PM

If it's low mileage, with a rare paint color and or option package, it could easily command over $100k on the collector market.

Red '96 one for sale in the Panorama classifieds right now. 52,000 miles, in mint condition, all original. Listed at $72,900.

[Edited on January 3, 2017 at 10:43 PM. Reason : ]

1/3/2017 10:40:25 PM

^should read as '69, not 96. oops

1/4/2017 8:09:54 AM

Air cooled 911 valuations have gotten fucking crazy. Guess 912 is caught up in that, too?

1/5/2017 9:35:18 PM

Yeah the air cooled stuff has been crazy for a while...But the 912 is vintage or something.

1/6/2017 1:38:13 AM

Road Scholars http://roadscholars.com/

2/13/2017 3:48:56 PM