saxen

great advice start to finish, thank you

jpoint

Sounds like you're making progress. I don't know Colorado shops any more but in the Chicago area there are many shops that do extensive, ground up, restoration and repair of only Porsches. HOWEVER, many of those shops will not take on a GT3 engine. If you decide to go with the case halves be sure you have a local shop that has experience with this engine which is derived from the old GT1 race engine and is surprisingly close to a 996 Cup engine in configuration. One other point - I imagine the long block from Porsche will carry a mechanical warranty and the case halves only a limited part warranty. In other words, if you buy the case halves, have someone build you an engine with them, the completed engine fails and breaks in half, you own both halves. Porsche will only back it up if the failure can be traced directly to a flaw in that part - unlikely. The long block should carry a factory warranty that will cover all the internals of the engine. It's a $20,000 difference but some of that extra $20k is Porsche warranty - I suspect. Part of the decision might include an answer to the warranty issue. Even if you keep the car beyond the warranty - the fact that the engine in your 16 year old car had a Porsche factory warranty in 2020 will never hurt its long term value. Keep hope alive.

Indiana Jones

Great insight here!

HDA

Showing all my ignorance here with no shame:

Is the 996 Turbo case the same as the 996 GT3?

Also I found this old post - not sure if it helps?
https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turb...-and-more.html

sithot

Yes.

Techno Duck

Another option.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...19k-miles.html

Personally, i would talk to a shop like Autometrics if you don't have anyone local. Taking into account low miles and a clean car; I think a rebuild done by the right shop should have a minor affect on overall value of the car. But i guess the question is cost of engine rebuild vs any potential loss in value.

jpoint

An interesting option plus after 3 years they might be flexible on the price. Down side? After 3 years you need to inquire about how the engine was stored. The seals and other components have been exposed to fluids and oil and then denied for 3 years. You know how Porsche seals like to shrink. This engine is probably fine but you can't do anything to check. You might be able to use that fact to reach an appropriate price. You don't want to pay $30k or even $25K for an engine and then tear it apart. At least the community is providing options.

sithot

Going sideways a bit as in, "while you're in there"...

This is one of my favorite "tricked out" cars. It belonged to Don Ahearn and he absolutely cut no corners turning into a Euro GT3 Clubsport.

2004 911 GT3 Clubsport

"I ordered this GT3 back in '03 with thicker steering wheel as the only option, in Speed Yellow with red seat belts just like the promotional posters. This GT3 has full Clubsport equipment that includes a full factory roll cage, Nomex Euro GT3 Club Sport seats, 6 point harnesses, Cup fire bottle, console and ash tray deletes. The CS option was a European option and not available in the U.S. The conversion was professionally done using all factory parts at a cost of over $20,000. A Guard LSD and 993 RS engine mounts have been the only updates. In 14 years of my ownership it has been a dead reliable and fun Porsche. 52,000 miles all by one single caring owner, zero over revs. This GT3 has been maintained with an open checkbook by one single technician since new. It truly looks like a 20k mile car."
http://www.porsport.com/2004_911_gt3_clubsport

HDA

I love this car - I remember seeing it for sale on pelican a while back

saxen

Thanks for the help so far,
today I met with an adjuster over a mobile FaceTime app.
He was not able to give me an estimate and will require one from a dealership [in the works]
The adjuster did say there was a salvage yard that had an 04 gt3 engine for sale with 9000 miles on it. He went on to say that AllState considers salvage yard motors a suitable replacement. He would not tell me the yard that had the engine for sale but he mentioned the engine was $17,500. Who knows if it is actually a gt3 engine or a 911 engine
Obviously I don’t want a salvage engine in the car and I will actively fight that. Does anyone have any tips on fighting the insurance company’s salvage motor replacement as an option?



Thanks

Nickshu

$17,5 seems low for a good GT3 engine. May be a Carrera engine.

Honkity Hank

Saw one on eBay for 20K but no information in the ad. So not even worth linking.

I am trying to wrap my head around 38k for factory motor, and this comes from someone that just rebuilt a 3.2 Carrera engine for way more than I should have.

I am guessing that they don’t have a big inventory of the engines though.

I would not be afraid of a salvage engine though but keep in mind that a non-original engine devalues the car some. More if it is a garage queen.

rbahr

Hi saxen,

I had a cracked block and had it fixed by Ollie's http://www.olliesmachine.com/

They did an amazing job welding it up...

I forget who, but someone is doing a full-up cnc block for our motors... probably a bit less that $17k

In general the 964 block was NLA when I was looking for one - I think there may actually be a couple out there...

If you get a junkyard motor, you need to be careful - it may be perfect, but it may also be junk. In addition, if the motor was in a car that was damaged, the motor may also suffer damage...

Ray

jpoint

Fighting the insurance company can take several directions. If you have a really good relationship with your agent, carry lots of insurance, and have a claim free history, I'd call the agent and remind him or her about how good a customer you've been and how disappointed you are with the way you were treated by the adjuster. Don't scream at your agent. You want him or her on your side. You can also talk to your agent about the difference in value of your car if it is not properly fixed. I'd also be surprised if the adjuster knows the difference between a 996 Carrera engine and a GT3 engine. I'm sure you know but the adjuster may not know that a Carrera engine won't install in a Gt3 without modifying the chassis. The cars are not the same. The chassis is not interchangeable. You might get the information from the adjuster about the engine. If it turns out that it's not a GT3 engine you'll have a better argument with your agent and the insurance company that the adjuster doesn't know **** and can't be trusted with regard to your car. I've had 2 claims where the adjuster was overridden - once with my insurance - once with the company of a person who hit my car. The adjusters opinion is not carved in stone - even though they will try to convince you that it is.

If your insurer pushes for the salvage engine ask for history and details like how long the engine has been out of a car, how it was stored, was the car it came out of hit in the rear, available overrev reports, all the things you would ask if you were buying a used engine. Ask about warranty - will the insurance company guarantee the engine will run properly. If it doesn't - remind them of the cost to rebuild the engine. It would be the about the same as rebuilding your engine ($17000 for the new case or $17500 for a salvage engine that now needs a rebuild). Let them know this is a special car (objectively and to you) and you expect it to be properly repaired - not pasted together with questionable parts. One last point - insurance companies have lots of lawyers but they generally don't like to have lawyers involved in claims. This is a good time to know a lawyer. Good luck.

powdrhound

Like I suspected when you and I talked on the phone Levi, you're gonna have to lawyer up my friend. Insurance companies generally start paying attention when they start getting correspondence from attorneys. Hope is all ends well for you my friend. Personally, I would under no circumstance accept a salvage engine as there is simply no way to get the full story behind it. Be very careful going down that path and keep in mind a salvage motor will impact resale far more than a properly documented repair / case swap by a reputable builder. Just my $0.02. Let me know if I can help in any way.