About A Rabbit

[RandallNeighbour]

You should definitely upgrade the intermediate shaft on the motor before you install it, and use a cayenne rear main seal and say a prayer for both.

Flat 6 Innovations (sponsor at top right) sells the upgraded IMS. The dealer can sell you the Cayenne RMS that will fit.

Best of luck. I see lots of suspension and brake requirements with this size motor in that car to keep it right side up on the road or track.

[evolvesociety]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

You should definitely upgrade the intermediate shaft on the motor before you install it, and use a cayenne rear main seal and say a prayer for both.

Flat 6 Innovations (sponsor at top right) sells the upgraded IMS. The dealer can sell you the Cayenne RMS that will fit.

Best of luck. I see lots of suspension and brake requirements with this size motor in that car to keep it right side up on the road or track.

Thank you for the suggestion! Upon further investigation I found that to be great advice! I will be looking into tuning the engine as soon as I get set on which size/MY I'm going to use. But these catastrophic engine failures seem to be quite problematic in the earlier Boxster models.

As for keeping the car on the road, the center of gravity will be much lower than with VW's I4 mounted in the front, and the wheels will all be wider than they are now with much, much larger brakes. I am currently debating the best suspension system to put in the car. I will be keeping my non-powered steering, which should be fine as far as I can tell.

Keep the input coming!

[PlayersExpress]

You my friend are creative..

Personally, if I was spending this kind of money.. id just go out and pick up a 2001-03 996 Turbo, Ive found several from dealers for 30-35k with 40k odd miles on them..

Then upgrade the turbos, reflash, strip the back seats.. etc.. and theres your rocket



That is just me, I understand the reason for creativity and attachment to cars and projects, just like Im going to put about 20k into my 10k boxster in the next year.



Good luck and keep us updated. for specifics on engine size and such I would contact Jake Raby or even Brad Roberts on this forum. They have a wealth of knowledge between them.

[cvhs18472]

I love people like you. I grew up as a street racer( big blocks ) and a sports car nut. ! built a 57 Ford with a 454 engine that I had to pull the engine to change plugs; a 64 MGB with a 289 which was a real monster. None of my projects were as ambitious as yours and I envy your dream. Keep up the work but think everything through before you start. You are going to make mistakes and have to regroup. Brain storming sessions with a couple of 6's always helps. Best of luck. Ed

[Brucelee]

I will be a naysayer, or at least wonder why you are not looking into a VW/Audi based engine upgrade. Why use a Boxer engine when you can likely find an easier, cheaper, and frankly better match within the VW group???

Just asking; its your money and time.

[Topless]

Hot rodding these motors is difficult and expensive. If you want a true "giant killer" go big. There is no substitute for displacement. A 3.8L should get it done at roughly the same dimensions as a 2.5L.

[Brucelee]

Originally Posted by Topless

Hot rodding these motors is difficult and expensive. If you want a true "giant killer" go big. There is no substitute for displacement. A 3.8L should get it done at roughly the same dimensions as a 2.5L.

I would agree. If you are intent on doing this, go BIG!!!

On the other hand, Porsche had a 4 cylinder in the 969 that I think made upwards of 320HP at one point. Maybe that is an easier way to go.

[evolvesociety]

Originally Posted by Brucelee

I will be a naysayer, or at least wonder why you are not looking into a VW/Audi based engine upgrade. Why use a Boxer engine when you can likely find an easier, cheaper, and frankly better match within the VW group???

Just asking; its your money and time.

Because VW and Audi do not make what I am looking for. While I do appreciate and love VW's torquey VR6 engines, I already have one in my other VW, and it would be quite a bit more difficult to source the proper components to connect said VR6 to a MR transmission. My problem with Audi's engines is that they make V6's, which I am way not interested in They just don't offer the power I'm looking for in the size I need. My passion lies in staggered, inline, and horizontally opposed 6's, and as I have no experience with the latter, I figured now's as good a time as any to get working on it!

I will be attempting to use all components from the Boxster as they are, or with minimal modification, and the rabbit is what will be modified to suit. The guys who are doing fabrication are extremely talented, and with the close sizes of the two cars I don't think it will be too terrible.

You, however, can naysay whatever you'd like boss.

Also, thanks for the support from everyone! I'll post some pics of it as soon as I have the old 2.0L I4 out of it (which was actually a swap to begin with).