Frankensteins and such

[Pdwight]

This may have been covered, so excuse me if it has. Lots of discussions of the Chevy LS series engines being put into Boxsters, We have seen Subaru and Audi power plants either being planned or actually adapted. So I wondered why has not a late model Cayenne small V8 been done...it would still be Porsche and much more HP than stock.

Also for cheap and reliable (while still an abomination) a late Nissan 3.7 has good HP and super reliable...also low milage engines in good shape can seemingly be had for well under 2 grand....well under

[Timco]

If mine grenades (let us never speak of these things) I can imagine going with some fun turbo Frankenstein.

I have a 64 Midget MKII at my shop I'm considering doing some reliable 4-cyl or small 6 in rather than stock 1098cc.

[BIGJake111]

I wouldn't mind stripping the car and putting in a sport bike motor, just for the revs!

[WillH]

Originally Posted by Pdwight

This may have been covered, so excuse me if it has. Lots of discussions of the Chevy LS series engines being put into Boxsters, We have seen Subaru and Audi power plants either being planned or actually adapted. So I wondered why has not a late model Cayenne small V8 been done...it would still be Porsche and much more HP than stock....

I believe the Cayenne block is based on the Audi block. I thought Brad Roberts was going down this route and also doing an LSx. He then seemed to drop off of the net.
It would be a good question to put to Nerv if their development works for the Porsche 8 as well.

The main issue with the Porsche v8 from my understanding is that it is a considered a truck engine and there are places your not allowed transplanting truck engines into cars and passing emissions testing with them.

If and when my 6 dies I'll be calling Nerv. No cutting and plug and play is what I want. Watching the LSx swap here, while interesting and I'm sure a great ride when it's finally all buttoned up, is just too much involvement for me. Not to mention the fact that the car would no longer be road legal here after cutting.

[j.fro]

A bit off topic, but I'd love to see a panamera engine/driveline and some interior bits squeezed into a 928 body.

[j.fro]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

I wouldn't mind stripping the car and putting in a sport bike motor, just for the revs!

There's a guy I autocross with who's put a sportbike motor into a Bugeye Sprite. It's way more HP than stock, and once that thing gets going it really moves.

[Dualist]

If mine goes it having an Audi V8 or if I can afford it the Q7 W12 as it's not too long.

[itsnotanova]

Give it time and I'm sure someone will try to put the Cayenne motor in a Boxster. That's if it could actually fit in the engine bay? I predict the Boxster will be the next 914 in more ways than one. I have an Audi 2.7 bi turbo/01E trans sitting in my garage right now. I was going to see how well the 2.7TT will fit in the engine bay of the next boxster that comes in. Just for kicks though! I don't have the time/$$ to try, but I applaud anyone trying.

[Dlirium]

This is such an interesting topic. As has been posted in the past, those of us with a true 986 are looking at ~11-16 year old cars now, many with 100k+ miles. Realistically these cars are worth $5k-maybe $13k? As our engines get tired, there STILL isn't a viable option for an engine replacement that isn't close to 2x the value of our cars!

If we were looking at this from a pure financial perspective, we'd all sell our cars immediately. But we all know that is NOT why we own them. As with many of you, I'd be willing to spend 1x the value of my car on an reasonable engine replacement ($10k?) all in. But other than finding something used, that doesn't seem at all doable.

So, we all enjoy our cars while we can. Mourning those that succumb to the IMSB, or some other tragedy...hoping, wishing for a solution...someday...

[stephen wilson]

It's no different than most older cars, I could easily dump $30-40K into my '65 Mustang coupe, and it would be worth $20K if I sold it.

[Crono0001]

I own 3 cars, all of them projects, and none of them with any desire to ever sell again. These cars will be with me and within my family until the day I die, and then passed on to my children if I have any.

Of the three, two are frankensteins.

'99 Porsche Boxster 986 with 996 3.8 M96
'85 Toyota Corolla AE86 with Honda S2000 F20C

It's also worth noting that, with all the money dumped into these two cars, I could have gotten myself a really nice 996TT or 997, but instead I have a 20 year old Boxster that's probably slower than both. The engine swap for the 986 cost twice as much (and counting) as the Boxster itself, and the S2000 swap into the AE86 cost 8x (and counting) what the car is worth. Even if I were to sell them, I would never get any of my money back.

... but then again, why would I sell them? I love my cars.

[Dlirium]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

It's no different than most older cars, I could easily dump $30-40K into my '65 Mustang coupe, and it would be worth $20K if I sold it.

No - you have PLENTY of options at the $5k-$6k price point for engines in that car. We're just talking engines, not hydraulics and chain steering wheels...

[CoBeerToad]

If you don't have a chain steering wheel, then what's the point of even owning it?

[leftfield6]

While we are discussing Frankensteins, and especially ones with motorcycle engines, I'll just leave this here.

Fiat X1/9 with 1000cc GXR engine Hillclimb

[randy7601]

Originally Posted by CoBeerToad

If you don't have a chain steering wheel, then what's the point of even owning it?

Wait. What? I can get a chain steerling wheel?

[Perfectlap]

You never really own a sports car. You own an engine with a car tossed in. Just like in the old days before the unibody cars.

So worrying about the value of a mass produced car seems like worrying about the cost of your stone crab dinner after you've eaten it.

[Pdwight]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

You never really own a sports car. You own an engine with a car tossed in. Just like in the old days before the unibody cars.

So worrying about the value of a mass produced car seems like worrying about the cost of your stone crab dinner after you've eaten it.

I do like your analogy......Kinda like Mexican food......you just rent it

[flaps10]

I thought this was going to be a thread trashing the use of non OEM engines. It's just a fact that the same thing that brought many of us to the 986 (low cost of admission) can be quickly sucked up by it still being a $50k car when it needs parts/repairs.

While I prefer the swaps that don't involve chopping up structure (like the V8 does), hey it's your car - do what you want. Boxsters aren't exactly rare at this point and with an increasing number of gliders on the market there are going to be plenty of candidates.

Interesting trivia I found out while my engine was apart - the 3.2 S engine shares pistons/rings with the Cayenne. As for size, the M96 is not exactly small when you get it out. There should be a number of things that would in there.

Me, I own the Porsche because it makes me happy just listening to it.

[PaulDash]

Originally Posted by j.fro

A bit off topic, but I'd love to see a panamera engine/driveline and some interior bits squeezed into a 928 body.

So how about going the other way? Take a Panamera to a limousine coachbuilder and have them SHORTEN the car by the rear doors.

[stephen wilson]

Originally Posted by Dlirium

No - you have PLENTY of options at the $5k-$6k price point for engines in that car. We're just talking engines, not hydraulics and chain steering wheels...

I wasn't speaking of just engines, which are crazily expensive for a Boxster. My point was, you generally end up "upside down" when making performance modifications. No need to be a di*@ with the last comment.