Top end rebuild 964 Turbo 3.3

[Ultra Violent]

To strip and replace rings/hone bore should cost around 3k +/-. If you need new valves, valve guides, pistons, cylinders then it clearly adds up.

First have a compression test, you may not need a rebuild. Bottom end on these cars are very strong and unlikely to need changing. If I was doing a topend job, I'd redo valve seats, and change cams, rings, as a minimum.

[melv]

stuttgartmetal said:

You are definitely no booky Melv.

Did I say I was?

Revised odds noted!

[Ultra Violent]

What you are better spending your time worrying about, is who you are going to get to do the work. Some will quote you happy, then charge you very unhappy. That's before you look at the quality (not) of the work.

[911addict]

One thing's for sure, have the work done out in the stix where the labour rates are lower!

[phelix]

I had a top end rebuild done by JZM on my 993tt a little over a year ago. I know there were cheaper places but I felt that if something went wrong they would sort it out without quibble. There's a 993tt owner here who had a top end rebuild done by a well known Porsche engine specialist and then had his cam timing slip while on track. Said specialist would accept no liability. So a second rebuild was necessary, this time with pistons and cylinders as well.

I think I paid about £7.5K inc VAT but other than the usual (valve guides, rings, etc) it included new chain tensioners, lower valve covers, modifying the cams to accept pinned sprockets, cleaning and checking flow rates of the injectors, powder coating the fan, big-end bearings (#6 checked to confirm absence of historical oil supply problems) and numerous hoses and plastic bits that were well perished. And it also included 1 piston and cylinder and skimming the heads as a piece of factory-installed swarf was found between the top of the barrel and its groove in the head causing compression loss. Thanks Porsche!

[Fastlane]

I am one of the people mentioned by 911addict. I had my 965 3.3 done in January by a local independent - my total bill from him was £8,242 which also included him supplying and fitting (@£60/hour):

- Clutch
- Flywheel
- Engine tinware
- Fuel injectors

Had it not needed these, then my bill would have probably been around £5k for just the top-end rebuild.

Unfortunately I also needed to replace, and so asked him to fit:

- Turbo (K27 HFS)
- Headers (B&B)
- Wastegate (Tial)

This just shows that there is no "standard pricing" as obviously the reason you are having it done is because you have a problem - broken head studs, lack of compression, oil leaks etc. The cost will therefore depend on what needs to be done when you start out and of course what subsequently comes to light once your engine is apart.

My total cost was £10.7k by the way...

Edited by Fastlane on Sunday 16th November 13:37

Edited by Fastlane on Sunday 16th November 13:37

[thegoose]

freedman said:

graeme36s said:

3K if nothing major needs doing.

Where can you get atop end rebuilt for 3k then?

See my earlier post on this thread - cost can easily be under £3k if nothing major needs doing.

GT3-RS said:

a professional mechanic who specializes and is experienced in the marque should be able to rebuild a top end in 40 hrs @ say £80/hr that's £3200 + £600 parts that's under 4k if not then WTF is he doing? apart from mugging you Maybe the £80/hr is out (but not by much) an OPC hourly rates about £110/hr I'm sure they'll be able to convince you you'll need other parts to get the bill up there but that's me being sceptical of all mechanics especially indies (although not unique to them I'm sure) believe me I have the experince

See my earlier post on this thread re. labour rates. 40 hours is bang on AFAIK, but £80/hour is very dear - see Pope's post - rate for this work at his OPC is £55/hr at the moment (not sure that's who I'd trust an air-cooled engine to though [OPC, not Pope specifically ])

[christer]

Budget for at least £6K, there are always things that need doing and more importantly makes sense to do whilst you are there. It could be £2K either way though, this is a mid-price for budgetary purposes.

[pmcm08]

Crikey! Just saw all these posts having forgotten to tick the 'notify me of responses' box. Thought I must have started a dud thread but then should have known better... Thanks all, the car i might buy had rebuild fairly recently but good to plan for the future..

[RSGulp]

melv said:

Shall we start a book on this?

2/1 £4K

EVENS £1K

10/1 £10K

Very generous Melv - you could be paying for his rebuild here. If the OP sticks a £1k bet on with you at 10/1 and spends £10k on his engine...

[topcarrera]

thegoose said:

Ultra Violent said:

Never 1k in a million years. 3k is close to the mark, but while you're in there....

Wot ee sed ^^^^

Labour is about 40 hours - no-one worth having will be doing it for a grand!! There are lots of good people who can do a proper job but do try www.uniteleven.co.uk - their work is as good as anyone's but generally very keenly priced in comparison (labour is £45/hr but they're very efficient too so get a lot done in any given time).

Another endorsement for Uniteleven.

Very knowledgeable and capable outfit. Have done quite a bit of work for me over the last couple of years including a 915 gearbox rebuild and top-end overhaul of my 3.2 engine. Despite the fact that I have to travel over 100 miles the workmanship/quality/freindliness combo its well worth it!