what is an 'early' 3.4 996?

[Chris Stott]

That look decent to me. Nice exterior colour, and looks to have had money spent on it.

Strange it has M030 and LSD and not the big oval tail pipes... thought they all came together as part of a pack (sports pack or something?).

Don’t think the price is outrageous for the mileage if the details in the bills checks out. Well worth an inspection.

[itiejim]

Thanks for your thoughts Chris. It's got an aftermarket exhaust of some description on there. I'm not sure which brand but something sporty apparently.

[Chris Stott]

Yes, but the tail pipes are the stock Porsche ones... mine had those on before I got some bigger ones to fill the bumper cut outs better.

No issue and nothing that would bother me... maybe the big ovals weren’t part of a the pack.

Important thing is it seems to have had a lot of big jobs done. Brakes, IMS, RMS, clutch, flywheel, starter, water pump etc are all things that need doing around that mileage.

I’d also look at radiator condition. They last about 70-80k if the car is used. Other than that, I’d be checking for evidence of suspension bits (ARB bushes, coffin arms, top mounts, tie bars)... shocks on mine lasted well over 100k, but the smaller bits didn’t.

Wheels are off a 997 I think, but suit the car IMO.

[ATM]

Yeah I like it too. Clutch flywheel discs and pads must be maybe 3 grand so with the other bits maybe 4 grand total. If you look at it that way it's only an 11 or 12 grand car. All that aside Zenith is growing on me. Grey interior beats black every time. If you really want an early car then it's a good looking prospect.

[dai1983]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Quite like the cocoa on silver or grey!

[itiejim]

I think I'd definitely prefer an early car to avoid the bore score issues and to have the purest of the breed. In honesty, I'd probably do a pre-emptive engine rebuild myself, get Hartech to close the deck and just refresh rings, bearings, chains and tensioners. I've got plenty of engine rebuilds under my belt, so happy to tackle the job, which shouldn't cost too much but would mean peace of mind for 100k or so.

Anyway, sounds promising and like it's worth looking into then. I'll keep the forum posted.

[Luke.]

itiejim said:

I've been lurking around here a few months whilst looking at a potential early 996 purchase and done my due diligence by reading all 226 pages of this thread...

I'm (obviously ) looking for a manual coupe with reasonable miles. It'll be a car for occasional use, dry stored and probably a long term ownership proposition. It's not an investment per se, but I want to buy another toy for some fun whilst they're still, I believe, chronically undervalued for what they are. It seemed to work for my 308 purchase 15 years ago

I've been looking at a few cars online, but keep coming back to this one as it seems to tick lots of boxes - M030, sports seats, LSD, not silver and has had lots spent renewing DMF, clutch, RMS, starter motor, water pump and lots of other bits.

Yes, I know the M030 wont be what it was 20 years ago and the LSD may be less effective, but it looked to me like a good starting point. It's not the cheapest and, although the ebay ad has experired, hasn't sold as I understand it. Any thoughts from the early 3.4 gurus?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

It's gone. Bought it?

[Chris Stott]

If the bores are clean and it’s had the IMS done I don’t see value in a rebuild... the early engines don’t generally score, and the other main fail point should be sorted.

Better to just drive it and enjoy it. If you have to spend money then suspension would be where I’d start.

There are a few other easy bits that make them nicer... continental DAB radio (looks stock) and speaker upgrade is an easy job for example.

[itiejim]

I've just finished reading the long version of the Hartech technical report, all 180-odd pages, which indicates that it's not at all unusual to see signs of cylinder cracking at around 100k and that big end bearings are often down to the backing at about that mileage. As soon as you start getting into cracked bores or crank damage the bills go into proper rebuild territory. If I can do it before there are any apparent issues the cost is very limited.
Plus (and perhaps more to the point) I'm an inveterate fiddler and quite fancy a little engine rebuild project

[itiejim]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Not really, to overcome the bore scoring issue requires £3k's worth of liners - and I think it'd probably be wise to replace pistons. To address liners cracking / chunking just needs the deck closing for about £800 and there's no reason to automatically change the pistons.

On top of that, I'd genuinely prefer an early car.

[skinny]

itiejim said:

Yes, I know the M030 wont be what it was 20 years ago and the LSD may be less effective, but it looked to me like a good starting point.

Talking to Chris at CG, bedded in MO30 dampers are a great set-up for the 996. It's more likely the suspension arms would require attention (my stock dampers were tested and found to be in reasonable condition after almost 120k miles - in that it wouldn't be worth swapping them out like for like)

[itiejim]

That's good to know, thanks.

[Smollet]

LordHaveMurci said:

Smollet said:

In May this year my early 2001 3.4’s IMS bearing started to fail at 35k miles so it was replaced. It had a dual row bearing. No obvious signs of any other issues though......yet.

What were the symptoms?

They do say that low mileage cars that don't get used much seem to suffer more than cars used regularly.

Small metal particles in the oil filter. Re low mileage there’s nothing I’ve found to back up what you’ve suggested other than hearsay. I think it’s just pot luck.

[was8v]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I'd agree..... if doing that why pay a premium for a nice early car?

You may as well buy a 3.6 cheap cheap with scored bores or non running at auction, then spend the cash rebuilding that (or take to 3.8?).

You are probably going to be in for new suspension arms and dampers anyway.

After doing that, the mileage on the clock is immaterial.

I know we all love the 3.4.... but a rebored 3.6 would be lovely and perhaps more user friendly than an early 3.4 - better idle (doesn't rely on an isv) more torque etc.

[Dammit]

You'd have the additional expense of swapping the surrender-headlights back to the proper ones though.

[itiejim]

You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear

I'd rather start with a clean, well looked after car and I don't want the expense of a full set of new liners and pistons just for the sake of another few bhp.

[itiejim]

Mind you, there might be room on this one:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

Albeit I obviously wont be welcome here ....

[dai1983]

itiejim said:

Mind you, there might be room on this one:
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2...

Albeit I obviously wont be welcome here ....

Already been mentioned on the thread. I’ve messaged him and have the pics of the bore scoring.

As I said further up I’d be interested in doing the labour myself but it’d have to be bought for around £8k and that’s considering the other work already done,aero kit and what condition it’s really in.

[ATM]

was8v said:

You may as well buy a 3.6 cheap cheap with scored bores or non running at auction, then spend the cash rebuilding that (or take to 3.8?)..

Voila

Cars with no reserve

Sold last night for

£7,733.33

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/283717040861

[ATM]

Dammit

Cars with no reserve also have this 1999 C4

Currently £5300

https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/293388417631