Buying a raced 996 GT3
Discussion
Gents,
I am currently considering a 996 GT3 which participated in a 24 hour race locally here in Asia. All the parts has been changed back to road specs but engine is pretty much stock & has not been rebuilt. Drove the car, engine seems to be OK & sweet, confirmed by a compression tests. Should I be a concern that the engine has not been rebuilt or should I walk away? Problem is there aren't many Gt3 locally.
I am currently considering a 996 GT3 which participated in a 24 hour race locally here in Asia. All the parts has been changed back to road specs but engine is pretty much stock & has not been rebuilt. Drove the car, engine seems to be OK & sweet, confirmed by a compression tests. Should I be a concern that the engine has not been rebuilt or should I walk away? Problem is there aren't many Gt3 locally.
On Cup cars a rebuild is every 40 hours so they usually get done before and after a 24hr race, as with testing and qualifying it gets close to 40 hours anyway.
I don't know how different a road car engine is, but I'd say you certainly should get the ECU checked for any "rev range 2"s i.e. mechanical over-revs, from either a miss-shift (2nd instead of 4th) or from changing down too early. These can sometimes stretch the timing chain a little and also weaken it.
If you know it's done those hours, surely the seller has to take into account that a new owner will want to consider the cost of a rebuild, don't they?
I don't know how different a road car engine is, but I'd say you certainly should get the ECU checked for any "rev range 2"s i.e. mechanical over-revs, from either a miss-shift (2nd instead of 4th) or from changing down too early. These can sometimes stretch the timing chain a little and also weaken it.
If you know it's done those hours, surely the seller has to take into account that a new owner will want to consider the cost of a rebuild, don't they?
Complicated to reply to really.
If you like the car and are happy to run it and spend a bunch of money fixing it, replacing lifed parts etc go for it. It's a car and can be fixed. A whole bunch of parts will need dealt with. The engines not even the start.
If you aren't then unless it's really cheap walk away.
6cup rebuild schedules are complicated and there's no specific hour recommendation on engines.
Fwiw the wear to everything else sees a whole bunch of stuff replaced/refreshed much more frequently on cups than motors and I'm not talking consumables like pads and tyres.
If you like the car and are happy to run it and spend a bunch of money fixing it, replacing lifed parts etc go for it. It's a car and can be fixed. A whole bunch of parts will need dealt with. The engines not even the start.
If you aren't then unless it's really cheap walk away.
6cup rebuild schedules are complicated and there's no specific hour recommendation on engines.
Fwiw the wear to everything else sees a whole bunch of stuff replaced/refreshed much more frequently on cups than motors and I'm not talking consumables like pads and tyres.
Edited by fioran0 on Tuesday 24th January 16:20
Thanks Fioran0
All other parts are being refreshed, replaced but not engine hence my focus on the engine. I drove the car several months ago wiithout the parts being replaced, it was horrendous. Drove the car again today with all the new bits put together and the car felt terrific, handling braking and etc. The engine pulls strongly in all gears. My only concern is the engine which though it performed admirably on my test drive, i knew that it was raced before, hence my concern. Are there any other ways to check engine health besides compression test?
All other parts are being refreshed, replaced but not engine hence my focus on the engine. I drove the car several months ago wiithout the parts being replaced, it was horrendous. Drove the car again today with all the new bits put together and the car felt terrific, handling braking and etc. The engine pulls strongly in all gears. My only concern is the engine which though it performed admirably on my test drive, i knew that it was raced before, hence my concern. Are there any other ways to check engine health besides compression test?
tvrkl said:
Thanks Fioran0
All other parts are being refreshed, replaced but not engine hence my focus on the engine. I drove the car several months ago wiithout the parts being replaced, it was horrendous. Drove the car again today with all the new bits put together and the car felt terrific, handling braking and etc. The engine pulls strongly in all gears. My only concern is the engine which though it performed admirably on my test drive, i knew that it was raced before, hence my concern. Are there any other ways to check engine health besides compression test?
Dyno power test, oil sample analysis, ECU readouts, oil pressure, emissions etcAll other parts are being refreshed, replaced but not engine hence my focus on the engine. I drove the car several months ago wiithout the parts being replaced, it was horrendous. Drove the car again today with all the new bits put together and the car felt terrific, handling braking and etc. The engine pulls strongly in all gears. My only concern is the engine which though it performed admirably on my test drive, i knew that it was raced before, hence my concern. Are there any other ways to check engine health besides compression test?
without wishing to appear disrespectful, you are on an internet forum asking a hugely general question which i can only conclude means that you arent that knowledgeable on this stuff (you may well be on many other things). this makes it hard to both answer, since the area to cover in trying to do so is vast, and give anything by way of advice.
i was typing a post that was becoming lengthy even by my usual standards but decided to change tact......
you are looking at a road car used as a "race" car, and i put "race" in inverted comas since there would need to be a whole conversation about what that really entailed, so expect accelerated wear on all components, major and minor as a minimum. how accelerated is an open range, anything from a year off expected life right down to worn out completely. by all components i mean ALL components. if its on the car it will have been subject to this.
repairs and parts on these cars are expensive, engine and gearbox particularly but most other components are up there relatively also so pay attention to what exactly has been refreshed and look at what they are asking for the selling price. no-one is going to spend $15000 on a refresh to sell a car for $20000 for example.
if you are happy to swallow up some big bills if they come up, or are happy to take your chances and see how it pans out then go for it. its a car and nothing more so anything can be repaired or put right at a cost. if this isnt in your plans then think very carefully about what you are doing here.
i hate seeing people write off cars because of their history or use, perceived or otherwise, but this doesnt mean one should be cavalier either.
i was typing a post that was becoming lengthy even by my usual standards but decided to change tact......
you are looking at a road car used as a "race" car, and i put "race" in inverted comas since there would need to be a whole conversation about what that really entailed, so expect accelerated wear on all components, major and minor as a minimum. how accelerated is an open range, anything from a year off expected life right down to worn out completely. by all components i mean ALL components. if its on the car it will have been subject to this.
repairs and parts on these cars are expensive, engine and gearbox particularly but most other components are up there relatively also so pay attention to what exactly has been refreshed and look at what they are asking for the selling price. no-one is going to spend $15000 on a refresh to sell a car for $20000 for example.
if you are happy to swallow up some big bills if they come up, or are happy to take your chances and see how it pans out then go for it. its a car and nothing more so anything can be repaired or put right at a cost. if this isnt in your plans then think very carefully about what you are doing here.
i hate seeing people write off cars because of their history or use, perceived or otherwise, but this doesnt mean one should be cavalier either.
Edited by fioran0 on Tuesday 24th January 19:58
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