Mmmmmm, 3.2, Decided to do a 6 Options

[Chuck]

So, I bought my car with the intention of doing a suby swap. In fact, I even passed on some nicer, running cars, to buy this one with a bad pan, definition of a hell hole, rear inner firewall is gone at the bottom and at the top of the longs from plugged drains. Car has not been started in 15 yrs. It has the original FI but all hoses and vacuum lines had been cut. Paid $500. My brother, who is a body guy, tells me I stole it. So, I figure, keep the nice ones original and buy a rusty for a conversion. Plus, I wanted a project.

But, as I got into the car, and though I have posted on here numerous times the reasons not to do a 6; heavier, more expensive to source, install and live with, etc., etc., I have been converted. I think that deep down I always really wanted a 6 and was trying to talk myself out of it. Now, I stand by what I sadi, they are more expensive to source, live with, etc. BUT, what does rationallity have to do with Porsches? And, as my dear wife said to me when I started discussing this with: This is a "you only live once car". Bless her! I want a Porsche motor in my redheaded step child NARP Porsche. I have even purchased steel flares for it and will be selling the fiberglass ones I had purchased for it. So . . . .

I am actively looking for a 3.2 and the conversion bits. Anybody out there with parts that would like to help put another 6 on the road at a reasonable rate, please give me a shout. Open to barter or (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

I did find a 3.2 with $107k on it, shortblock (owner removed the intake and ignition). Said it ran perfect, no smoking, no pulled head studs . . . he was asking $4k. I figured it should be more like $1k for that mileage and needing several thousand to replace the intake and ignition.PMOs alone would be over $3k; not sure about a stock plenum, fuel rails and computer. The hunt begins.

[LvSteveH]

Your best bet is to wait for a complete motor. Even if you decide to go with carbs you can sell off the other bits to offset some of your costs. If it's out of state, make sure you have some background on the seller, i.e. ebay feedback, or other references. It's also not a bad idea to have a local mechanic stop buy and do a leakdown test. It may cost $125, but it could save a lot more.

I wouldn't really expect to pay less from a private party. If you keep an eye on ebay you'll get a pretty good idea of what they sell for. The big thing is to make sure it's complete with harness and dme if you want to use the factory injection. The nice thing about a private party is that you often have more history and information on the motor. There are some good dismantlers out there, but as a whole they don't have much history on what comes in. They will always advertise at a premium price, but chances are the actual selling prices are in line with the market.

The big thing to remember is that any time you buy a used motor you're assuming some risk. The same thing applies if something is priced well below market. Always keep in mind that you may end up doing a top end, or other substantial repairs. These are 20 to 30 year old motors, so it's only reasonable to assume they are getting tired, even if the miles are fairly low. The only truly safe bet is to have a motor rebuilt by a creditable shop that will warranty the work. Of course that will cost six or seven thousand dollars in addition to the price of a good core motor. That means around $10k to $12k for a rebuilt 3.2L.