Carrera GT - Eight year engine out service (Pic heavy) - Page 4 - 911/Carrera GT - PistonHeads UK

Just over eight years ago I took delivery of my Carrera GT. It remains my favourite car; it has done nearly 20,000 miles, and every single one of those has been memorable. It has been to France, Germany, Belgium and Italy. It has been on the Nurburgring, and here at home it’s been to Bedford Autodrome. The service schedule calls for the engine to come out every four years, in particular to allow for the valve clearances to be adjusted. My understanding is that this can, in fact, be done with the engine it situ, but it is a no brainer to follow the recommended service schedule and allow the car to be fully checked over. As ever, the chaps at Porsche Reading could not have been more accommodating and professional. I was able to visit the car mid disassembly, and also arrange for Richard from Refined Detail (and his colleague) to detail the car down to its last fastener whilst it was in a state of undress. I put up a similar post four years ago, and people seemed to enjoy seeing detailed photos of the car and the amazing engineering under the skin. So, I hope you will enjoy these photos as much as I do. First, the engine: Inside the engine “cradle” with the engine removed: The lacquered carbon fibre was cleaned and polished: Wheel arches and liners were cleaned: The wheels were given a fresh coat of paint and lacquer. As they are magnesium it is important to keep a good protective coating on them, as the metal would otherwise oxidise. All the undertrays were removed and cleaned: Some of the wishbones were also removed and cleaned up: I had the wings behind the front wheels removed and repainted, as these do suffer from gravel rash (even with paintfilm protection). Other parts of the car, like the roll hoops were also removed and cleaned. For the first time, I had the front clamshell removed so that the area around the inboard suspension could be cleaned. We also replaced the follower springs on the front suspension, and lubricated the joints. The pushrod suspension is a very cool feature of the car – pure race car. The front suspension and brake set up is also engineering art in my view. Other areas were also cleaned up: Old paintfilm was removed and renewed: The engine was refitted: The seats were removed to give a good clean to the interior: Two generations in one photograph: The finished car: And in its natural home: Hope you enjoyed.

Fantastic! Thank you for sharing :-)

Superb to see some of the engineer normally hidden away and have to agree with you that it is comparable to art... it's the carbon engine cradle for me!

Incredible thanks for sharing.

MrLizard said: Incredible thanks for sharing. +1

as enjoyable as the last one. thank you for sharing

Really enjoyed that, as much as your post 4 years ago tks. The under the skin engineering of the car really is amazing when you get the chance to look one over closely.

awesome. saw this on refined details instagram. isnt the undertray something like 20K?

I should have added to the first post that the only thing the car needed was a new oil seal around one of the oil pumps. The clutch remains as strong as ever - still around 30mm (new 31, finished 28mm), and the wear rate has slowed considerably. The car is now on Michelin SuperSport tyres which are a big improvement - as many have said - over the original PS2s. I tend to agree about a high water mark - certainly for analogue super sports cars. The over engineering, the simplicity and the sheer driving involvement are close to peerless in my view. Cheers

Many thanks for sharing, a masterpiece - when they were 300k I thought they were undervalued and were a possible purchase for me within 3 years..... now just a dream unless values drop. Being a lambo guy this is by far and away the only Porsche I truly lust after. I was very very happy with the noise of my V10 lambo .... but i know the Carrera GT is the daddy of the V10's. What a monster. If I could only own one car.... it would be a decatted F50 or Carrera GT

Absolutely stunning car and I'm glad to see your 'nut washing' OCD level on a scale yet to be defined For me there are very few cars that match the desirability of the CGT (McF1, Zonda and not much else). Never quite got the beautiful exposed carbon/wooden gear-knob combo though. You are a very lucky boy indeed, thanks for sharing Stefan

stefan1 said: I should have added to the first post that the only thing the car needed was a new oil seal around one of the oil pumps. The clutch remains as strong as ever - still around 30mm (new 31, finished 28mm), and the wear rate has slowed considerably. The car is now on Michelin SuperSport tyres which are a big improvement - as many have said - over the original PS2s. I tend to agree about a high water mark - certainly for analogue super sports cars. The over engineering, the simplicity and the sheer driving involvement are close to peerless in my view. Cheers You should try Cup 2s next - they're even better! Love the pics and lovely to see that you're using it. Such a shame when they're left inside.

Excellent read....and automotive art. ...you can imagine drooling over this kind of detail at a Goodwood FOS/Revival event in years to come when most people will have grown up with PDK / electricked cars

Fantastic to see. What a masterpiece!

stefan1 said: I should have added to the first post that the only thing the car needed was a new oil seal around one of the oil pumps. The clutch remains as strong as ever - still around 30mm (new 31, finished 28mm), and the wear rate has slowed considerably. The car is now on Michelin SuperSport tyres which are a big improvement - as many have said - over the original PS2s. I tend to agree about a high water mark - certainly for analogue super sports cars. The over engineering, the simplicity and the sheer driving involvement are close to peerless in my view. Cheers Thanks for the photos. Fully agree about the cgt, wonderful machines

Great post - can't believe the last one was 4 years ago!

Wow, thats what I call a major service!

a real treat for a Sunday afternoon .. thank you

Marvelous, thank you.

Wow. That`s awesome. Many thanks for sharing

Amazing. Am I right in saying that the engine's heads appear to be around the same level as the rear axle centre-line?

Great post, thanks for sharing!

You didn't mention the washer bottle. Did they check the washer bottle?

Crikey. I'm in awe of all of that ''stuff' normally hidden away.

Amazing Pics and very interesting to see what's involved in keeping a hypercar in the very best condition. Thanks for sharing

Impressive. whilst I personally like a bit of grime and patina, I can see you must actually love that car. I'd have suggested OCD, but I don't think that would be correct. OCD would be doing the same to a W reg astra (like my father in law) but that is genuine unconditional love. It's not often I'm jealous.

It'd be interesting to see a pic of the invoice.......

Fantatsic to see one under the skin. I never realised how much carbon they had in them. As someone else, I bet the invoice made you wince on that on that one.

Turn7 said: Fantatsic to see one under the skin. I never realised how much carbon they had in them. As someone else, I bet the invoice made you wince on that on that one. Amazing car. I'm surprised they did not make the screws out of CF lol. Even a CF clutch!!!!

Great post and simply wow wow wow. One of my all time fave cars and what an incredible piece of engineering. Way ahead of its time. That is a huge lump n gearbox. U don't realise until u see it out of the car!! No wonder they are so quick n ferocious ;-)

That really is a full service & no sight of a computer plugged into a diagnostic port! Wonder what the OPC levy was?

To those wondering what the bill was, it was just under £10k. That included some elective work (like refurbishing the wheels, a new battery, replacing the helper springs on the dampers etc.). The intermediate services (e.g. last year) are typically less than £1,500. It's a big number, but I think really good value compared to the bills from some marques. The detailing was another £1,200 on top of this, and fresh Paintshield a further £3k. I took the car out for its first proper run of the season this afternoon. By heck, it's good! Roof off, that lovely V10 howl chases you down the road, and I'd forgotten just how well this car turns in - especially in higher speed corners where the aero starts to work. The brake pedal feel is also perfect - strangely I don't any PCCB equipped car post the CGT has had such a good pedal feel.

anonymous said: [redacted] I think your last sentence has it spot on. There is a balance, and I could have chosen not have the engine removed because it is possible to adjust the valve clearances in situ. But I do have a lot of faith in the techs at Reading. The guys who work on the CGTs (and now 918s) are part of a small team that mostly work on just those cars, so they are pretty used to this sort of work. Put another way, there are around 70 CGTs in the UK, I am led to believe. Each car by now will have had 2 engine out services (assuming they follow the regime), so that's 140 such services performed over the last 8-9 years - so certainly more than 100. My car really does get used properly, and so its good to get things likes hoses, belts and seals checked and replaced as needed, particular as the car is approaching 10 years old. And for me, at least, I like every four years bringing the car back to as close to new as possible. But, as you say, there is a balance so now I hope to have four more years of just driving it! Cheers

Wow! Amazing attention to detail and a stunning car! I thought I was hard done by at service time as well

Stefan, Interesting write up and photos. Out of interest, have you fitted front axle lift? Interested in your views, given the mileage you've driven in your CGT? Also, hadn't heard about respraying the magnesium wheels - was this something recommended by the Tech team at Reading given age/condition ? Jon

stefan1 said: To those wondering what the bill was, it was just under £10k. That included some elective work (like refurbishing the wheels, a new battery, replacing the helper springs on the dampers etc.). The intermediate services (e.g. last year) are typically less than £1,500. It's a big number, but I think really good value compared to the bills from some marques. The detailing was another £1,200 on top of this, and fresh Paintshield a further £3k. I took the car out for its first proper run of the season this afternoon. By heck, it's good! Roof off, that lovely V10 howl chases you down the road, and I'd forgotten just how well this car turns in - especially in higher speed corners where the aero starts to work. The brake pedal feel is also perfect - strangely I don't any PCCB equipped car post the CGT has had such a good pedal feel. Pretty reasonable considering how exotic the car is. Is the insurance reasonable too?

hell of a car, a hell of a service they dont do all that on my 944

Great pics, and got me wondering - how many man hours work involved in taking the engine in and out, and also, due to the race car style design, does this speed up removal of the engine and other major components compared to your usual road going Porsche?

IMIA said: Pretty reasonable considering how exotic the car is. Is the insurance reasonable too? Yes, I think so - less than 1% of value on a multi-car policy with Zurich.

JonV12V said: Stefan, Interesting write up and photos. Out of interest, have you fitted front axle lift? Interested in your views, given the mileage you've driven in your CGT? Also, hadn't heard about respraying the magnesium wheels - was this something recommended by the Tech team at Reading given age/condition ? Jon I haven't had the lift kit fitted as I prefer to keep the car entirely standard. And I've got used to the technique of approaching ramps and speed humps at an angle to avoid grounding the car. The front splitter does take some punishment, but it is not an expensive part and I've only replaced it once. Re the wheels, there were just a few small places where the lacquer had lifted (on the inside edge of two of the wheels), so we agreed it made sense to refurbish. It only cost £100 a wheel (we did all of them to ensure a good colour match), so a sensible precaution given the wheels cost over £5k each. Glad you (and everyone else) has enjoyed the photos. I am putting together into a photo book to keep with the car. Cheers

anonymous said: [redacted] Great thread, and incredible engineering deep within that CGT..! Common sense would suggest that you shouldn't be taking an engine out, with the potential of introducing faults in the removal and re installation. However, we do the same when re building rally cars between rallies in the WRC - The car is stripped down to every last nut and bolt - its the only way to check that everything is in the best condition - If not, it can be replaced. We arrive at the next rally with full confidence that everything has been checked, and the car is in perfect mechanical condition. If I had a CGT, then I'd be getting the same thorough work done - I'd have the confidence that the car is as good as it can be..!

Emeye said: Great pics, and got me wondering - how many man hours work involved in taking the engine in and out, and also, due to the race car style design, does this speed up removal of the engine and other major components compared to your usual road going Porsche? I am not sure exactly, but I suspect it is fewer than one might imagine. I know a lot of the time is spent removing the dozens of fasteners in the undertrays - once the undertrays are off the engine will drop out fairly easily once driveshafts, air intakes and ancillaries have been disconnected.

Great pics, beautiful machine. I'm inspired now, thinking of trying this with the Mrs's Q7 next weekend, let's hope it goes back together......

Superb post. It's always interesting to see what's underneath these kind of cars. Awesome car you have, also nice to see you get it out and enjoy it!

stefan1 said: I am putting together into a photo book to keep with the car. can we order some copies

Thanks for sharing - Love these cars!

truly amazing to see the effort involved. certainly beats my mechanics spitting on the engine cover and wiping it over with an oily rag whilst writing the mileage on the strut top in tippex

stefan1 said: The front splitter does take some punishment, but it is not an expensive part and I've only replaced it once. Not expensive = cost more than my whole car, I bet

WOW!!!!!!!....... Thanks for sharing great detailed pics, what an awesome bit of kit!!!

Conian said: Not expensive = cost more than my whole car, I bet Less than £200 from memory. And I have only needed to replace it once in 8 years.

Great to see under the skin of this fabulous car, thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing. It's great to see the photos.

What a refreshing change to see so much under the bonnet and other detail stuff. Thank you.

Thanks for sharing - great seeing how the car works from the inside - marvellous piece of engineering. I really appreciate your philosophy with using the car too - put the miles on it, take it abroad and maintain it properly. Strikes a great balance in my view.

Very interesting and thanks for the post.

Gorgeous. I do see the CGT as the last of the analogue sports cars. Along with the McL F1 and F40, they're the very best of the race bred supercars. No bulls t electronic driver aids. Proper cars.

Thanks for sharing CGT is my favourite car.

Wow, best thread I've seen on PH to be honest, incredible car and fantastic detail. Kudos to you.

stefan1 said: Less than £200 from memory. And I have only needed to replace it once in 8 years. fair play! as a poor person i couldnt imagine a tire valve cap for a CGT costing less that £200

Conian said: fair play! as a poor person i couldnt imagine a tire valve cap for a CGT costing less that £200 They dont have mere tyre valves (tire US!) They have magnesium air transfer mechanisms hand machined by naked virgins....

Lovely and thanks for sharing

Thanks for sharing Stefan. I'm surprised at the cost tbh. Seems excellent value. Last year I had a £5k service and sort stuff out bill for my Cayman S (2007)- the summer heat and constant UV here in Dubai is ruinous to cars, especially the plastic elements which bake, become brittle and simply fail, even if they're not stressed to any degree. I'd class your service as a complete bargain.