M96 Core options?

EDIT: Decided to sell complete engine for sale, asking $2800 + shipping. Or can separate for parts! I have a 3.6 Carrera motor out of a 2002 911 that had a ticking noise and has small bits of metal in the sump. Engine was shut down and did not suffer a failure that made it die. I have rebuilt several Porsche engines for my personal cars in the past but I would not want to sell a rebuilt engine without running it in a car first so I'm disinclined to rebuild it myself. If the delta is large enough between core and running motor, I could reconsider rebuilding it and putting it in my car... I'm wondering what may be a reasonable price for a motor like this, and where I may advertise? Rennlist seems like a possibility. I thought about $2500-3500. Would welcome input. Thanks!

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I just mention this in a recent thread , I think 2k-4k is reasonable for a buildable core engine. Someone who as had a high RPM explosion (busted/holed block) could use this as a basis for a high-end rebuild. I wouldn't advise you to invest money and time into rebuilding it yourself unless you were going to use it personally, it seems most 996 owners are "gun shy" of any rebuilt engines, except from a few builders. Maybe that will change one day as more and more people are becoming familiar with M96 engines.

If you can find out where the metal came from then maybe someone will buy it as a core. Otherwise it is a crap shoot and I can't see it worth more than $1500.

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I bought a similar engine about 6 years ago for $2,500

If you have the time and can document exactly where the failure is, maybe even measure the other components while you�re in there, someone may be more likely to buy it.

Porsche values good cores at $2500.00 last I checked.

Sooo the question is,, what if you took it apart,, and kept it in modules.. Heads/inner crank rotating assembly and cases. If its for a core,, you'd think the buyer would like the ability to look at it.. ?? I would but.. I maynot be the real market..

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Nah, it's best to evaluate it same as if the motor was still in the car. Just pull the sump plate and evaluate the debris, do a borescope ect. Disassembly would create a mess and a shipping nightmare, unless reassembled for shipping.

Reason I was asking the group,, I've bought a fair number of race engines,, the ones I got the best result from were the ones that were disassembled,, Actually paid more for them than an assembled one,, I got a smoking deal on a rotating assembly and heads,, the owners race rules changed and he had to go back to iron heads, I picked up them plus the forged internals, rods etc for about 1/4 of new (Was spending someone else's money.. .LOL) new the setup went for about $35K I got the whole deal for 9.. without actually seeing the parts and looking them over there is no way I'd have paid even what I did.. The parts had never been run it was a "spare" setup.. The engine made over 900 HP N/A on a engine dyno on straight methanol.. We actually got 1100 out of it but backed it down to keep it durable. On a 1/8 mile over you cant even put that much power down without wings.. A set of cases I can see the bores in ,, and probably run a taper gauge through are worth way more to me than a mystery package.. As far as shipping , I think 4 boxes under 50 lbs,, is WAY cheaper than 1 300lb box.. I ship computer stuff all over and breaking the 50 or 75 lb numbers really increases cost.. So just kinda fishing for opinions,, I may have a line on a high mile used engine with no issues. Wont know for a few weeks..

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I agree with your scenario as far as a buyer prospective and also a "knowing what your buying" prospective, I was just referencing a scenario that was low cost for the buyer( with some risk) and less hassle/labor for the seller ( with less potential profit. If I was a seller that dissembled the engine and did thorough evaluation / measurements on a dissembled engine, I would sell the parts separatly. Cases are selling for $1500, Cranks $1000, Pistons $100 each, IMS $300-500, heads $700-$1000 each , a decent core could bring a lot more than selling as an complete unknown core(just with no noticeable explosion.) but you will still be left with a bunch of other stuff that probably will never sell like camshaft/lifters will never sell, and injectors, intakes, headers, TB, alternator, starter, PS pump, Coils,ect.. The complete M96 weights about 400 lbs, so would take 8 50lb boxes to ship it all, plus good wrapping for protection. Shipping complete on a single pallet using freight terminal -to-terminal is the least expensive way. There is always more than one way to skin a cat, hopefully a win-win for both buyer and seller ,or maybe only the person who does the disassembly and inspection ?

Thank you all for the input. I was hoping to avoid disassembly (or any other work), and just move it along to the next person that does want to play around with it. That said, selling heads separately, then the block and crank separately does sound like a possible option... Sub optimal though as it requires more logistical work. I would love to see inside the motor so it's tempting from that angle... I may just put it up for sale complete, and see what kind of reception it gets before continuing. Another question, where to advertise, aside from eBay?

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All the other prices seem but I'm not sure people are paying $100 for a used piston.

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You might be surprised , If you are building an engine back to stock bore size and only need 1 piston, from Porsche the Mahle pistons are $600 each, the 2019 Mahle Motorsport catalog lists the stock bore 96mm pistons set at $1100. A few years ago I had 8 pristine stock Mahle 3.4 pistons I put on e-bay just to see, and they sold for $50 bucks each no problem.

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Lol, at $600/piston, they must be less common and more reliable than we think.

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Correction, I just looked at the Auto Atlanta website, the stock 3.4 piston is now $749 each, and the 3.6 stock piston is $836 each....lol

Thanks again all for responses. I've decided to list the motor complete, but really hope somebody offers to buy the heads or block so we can open it up and see inside! https://raleigh.craigslist.org/pts/d...008239482.html