question for all racers regarding engine rebuilds

[ajcjr]

while researching all the different cars that are out there racing, the one question i have is how, when, and how much do you spend on motor rebuilds.

 

The reason i ask this is because i come from drag racing where rebuilding a basic V8 whether 300 cubic inches to 700 cubic inches is basically the same and even though some of the internals are different sizes its basically all the same.

 

While watching road racing and the different classes it made me wonder are there companies out there rebuilding all types of engines? Do some of these modern engines last long enough where you dont have to replace them? I have been pushing towards the 944's and i have been doing alot of research on porsches but what about the other engines, miatas, bmw's, mazda rx 7, honda motors???? I guess while we are on the subject how about transmissions as well

 

Again i am leaning towards a 944 cup car, but i would like to explore my options and see what lasts, doesnt last , or is harder to replace.

 

thanks in advance for the answers

[ajcjr]

wow 31 views and not one response LOL

[Mike Simard]

It's a tough question to answer! I just spent several hundred to freshen up an unmodified 928 engine for racing service. That's like 2 944s welded together The cylinder bores are long lasting but on any old car gaskets need to be replaced. I have a fresh engine that will go in this car that's extreme with more money in than I'm going to admit.

 

Keeping an engine unmodified can make life simpler. You'll still want to pull it, freshen it up with gaskets, bearings and rings and take the opportunity to address oiling and other issues common to your particular engine. I like to add oil control baffling. If you work with a 944 there might be some kind of oiling mod to do to the crank. I know little about 944s but a 928 has rods sharing a single oil passage and they are cross drilled at the mains. Cross drilling is a bad thing. There might be something you can do to your crank, any effort spent on oil control and rod bearing oiling is very good and will reward you with engines that don't blow up.

[ajcjr]

It's a tough question to answer! I just spent several hundred to freshen up an unmodified 928 engine for racing service. That's like 2 944s welded together The cylinder bores are long lasting but on any old car gaskets need to be replaced. I have a fresh engine that will go in this car that's extreme with more money in than I'm going to admit.

 

Keeping an engine unmodified can make life simpler. You'll still want to pull it, freshen it up with gaskets, bearings and rings and take the opportunity to address oiling and other issues common to your particular engine. I like to add oil control baffling. If you work with a 944 there might be some kind of oiling mod to do to the crank. I know little about 944s but a 928 has rods sharing a single oil passage and they are cross drilled at the mains. Cross drilling is a bad thing. There might be something you can do to your crank, any effort spent on oil control and rod bearing oiling is very good and will reward you with engines that don't blow up.

 

Mike thanks for the answer, i am not speaking porsche spefically since i have done some research, i was wondering also about some of the others out there, are there engine builders for all of the models out there? Thanks again

[sleeperlove]

With a lot of NASA classes you don't need to even worry about the engine internals. I am not sure about 944 supercup but Spec 944 doesn't allow all that much power.

[granracing]

Yup, you can always find a shop to build an engine. Usually shops specialize in certain types of makes or racing categories. A friend of mine who I met through racing primarily works on Mazda Miatas, Nissans, Honda's, done some 944s and BMWs, ectera. Try to bring him a rotary engine and he'd refer you to someone else. http://www.KesslerEngineering.com How long it lasts and how much it would cost totally depends on the engine being built, rules it conforms to, and of course who is buiding it. He built mine for around $3,500 (I supplied the core) and he did the dyno tuning on it. I spoke with another shop a couple of years before this and they quoted me a little more thank $5,000 for the same.