engine life

[gearbo]

I have found a 1980 911 targa , it has 388,000 km, what would be the typical engine time for the engine to be rebuilt. I am trying to learn before I talk to the seller. It looks great and I think it would be fun to drive .

[PSU_Crash]

I would do (or ask for) a compression and leak down test. That will give you a decent baseline for at least the cylinder health. Then check it out. Any smoke on a cold start? and what color, if there is any. Leaks? A quick once over will usually show off any glaring problems. It might be just fine .. it might not.

[Tom]

The 911SC motors are known to be some of the longest lasting motors Porsche ever made. This Pelican article is a pretty good discussion on that very topic and calls out the 78 and 79 motors for longevity, though all the SC's are known to last. They coaxed a bit more power out of the 80+ versions, so that's probably why pelican just listed the 78 and 79 specifically.

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticl ... uild-1.htm


That said, 388k is 338k. Definitely have a PPI with compression and leak down done. With that many miles, you just never know if it will be one of those motors that goes to 500k and beyond, or if it needs valves or more right now...

Many years ago I was a PPI away from buying a virtually perfect '83 -- all records, perfect service dealer history, the works. And it ran great. Too great apparently as it was prone to pinging and had a pulled head stud, discovered only by PPI testing. Turned out to be a Euro spec motor with higher compression plus a performance chip that added ignition advance. No way Californias 91 octane unleaded stood a chance It was fast though...

[gearbo]

Wow that is wonderful, thank you so much