Values of hot rod engines and gearboxes today?

[911hillclimber]

Nothing too exciting here, but over the last 12 months or so I've seen hot road 911 drivetrains asking prices with big numbers commonplace.

Such engines cost a lot of money, gearboxes too, so:

The hot engine in my Lola hillclimb engine is a nice spec and a bit unusual, so with the following specs what could it be realistically worth?
1
3.2 1986 base engine. Carrillo rods and ultra bolts, forged hi-compression pistons, Kent G60 cams and high rev springs.
Twin plug heads and electronic ECU, very lightweight flywheel
All rings, bearings, ramps etc all fresh.
All parts used for a safe 8500 rpm engine.

Flat fan custom made with stand alone alternator.

50mm PMO carbs and KN filters, as pic below. Custom equal length headers and silencers, no good for a 911!

Rolling road tested to just over 300 bhp https://youtu.be/Btr1ATBrrLc?t=23
2
Mag cased 915 trans with 4 gears fitted (deliberately) rebuild with several trick parts for strength by Mike Bainbridge, about 500 miles old.
LSD helical final drive. Currently arranged for mid engine installation. WEVO internal shift gate.

HELIX competition clutch with 'road spec' friction plate, proven to be bomb-proof.

[neilbardsley]

Really hard to put a value on those? Cost for some else to build would be significant. I would guess many would not want a 4 speed gearbox? The engine might be a different matter I could see someone paying for the fan and twin spark for the right project. As for how much Im sure others will know better.

Why the question?

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[911hillclimber]

Thank you Neil.
The cost of the engine was £10,000 for the parts alone. A basic 3.2 is commanding about £6k needing a full rebuild. The time consumed was huge.
The box I think owes me about 6k or more from 8 years ago. Much more now.

Fitting a 5th will be easy when/ if the box gets converted to '911 orientation'. It was removed so trying to go to 3rd from 2nd in a hurry would not engage 5th instead. 5th spot is blocked off.

I am asking (may be a better question for Impact Bumpers forum come to think about it) with the near future in mind.

The Lola may give me a better return without a drive train.

Sell the drive train into the Porsche side, the chassis into the race car side of this world.
Early thoughts at the moment.
May come to nothing.

[neilbardsley]

It's not time to hang up the helmet yet! I know very little about the racing car mkt but I think you are discounting the work you have put into the car. It a proven winner. Very well developed/maintained by a good engineer that delights crowds everywhere. Someone could jump into this car and be competitive? Surely it's worth more as a package and could even be circuit raced in the US if the mkt is bigger there?

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[Hugo 356]

The following twin plugs range to £34k at current FX

https://bringatrailer.com/search/?s=por ... nd+gearbox

https://bringatrailer.com/search/?s=twi ... 911+engine

Given the low miles & transparency of the build & post-build-performance the upper end of the range seems a reasonable starting place. Having said that 6591584 with box sold for $46k 2021, no-sold at $23k April '25, indicating a small volatile market

The Lola's well sorted & with the flat fan I'd first try gauging interest as a package before splitting into 2 projects

[911hillclimber]

Thank you both.
Not hanging my old helmet up Neil, but maybe a change of class, and use my 2.9 Boxster, Drive it there, Drive it back like when I started this game in 1992 in the 911.

The Lola is eligible for hillclimbs only or as a track day car (not sure the fan will be enough to cool it...).

Thus the market is very small, and on RaceCarsDirect many of these cars do not sell well or anywhere near the money invested and get split, hence this question.

Asking now to consider the change as it will soon be time to put it up for sale while the iron is 'hot'.

It is a lovely car and I'm very proud of it, but nothing lasts forever.

It has cost a lot of money and time since 2008 when I bought, guess what, a rolling chassis!

In my mind I have £40K for the car as it stands, but that could be very ambitious! (indeed)

[coomo]

Mmm.Well it sounds like a wonderful engine.However, im not sure that its been used in a "spirited" capacity would actually help with a sale.For me it would.it would assure me that its
integrity was well tested.For others "its been thrashed to death"
Putting a price on it is tricky.I would think that a sale might be easier in the DDK community,as your integrity wouldnt have the trust issues,that may be exist on the "outside"
Over the last year,Ive seen a few trick engines in UK around the 20k mark.
There was also a member with an abandoned project, with a complete kit, of parts to build a top spec 2.2 engine selling all for 16k.
If those numbers are any indication of potential value.Anyones guess I suppose.
If I didnt currenty have 3.2 SS engine being built,I would have declared an interest, if the engine was streetable.Impressive numbers, thats for sure.

[Mike911scrs]

Hi 911hillclimber
for your info' (and you where told at the time) 5th gear is still in the box, stoped by a "C" clip on the selector shaft and should be stopping it been selected, if needed just remove the end cover and move the clip down the shaft for 5th, un-less the last lot in the box has removed it??

regards mike

[neilbardsley]

Mmm.Well it sounds like a wonderful engine.However, im not sure that its been used in a "spirited" capacity would actually help with a sale.For me it would.it would assure me that its
integrity was well tested.For others "its been thrashed to death"
Putting a price on it is tricky.I would think that a sale might be easier in the DDK community,as your integrity wouldnt have the trust issues,that may be exist on the "outside"
Over the last year,Ive seen a few trick engines in UK around the 20k mark.
There was also a member with an abandoned project, with a complete kit, of parts to build a top spec 2.2 engine selling all for 16k.
If those numbers are any indication of potential value.Anyones guess I suppose.
If I didnt currenty have 3.2 SS engine being built,I would have declared an interest, if the engine was streetable.Impressive numbers, thats for sure.

Sorry to strongly disagree with you on this. There is a big difference between someone thrashing an engine and an experienced mechanic, racing a warm engine up a hill for 30 seconds. We all know how careful/preventative Graham is about maintenance. I suspect his engine is making more power now than when it was dynoed and will continue to do so for many years.

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[911hillclimber]

Thanks for the details Mike, it was (for me) a long time ago.

The engine in he Lola has been built to take high revs etc, but it is always treated carefully.
I did invest £10K, the donor engine and a LOT of time in it after all. If it fails then that will be the end of the car in my hands.

Pre start warm up is always planned and done, the temperature is always just under 'normal' and just over that position after the run.

Hitting rev limits is commonplace but only 7500 rpm (the limit of the G60 cams)

[coomo]

Mmm.Well it sounds like a wonderful engine.However, im not sure that its been used in a "spirited" capacity would actually help with a sale.For me it would.it would assure me that its
integrity was well tested.For others "its been thrashed to death"
Putting a price on it is tricky.I would think that a sale might be easier in the DDK community,as your integrity wouldnt have the trust issues,that may be exist on the "outside"
Over the last year,Ive seen a few trick engines in UK around the 20k mark.
There was also a member with an abandoned project, with a complete kit, of parts to build a top spec 2.2 engine selling all for 16k.
If those numbers are any indication of potential value.Anyones guess I suppose.
If I didnt currenty have 3.2 SS engine being built,I would have declared an interest, if the engine was streetable.Impressive numbers, thats for sure.

Sorry to strongly disagree with you on this. There is a big difference between someone thrashing an engine and an experienced mechanic, racing a warm engine up a hill for 30 seconds. We all know how careful/preventative Graham is about maintenance. I suspect his engine is making more power now than when it was dynoed and will continue to do so for many years.

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Neil,Re read it mate.Id buy that engine in a heartbeat.I was merely stating that not everyone can see past those words.A little knowledge is dangerous for some,no matter how much you assure some of the integrity of an engine,they cant see past the fact thats its been used competitively.Just my experiences over past 30 years.

[911hillclimber]

Yes, the question has the car been raced or rallied is an old one and to some can be the reason to walk away.

This engine has obviously been raced, never on the road slugging it out in traffic etc, just driven WOT all the time, but only for less than a minute!

This engine is one of the most 'open' engine builds around with threads on here and elsewhere (motorsport forums) and the folder with the bills is thick, fat, and detailed.

The videos of the rolling road and some shots of the car in action will leave no doubts.

Is it knackered? Nope, it isn't to the best of my knowledge.

Consider a 3 year old GT3 with 20K miles on it and you will have the same jitters!

I do appreciate the thoughts from all and splitting he car is a last resort.