X51 Cayman swap
 

This was a little project that I did a few weeks ago in a Cayman S. Swapped in an X51 engine out of a 997 (brand new crate engine). The owner drove it back to texas to put some miles on the engine, and will be bringing it back in a few weeks for a supercharger :)

Empty engine bay....

http://karl.wilen.us/images/X51d.JPG


Old engine out and on the table.....
http://karl.wilen.us/images/X51b.JPG

New engine ready to go in.

http://karl.wilen.us/images/X51c.JPG

And in the car :)

http://karl.wilen.us/images/X51a.JPG

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

Doc--you're a genius!

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

That has to be a great car. If it were mine I'd leave it naturally aspirated.

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

i have been thinking about possibly doing this to my car(jsut got it on monday) but at least want to break in the current engine before deciding. How much would this swap cost and what all would it entail?

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

I have been following a similar thread on the Cayman Club website (possibly the same project?) with great interest. I have a 2006 Cayman S and I am planning to do a 3.8L X51 engine swap in the near future. Reading this and the other thread I have really become intrigued with the idea of going the additional step of adding a supercharger. I too would be interested in a ball park cost of doing both. I have read of a 997 being supercharged in one of the Porsche enthusiast magazines and this appears to be a good way of raising horsepower with good reliability. I believe the HP figure is around 500 plus. This would make for a blindingly fast Cayman! I would imagine that this would necessitate suspension upgrades also?

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

The X51 swap runs about $25k. The supercharger we will be doing will be a very custom job as obviously there aren't any out there yet, so we really don't have an idea of cost yet.

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

Hi Doc
What a fantastic project. Let us know how the Supercharger Mod works out. There are going to be a few911 Drivers including Turbo owners who are going to be left scrathching their heads when they get blown away by this innocent looking Cayman!!!!
Regards Big Bob

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

Its not so innocent

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

Doc - I'm actually in the market for a used Cayman S for this very sort of project. I came across this Forum while doing a search. Where can the X51 crate engine be purchased... and, is the old core engine required in exchange? Approx. cost of the new motor?

Thanks...................... George

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

Crate motor comes directly from Porsche, IIRC the cost is around 18k. Core engine required, IIRC the core charge is about 6k.

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

............ thanks..........

So, do you do X51 Engine swaps in Caymans? It sounds like you have a shop (?)

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

Yes. www.imagineauto.com

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

I've been following an X51 Cayman swap on another boardwith a gentlman from Texas. I think that is your shop, yes? And, is this the same project?

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

Yup, same project. Just buttoning up some final details on the car right now. The crate motor we got from porsche had one camshaft 1 tooth out of time, which Porsche said they had never seen before, though the PCA tech advisor for the 997/Caymans says he has seen it before. So now it is correctly timed, and ready to rock and roll.

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

This sounds like a project I would like to do. What do you recommend for a donor car? I guess high mileage does not matter, or does it?

RE: X51 Cayman swap
 

Hi Doc,

How much would you charge to swap the X51 into a 2000 Boxster S? I know this conversion is done by Ruf, so I know its possible. =]