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....

Old engine out and on the table.....

New engine ready to go in.

And in the car


Empty engine bay....
Old engine out and on the table.....
New engine ready to go in.
And in the car

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?
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.
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
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
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
Thanks...................... George


