Seems like rebuildable 1st gens are a dime a dozen, but it's really hard to find a 2nd gen with a blown motor, let alone, one in nice shape. It took me 6 months to find my car, and it was a complete luck of the draw. This one came from New Mexico (completely rust free), original owner, and with just under 70K on it. Didn't care much for the color at first, but I had been waiting for so long, I couldn't resist.
I went the new shortblock route. In the past, I've dealt with a "rebuilt" motor, but it ended up getting "rebuilt" 3 times because of one little machine shop (3 different ones) error. Factory short blocks are more expensive ($3100 for mine), but they are brand new and built right the first time. You may get lucky and find a good machine ship, but I don't know of any around here. Especially ones that specialize in these motors.
As for getting your current motor rebuilt I always say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Why mess with a good thing? The NT motor was built
strong and last a long time, even under a lot of abuse. I know a few guys with 160K+ on them. There's even a guy with over 200K on his car.
My point is, if you want to start modding your car, go for it! Do you have low oil pressure problems, leak any oil, maintenance kept up.... Any issues at all?
As for a TT project. Go to
www.dynamicracing.com and
www.speedfactor.net and price out the following:
New short block
DR stage II head rebuild
water pump
oil pump
dr500 turbos
oil/coolant turbo feed lines
timing belt + tensionizer
accessory belts
UDP
thermostat
head studs
full engine gasket kit
6 550cc fuel injectors
fuel filter
denso fuel pump
...there's more, but you get my point? You have to have a large amount of $$ put away. My car alone with the blown motor wasn't cheep either...
