This Hand-Built Flat-12 Porsche 917 Awaits Your Offer

"PhiLOL" (philol) 07/10/2015 at 13:59 • Filed to: The Daily Turismo, Daily Turismo, NPOCP, Blog, Blogs, Porsche 917, Kit cars, Classifieds, Porsche

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Here are the three most important facts you need to know about this hand-built, Subaru-powered Porsche 917 tribute : 1. It isn’t a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . 2. It isn’t complete. 3. It has “two Subaru Tribeca engines bolted together to make a 12 cylinder boxer.” The project lit up the internet when it first listed on eBay !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! with a $40,000 starting bid. Today, it’s just looking for an offer. Find this custom !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for sale in Hartford, CT for “best offer” via craigslist.

On paper, this project probably looked pretty good. Its Porsche credentials include 911 RSR taillights, a 914 steering rack, a 91-inch wheelbase (true to the original), and of course the flat-12 engine consisting of two Subaru Tribeca six-cylinder boxer engines bolted together at the crankshaft. Its stacked performance credentials are just as stacked: 250 horsepower per engine bolted to a tube-frame chassis with Corvette-sourced suspension. Subaru’s five-speed auto sends power to the fat rear tires. So far, so good, right?

The seller, from another source: “I have the front engine set at TDC on cylinder one and the rear engine set on TDC for cylinder 6. I have the injector and coil wires spliced so both cylinders will fire at the same time.” Running two engines from one engine management system is bound to result in creative problem solving and questionable engineering. Further digging into the seller’s situation reveals an honest cry for help (and more information and pictures) on a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . Faced with the daunting task of mating two sophisticated engines with Active Valve Control Systems and Variable Valve Lift, our intrepid builder reached out to multiple sources of help before finally throwing in the towel.

From the forum: “I’m burned out but still trying to finish all these cars so I can go live on an old boat or in a van. I’m 64 and getting tired of this.” It’s not right to criticize someone’s self-efficacy as it relates to a project like this, so let’s talk about this as a money management lesson. This individual built his first homemade car from scratch with minimal past automotive experience because he “couldn’t afford to buy a kit.” With that one still incomplete, he started, and subsequently surrendered to, two additional cars, both of which are also for sale. Maybe the plan is to fund an additional project (note the Jaguar MkX in the pictures). Maybe it’s isolationism retirement. You can determine for yourself by watching his three YouTube videos, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , or when you call him up to discuss a purchase price. Hey, all it needs is the wiring harness plugged in and you’ve got a 500-horsepower Porsche tribute!

Oh and here’s the other 917 he built.

See a better proposition for a high-po tribute? Post it below.

PhiLOL actually likes the tuna here, but abhors structural rust. Save the manuals.

Originally posted as !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

on !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Bad Idea Hat > PhiLOL 07/10/2015 at 14:10

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DailyTurismo > PhiLOL 07/10/2015 at 14:17

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Is this the worst execution of the best idea, or the best execution of the worst idea...I’m conflicted...

PhiLOL > DailyTurismo 07/10/2015 at 14:20

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Ambitiously ludicrous, or ludicrously ambitious?

uofime-2 > PhiLOL 07/10/2015 at 14:28

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That body work looks good from a far, but I’m pretty sure is far from good.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > PhiLOL 07/10/2015 at 14:56

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Does he accept Rolos as payment?

Roadster Man > DailyTurismo 07/10/2015 at 15:15

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This is poor execution of a bad idea.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > PhiLOL 07/10/2015 at 15:20

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You had me at flat 12.

Axel-Ripper > PhiLOL 07/10/2015 at 15:54

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OH my god this is a brilliantly insane idea, close to that of the GLCOAT.

PhiLOL > Axel-Ripper 07/10/2015 at 16:02

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Your comparison is oddly relevant. From the seller’s video in 2010: “This car will be auctioned off in January 2011 so I can start my 6 wheeled Tyrrell project.”

CaptDale - is secretly British > PhiLOL 07/10/2015 at 17:08

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I want.... Will buy in with someone who has money!

JuniorSamplesJr. > Bad Idea Hat 07/12/2015 at 08:41

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PardonMyFlemish16 > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 08:46

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You have to give the man props for trying. I think he would have did better to go with the old simpler H6s. I’m also wondering if there are any standalone EMSs that can handle a 12 cylinder beast. Fuck, I would be happy with this thing just having one of its engines. Can you put the Subaru 6 in an FF818?

Le Monstre > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 08:55

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He put a lot of work into this replica, but stopped shy at the engines. I’m sure Tribeca motors are easier and cheaper thethen true air cooled Porsche engines, but when you dedicate that much fabrication and detail, go the extra mile and find a pair to put in.

nmalinoski > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 07/12/2015 at 09:03

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Only it’s not; it’s two separate flat-6s.

phDiesel > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/12/2015 at 09:11

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I've got a Cadillac Seville right now that I would take 13 individual Rolos for.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 09:14

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Umm.......Yeah.......Nope do not want.

69montego > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 09:52

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I'll probably go to hell for this, but after reading the article, all I can think is "Great, twice as many headgaskets to change"

Fuel_of_Satan > uofime-2 07/12/2015 at 09:56

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Bodywork is still a long way down on the to-do list here, don't worry about it.

66ChevelleSS > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 09:57

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Looks like the foot location stays true to the original, too. Plus 1 for accuracy, -1 for chance of debilitating foot injury.

The automatic transmission seems like an odd choice. If your so hands on as to want to build your own Porsche 917 from scratch, including a DIY flat 12, it seems like you’d at least want to shift your own gears.

66ChevelleSS > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 10:00

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The body on this other 917 looks fantastic. You’ve got to admit that 917 rat rod would be pretty, pretty cool.

etienne47 > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 10:11

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I dont understand why he would go with the 5spd gearbox, I’ve always read that they can barely handle 250hp let alone 500hp from two engines.

brjklein > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 10:17

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I’d buy the coupe 917 chassis from him, have the tube frame re-engineered to be safe, then tuck something like an EJ-20 turbo in the back. There’s no way you need 500hp behind that car. 250hp should be enough of a riot.

salmon > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 07/12/2015 at 10:33

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Boxer != Flat

davedave1111 > Axel-Ripper 07/12/2015 at 10:41

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CACressida > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 10:46

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Just food for thought. If he’s powering two engines from one ECU, shouldn’t they both be at TDC cylinder 1? It sounds to me like he wants the computer to multitask and have two engines doing to different things. On second thought, I just took a closer look and one engine looks reversed where both engines are connected to the fronts of each other. A wild idea thinks he should flip the secondary engine and connect from the back to front and run them that way. I've never looked at a boxer 6 crank but I'm not exactly sure if you can reverse the rotation with the same firing order only from the back side. Does that even make sense? I just woke up and I'm officially mind fucked for breakfast.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 10:54

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I kinda want to buy that.

High Road > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 11:34

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That’s gotta hurt, all that work and he still hasn’t even started the 917. Had a friend who put a V-Tec in a ‘67 Mini, same problem, everything looked awesome, but the damn wiring was a nightmare.

zipfuel > Bad Idea Hat 07/12/2015 at 11:56

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This guy has basically attempted 2 of my favorite thought experiments in one project: build a street legal LMP1 replica and a flat 12 out of a pair of Subaru sixes.

I always thought you’d have to stagger the engines’ timing around the clock with custom common cam shafts and a single ECU, trying to sync two firings exactly sounds like a recipe for spontaneous self destruction if your timing is slightly off.

Sean > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 11:59

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if you’re buying, you are the bid, the seller is the offer.

Phunkydiabetic > Bad Idea Hat 07/12/2015 at 12:08

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That was my face as my eyes scrolled past “hand-built”.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 12:14

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Wouldn’t this have been easier with a couple of air-cooled Porsche engines?With the auto I'd say just use one engine and pop the other into a Vanagon.

smokeycretin9 > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 12:49

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want to hear!!!!

Frenchlicker > brjklein 07/12/2015 at 12:50

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Then it’s not 12 cylinders of power. Alas you’re right, 250 would be enough but then one would be left wondering what if.

10001010 > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 13:16

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The Porscharu looks like a nightmare, but please tell me more about this bike? CB1100F is it?

RReis > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 14:56

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If i remember correctly the 917 is not a flat 12, it is a 180º V12. (I’m assuming that by calling it “flat” you’re thinking that it is a “boxer” engine like a 911 or subaru engine)

A flat 12 would have 12 crankpin journals (and the distance between two oposed pistons would not be constant, they would get closer and further apart as the crankshaft spins, hence the name “boxer”).

A 180º V12 has 6 crankpin journals, each one being shared by two opposed pistons. This way their distance is fixed, since they’re moving always at the same speed, in the same direction.

AMGWTFBBQ > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 07/12/2015 at 15:03

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Worther’s Original only.

brjklein > Frenchlicker 07/12/2015 at 15:04

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Work your way up, then. Buy a 996 Turbo’s engine. I don’t know why we’re discussing authenticity, it was built in a garage.

MAgnum9987 > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 20:17

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Why not go the route they did with LeMans and use big block chevy power?

xmeiro > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 21:14

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Knowing the original Porsche 917 cars already make “917” an alternative spelling for “death-trap”, then how worse can this really be?

Frenchlicker > brjklein 07/12/2015 at 21:33

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We’re discussing it because anything even slightly related to this must be absolutely ridiculous. Come on, the man has three absurd, unfinished projects in his driveway in an old neighborhood. If you try to make sense of this you may end up in a psychiatric ward.

Carpe Diem Racing > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 21:52

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This is in my area, it’s the closest Craigslist region to me. And I could use an F1 type car.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 22:30

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Basement Lamborghini Guy to the rescue!!

OutOfHere > PhiLOL 07/12/2015 at 22:55

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Definitely ADHD.

904 GTS > PhiLOL 07/13/2015 at 01:54

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If water-cooled . . .

904 GTS > Le Monstre 07/13/2015 at 02:41

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This, for reference, is what a very good reproduction, albeit with just a 6 cylinder, ought to look. Everything else is just a giant waste of time and money, period.

scribble > salmon 07/13/2015 at 03:09

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All Boxers are flat engines. Not all flat engines are Boxers.

scribble > PhiLOL 07/13/2015 at 03:12

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How is no one pointing out the obvious? His engines are facing each other. They can’t possibly fire while being bolted together like that, they’re trying to spin in opposite directions.

Shiyal > davedave1111 07/13/2015 at 07:30

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OOOooohhh my. I just love multi-axles stuff.

davedave1111 > Shiyal 07/13/2015 at 07:36

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I have to admit, I’m in the same boat enough that I wasn’t even sure which of my comments that was a reply to :)

Shiyal > davedave1111 07/13/2015 at 08:39

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I know, its been a great week hasn’t it.

First this:

then this:

http://jalopnik.com/this-stops-in-…

http://blackflag.jalopnik.com/watch-super-ra…

davedave1111 > Shiyal 07/13/2015 at 08:42

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I was referring to this:

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/two-six-wheele…

Until it dropped off my recommended links bit, I kept getting comments for months.

Sh-tboxSlumlord > PhiLOL 07/13/2015 at 09:31

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I learned not to bite off more than I can chew with my first motorcycle. Especially for the hack engineers out there, we have to be careful how we invest in our projects (and what projects we pick), or at least learn to give up and make peace when you’re in too deep.

cooterbaldwin > PhiLOL 07/13/2015 at 09:50

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Two Subaru flat sixes? Pffft. I want four Rocket 3 mills bolted together! 9.2L flat 12 FTW!!!

yeah, I realize it would be two inline sixes bolted bottom to bottom, but who cares?

poodlebites > PhiLOL 07/13/2015 at 20:22

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Screw the car, gimme the CB1100F sitting next to it!!!

RomeoX > PhiLOL 07/13/2015 at 21:42

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As Top Gear would put it...

Ambitious... but rubbish!!!

PhiLOL > High Road 07/14/2015 at 13:11

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Mini Tec makes kits for that. That’s what this guy used.

High Road > PhiLOL 07/14/2015 at 14:53

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Cool, a kit certainly would have helped.

904 GTS > smokeycretin9 07/14/2015 at 18:57

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Here, hear the genuine 917 NA 12-cylinder - E N J O Y !!!

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/the-previous-9…

functionoverfashion > PhiLOL 07/15/2015 at 09:04

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I have a friend who would take on incredibly ambitious projects... I would like to say they weren’t of this scale, but in some cases, worse. Like, swapping in an S8 engine into an A8. “Swapping” doesn’t even begin to describe the difficulty of such a project, even though on paper it seems like it would be simple, I mean, those are the same car! And it would drive me crazy, how much time he spent on things like this, but never finishing anything. I like to finish things. Maybe I should be more ambitious? But this gives me the shivers, just looking at it. Like, give this guy a little direction and he could be capable of great things. Like my friend, when left to his own devices, he appears to be far too scatterbrained to set reasonable goals OR to follow through to the end of his crazy ideas. It’s a little sad, actually.