Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

... and given that the 996 is the ugly duckling of the Porsche world and least valuable 911 you reckon there's enough of a market for a bells and whistles water-cooled engine swap option for 996 owners?

Is the plan to sell them as a crate motor or to offer the build as a service with your engineering partner?

A JDM Mitsubishi chap in Ireland has just imported this lovely thing!

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Pre-Facelift Forester SG (the blue one)

This is a very ugly car. Their appeal is the utility dad vibe.

Modding them, reminds me of people modding Sierras in the late '90s.

... and given that the 996 is the ugly duckling of the Porsche world and least valuable 911 you reckon there's enough of a market for a bells and whistles water-cooled engine swap option for 996 owners?

I don't know Dammit's answer to this. I would put forward though, that as the cheapest 911 it's the one that's the best candidate for an engine swap. You (or at least, I) wouldn't put anything non-stock on almost any other Porsche and hope to keep any of it's value.

At current prices, I don't think a 996 is a terrible choice as a 2-seater-something to mess about with.

(edit - I actually quite like the 996. Certainly the 997... I don't think there's been a better looking one since. There's a 992 next door to me, it's too big - I guess the cabin has a lot more creature comforts to fit in, but it looks closer to a Nissan 350z in proportions)

M96 motor would bolt straight into a 997

This is a very ugly car. Their appeal is the utility dad vibe.

Modding them, reminds me of people modding Sierras in the late '90s.

No way, they're awesome

They're quite pretty when left alone and very subtley modified though, or at least to me they are. Also that's kind of the appeal for me where it is going to look modified (lowered a bit, not as low as that blue one and some nice wheels, not as big as what's on that blue one either, maybe 16" Work L1?) but will have lots of go and I'll make a big effort on the interior to make it a pleasant place to be.

Bit too low for my tastes but bloody lovely... Those huge windows and that really low slung body is such a great combo, a true classic...

I'm comfortable standing by my original statement.

I absolutely love the SF, I actually think it's the best looking Forester but I suspect I'd be shooting myself in the foot to go with one for the engine swap I'm planning as it's smaller than the SG and I suspect the space will be wanted...

This one is about perfect although I'd consider wheels an inch smaller in diameter and suspension a hair's breadth lower. They must be two tone also unless they're the facelift model like @mi7rennie's red one.

If you like it, you like it.

My 2p is that it's the uglier choice and they look best with faded paint work in a shit two-tone colour combo.

New challenger in this weird lowered cars that probably should be left alone genre.

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I absolutely do not hate that and it's built on the VW PQ35 platform so an Audi TTRS engine swap or Mk5/Mk6 Gti/ R engine swap shouldn't be an impossibility...

Ultimate bike hauling sleeper?

I would also gladly ride around in a slammed Yeti

This guy did just that, and it's pretty great.

https://youtu.be/n-XnIeLriow

Not hating on the Yeti. I actually really like them. I'm just saying that the slamming thing ins't my vibe. I'm more into this. Horses for courses.
As for bike hauling

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Also fantastic, slams are entertaining to look at but a pain in the arse to own. This one looks much more appealing for real world!

Paddy McGuiness owns the Leaf build.. GOAT

Slam all the things.

I should restart my goal of finding and posting a picture of a slammed version of every car posted in this thread

The silly raised suspension on standard Yetis puts me off. That looks a lot better.

They need to be very slightly longer for good bike hauling though.

Er, is it any different ;)

Does Ireland have auctions of straight off the boat cars?

Sorry for newb question: I've got two quotes for some work on my van. One is just shy of double the other. 350/400ish quid difference. Do I just go with the cheapest and hope it all works out?

Reviews for both are pretty good. The one that's more expensive does have better reviews, though.

If there is a forum for your vehicle ask people there for experience of the two places?

Yeah I think so. Lots of importers here anyway!