Lol isn't a 997tt motor ~40k!! Pick up a whole car for 55-65k! Insanity! I though the short block on the 997tt was the essentially the same?

Are pauter (less machine work) and carillon rods the ONLY two decent options?

why spend 20-30k for a used 997 engine ? better sell your car and buy a 997tt imo...
BTW raceware claim oem headstuds are good up to 1000hp or 30psi like said below!
FROM RACEWARE WEBSITE:
It’s no surprise that when Porsche performance engine builders started pushing the power envelope on the Porsche 996/997 factory Twin-Turbo engines they experienced head gasket leaks and damaged engines with other brands of head studs. Just how superior RACEWARE™ Aerospace Quality Head Stud Kits really are became obvious when they replaced the other brands of head studs with genuine RACEWARE™. The head gasket leaks were gone and power levels could now reliably exceed 1000 DYNO HP and 30 PSI boost.

They are not claiming OEM can reliably hold up to 1000 hp and 30 PSI boost. You are inferring that from their (sloppily worded) phrasing. Until there was a decent sample size of cars all on stock headstuds pushing up to 30 PSI and 1000 hp, I don't think it's wise to claim that they can reliably hold that level. IMHO.

Yes.........head is stronger though and has an extra ridge and holds head gasket better. The case is better too. And whole air flow system lol.

i have see plenty of guys here pushing stock motor up to 1000hp reliable!

i have see more guys here blowing HG with aftermarket HEADSTUDS ! just do a search you will see

at my level 800-900hp with a28s and not going further,i think only rods is necessary imo !

Who here pushed the stock motor at 800-900wtq for an extended period of time?

Funny folks mentioning 997 motors, I was hunting eBay for those and 996 motors last night. 13-16k for a complete 996TT motor, some with turbo some without. No heads for sale although I was looking at some awhile back that were being sold bare as a baby's butt Almost seems like grabbing a running used motor and building it could make some sense, the piece prices are pretty over the top. No 997 motors spotted. Other than fleabay where's the best place to find parts, just networking with others?

What about the GT2 rods, Ti right? I could swear I saw a bunch of those for sale not long ago and I'd expect no clearance issues. Clearancing the oil pump in the car is possible but a rod that clears it would obviously be more desirable. Any performance advantage over OEM for the GT3 pump that clears Carillo rods?

8-900hp is plenty but I don't think I'd be doing it on stock rods even ramping the boost. That's probably gearbox territory too

Could just spend 7k and do a complete built Ls motor and swap that in. Lol.

the shop i use in atl has a wide body 914 with a 383 stroker motor in it. GET YOU SOME OF THAT!!

Looks like a Porsche El Camino LMAO.....

No clearancing of the oil pump is required if you use an OEM GT3 RSR crank and an RSR oil pump in conjunction with either Carrilo or Pauter rods. I used Pauters which are a few grams lighter than Carillos and quite a bit lighter than OEM. Pauter is very easy to work with compared to Carillo. They made custom spec rods for me in under two weeks. Carillo wanted an 8 week lead time..

+1

Al Norton had his motor built by Neil Orton in 2007 or so, tracks it regularly with no problems and has run up to 700-750 through it. That's the kind of build I'm looking for. If Neil weren't so prone to steal money and busy running from lawsuits I'd have him refresh mine. Unfortunately I'm not sure I trust anyone local to re-build my engine. I'm going to want something pretty soon.

Do you have to do lifters ?

I would imagine that depends on what RPM you want it to rev to. 7K..probably not. 7500+ probably a good idea to upgrade the valve train.

But if not...sounds like Rods are the weak point. (BOOO)

Lifters are weak use 997 turbo lifters do it once