Jun 17th, 2025

100% Developed and Made in the USA!

For almost 25 years, LN Engineering has worked closely with Jake Raby through Aircooled Technology and Flat 6 Innovations. This close relationship has enabled collaboration to develop innovating solutions to problems while safely increasing performance. 

Charles Jacob Raby, the grandfather of Jake Raby, was an inventor who settled on Estero Island, Florida, in 1906. He was appointed as the Director of Electrical Engineering and built an electrical powerplant that remains in operation to this day at the Koreshan State Historic site. This facility supplied power to the first community in the world to have full electrical service to all buildings and dwellings. At this time nearby Fort Myers Florida did not have a power grid, so this Powerplant was used to create energy that could be sold to the city of Fort Myers.

While at the Koreshan Unity Charles Raby also invented the “Raby Oscillating Gasoline Engine” which was capable of 30,000 RPM in 1912. With a deep history in telegraphy Mr. Raby would also invent the "Raby Wireless Potentiophone”, a wireless telegraph capable of sending 100 simultaneous messages.

Throughout his career, Charles Raby worked alongside notable figures including Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and Charles Kingston—the developer of the Kingston carburetor used on Model T Fords. Later, acting as an Aviation Electrician he collaborated with his childhood schoolmate Charles Kettering (of AC Delco fame) to develop the “Kettering Bug,” widely regarded as the world’s first cruise missile, which was developed at Dorr Field in Florida in 1916.

This tradition continues to the latest Raby generation. Ava Raby, Jake’s daughter, got the idea to come up with the Mechanical Kids program at age 6. This program would gain momentum with middle school age teens and become "The Mechanical Classroom Experience". This program couples various multimedia and hands- on resources into a unit that transforms any normal classroom into a Mechanical Classroom in less than 30 minutes. Within this 15 hour unit the students learn how an internal combustion engine functions and gain an understanding how to tear down, rebuild, and actually fire up and run their own engine. With Jake’s help, Ava made this into a reality. Last year, Prince Avenue offered Mechanical Kids as a life skills elective, giving Prince middle schoolers a unique learning experience. 

Ava, currently a middle schooler, now works with Jake, modeling, programming, and CNC machining at Raby Machine Works. As you can see here, she’s successfully programmed and machined one of our newest developments, a billet alternator bracket, for M96 and M97 engines, a part that is sorely needed considering the rash of failures we’ve seen as of late of the factory part and the very high cost for a Genuine replacement that doesn’t have any notable improvements.

LN Engineering offers internships to local high schoolers and college engineering students interested in the automotive field or machining and currently supports Northwestern University’s SAE teams and the Kankakee County CEO program.

To that end, we need more youth and young adults to be given the opportunity to learn practical life skills only gained through hands-on experiences like these. The traditional college route and four year degree isn’t for everyone and teens need to know that they can also pursue carriers in the trades, including the automotive field and manufacturing. 

Keep reading below for links to organizations helping to push this initiative further.

https://revsed.revsinstitute.org/

https://mikeroweworks.org/

https://wrenchway.com/blog/19-online-resources-every-automotive-or-diesel-student-needs/

https://www.kankakeecountyceo.com/

Factory Shortblock or Purpose-Built Rebuild?

Considering a Genuine Porsche shortblock for your M96 or M97 engine?

At first glance, it looks like a convenient fix: a factory-assembled shortblock engine, available for $18,791.55 (plus a hefty $8,485.76 core charge). But when you add up the 40–65+ hours of labor to install and dress the engine, the real cost skyrockets—and that’s before you factor in the missing pieces.

The Hidden Costs of a Factory Shortblock

Shortblock Price: $18,791.55

Labor (40–65 hrs): $6,600–$19,500+

Rebuilding Cylinder Heads: ~$2,000

New Lifters: ~$2,300

Flywheel, Clutch, Pressure Plate & Bolts: ~$1,600

Additional Parts Needed for Dressing: Variable, but expected

Age-related Replacements: Oil lines, motor mounts, sensors, hoses—often overlooked but essential

Labor Rates: $165–$300/hr in regions like Southern California

It’s not uncommon to see dealership rebuild invoices well over $40,000 for a factory shortblock install that won’t give you any added performance. And even independent shop jobs routinely exceed that number.

So What Are You Really Getting?

• Quick turnaround
• No fix for the IMS bearing
• No solution for bore scoring
• No upgraded components
• Questionable warranty if not installed by a dealer
• OEM design flaws left untouched

Let’s be honest—you’re paying more for the same problems that led to the engine failure in the first place.

Why Flat 6 Innovations and LN Engineering Offer the Smarter Solution

• Built to address and eliminate known failures
• Includes critical upgrades for IMS bearing, cylinder scoring, oiling system, and more
• Expert-level machine work, testing, and assembly
• Tailored performance options based on how you drive
• Transparent, engineered solutions—not a parts bin refresh

The Verdict:

When you look beyond the base price, a factory shortblock is the most expensive and least improved way to rebuild your Porsche engine. Instead, you can partner with Flat 6 Innovations or an FSI Certified Installer or trusted Porsche specialist using proven solutions from LN Engineering to build a better-than-new engine—one that’s engineered to last.

Learn more:

https://lnengineering.com/education/dvd.html

https://lnengineering.com/education/literature.html

https://lnengineering.com/education/technical-library.html

https://lnengineering.com/products/parts-and-upgrades-for-porsche-boxster-cayman-and-911-engines/jake-rabys-flat-6-innovations.html