996 C4S Slate Grey... little project (aborted)

Hi all, So after a couple of years without a 911 (last one was a 991.2 GT3 touring) I decided I wanted something a bit slower, cheaper and possibly more usable in the UK and went along the 996 C4S route. I placed a deposit down today for a car. I wanted a full history, not too high mileage, not a minter but still mechanically sound. Ideally would have been a nice blue but could not find one that fitted the brief. I was trying to avoid black as it's a pain to maintain, silver because I've had too many silver cars.. and so this slate grey car came along. It looks mechanically sound, all the jobs will be attended to like clutch, RMS and IMS. It needs some cosmetic attention which hopefully will be dealt with. Some improvements that i plan to do to spruce up the cabin as its a total black interior : - centre console in slate grey - horse shoe on the dash in slate grey - 997 GT3 shifter 997 424 010 91 Whilst the console is out - PCCM+ (currently fitted with an aftermarket pioneer double din, not a fan of the look) The door cards are ok but the door cards armrests / handles are battered so I was thinking about having them refinished in leather. And the seats would need quite a bit of love, no rips just a bit of recolouring and attention. Seat backs are in a bad shape, so could do with being resprayed in slate grey at the same time as doing all the rest.. Any recommended leather outfits in southern England that you would recommend? I have used DClass in the past but this being bit more of restoration than new trimming I read on here Linas also come highly recommended. I'll post more as i go along. The aim here would be to bring it back to former glory but not over do it. Down the road maybe a trip to centre gravity to see that all is in tip-top shape geometry and suspension wise. Not planning on any coil-overs but could do with Bilstein B6, maybe after 65k miles the original dampers are past their best.

Hi, whats the reg start with? I had one and it was slate grey with a very good spec, cant quite remember the miles so might be the same. Mine started with LO02.

I have a .2 C2 in slate. I'm lead to believe its quite a rare colour (queue long list of replies from slate grey 996 owners!) Ian.

It was PTS at the time so probably few took it. Mine had red belts, no sunroof, alcantara headlining and a few others. I added a Kline full system to it. Still really miss it.

I have been following Thames Valley Leather Tech on Instagram for a while and lined them up to give my cabin the attention it needs. Check out their work on period 911s as well as new ones. STUNNNING. https://z-p42.www.instagram.com/thames_valley_leather_tech/ Rindt (and I think Riviera) use them Really helpful on the phone as I talked through what I wanted to rough costs.

Sounds like a very interesting project, and interesting step from 991 GT3 to 996 C4S. Not many make that journey. Although not the first to want a more "usable" car in real-world UK driving. Looking forward to pics & updates :thumb:

Thanks for the comments! The reg starts with YJ04. To be honest the spec is not incredible. But we will make it better - sports hard back seats, - sunroof, - PSE - heated seats - 6cd changer (woohoo!!!) I think that's about it. Might have had the pcm2 but now it's with this pioneer double din. And I guess that's it. Full black interior with no silver or anything else. So it's a bit austere in there. It's booked for an inspection at PARR that had looked after it for like 4 years running from 2013 to 2017. Has 13 Stamps in total which reassured me a bit. Almost every year in fact. Cosmetically it's quite tired as I said. So needs a bit of TLC. I have reached out to DesignLS for : - door card armrest and handle - handbrake - console armrest - gear knob and gaiter - steering wheel Wondering if to do all of those in alcantara. To break a bit with the black leather. At least if it'll a few pieces should not be out of place. 992 ppl spec armrest and steering in the stuff. So can't be that bad. Think will keep black stitching not to look stupid with the black stitching elsewhere. But could also be red. Not so sure on this one. I am hoping he could do the seat refurb at the same time. Let's see what he says. But most importantly let's see how the inspection goes. It had bore scope inspection a couple of years ago allegedly so less than 3k miles ago. So not sure if to redo another one?

How much extra is bore inspection? I'd probably get it done for peace of mind. Spec looks alright to me. I'm not normally a grey fan, but slate is one of my favourites. Black interior is always good, especially with some interior touches like painted slate hardbacks etc. Nothing too over the top. Alcantara looks good in CSR's.

Parr INSPECTION WILL INCLUDE: Pre-road Test and level checks – 7 checks inc engine oil Electrical Function Test – 33 checks inc alarm system Mechanical test – 10 checks inc seatbelts Condition Check – 21 checks inc engine and brakes Road Test – 15 checks inc handling and ABS Post Road Test – final check for leaks and anything untoward £230+VAT Parr Bore Scope This check is advised for water cooled engines to highlight any cylinder bore damage. Parr provide a visual report on the bore condition by taking images or video of each individual cylinder. As engine repairs can be expensive Parr highly recommend this is carried out in conjunction with any pre-purchase inspection. £196+VAT I guess it's also something that could add value to the vehicle as part of a well documented history at the end of the day. Without getting back into the Bore scoring issue if condition is good I might ask to fit a Low Temperature Thermostat which Hartech seem to recommend. Either theirs or 911 UK have a Wahler alternative I think. I guess anything to help longevity ?

So the inspection report came back, Parr says nothing too out of character for a 17yr old car, but given the low mileage (around 65k) - and good service history, I was expecting a bit better. Feels like the recent owners might have skipped some extraordinary maintenance whilst sticking to the book.. anyways, doesn't look too too bad, and hopefully can be addressed by the seller for the most part. I have edited this post. As I have aborted this purchase. If anybody has a question they can reach out to me.

I had mine inspected at PCT when they were still going and had a big list of stuff to do which I've worked through and several other bits I've found on the way. Re battery area / bulkhead - is it NFA because dealt with? I cleaned mine and the drains were full of detritus which can cause water to get into cabin if blocked. With the battery cover and side trims removed, I cleared the drains out and gave it all a wipe down with a microfibre cloth and some soapy water. The screen washer joint had burst apart and the battery vent was disconnected which were dealt with. Ian

For me cars & corrosion issues is on par with property & damp issues. i.e. you know there's significant cost to fix, but you don't know how far it will go Personally I'd walk away and find one that's been owned by an enthusiast that cares & spent money to maintain properly. There some very significant costs in that list, and I suspect a lot more sitting behind where inspection cannot reach once you start tackling things. I had several PPI's done before I finally pulled the trigger. Yes cost me money each time but ultimately saved me a lot more.

Looks like all the usually issues.. A fully stamped service book doesn't really tell the cars story it only shows the oil has been changed annually.. A lot of the problems are age related to corrosion so low mileage doesn't indicate condition. Without invoices to prove vital maintenance work has been done over the cars life..it appears you are always going to encounter issues with exhaust fixings suspension arms/mounts and brake pipe corrosion. I purchased a one owner 35000 mile gen 2 car in October (which I paid way to much for btw) with a full OPC Bristol service history from new but zero invoices.. it's appears what ever work the garage have suggested needed doing over and above the actual service has been ignored certainly in the latter years anyway as I have encountered many of the same problems you have listed.. It's going for a service next week so I will ask them to print off copy invoices of all previous work.. it will be interesting to see.

Any of these cars this age will have a lot of those issues. Plus I guess the guys doing the PPI are going to be almost over critical so you don't come back at them afterwards if things are not reported. It's a lisf but not a bad list if say and one that can be worked on over time.

The silencers can be welded if you want to retain original. The PAS pipe end fitting can be supplemented with a jubilee clip. Corroded clutch and brake pipes are a nightmare. Corroded suspension and fittings are par for the course. No body/structural corrosion was noted which would have been much more of a concern. That said it's a long list and if you want the car right is going to take a quite a lot to get done. I'd be amazed if the seller agrees to do it all. Do you want to take it on? Is there something about this particular car you can't leave behind?