Gertrude (Gertie)

So one of my enduring memories growing up is sitting in the car with Dad, choke out and pumping the throttle and uttering the phrase “C’mon Gertie” I think we will call this one Gertie as she is old enough to still have a manual throttle cable. What I have is a 1999 996.1 C2 3.4, Tiptronic in Arena Red with 145k on the clock. Delivered new to Singapore and then imported to Australia. There is a little bit of history in recent times with this car. It came up for sale in SA in late 2021 for low $40’s and at the time thought it was a good buy, but we were looking at potentially purchasing a property in Canberra, so needed to keep the deposit intact. It was purchased by someone in Victoria and after 3 months they decided to flip it. Couple of beers on a Sunday night and a deal was done sight unseen and no PPI over the phone. I have been burnt like this at auction previously but had found a couple of people including LeeM who had inspected in SA so had a fair idea what I was walking into. Fortunately for me he had never transfer the rego and so I was able to reregister on the SA plates from late 2021, saved lots of hassles with vehicle inspections. First thing was to address the overdue maintenance. Thanks to lots of help from PFA members I eventually ended up at AutoArt in Preston above 5 minutes from where the car was being stored in Melbourne. They had the car for couple of weeks and sorted: IMS Engine mounts Misc engine items, fixed various oil leaks and replaced broken filler pipe, spark plug tubes etc Transmission service and diff seals, filter and mounts Refresh stock suspension, new bellows, bump stops etc Replaced brake lines New keys Installed flappy paddle steering wheel imported from UK Misc tidy up, seat not working, headlight switch etc. I now have a nicely sorted 996 in a great colour for what I think is reasonable money, probably a smidge more than I planned to spend but comfort in knowing what’s been done. I already have a manual Boxster with a loud exhaust for fun days in the Twisties. They are just great little cars, relatively inexpensive to run, you have a ball of fun at near legal speeds they feel fast ever though they aren’t in a straight line and overall a rewarding to drive (like a go kart). I must be getting a bit old as a 3 hour drive in the Boxster to Sydney now gets a bit fatiguing due to the elevated exhaust volume. My plans (vision) for this car is therefore a bit more GT than Sports. Something I can drive 8 hours to Melbourne in comfortably but still throw around the Adelaide hills and have some fun. With this in mind the modifications that have been made so far are: installed a flappy paddle steering wheel Changed rims to 18 inch Oz racing Allegeritta + new tires Current Plans in play At this stage they will be mainly visual. Delivered but not yet installed is a centre lock kit from MG Line, it’s a 3-piece kit that is installed to the centre of the OZR rim that gives the appearance of a centre lock system. Duck tail - looked a various different option including RPM (but they don’t produce the standard version with a 3 rd brake light.) was a nervous about some of the reviews of fibreglass models (fit and suggested that some flex and crack easily). I’ve ordered a CF ducktail from Stuttgart Classica which should arrive late August. Initially will fit as a gloss finish and then depending on other future plans will arrange painting. Future Plans Suspension. Unsure about dropping the suspension height, might be nice but I’m not likely to track the car and given the intended purpose not convinced hardening up the ride will be beneficial. Side skirts and front bumper to make it visually look lower. Wheel spacers, have 15 rear and 22 front on the Boxster stock 17’s and they make a big visual difference. On the 996 not really needed but might add 7mm to the rear just to fill out the guard a bit. Rims – they were in excellent condition when I purchased but when dropped off got put face down and so now have a few chips and grazes, refresh required. Exhaust – thinking a simple Fister/Gundo mod to the stock exhaust. Window Tink – darken up the sides. Interior – replace all the speakers, install a double DIN head unit but I have a lot of CD’s so might have to think about that further. General tidy up as the colour (dark grey) has faded a bit and so looks almost purple in some light. Decals/Striping – haven’t seen anything that I like on the Red colour so unlikely. Seats – with a touring focus not sure that there would be value in changing the stock seats. Plan to investigate Recaro Sporters CS a bit more to see if they stack up. And as always try to drive and enjoy it as much as possible while on the journey.

So glad an enthusiast grabbed it, as it had so much potential with a few grand thrown at it. Those rims look sensational too. Give ya $45k for it 😉

It looks great and I’m sure will only get better with any improvements plus love the colour

My 2c -  It's gorgeous, but: Don't mod the exhaust if you're planning on the long drives.  Far too many people rave on about gunder/fister et al, but there was a reason Porsche made the PSE OE system with a valve, the noise is fun, but tedious on a highway. Ride height - same thing, leave it or at most, go with original spec 030 for a 10mm drop - the Aussie goat-tracks we drive on are not improving and with recent weather have deteriorated right across the country. Find a second hand original CD changer that goes in the frunk - or just move on to the 21st century Spacers are 'risky'.  Not from a safety point of view, but they are generally illegal and a really easy one for Plod to pull you up on. Overall, think really carefully about body kits and add-ons that start to become more than genuinely "bolt on" to undo (removing body kits can be a bastard).  These cars are holding value when they are mostly untouched from factory.

^ what he said. in the future non silver/grey/black 996s will dominate values.  Looks great as is with just the wheels. Rip your cds and put in a double din CarPlay compatible audio, and keep the original in a box for when you sell.  These days you can get plug and play with no cutting or wiring changes. A trunk mounted changer is up there with the 8-track for obsolescence.

So spent the middle of the day in 40 degree In SA fitting a carbon fibre ducktail sourced from Stuttgart Classica. As a not very experienced panel person the overall fit was pretty good, I’d rate 8/10. It took a couple of hours to juggle the position on the hinge and of the hinges themselves. Biggest challenge was getting the latch to work as it initially was hitting the body. Managed to break the new brake light fitting due to it being a tight fit and the light is from a 997 so plugs don’t fit. So installed but not working. Also took the opportunity to do a resonator delete. So overall pretty happy, next is wheels are booked in for a refurb in late Jan ‘23 and will get a quote to paint ducktail at the same time.

Looks good mate, great job 👍

that look awesome. Did you consider colour coding it?

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Yes that’s one of the jobs on the to do list. So when I purchased the OZ Racing rims they got placed face down and the having previously been painted, the surface on a couple was quite damaged. Got the rims all refurbished and now looking shiny and new.

And to give the wheels and car that bit of a pop, expensive hub caps.

Ok ok, I'll buy it 👍 😉 Really liking that mate 👍 👍

Thanks @LeeM + others. been quoted just under $1k to get spoiler painted but need to get a service soon and will get the mufflers I picked up from @Fishcop put on. I think they are a pair of Topspeed sports (no markings so hard to confirm just comparing photos found online) so just a mild improvement in sound. Also forgot to mention over the Christmas break replaced all the speakers with Focal PC100s. In theory they are to deep and there is a tight spot on the passenger side where a bolt and the wiring from the speaker clashed, change in orientation of the speaker to move the wiring fix that. Definitely a much clearer sound now.

@Mttel How are you finding the paddle shift conversion Michael?

I have it set up so right hand up and left hand down and like it when going for a blast in the hills, more fun than flicking the gear stick.  Paddles are at hand positions 3 and 9 which works most of the time comfortably Unfortunately I’m still in CBR and the car is now in ADL so only get to drive it every couple months. I’m  keen to get the Boxster and Gertie together in the same spot to drive back to back. The Boxster always feels like it wants to be rev’d, like a ball of nervous energy. Even in a daily commute drive I’ll wind it up to 6k in 1st and 2nd then straight to 4th Gertie doesn’t feel as eager and feels a bit like it’s being held back or constrained. I think is the exhaust system, Gertie is stock and the Boxster has a much more free flowing setup. Be interested to see if the mufflers make a difference on Gertie.

Ta mate I can blow the cobwebs off now n then if you like 👍 😁 I reckon that might be the tiptronic gearbox, as I've driven the same year 996's nearly back to back with a tip and a manual, and there's definitely a 'lag' or as you say not as eager whilst driving the tip. The manual is definitely different (better), so maybe it has to do with gearbox ratios or something? There's also a different way to drive a tip when I drove one up Greenhill road in manual mode, and I had to brake later and get on the gas earlier. I'm a left foot brake in any auto car, so that probably helped...I doubt the passenger/owner recovered from that drive 😅 😅 I only ask, as I dare say I'll be buying one this year sometime, unless there's a very well priced manual available when I'm ready. Cheers Michael 👍

My 2c worth, Nothing to with the tipy rev wize, Mine goes like a scolded cat, But mine did feel restricted, or held back, Put some 200 cel sport cats on , Man what a difference,  Every thing else is stock bar the flappys.

So went in for the annual checkup and service @ Buiks + got the mufflers that @Fishcop supplied installed . Definitely an increase in volume and I think the motor spins a bit more freely. Haven’t run at highway speeds yet to see if there is a drone. Short video of before and after. IMG_5269.MOV

Sounds like an air cooled on the road 👍

Definitely better!!  Can't wait to get my Greg Bailey switchables installed.  Will get my mechanic to do it while we're away O/s in June.  Will hopefully be a treat for when we get back 🙂

They sound much better - I hope they're okay out on the open road.

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Went off a run to Goolwa yesterday to visit my Dad. Overall the dB seems to be similar to the Boxster which is loud but not what I’d call a drone. Like most of these situations more prevalent under load uphill or hard acceleration and barely noticeable when running downhill, or cruising. I’ll keep them going for a few more runs before I make a final decision. Might see if any one in ADL or CBR has a fister mod to compare, as that could be an in between compromise.

So latest update, new brakes and rotors and a console delete compliments of @James P . Unfortunately couldn't get matching carpet but the black sort of works as its get lost in the background. Sort of heading down the mild backdate route with this at the moment.

A clock and ashtray replacement via Etsy (someone in the USA 3D prints them) to complete the console delete to make the space a bit user friendly. Now just need to work out how to colour match the silver speckle.

Where did you purchase the Oz Racing RIMs from? Was wondering what price you paid for them, and how expensive they are to Porsche OEM RIMs... A quick look an 18" Porsche wheel will cost approx. $2800 per wheel incl. tax. Thanks!

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Suspect the clock plus the 3D printed part probably cost less than the original infill panel from Porsche!!  I bought 2 of them to cover off on some stuff I was doing with a phone mount on my old GT3, wasn't cheap that's for sure!!!!!

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@AndrewM got them secondhand off gumtree about a year ago think circa 2.5k,  came with tires that had plenty of tread but were 12 years old so they went in the bin. Cost $1k to get them refurbished as the paint was chipped and a bit of gutter rash.

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Clock was $120 online, initially purchased an old VDO circa 1970s but it was about 5 mm to big to fit the moulding (if anyone needs a VDO clock DM me) so picked up the SAAS unit online. The moulding was circa Aud$265 landed from US.

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OK, so not cheaper then......   At least you got a lot more plastic for your money than I did with the OE unit!!!!   Probably not too bad though, looks good 🙂

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Infill panel is not that expensive: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364411571368?epid=3041876954&hash=item54d89f4ca8:g:YGQAAOSwoJFk1ZmP&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA0LGMjFWfXANP8MPy0CA0hBOR8XP4RUqGVwCa7VyGh%2FfKun%2BWxNvt2%2FHHHQUwgnR%2B50%2FBN7%2F1CEgmpcFkjFHOrVLMBli4B%2Fz3CibWh2SXaUbw8g6W2Zvy%2BMw0C9JYF0JPoRiP%2FfWxI5si1B4VWXEat3PMqY2bp1g7eTiI0g3UEay933AK%2B92p2%2BlAM9dfmF0PJORajdT9bfPsF1fehX7ELY3KmdyYY1sp0BDVbaz0rIsXmjXrq8HyVTz6%2BO0ZavZmiZJlysh5ubppcSfSzeqEzSA%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7rsg6jNYg

So thanks to Edwardstown Body Repairs got the spoiler painted, side skirts tidied up painted and installed, side decal and some grazes polished out. Overall pretty happy with the results so far. Given current pricing trends have over capitalised on mods a bit so time to stop for a bit, well maybe a window tint to finish off. and not sure if it’s considered a tramp stamp or not.

Looking good mate 👍 EBR repaired my car after I stacked it. Mark is an artist with a hammer and dolly

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Mark was a pleasure to deal with, reasonable and accomodating + lots of interesting repairs and projects in the shop.

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Yeah he was great with me when Shannons weren't being that cooperative with my "choice of repairer" and wanted me to take it to some dodgy backyard 'repairer'. They've got a very long waiting list I believe, as being a Classic Porsche preferred repairer they've got no end of full resto work