'02 996 Carrera Refresh Project - Orient Red

I'm starting a new thread to share my experience as the new owner of a manual transmission Orent Red Metallic 2002 Carrera 2, which I plan to refresh over the next few months. It�s an extremely well cared for example of a 996, but I plan to meticulously go through the car. I�ll detail each step of the process along the way in case it�s helpful (or entertaining) to others. I really enjoy going through these cars and bringing them back to new condition and I�m excited to see and drive the end result. Just a little background about me to for context; I used to own a 2004 996 GT3 which I had for nearly 10 years and 60k miles. I eventually passed it own to a fellow RennLister once I purchased my 991 GT3RS. I�m very familiar with the 996 platform as I performed almost all the maintenance and mods myself, but I�m aware that the Carrera 2 will have some differences. Orient Red Metallic All stock I plan to first go through the car to gauge the condition of the exterior (paint, glass, wheels, etc), interior (leather, center console, door cards, etc), drivetrain, suspension and brakes. Then I�ll go through refreshing these areas step by step with the goal of brining the car back to new condition. At first glance the exterior is in fairly good condition with a few rock chips in the front bumper and hood. The garage has always been garage and it shows based on the condition of the paint and the clarity of headlights and taillights. Some of the rims have light scratches which I plan to address later. The engine and drivetrain run well, but there is some old oil build up the bottom corner of the engine which I need to look into. The suspension is all original and the front control arms are due to be replaced. I plan to replace all of the suspension components front and back. This was a well optioned car and comes with the factory nav, which still works perfectly, Bose, heated seats, Xenon lights, etc. The headlights are in great condition and show very little pitting and no fading. The interior is pretty clean, but the driver's seat, steering wheel and door handles could use a good deep cleaning and conditioning. I haven't owned a car with a spare tire since our 2011 Cayenne S. This is sort of cool. The car came complete with all of the original tools, jack, books, etc. The PO had just installed new Conti tires and while they're not the MPS 4s I would prefer, these are still really good tires and more than enough for this platform and what I intend to use the car for. Also, this is a California car with 79K miles. It was originally sold through Rusnak Porsche in Pasadena and first registered exactly 20 years ago last week. All original paint and stock with the exception of the front European side markers. I love how well some Porsche enthusiasts care for their cars and I'm very similar.

Looks like a great starting point. Subbed!

Welcome back! Beautiful example of a 996.

Looks like a very nice starting point! Love the color too! You don't see many Arena or Orient Red cars.

Are there any stats on how many 996s are produced by color?

This was only the first week I’ve owned the car, but since it’s 20 years old I first needed to clean up the engine bay and engine underside to see what I’m really dealing with in terms of the condition of various drivetrain parts and leaks. The PO said he never touches the engine bay when he washes the car and based on the subtle dirt build up I believe him and I appreciate seeing an untouched engine to gauge the condition of the car. In addition, the car has a strong service history with routine service, some at the dealer and some at a local indy in Ventura. The IMS bearing service was done around 20k miles ago, along with a new clutch. It also received a new alternator at the dealer. More about the service history later. For now, here’s a look at some of the initial clean up of the engine bay; To degrease the engine, I used a combination of Meguiar’s all-purpose cleaner, a spray bottle to better control what area gets wet, a variety of brushes and a can of brake cleaner for the really hard to reach areas (I didn’t have engine degreaser in the garage). I first removed the air box and then worked from the top of the engine down, spraying cleaner in one small area at a time, using the soft brush to remove any dirt or grease and then rinsing and repeating as needed. Before: 20 years of dirt and soot build up around throttle body. After: much better! Before After The throttle body was surprisingly clean inside and showed no signs of oil blow-by. I treated it with throttle body cleaner and I purposely didn’t touch the MAF as the engine is idling and running very well and I really don’t want to mess with any sensors unless I have to. While the airbox was out of the way, I also checked the condition of the drive belt and tensioner, both of which looked great. The air filter was also in great condition and appeared to have been recently replaced. After cleaning the engine bay I added a thin coat of Meguiar’s water based dressing to bring back some of the shine. This really made a difference for the airbox and some of the black wires and various lines in the engine bay. I’m happy with the first pass and I’ll check the engine bay again the next time I perform a service, so as to see if there any coolant or oil leaks. Cleaned up engine bay before applying dressing Airbox getting cleaned up with all purpose cleaner and a brush. Meguiar's Water Based Dressing is a great way to bring some shine back into the engine bay without using any harsh chemicals or making anything greasy. Airbox after water based dressing The final product. Not bad for 20 years old.

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Not sure, but you won�t see one on every corner.

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I don't think there is unfortunately, but anecdotally I feel like most of the Arena Red cars were 993s and most of the Orient Red cars were Boxsters. Regardless they are both among the rarer colors. I am lumping them together, because they are very similar. Orient Red just replaced Arena Red. Nice job with the engine bay too.

We have an Orient Red '02, live in Southern California, and my name is Dan.

The website rennbow.org classifies colors as to rarity, in their estimation. The list both Arena and Orient red as 3 paint cans. One paint can = common color like black, 5 paint cans = unicorn color.

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I couldn't find one either.

Hello Dan, Orient Red not being a common color I thought they would be similarly optioned. I was wrong. Our cars are almost opposites; coupe v. cabriolet, manual v. Tiptronic, black interior v. Sarhara Beige, we've got wood interior, you've got PSM and Nav etc. Ours is a great 124k miles daily driver and we do most repairs to it, time permitting.

According to the following site there were 104,312 996 coupes made, 6,249 in 2002 when my car was made: https://www.stuttcars.com/porsche-91...its%20produced . Orient Red Metallic is color codes 8A3 and 8A4 which was an option for the 996 Carrera coupe for 2001 through 2003 (PCA website lists 2004 as well, but per the Porsche factory color summary I downloaded from Stuttcars, for non-Turbo coupes Orient Red was not available in 2004: https://www.stuttcars.com/porsche-91...rior-interior/ ) These are the coupe product number for '01 through '03: 2001: 6,543 2002: 6,249 2003: 4,987 Total (996 Coupes): 17,779 That's where the trail goes cold. Anecdotally if we guessed 5% of cars were produced in these years in Orient Red Metallic, that would yield 889 cars. Obviously this is just a guess based on PCA rating the color as 3 out of 5 buckets for rarity. I wouldn't be surprised if the number was even less given how rarely I see this color on 996s. If anyone has any other information on product by color, please share.

Dan (996.2), your car looks amazing!

Congratulations on your Orient Red Metallic 996.2 There has been a lot of good information given so far. I was never sure why my Option sticker under the frunk states L8A3, but my Porsche COA states L1. Rennbow does list, 8A3, 8A4 & L1 as option codes for Carrera C2 They consider the Red to be similar to a 1980s color called Velvet Red It was an $825.00 option on a 11/21/2002 build. Ironically the Paint to Match Console was $730. I was even able to get a showroom print of color option with help from the servicing Porsche Dealership of Previous Owner At PCA or other concours events, it has been mistaken for the Arena Red more than once, but when parked next to each other, you can see the difference. When my car was added to Rennbow as an example of Orient Red Metallic, it registered as L1 Here is link https://rennbow.org/porsche-colors/OrientRedMetallic About seven or eight years ago, there was a thread / survey on optional colors, it might have been on PCA or on 6Speed.com, from what I recall, there were about 600 people who responded. Based on those who responded Orient Red Metallic on Carrera C2 Coupe was <1%. It was about the same for Turbo Coupe, but Boxster was more. But that was a pretty small sample size. I tried to find it in my saved history on my desktop, but couldn't locate it. I like the change of side markers, the side markers were one of the first things I changed, a discussion thread on forum a while back.

Had this base 996 for 10 years. Still turns heads. "02 996 base with TechArt Speedline wheels.

I've been meaning to post updates, but haven't had much free time. I'm currently finishing up a complete overhaul of the suspension, which I'll post soon. In the meantime here are some pictures of the continued engine clean up. It's been dirty work, but also very satisfying to slowly degrease the engine bay, under carriage and wheel wells. The first pass is to just get things cleaned up so I can see if there are any active leaks (none so far), but in the future I plan to clean up everything in much more detail. It would be wonderful to go through the car with dry ice spray, but it's currently not financially feasible to take that approach. Before, 20 years of oil build up. After round one of cleaning...much better.

great work - what are you using?

Here is a link to the Porsche Rennbow color site that reviews Orient Red Metallic. https://www.rennbow.org/porsche-colo...entRedMetallic

Here's an update on the suspension refresh on my '02 996. After a lot of research I decided to replace all suspension components to make the car feel like new again. I also decided to upgrade the shocks and struts to Bilstein B8s and upgrade to the Eibach ProKit to slightly lower the car's ride height and improve handling. The parts for the suspension refresh include control arms, links, inner and outer tie rods, bump stops, mounts, sway bar links and some other parts I'm probably forgetting. I performed the work myself over two weekends as my schedule allowed. It's not the easiest job if you don't have access to a lift, but it's manageable. Overall, I'm really happy with the results and the car is now setup perfectly for daily driving, plus spirited canyon carving. The original suspension and steering felt loose and soft. There was also a clunking sound from the front end when going over bumps. That's all been addressed now. Here is the suspension stance before the suspension refresh and lower spring install. There is way too much gap between the top of the tires and the wheel well. Here is the new ride height with Bilstein B8s and Eibach ProKit springs. It's only been maybe 100 miles, so the springs will likely settle just a little more. These are just some of the parts removed. This job is very labor intensive, but well worth the effort. After 80k miles the rear shocks were still in very good condition. The front struts were okay, but needed to be replaced. My maxjack is gone, so I had to do this job using my two floor jacks to put the car on four jack stands. This is when just the front wheels were up. Some undercarriage parts after cleaning I can't stand the factory spray Porsche uses to protect parts. We really don't need this here in SoCal and I'll be degreasing and steam cleaning the underside of the car over the next few weeks. Just some of the parts replaced. Some for later. Some of the many suspension parts to be replaced. Stock vs Eibach springs (rear) Bilstein B8 shocks with new sway bar link installed. Great product by Bilstein. New front control arm and link being prepared to be installed 20 year old bump stops vs new replacements. New inner and outer tie rods installed with new boots. Rear suspension before being final assembly. The top links (dog bones) and rear shock really didn't need to be replaced, but I wanted everything to feel like new. While the wheels were off I washed and detailed the wheels wells with Meguiar's APC and water based plastic treatment. Nearly finished front suspension. Looking much better! Once everything was resembled, the car received a laser-alignment with about 2 degrees of negative camber dialed into the rear. The difference with the new suspension parts is very dramatic and well worth the investment.

Wow great job. You've done yourself proud. How's the ride height front to rear? It doesn't look like it's doing a wheelie does it? I've heard complaints about the front being higher when using lowering springs, not sure if it was in reference to eibach or h&r or another make.

The ride height F vs R is even and perfect. I can see how the height can be off if the springs aren't seated correctly in the strut housing.

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Yup looks amazing. I've got ride height envy...

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Yup looks amazing. I've got ride height envy... How's the ride compared to the B4s and original springs?

Nice work! I did pretty much exactly the same thing a few months back -- including spiffing up the wheel wells while things were apart. I went with RoW M030 springs and Koni Yellows, which is very close to what you did I suspect. I'm super happy with the result and, as you noted, the difference between 20 year old parts and new parts is night/day.

While the car was on jack stands I also replaced the manual transmission mount using the AGA tool and I flushed the transmission fluid using factory recommended Delvac 75w90. Replacing the transmission mount is a fairly straight forward process, but manually turning the two bolts on the AGA tool can take some time and a little muscle. It took about 2 hours to do the job, including having to remove various undercarriage panels. I have the AGA tool for sale in the classifieds if anyone needs one. The original transmission mount had some cracks in the rubber, so it was time to replace. After installing the new mount the gear shifts felt tighter, so this is a must do maintenance item in my opinion. I didn't install any powerflex bushing inserts as I've tested them before and I don't like the added interior cabin noise caused by the vibration, especially as I'm planning to use this car for daily driving. I also ordered new pads for each side of the bushing, but it looks like these were already replaced some 20k miles ago when the transmission was last out for the new clutch and IMS bearing upgrade. Old transmission mount. If you look closely you can see long separation lines in the rubber. AGA transmission mount tool installed on the manual transmission Bushing removed AGA Tool New vs old New transmission bushing installed Factory transmission mount covers. These were still in great condition. Mobil 1 Delvac for the transmission flush.

Time for another short update on my 2002 Carrera refresh project. It has been extremely rewarding thus far, much more than I expected, as every upgrade or service yields an enhanced driving or ownership experience. First, I had to get a proper key chain but the closest color available to match Orient Red Metallic was Ruby Stone Red, so that's I chose. Ordered from Suncoast of course. Next up were the engine mounts, which were original with 80k miles. There was no leaking but I could visibly see the exhaust tips sagging. The replacement process is very simple, requiting the removal of the airbox, support of the engine from underneath and then removal of the 18mm bolt from underneath and two 13mm bolts from up top. On my 2002 model I also had to remove the air compressor system on the left side. Tail pipe measurement before engine mount replacement Measurement after engine mount replacement, about half an engine higher now. Comparison of new OEM engine mount (left) next to old mount (right) While the airbox and air compressor system were removed, it was a good time to clean up the area. Cleaned up before fully mounting the new engine mount.

Next up was some cosmetic touch up and a small change to the appearance of the driver's side mirror, which was bothering me. The car has a few small scratches, this being the most serious one at the very bottom of the driver's door. Applying touch up paint doesn't completely solve the problem, but once it dried it was very hard to see the imperfection unless you were looking for it. I used TouchUpDirect for a perfect color match, but utilized very thin touch up sticks to apply the paint. Here is a before picture of a paint scratch on the edge of the door. With touch up applied, it's almost perfect now. Next up was the driver's side mirror. The passenger side has already been replaced... My car is optioned with automatic dimming mirrors, but it's a feature I won't be using too much and I can't stand the black borders. Removal is very easy, but you have to be especially delicate with the wires. New factory mirror reinstalled. Part number, purchased from Suncoast. Finally, applied a can of BG44K to a full tank of gas to clean out the fuel system and injectors. This is a product most Porsche dealers use as part of an annual service and a cheap way to ensure the engine is as clean as possible inside.

Absolutely beautiful car. Orient red is a phenomenal color. Excited to see what you do with this

Thanks for the kind words. It's been a joy working and driving this car so far.

Next up with a check of the spark plugs and coil packs. The previous owner had a major service done around 20k miles ago and the engine has been running excellent, so I didn't expect the plugs to need replacing, but I purchased a set of OEM plugs anyway just in case. The plugs are really not fun to access and replace, so I removed the protective cover and checked the first one on the passenger side. The plug looked healthy, as did the coil pack, so back in it went until a later time. While the cover was off I decided to clean off the years of caked on soot and factory cosmoline. This wasn't an easy job, but with the help of my steam cleaner and some degreaser I was able to make it look like new again. I followed up with the same process for the driver's side. I also continued degreasing the underside of the engine bay and I finally found the culprit for the oil weeping and build up....a hard plastic breather hose on the right side of the engine (facing the engine bay from behind the car) which runs down to the lower right of the engine. I spent a deal of time carefully degreasing the entire area and was able to identify exactly where the oil was weeping from. I'm not sure what the part number is just yet, so I'm going to keep an eye on the hose to see how long it takes to weep again. Factory Bosch spark plug looks good for now. Coil pack looks great. This car has lived in SoCal and Santa Barbara all its life, so not completely surprised. 20 years of soot! Steam cleaning spark plug cover All cleaned up. But the rest of the bottom of the engine bay is far too dirty and will need to be addressed later. All cleaned up on the driver's side... Weeping breather hose found! Close up. This breather hose is on the passenger side engine, towards the top right. Breather hose after cleaning. See center of picture. Oil pan after test area of using steam cleaner and brass wire brush. Oil pan after first pass. Still a lot left to do, but a good start! New suspension has settled perfectly and the alignment is really dialed in. I can't wait to remove the tint next! So enjoyable to drive these cars after a good suspension, transmission and engine mount refresh.

wow, fantastic job, the car looks great!

You should watch the auction of my car. The new owner might not want a Color Match Orient Red Metallic Roll bar. It's about $3700 all in for the they way is with Paint and fire extinguisher (new). Might look nice is your car. Scoop up a good deal.

I have another P-car with no back seats and a roll bar already, but thanks for mentioning. This car will never see a track.

A quick post to round out this thread. My '02 Carrera is now almost fully restored having just received a professional detail. I opted to remove the window tint to restore the original look and I'm so glad I did! The paint was color corrected, polished, sealed and ceramic coated. The wheels were removed and the wheel wells were cleaned and the wheels ceramic coated. The interior received a steam clean and the leather was thoroughly cleaned and conditioned, which really brought the driver's side seat back to life. I also continued cleaning the underside of the engine with some impressive results. Lastly, I added spacers front and rear (8mm and 12mm) with extended wheel bolts to properly setup the car's stance. These cars are well worth the time and effort to refresh and so rewarding to drive once sorted. Orient Red Metallic really pops once the paint is polished. This was taken before the spacers were installed. Kudos to the efforts of the previous owner to ensure this paint is properly cared for over the years. From the frunk to the engine bay, all areas were cleaned and treated. The interior is holding up very well after 20 years. Engine underside now thoroughly clean. I also degreased the front end and res-checked the power steering rack for leaks. With spacers installed

AutoKennel! I know that place Car looks phenomenal. How is the ride quality with the Bilsteins?

The ride quality is great. Stock+. Very stable at high speeds and quick corners, but soft over bumps.

Dan, incredible job with refreshing the car!

Mind sharing the cost for the full paint correction?

The paint looks fantastic!

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I used Ed's Shine in Costa Mesa, CA. I've used him for several of my cars and I'm really happy with the quality of his work. The cost varies depending on the car and condition of the paint and what all you want ceramic coated. For example I opted to coat the wheels. I would contact him for a quote.

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Wow! Great progress thread. I just picked up a 99k 1999 C2 which is going to need (I'm pretty sure) all suspension parts refreshed. For someone who's got limited experience wrenching what's the chance I could do the same as you've done? Next week it's going to Peter at Stutt Car in Pasadena to get a "post" purchase inspection to just cover initial bases. But part of why I got a high mileage "early build" 1999 was that I want to make it my first time auto restoration/preservation project (Porsche may not have been the best first timer, but... ). Dropping the engine is probably not a good place to start, but suspension seems less daunting and it needs it. Plan is to just do Angeles crest canyon runs - no tracking. Like to keep it as original as possible.

Most likely on a CA car hand tools will be all u need to swap out all the suspension parts. An impact, either electric or air would help. A 1/2 and 3/8 torque wrench will be needed for assembly. Any other specialty tools like a ball joint seperator can be borrowed from autozone. go for it.

YES YES YES it needs a suspension refresh. The only hard part might be the rear axle nuts if you decide to go there; the torque spec is in 3/4" drive territory. Technically the suspension comes apart and goes together fairly simply. Great way to learn about McPherson struts, which are on everything anymore. Good luck, start a thread so we can point and laugh! (And offer suggestions and commiserations.)

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Hi and congrats on the purchase. If you don't have a ton of experience, I would just give yourself plenty of time to work on the car in case you get stuck anywhere. Hopefully you have other means of transportation and can leave the car indoors so it's not too cold when you're working on it. Updating the suspension is a fairly simple process in terms of knowledge: You're basically unbolting parts and replacing them with new ones. Where things can get difficult is ensuring you have the right tools to get to some of the tight spots and knowing the proper procedures to properly reinstall the new parts. For example, the if you're going to replace the shocks and struts, when reinstalling the spring, it must be seated on the top mount just right or else the spring will sit higher then designed. Or when tightening the nuts and bolts on the various suspension arms, the wheel hub must be jacked up to normal ride height. Small details like this may be covered in various DIY youtube videos. I'm happy to answer any questions if you want to DM me. I'm also happy to let you borrow some tools such as the one needed to replace the inner tie rod since you live fairly close to me. I find it very rewarding to work on these cars and you really feel the difference once you hit ACH or canyons roads. -Daniel

It's been a while since I posted updates, but I've been continuing to refresh my '02 Carrera and it's becoming even more enjoyable to drive every day! Once the exterior restoration work was done, I started to focus on the interior. I had plans to paint the center console and I also wanted to upgrade the seat belts to match. The driver's side seat belt was also slow to retract and needed to be removed to be repaired anyway, so this would be a good time to have the belts re-webbed to a different color. I want to say choosing the color was the toughest part, but in reality removing the interior side panel was extremely time consuming since the leather was 20 years old and I didn't want to scrape the leather or brake any plastic brackets. Even more broken bracket can lead to having an annoying interior noise while driving. The trim pieces and panels have to be removed with extreme car, which is one of the reasons I don't trust a shop to do this work for me. It would be too time consuming for them. Once the panels are off, removing the belts requires opening bolts and unplugging the wires. The rear belts don't have wires to remove. Figuring out the proper procedure to remove the plastic adjusting mechanism around the front belt took some time and it wants to come apart. Driver's side 996 interior panel removed. There is a foam insert sandwiched in between. Driver's belt. You can see the sensor wire you need to carefully remove. That wasn't fun! In terms of choosing a color for the belts, my default color is typically red for black interiors. But red wasn't an option on the '02 Carrera to my knowledge and red wouldn't match any other color on the car since the brake calipers are black. The other alternative was grey/silver, since some of the interior accents are silver and the color would be period correct. I was also planning to repaint the center console silver, so they would match. I used Safety Restore for the work and they gave me several choices for the grey/silver belts. I ultimately chose the color closest to Meteor Gray, which is an OEM color. Choosing the right color was not easy. I'm really happy with the color I chose. The belts look bright in the sunlight or with a flash. In normal daylight inside the car they look darker. Once installed, it brightens up the interior for sure, although it's a very subtle upgrade. Perhaps red or yellow would have been a better choice for some, but for me it was important to have the interior colors complement each other and match the look of the outside. Ultimately I think it's a classy touch. I also noticed the new belt color matches the grey stitching in the seats and door panels, which is ever better. Lastly, I had the driver's side belt mechanism repaired while it was being re-webbed, so the belt feels brand new again. The final product. -Daniel

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Thanks, i may take you up on that! This is my weekender car and yes will be garage. Just have to bite bullet and get started. Did you use OE suspension parts, or the Melye kits you can find on Pelican?

I sent you a DM. I used a mix of OE and aftermarket parts. I've done a few of these and I've had no issues with after market control arms and links. Pelican is a great source, as it FCP Euro. I would recommend replacing the inner and outer tie rods, shocks/struts, all coffin control arms and sway bar links. The other links are optional if the bushings are not worn, but at this age they typically need to be replaced and doing so would really help the car freshen up. The shock tower mounts are also recommended, especially for the front which tend to wear out faster.

It's been a couple of months since I last posted and I've been thoroughly enjoying the refreshed 996! I'm a little behind on posting updates on the progress, but here's where I left off: With the new seat belts installed front and back, I move on to address the driver's side door handle, which would require me to pull the handle twice when inside, even with after I pressed the door unlock button. This was a clear signal that the door lock mechanism was starting to fail. So I replaced the mechanism and the cable with new parts. The DIY process is covered thoroughly on RL, so the process was straight forward, although getting inside the door to remove the exterior handle required some patience. After that, it was time to brighten up the original black center console to complement the new grey belts. I purchased a second console and painted it meteor grey metallic, the closest factory color to the belts. I added some new factory hardware to fresh up the coin holder and some other parts and then finished it off with a very rare factory CXX porsche crest list in alcantara. While the console was out, I also upgraded the factory shifter to the 997 sport shifter to reduce the throw. The original mechanism was in pretty good shape, but upgraded to the 997 mechanism certainly improved the shifts. New vs old door lock actuators Inside the door. Looks brand new ;-) closely inspected all of the parts while the handle was out and the door was open to make sure nothing else needed replacement. Original vs repainted console The finished product looks amazing. Alcantara factory center lid Everything installed. The painted center console brings the interior to life. Upgraded shifter

In October I met up with a few friends and headed up crest to Newcombs Ranch for the Good Vibes Breakfast Club. This was the same weekend as Luft, so there was a good deal of Porsches in attendance and I was able to meet a few of the members of the 996 community. The 996 did great and handled the curves spectacularly.

Next up was something I should have done long ago...the Gundo hack! I removed the mufflers and had a local exhaust shop perform the hack using the same gauge steel as the mufflers. Removing and reinstalling the mufflers is really easy and you don't even need to remove the rear wheels. The difference is sound is subtle, but very noticeable with the windows down or at higher RPM. The car sounds like a Porsche now! At the same time I also replaced the rear brake rotors, pads and sensors. The fronts were recently replaced. Doing this vastly improved the braking and the car feels totally different under braking.

I'm interested in doing something similar with a center console. Where did you source your paint? What sort of prep did you do? My interior is Metropol Blue, a.k.a. Might As Well Be Black. Seat belts are Maritime Blue. I thought it might be fun to do a console in that color.

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There are a few great DIY threads on RL which I used, but I started with light sanding to prep the plastic, then a few coats of primer, 3 coats of paint and 2-3 coats of clear and then cut and polish. Many have had luck with using simple spray cats from Home Depot. I opted for using Duplicolor paints from Summit, as they come in a variety of OEM colors for domestic cars, some of which you can match pretty closely to your car's paint.

I just read through the entire thread. Incredible work! And the results are amazing. That color really does look phenomenal post paint correction!

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Thank you sir. I am smitten with this color and now that all of this work has been done to the car, every single drive is amazing. I was entertaining selling it a few weeks ago when a 991.2 GT3 popped up with the perfect spec, but I already have a GT car and I don't want to lose the connection this car gives me. I still have a few more updates I need to post when I have more time.

Here are a few recent pics. IF anyone is in the market for a 996, I would strongly suggest considering a color like Orient Red instead of the typical Silver, Black or White. A few years ago I would have never considered it, but I'm so glad I did. I'm hoping to meet more 996 owners in the OC/SoCal so we can do more group drives. Favorite angle of the 996 Orient Red looks brilliant in the sun. Another canyon run up Angeles Crest Highway. We still have months before it's open all the way to Newcombs. She's amazing to drive early mornings

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Looks great My favorite color 996, but I am a little bias Memory of last year

A few updates to the 2002 996. The car has been an absolute joy to drive and usually my first choice between the two other 911s in the garage. With the record heat we've been having this summer and since I find myself spending more time in the car, I decided to have all of the windows tinted with ceramic film to reduce the heat coming into the interior. I like the stock look, so I went with the lightest film available, which is 70%. I used XPEL Prime XL Plus, which is supposed to block 50-70% of the heat. I think this is a must for modern classics who are purists and want to keep their glass looking stock. Below is a picture from the tint shop to show the clarify. You can barely tell there's any tint on the glass, but temps inside are much lower. Next order of business was to have a 4-wheel laser alignment performed. The back end was feeling a little loose on high speed elevation changes, like freeway transitions. I inspected the suspension and found the adjustable bolt for the rear lower control arm, which adjusts toe, to be just slightly loose. So it was time for an alignment. My car is setup with spacers, Eibach springs and Bilstein sport shocks. The final alignment specs are at the bottom of the printout below. While the car was on the lift I snuck in a shot of the underside. You can see one of the chassis braces is off for the technician to gain better access to the suspension bolts. I'm pretty happy with the condition of how everything looks, but I'd love to do a dry ice cleaning at some point.

Beautiful work and car!

I saw your twin at New Jersey Motorsport park the color is even more stunning in person beautiful

Thanks. When I first saw pictures of the color I thought it had shades of pink. But when I saw it in person, I was sold.

Time for another update. Now that there isn't much to do to the car service-wise, it's time to address some smaller items I've been meaning to address. Although I trust the previous owner maintained this 911 very well, I've don't have any records of the front radiators being serviced, so I decided to remove the front bumper to see if any debris needed to be cleared out. My car hasn't exhibited any signs of overheating whatsoever, but as a general rule this service should be performed every few years to ensure optimal performance. The entire process is fairly simple and can easily be performed by one person, only requiring the removal of a few screws and bolts. Once the front bumper was off I could release the front most radiators and inspect behind them. I used a combination of pressurized air and a brush to clear everything out. While I was there I also inspected all of the AC lines, various wires and even the undercarriage. Somehow, even after 20 years the front end of the car still looked new! Amazing how much aero is hidden inside the bumper. View from outside of the car hides what's really behind the radiator. There's the debris!. It actually wasn't too bad at all on either side, but I'm glad I cleared it out. Much better. Glad I did this job. I can't have anything reducing the performance of the cooling system. Undercarriage looks amazingly clean