I'm back baby!!!!!

I�m back in a 996...for the 4th time. Here�s the story for those interested: I originally purchased my first Porsche, a 1999 996 Cab back in 2016 from a neighbor not knowing anything about Porsches, much less 996s. I was just stoked I could get into a Porsche 911 for $18k with low miles (35k miles). I found a local indy, went through the car AFTER I purchased it, and proceeded to drop ~$12k fixing and updating it. Had a blast and learned a lot. Did my first DE in this car. It eventually turned into my wife�s fun car...read on for the rest of the story.

A year later, my boss found a used Porsche he wanted to go look at so we jumped in the car at lunch and went to take a look. While the car he wanted to look at was a disaster, they had a 2002 coupe w/ 24k miles on the lot that was absolutely gorgeous in every way. Took this one for a PPI and it checked out really well. Bought it for $24k and made it my daily driver. I dropped ~$4k in this one, mostly mild track updates and stereo for daily comfort. With the extra oomph from the 3.6L plus the stiffer chassis, this was a much better DE car and I started tracking it every chance I got.

Fast forward to August 2017 and Hurricane Harvey hits us hard. I had 4� of water in my house, more in the garage, for 12 straight days while they drained the overflowing reservoir and finally closed off the dam close to our house. Both 996�s were destroyed sitting in our garage. The lone bright spot was that I had documented every single penny I�d put into the two cars, gave the insurance adjuster a spreadsheet and every single receipt I had...and I got every single penny I�d put into those two cars back from insurance. I think I got $32k for one and $34k for the other. I was beyond thrilled.

During the rebuild of the house, I bought a 981 Boxster S PDK w/ the insurance money to replace the cab and tracked it up pretty good. Thing was fast but had no feel...no soul. Bought an M4 for my daily and ended up tracking it a time or two...thing was scary powerful. It was always looking for you to make a mistake so it could kill you. But also no feel...and very little soul. Ended up reverting back to a 2013 BRZ to get some feel back and learn how to drive again after the two soulless cars and had a great time last year tracking that thing. I did all the work myself, learned a lot about wrenching and tuning and suspension damping and had an absolute blast slinging that thing around the track. But at the end of the day, it wasn�t a Porsche and there�s only so much I could do with <200hp.

June of 2020, my wife decides she wants her fun car back and she�s always loved the 996 platform as much as I have. So we found an absolutely gorgeous 996 C4S Cab in Tampa...bought it, flew out in the middle of a FL �surge� in COVID cases, and drove it back to Houston. Since we�ve brought it home, I�ve lowered it at her request�.�Is it supposed to look like a 4WD because it�s a 4S?� were her exact words.Picture is at a rest stop on the way home...pre-H&R lowering springs.

All that brings us to January 2021 when I was finally ready to get back into a Porsche. I sold the BRZ, got good money for it, and started looking for a 987.1 Cayman S. I couldn�t find exactly what I was looking for, did a few PPIs, but nothing panned out and then I finally saw a 1999 C2 Coupe w/ 66k miles on BAT that had the right combination of options (not many is the right answer for my track car), updates (IMS, RMS, Clutch), and maintenance history to catch my eye. I probably got caught up in the auction and paid a bit too much for it, but not too much considering where 996 prices have gone since January even. I�m in Houston, bought it out of Albuquerque on a Friday afternoon, and my dad and mom drove up from El Paso Saturday morning and drove it home that afternoon.

It�s now mid-January and I can�t make the trip out to El Paso to pick up the car until at least late February...my dad�s fine with the delay as he gets to drive a Porsche for a month without having to pay for it. But the weekend I have pegged to fly out and pick it up is only 2 weeks before a March 6th track weekend where I want to run the car for the first time. There�s no way I can expect to get all the maint and upgrade work done that I want to get done prior to my first track weekend. So do my homework and find Lenny at Redline Racing in El Paso. Lenny was a god-send�.he races a 996 himself so he�s familiar with the car inside and out. So I start ordering parts and having them delivered to my dad, dad delivers to Lenny, and Lenny does all the engine & cooling system work on the car before I can drive out and pick it up. So work done in El Paso prior to me flying out and picking up the car: Mount and balance new Falken RT660s Install new LN Engineering deep sump, oil pan (original was severely dented and cracked) & guard plate. Install new RSS engine mounts & FF trans mounts. Install new underdrive pulley & belt Replace 2 OEM radiators and add new 3rd radiator...all CSF radiators. Install low temp thermostat & magnetic drain plug. Fresh engine oil & filter, fuel filter, clutch fluid, brake fluid, trans fluid, ps fluid, & coolant. Saved original oil sample for Blackstone analysis. And finally I had him swap out the yellow side markers before I got there so I didn�t have to drive home to Houston looking like a dork ;-) And after all that...I have exactly 0.0 pics of the car before we left El Paso. But besides the clear side-markers there really wasn't anything different about the exterior at this point.

While all that was going on, we had a nasty freeze here in Houston the weekend before I was to fly out to El Paso and we had a ton of damage to the house...so we delayed the trip another 2 wks. Eventuallywe flew out the week of March 11-14th and drove the car back from El Paso. Everything worked as it should...no drama which is exactly what I was hoping for. I missed my March track weekend but signed up for an April 10th track weekend with Chin. So while the engine and cooling work was being done in El Paso, I was ordering and collecting suspension and exhaust parts here in Houston. The Tuesday after we got home, I dropped the car at my local indy with the intent of doing these updates before the April 10th track weekend. H&R RSS Clubsport coilovers & Eibach sway bars LCA & all the suspension bits that need to be replaced to fix a few squeaks and get proper track alignment. Install UAOS Install front grill insert for 3rd radiator and gt3 brake ducts Install Hawk DT-60 track pads Install Agency Power headers and Hooker Blackheart exhaust. I was planning on running stock turbo twists w/ the Falken RF660s in 225/265 but Tire Rack had a smoking deal on gloss black OZ�s in 996 GT3 sizes and offsets so I ordered a set last week that just arrived today. I also ordered a set of 235/295 Federal 595RS-RRs as a cheap set of 200tw tires to go out and learn the limits of the car a bit before I decide on a more permanent rubber solution. I�m not sure they�ll get here in time to get mounted and balanced for this first track weekend...but that�s fine. I should be picking up the car Wednesday evening with all this most recent work done. I'll take pics of the stance, etc. and post an update when I get it this week. And also when I get the OZs mounted finally. On the interior, I have a GT3 console delete and Continental radio upgrade when I get the car back. The plan is to add a half-cage, racing seats, and harnesses over the next few months. You're all caught up...I hope that wasn't too boring of a story. I'm happy to update this thread with track feedback and upgrades over the next year or two if everyone's interested. Enjoy and thanks for reading...

Great story. I like the last car you picked up the best out of all of them!

Wow... what a story! Glad it had a happy ending in spite of the flood damage. No mystery here, I'm a big fan of black paint, especially on a 996. Hope you make many great memories with your wife. Sounds like you've got a great supporter of Porsche cars. Cheers!

Love the story - you've been through some **** but you would never know it by your attitude, your wife is cool A F too ! Make sure you get some pictures of the car ripping it up on track and put them in the track pics thread - can't wait to see them ! Welcome home Brother

Awesome story. Welcome back!

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​​​​​Your wife is equal parts cool and savage. Congrats on the new 4S! It's stunning.

Welcome back!

Great color on the 4S! You've owned every model of 996! Should I read anything into why you settled on a C2 996.1 coupe?

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​​​​​​ Because it's the most mechanical of the 996s. Cable throttle, traction control totally off, best steering feel of the two models, most readily available factory LSD (which I can rebuild when I'm ready), and I love the 4 spoke wheel combined with the gt3 console delete. Evokes the feel of the horizontal lines of the 993 dash which I love.

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Best part of the story!

What a great story! I'm jealous! There are a couple of guys here that have wife's that really dig these cars. I'm working on mine, but I think her days of wanting a sports car are gone. When I met her, she was looking at at '66 Corvette. Then she started worrying about people stealing it. And so the stone was set. Welcome back. Have fun! The car looks great!

So I bought a tip with the intent of sharing it with the rest of the family. Wife will ride in it, but I've been unable to get her to drive it. My youngest daughter, on the other hand, has already asked to when she gets to be driving age in a couple of years. There is hope.

Fantastic story, and quite the rollercoaster in many aspects, from car changes to weather changes! The C4S looks stunning, but as you noted 996.1 is best (and yes I am biased).

Excellent story, welcome back! What Indy shop did you use in Houston?

Excellent story You certainly know how to persevere Good luck, looking forward to hearing about your track days

Welcome back! All that strife and misfortune hopefully left you still in good health. I always believe that selling a beloved Porsche never means giving them up in the future, because there will always be enough of them to go around. Just rare enough to be unique, but common enough for many to enjoy. I have a Cab equivalent to your coupe, triple black with factory LSD, same year. They are a blast on the track. I am hoping to get my car back on the track this year.

Congrats on the purchase. I went from an 83 944 that turned into a DE car to no sports car for 7 years to a 2002 996.2 C2 one year ago. The power is unbelievable and I have a hard time getting the stupid grin off my face when I drive it.

Thanks for sharing That C4S looks gorgeous. More photos or details of the spec?

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​​​​​​ I do everything through Steve Ott at Drivers Source on the west side. He treats me right and he's only a mile or two from the house.

Welcome back! I can relate to your �soul� reference regarding these cars.

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Here's a link to the for sale thread from this summer when we bought it. https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1198582

Awesome story, well worth reading!

Nice story. More pictures!!!!

Half a day at the track and she's running well so far. I'll update everyone on components and thoughts Sunday evening or Monday. But she's at least looking the part...

Awesome! I can tell you are enjoying it! Will be back on the track here next month and can't wait.

Black on black gives me a heart attack. That car looks great!

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I got a 3/98 coupe 6 spd the more I drive the more I love it I had put 3,000 miles in two months, in in Katy.

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Awesome dude !

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PM , Porsche Tech Awesome not shop rates which can be as high as $200 per hour,

MKI is best whether you're biased or not

The Porsche dealer by me charges $150/hr because my 996 is a �classic.� Too bad they charge an arm for parts.