Mechanicus 996 project, your input is greatly appreciated

This week I took the pluge into the Porsche club! After many nights debating what type of project I really wanted I decided a 911 would be different enough to stand out. Just as fate would have it, as I was getting a oil change on my Rebel at the dealership I saw a 1999 coupe. It was in their back lot 3 rows deep, hasn�t been touched by their service team. The out side was spray painted white, engine covered in dried oil, interior was worn. Test drove it for 1.5 hours. Carfax said it had 5 owners, one front end accident 12 years ago, 101,000 miles, spent its life in california. Dealership wanted 16 for it but after 3 days, and pointing out The faults to the dealership owner he settled for a great deal on my part. So far the problems I have noticed are; 1. The Spray Paint. ( going to try to remove and get the original color back) 2. At 65 the steering has crazy movement to the steering wheel 3. Interior is pretty worn (steering wheel, shift ****, e brake, 3 speakers blown) 4. A lot of wind noise from the right side (mostlikely due to the mirror panel delaminating) and the sunroof at speeds 5. Right side of the engine covered in oil due to a leaking line pictured below. Im a aviation mechanic so I don�t think anything is outside my skill level, it�ll just be different. It�ll be more of just a street car, not looking to revert it to classic but more of make it as nice as I can. I have a 17 scat pack for going fast real quick but I�m hoping I can make some real power and take this on some road trips when done. Also this is my first Porsche so if you have input one pretty much anything. I.e. think I need to replace these busings, use this company for sourcing parts, or hey stupid your doing this wrong. Let me know I�m open to all inputs, in the end it�s my car and I�ll research the best method but I want the subject matter experts opinion!

Most likely the alignment is way off. The reason it is off is probably failed 20yo rubber. Get it up in the air and plan on replacing most of the arms. Dont forget to check the rubber at the top of the front struts. Its not that expensive and there r several threads here on upgrades should u choose to spend more $. Also check the motor and trans mounts. When they r bad it can trans late into the steering.

Alright sounds easy enough, thank you. Also, what ever this line is... it�s covered in oil.

Sounds like a fun project....what is your plan to get back to the original paint?

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Though I like the silver, I haven�t really set my mind on a color. I spent the last 1.5 hours trying to take the spray paint off and Is as far as I got and I�m not planning on spending eight hours a day for the next three months stripping spray paint. So right now I�m thinking my options are to A) clean up the white and make it look presentable. B) get it wrapped. Or C) bring it to a body shop to sand down and repaint. Looking for something eye catching though

Welcome to the club! The are several threads on suspension rebuilds and upgrades. I got up under my 99, with 89k miles when I bought it, and the suspension looked good with no movement then I pushed and pulled in various components. After getting out on the track, I discovered how worn out it really was. If you go the least expensive route, buying the parts and installing yourself, you are probably looking at about $1500 for parts and alignment. If you add aftermarket adjustable parts plus Ohlins coilovers, and get some of the work professionally done, you are looking at about 8k, which is where I will be.

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I would wrap it, unless you do the paint prep yourself and have access to a reasonably priced paint shop. You can spend as much on paint as you paid for the car since it looks like you have a layer of cheap paint that needs to be removed. Another alternative would be using on of the low budget paint businesses such as Maaco. I looked at some cars they painted at the local shop when I was looking at getting my old Mustang GT painted. The quantity was actually pretty good for a $600 paint job. You definitely need to do a lot of prep yourself going that route.

The paint looks pretty thick for spray cans .More than likely an enamel with no clear coat .Might be worth a visit to a few paint shops to get a few options .Actually white is a great color and pretty rare on 996's and would be good if it could be enhanced

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The quality around the car is terrible and the over spray was wild. Took a razor blade to take it off most of the windows.

Hello welcome in this forum. Nice project, but be advised, you will need very deep pockets. You risk at getting carried away with all the enhancements. Do not forget: in its original configuration this was already a seriously fast sports car, so why bother with suspension tweets and engine tweeks. By the way is it a runner? I would start by checking the engine: cylinder scoring? IMS? Etc. The suspension is easy to do for a mechanic like you. lots of Succes!��

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The larger diameter is the steering pressure return line, the smaller is the pressure line.

Cool project car. Hope you got a really good deal on it. I think this is a car that can turn into a slippery slope financially though. It's a car that obviously needs work but due to the history of the accidents, makes it a car that won't likely hold a high value. I often buy cars in your car's condition. I come up with a budget and stick to it 100%. For example. If i buy a car that retails for $5000 but I bought it for $1000, my budget will be $3500. I fix all the issues that compromise the reliability but leave things untouched like the worn interior parts and paint. Then I enjoy the car for a few years and then sell it usually for a profit. Cars like yours, and the ones I buy, can often end up costing much more in time and parts than it does for a clean car. It can get out of control pretty quickly. Lol Are you setting a budget for your restoration? How in-depth will your restoration be? Can't wait to see updates!

Check out Warehouse 33 for parts ( www.warehouse33auto.com ) Rennlist members get an extra 10% off what are normally good prices. Auto Atlanta ( www.autoatlanta.com ) is also good and have the best visual parts breakdowns. Their prices sometimes leave room to be desired so make sure you shop prices elsewhere. The interior doesn't look bad for a 20 year old car - a good clean-up and light leather repair should get it looking great. The soft touch paint on the console can be fixed by painting it the body color (when you decide on it).As you'll soon find out, restoring one of these things can get very pricey, very quickly. DIY'ing will save you boatloads of cash, but prioritizing can also be a huge help - i.e.; If the car looks great but the engine blows up you've sort of wasted your time. Take care of the mechanicals first and wory about the aesthetics as time sees fit... Good luck!

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I agree with Splitting Atoms on this car. When it comes to quality automotive paint, there are only two things in the middle of the road - yellow lines and dead things. The quality paint/body shops are going to charge you thousands to paint a Porsche. I would expect an estimate around $7-10K. Even more, if the body shop is sanding down to the metal and removing all weather stripping, trim, bumpers, etc. If this is going to be a "paint a Porsche on a budget", then I would remove all the stuff (e.g. rubber weather strip, bumpers, emblems, spoiler, etc.), mask it, and send it to Maaco.

If you paid more than $6-7K I'd stop and re think this one...You'll be way upside down before you know it.

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Vinyl wrap......

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Not.

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I don't know but wrapping might be a good way to remove the white paint...

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I personally think vinyl wraps on cars and trucks are great for commercial/promotional applications, but not the best choice for long term durability for the cost. I saw a nice GTR with a wrap this weekend. It have many places where the wrap either bubbled up or pealed back. Awful.

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It runs very nice for its age. I was going to wait until we get into the winter months to tear the engine out and redo gaskets and seals. I haven't thought about a budget, doing this build for more of a learning aspect and to prove my wife wrong. lol She claims that the only people who have the skills to work on Porsche is Porsche dealers and since she drives the fast car, I kinda miss having something enjoyable to drive. I don't think of this as a big restoration project, because the engine seems sound other than that leaking power steering line, interior is just worn, and the out side just needs some love/money poured on it. Honestly I wanted to know what Porsche 911's were about and still staying within a reasonable price range. Well I plan to talk with Maaco soon to figure out a plan. The local Wrap shop quoted me $2,600 +tax for any color. so there is that if I cant find any other solution. I Love how active you guys are on the forums. My 17 scat pack forum takes me weeks to get replies.

Some front suspension pictures.

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It runs very nice for its age. I was going to wait until we get into the winter months to tear the engine out and redo gaskets and seals. I haven't thought about a budget, doing this build for more of a learning aspect and to prove my wife wrong. lol She claims that the only people who have the skills to work on Porsche is Porsche dealers and since she drives the fast car, I kinda miss having something enjoyable to drive. I don't think of this as a big restoration project, because the engine seems sound other than that leaking power steering line, interior is just worn, and the out side just needs some love/money poured on it. Honestly I wanted to know what Porsche 911's were about and still staying within a reasonable price range. Well I plan to talk with Maaco soon to figure out a plan. The local Wrap shop quoted me $2,600 +tax for any color. so there is that if I cant find any other solution. I Love how active you guys are on the forums. My 17 scat pack forum takes me weeks to get replies.

what did you pay for this thing? With DIY, if you got a good price, you may be ok, but if you paid more than say $8k, I think you're gonna bark up a tree you won't like the view from.

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I think $8K is to much. You can still find good running 996's for $10-12K

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I'd like to see a few examples thereof (especially hardtops). My opinion is those cars will have plenty of issues of their own.

I definitely paid more than 8 for this. And it seems like problems just keep adding up. So it�s getting rough with 2nd gear, highway speeds seem really unsafe, and it�s starting to over heat. I really like the agility of this car but It�s looking like I�ll be around 30k just to have it up to normal car standards. It doesn�t over heat when driving but when I was on the off ramp it just climbed at first just to the second to last notch sat there for like five minutes and then all the way until the light came on and the oil lamp came on. And as soon as I got going on the road again it went below 180 again.

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Some wisdom here. A good 911 is $1/mile. A cheap one is likely double that.

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STOP. These engines are very susceptible to damage from overheating. You have a serious problem with your cooling system, and driving this car like this will nuke the engine. Please stop driving it until you can get the cooling system diagnosed. Look at the gauges! Overheating! No oil pressure! STOP. STOP. STOP. You are killing me.

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https://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/...706537703.html And I missed a TIP coupe for $10K and only 60K miles on it (had a $6K Fabspeed system) 2 owner car with service history...They are still out there!

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even the owner lists the hawaii car as fair. i bet there are tons of issues with that car. As for the op, sounds like your high speed cooling fans qrent coming on.

Your rads/condensers are likely clogged bad. Also, the fans may not be cycling. Need to fix the cooling before you do catastrophic damage. Plan on the entire cooling system restoration and upgrade. New water pump with plastic impeller, low temp thermo, remove bumper and clean rads and condensers, replace both fans and test on high, check thermo switch for activation. Get the cooling system working right or you'll be spending an extra $17k for a new motor. Next is an LN full flow oil filter kit. 996 like lots of cool clean oil. Once you have that taken care of you can deal with the cosmetics. edit; There's still a bunch of catch-up mechanical stuff to do on susp and brakes, as well as trans. If you pull the trans for rebuild, don't forget to address the IMS bearing with some solution, clutch and rear main seal.

So curious, how much is a true "project car" budget? What defines a good "project car"?

Mechanicus, sorry for the thread drift. It's a slippery slope when it comes to cheap expensive cars...These are fantastic driving machines but are not as forgiving as an American V8 when it comes down to the little things that can and will cause catastrophic engine failure. Focus on the health of your engine! Doc hit the nail on the head as did a few others. STOP driving it (get the cooling fixed) or your likely going to end up with a $3K roller in the blink of an eye! Best of luck and I look forward to your progress.

Did not mean to drift the topic. Just trying to see the stopping point on a project like this where someone calls it "quits" and moves on from those who have done it before. Seeing the overheat and hearing about the steering, this project can get expensive quickly. Then I read and realized, there is no budget high enough for that precious moment "I was right". As for the suspension, the ROW M030 kit is a pretty good value for what it includes.

I was 3 minutes from the house. I�m going to tear into it this weekend. Looking like flushing coolant to ensure proper circulation, and testing wires for the fans. If you guys have advise or helpful work packages please let me know.

You may already know this but...……..Pelican Parts 996 technical articles are very good -both the pictures and the narratives .On the cooling system -I would start at the radiators and work back to the water pump (which is the likely culprit ) .You can test the fans by jumpering the relays in the drivers footwell .The dme grounds the relay for fan activation which is not a failure prone part of the circuit .The common fan failure is the low speed ballast resistor .The good news is that these are pretty easy cars to work on .

Get the Bentley Service Manual!

Got the right side off. There is so much mismatch hardware can�t wait to do this correctly.

+1 on pelican parts tennical articles. A coolant flush is lower priority right now. Also, you will need a vacuum pump to refill the coolant. These would be my priorities: 1. Remove front bumper and clean radiators. I guarantee they are full of crud. There are YouTube videos. 2. Make sure your fans are coming on. Diagnose while the front bumper is off. Pelican tech article. 3. Change oil with a high quality 5W40. If you haven't purchased a stock filter yet, spent the extra and get the LN Engineering spin on kit. Add 9 quarts with the new filter. Do not fill over top line on dip stick. A little below the top line is ok. Do not over-torque the drain plug. If you buy the LN Engineering magnetic plug, the torque value is only 19ft-lbs, as I recall. 4. Check the brakes. A set of inexpensive Meyle drilled rotors and Textar pads are very good for street use and not too expensive. Replace the fluid with Porsche fluid. It is not much more expensive than other quality brake fluids. 5. The rubber parts on your suspension look worn out. If you have a press and the time and skill, you can methodically replace the bushings. Some of the Meyle brand arms are very reasonably priced and may not cost more than replacing the bushings. As others have said, DO NOT let it over heat.

He's on it!

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Looks fairly clean. You can slide the AC condenser out of the bracket and tilt it forward to look at the radiators and clean as necessary. I wonder if the PO cleaned them recently to try to fix the over heating issue.

So did the next step and checked the fans and the left one is the only one to come on. Switched the circuits for the low. (The second one from the right and the fourth) and still no power to the RH fan so resistor? Also the tires rub on the inside so I wonder if it got disconnected.. more disassemble to come.

Mine had a gallon of crud, leaves rocks cig butts etc....

So there�s a line next to the rh front jacking point that�s bent pretty bad. And why is there a line coming out of the head light that�s 3 feet long? Because mine was bent all up in the wheel well. So far not seeing any busted lines other than that one.

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​​​​​​ I've replaced my coolant a couple times without a vacuum pump. Pelican has a nice article on how to do this. No special tools needed, just a hex socket for the drain plug and pliers for hose clamps to remove as many of the hoses as you'd like to get additional fluid out.

Do you guys believe my over heating was due to the right radiator fan INOP as well as semi dirty radiators? Or would that only show a slight increase in temp not a full 240 temp. Just don't want to make sure that there isnt something else going wrong.

Mine would get hot when stood in traffic when the LH fan packed up, but never got so hot as to trigger the warning light. I run mine with the AC on all the time as AC makes the fans run high speed permanently. Also check the extractor fan for the engine bay is coming on.

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speed and oat dependent .At 50 mph -fans don't have much effect

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Listen, and follow. CLEAN both rads and condensers. Use lots of water, and go from the back toward the front. Use compressed air too. Gobs of stuff will come out. REPLACE the water pump REPLACE the thermo with a 160F unit REPLACE the coolant Diagnose both fans for operation with 12V source. If both fans are running on high and low, then diagnose supply voltage back to relays. Fans come on in parallel. Both on low, or both on high. If you have bent/crushed hardware replace that. Most of the water lines are hard from the engine to the front with rubber hose in between. They run along the top inside of the front fender wells and are visible once the fender liner is out. Consider the center third radiator kit. It is one of the best upgrades I did to my car. With the new pump and low temp thermo, my car never got over 180F even on the hottest day, sitting in traffic with the AC running full. It's a great addition and you are right there now and can install it easily. Kit is avail on Pelican, or you can buy the same rad on rockauto.com and make up your own brackets and hoses for a lot less money. There is also a front bumper intake screen mod that will keep large chunks of crud out of the intakes. It is very cheap, just search for the bumper screen here to find the job.

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OP - some good advice here ^^

It looks as though the PO had this problem and gave up because the thermostat fitting looks to be new as well as the water pump. P.s. before you all jump on me for not taking his advice. I�m still going to pull them and do a good inspection, I�m already going to flush the coolant system for the good times.

Good idea to pull and inspect .Since those parts appear new -probably should add system had air pockets as a contributing factor .Once back together I would verify temp gage sensor readings with an ir temp gun .The other point I hate to mention is that if the old water pump broke a blade that is partially blocking a passage that would exhibit similar symptoms

Have you used an OBD2 reader to read the engine temp directly from the DME? That could either confirm or disprove the high temp readings and let you focus on things like the pipe restriction in the pic above (what % of the flow rate is lost??). Beyond that you're in danger of cracked head(s) with the overheating, so carefully monitor your coolant for oil mixture (see threads on intermix).

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Not to side track from the cooling issues that the OP is experiencing but for the benefit of another newb. Are Meyle brand replacement arms/components equivalent to factory pieces for overhauling an aging 996's suspension? Or are factory pieces superior/worth the $$?

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Have you picked the PO brain about any issues he may have been dealing with? While I was searching for my car I was able to contact previous owners and discuss history on some.

Good point on air entrainment. That is certainly possible. I burped my using the top rad hose on each side, and ran it with the heater on, at high revs. I had to top up the coolant twice to get all the air out once I burped the rads at the top hose. Of course, if it has new pump and thermo, and they look and test good, no need to do it again.

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Is that a jack stand touching the cardboard? If so, I don't think you want to support the car from that point. You want the jack stand under the jack point that is in the forefront of the photo.

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Yup! Good catch.

Also not a big deal but this bolt is on upside down... Kinda scary to think what else has been done incorrectly on this car, the spray paint is a bigger travesty... Also note thats the way the bolt should be on the rear...

So decided to do alittle more inspection of the rear. Heres what I’ve found so far. Both sides have this part of the under shroud cut off. Anyone know what it’s for? Both sides have this bolt not even finger tight. It can get tight in that hole but it doesn’t seat so... it may come from somewhere else. Only the Driver side axle looks to have residue on it. There is this bracket with nothing attached right next to the transmission on the RH side.(looking FWD) And on the LH side right after the exhaust manifold this flange has a broken bolt. And this is the Back on the engine (looking AFT) all dried up. In good news all the bushings for everything in the back look to have been replaced, even engine mounts.

The bracket next to the tranny is for attaching the missing bell pan/splash shields. The loose nut looks like the diagonal (1 of 2) brace. Have you bought a Bentley service manual?

Did the previous owner mention the overheating issue? Curious if you feel like the seller miss represented the car. Hopefully the overheating issue can be solved easily. To me this would be a car I wouldn't put too much money into but just have some fun with it. Good luck!

The under shroud looks like it is broken off, only the tabs remain. My 1999 C2 is the same way, I need to replace it. I think (hope for your sake) your overheating is a combo of things.. with the jump up and down in temp it is most likely an air bubble circulating. PO prob didn't bleed it properly. I see it like this.. you bought it at a lot, probably taken as a trade in from the PO that had given up and bought a "practical" car. It was sitting in the back bc it was probably destined for a wholesale auction, but you spotted it 3 rows back. i'm guessing the sale was "as is". It will be a long road, but you are on the right track and we're here to help, and it looks like you have the skillset needed to make it right. Labor is the huge factor on these cars for most people, take that out of the equation and the parts aren't necessarily cheap but manageable.. and so worth it as long as you aren't trying to make quick money on the car. Get the coolant sorted, drain the oil and pull the pan..it's very simple and you will get an idea of the engine condition. Best of luck

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For an update, in the records I found that the water pump was replaced 3k miles ago. And after fixing that fan I haven�t had it go past the 0 sitting in traffic. But I suspect i just need to bleed it properly to release any air in the system. Today I dove it in the morning left it alone for 6 hours and when to look For more issues the coolant res looked low and hissed for awhile when I removed the cap. Also I had a problem with the old cap so I ordered and replaced it and no longer leaking fluid. And since the cap went bad I�ve had the coolant light flash slowly which by my research means it�s low on fluid but no one apparently sells distilled water here. For the buying aspect it was in the lot of cars they just got. It was at my local dodge. They most likely got it that weekend because it didn�t even go through service yet. The PO has it for 10 months and drove it 2.5k miles. Gotta leave for business meetings. So I�ll be ordering parts and doing research for a few weeks before getting into it. So when I get back I plan on doing is the engine oil to royal purple and filter, transmission fluid, replacing the front bumper, side markers, buying a wrap (co worker wants to practice before doing his car and is gonna buy the tools) I actually have a long list that I�ll put up on here for what I plan on doing through the winter. and still trying to figure out why it�s so unstable at 65+ and has horrible vibration at speed.

I would not spend a dime on wrap until you get all the other issues addressed. Motor mounts, tranny mount, $1500.00 in suspension components, belly pans, coolant hoses, etc...There's a big debate on oil, why not use the best?

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The wrap is going to cost me between 500-600 in materials which isn�t a big deal to me but having something that doesn�t look like it�s been traveling with the �caravaners.� motor mounts look to have been replace recently as with all rear suspension bushings. Personally I think royal purple is the best. Moble1 is garbage compared to it. (Though this is testing with my scat pack charger)

Also someone�s �lady of the night� let their door swing open at full force next to me at a parking lot. Doesn�t look that bad in the picture but it is deep. Mustang gt500 owner didn�t even stay to say sorry or anything.

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People like that drive me nuts! Good luck with the project and keep us posted with lots of pics.

So this part is broken on passenger side, it doesn�t allow it to sit down makes a lot of noice while driving. What is this part called and does anyone know where to get one?

Dealership has them, they aren't that expensive. Windshield cowling: 9965725630401C - up to year 00. $88 from autoatlanta - I'd say you're better off buying it from an OPC so you don't need to pay shipping - it's big Replacement is easy, remove wipers, detach washer system 2 bolts + 2 screws and it comes out. ​​​​ Also replace the rubber gasket while there - its not included or just reuse your old one.

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Alright thank you for the part number.

So today�s battle is the lighter plug. So I can use my radar detector for driving the speed limit. BLUF- the port doesn�t supply any power. Checked the fuse (D5) it checked out good. Connectors on the plug look good. When removed i found two wires not connected to anything in same bundle shown in the picture any input as to what to try now? Or what those wires go to

Those wires are brown/blue, yes. Pretty sure that's the security wiring for the OEM radio. Plugged into the chassis of the old radio housing.