If you were starting a 996 build from scratch, where would you begin? (noob here)

I�ve been seriously looking at picking up a fairly stock 996 Carrera and slowly making it my own. It's one of my dream Porsche's. I have a few reference cars saved that I really like, but I'm actually not a technical car enthusiast so I don't know what it takes to get there. I've never worked on any cars before nor do I have much knowledge. I just like cool cars. Say I buy the car tomorrow, would the first move basically be to drive it for a while and get all the maintenance/mechanical stuff sorted before touching anything else? After that I�m not really sure how people normally approach a build. Do you find a good Porsche shop first and talk through what you want, or do most of you spend a bunch of time figuring out the wheels/suspension/aero/etc. yourselves and then bring the parts to a shop? Finding the right shop is probably the part I�m most unsure about too. If you didn�t already know anyone, how would you go about finding someone you�d trust with the car? I know some shops might just have a reputation for messing with your car so that you can go back, or some shops simply just don't have the skill/required to handle something so precious. For the 996 specifically, are there any things you�d definitely address before modifying it, or any popular mods that tend to turn into a bigger job than a beginner might expect? I�m basically trying to avoid buying a car and then immediately going down ten different rabbit holes without knowing what order to tackle things in. I�ll attach a few of the 996s I�ve been using as inspiration, but your guys' help would mean a lot! I know they're all different from each other but those are just some builds that I really like, a good balance of unique but still classy.

It sounds like you should just focus on finding a good car and how to do that before thinking about anything else. You should decide how you want to enjoy your car - there are more than enough resources here if you choose to look for them.

Excellent advice from brontosaurus. As far as finding good indie mechanics near you, you post a request for "Good Indie 996 Mechanics Near XXXX" to multiple 996 and 997 forums like Rennlist and Reddit. Hopefully, you will get multiple replies and see a trend develop among those multiple replies.

First things first - you need to decide exactly what you want. I wanted a 997, drove a bunch and wasn�t sold on them, then drove a 996 turbo and fell in love. Had a difficult time finding a nice turbo and ended up buying a C4S. Now, I love my C4S and I have Turbo money into it now, but it will never be a Turbo. Now I�m really digging the 996.1 Aerokit cars and wonder sometimes if I should have bought a roller and dropped $30k on a built engine for it. My goal when I purchased was to find a car with good service records and then start by making sure I keep the engine healthy. High quality oil, frequent oil changes, water pump and t-stat, and addressing the IMS/AOS. The engine in these cars is expensive to rebuild - spend your time keeping it healthy and be proactive before moving on to the rest. My car had decent service records with it but, if I didn�t have a service record for something, I assumed it hadn�t been done and I immediately did it. Things like transmission/differential/transfer case oil, brake fluid, etc. After that, I started tackling suspension. The nice thing about the suspension work is, you can do it a little at a time if you choose. I kind of did it all at once, but it�s something you could put off and just work on as time/money allows. Other than that, there will be plenty of other things that pop up that will require your attention and money, I.e. sunroof problems, window regulators, brakes/tires, engine mounts, and other items that you�ll find and want to replace. I will say, for most things, 996s are fairly straight forward to work on. If you have the tools and the space, there are plenty of videos out there to help you DIY a lot of things.

The pictures you posted are of specific models that are different from each other, though all are "996" family. You need to decide if you want a GT3 with the taco rear wing, or a turbo, or a C4S, or a C2, etc. Trying to convert one type of 996 into another will be too costly to make it worthwhile, most likely. Once you decide upon the 996 variant you want, then you can focus on what to do first. Probably just drive it for a year and catch up on all the deferred but required maintenance, get an alignment, and figure out your priorities for modifications.

My 2c: buy a car that was driven and enthusiast-owned. Its worth paying a bit more to have the tailwind of proactive maintenance going into your ownership. If the engine was rebuilt by FSI or Slakker/hartech, all the better. Make sure you have a beefy cash reserve to handle the sorting process, alongside mods. While initial purchase may be 20-40, your all-in figure for multi-year ownership will tend towards 40-60, so mentally accepting that at the start is wise. Premium spec or trim pushes those numbers up.

Yeah you're right haha. I�ve been thinking about the final look before really deciding what I want the car to be. Mine would mostly be a street/weekend car that I can actually drive a lot. When you were choosing your GT3, did how you wanted to use the car basically determine which 996 you wanted, or did you already love that particular model first?

Once you had a couple shops that seemed reputable, what made you actually choose one? I feel like as someone new to this I wouldn�t really know what separates a genuinely great Porsche shop from one that just has good reviews. I'm just paranoid because I hear too many stories of shops just doing a poor job.

Your story is probably the one I relate to most because the Turbo is honestly the 996 I really want as well actually. I just don�t have Turbo money right now haha. That�s why I started thinking maybe Carrera/C4S and build it over time. Looking back, do you think you would�ve waited for the Turbo if you could redo it, or has building the C4S into your own thing been worth it? I�m a little worried about spending years and a bunch of money trying to turn the �affordable� car into the one I actually wanted in the first place.

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Yeah this is something I genuinely didn�t understand when I posted the references. In my head I was looking at them mostly as different 996 aesthetics, but I didn�t realize how much the actual variant dictates what�s realistic to build toward. I just thought "wow these are all really cool and I want my 996 to have some semblance of special like those images." If I love the Turbo look but end up buying a Carrera because of budget, where would you draw the line between �totally reasonable to personalize� and �you�re basically trying to turn it into a different car and should�ve bought that car instead�?

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For yourself, what ended up eating more money than you expected? I do have the assumption that modifying a car will end up costing a lot more than the initial purchasing price.

Also appreciate all of your guys' responses man, this means a lot!

Send to this guy You Tube

Dream spec: 996 Turbo coupe manual but with a C4S rear decklid and a 996.1 front headlight conversion with 996.1 Aerokit front bumper. Second choice: C4S with a Mezger swap and a 996.1 front headlight conversion and 996.1 Aerokit front bumper 3rd choice: C4S with a built 4.0 liter and 996.1 headlights and Aerokit fornt bumper

Figure out what you want the car to be and proceed accordingly. With cars of this age, it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway...address the basics and any deferred maintenance first so you have a solid platform to build on. Nothing worse than blowing your budget on wheels and body parts and then running out of money for things like IMS, RMS and other things that will replacing on a 20+ year old car.

Well to me you start with how much car can you budget for.. then add 10 more grand and buy the best of its type you can find, take your time and don�t buy impulsively.. you know when you�ve looked and looked and finally a really good one shows up and your like yes this is the one.. be prepared to travel for the right car.. I have an early 2000 tweener XAA ( Aerokit ) car .. my druthers would be cable throttle car which is 98-99.. but the right 996.1 Egas car can trump that thought.. go for a color you really want I would search for a blue green white something different.. but in the end you can only buy what�s for sale.. once you know what you are hoping to buy, the non negotiable bit should be how well it�s been serviced� an early car with the M96-1 engine has less likely hood of a bore issue or an IMSB problem.. as they are dual row.. then cam wear pads should have been addressed already if they have not been done ask for the cam deviation readings.. the more maintenance paperwork the better .. so in summary buy the best you can get .. pay up a bit if you can.. oh and buy the owner as well, you can tell by asking questions if they are a good owner .. imo PCA market and or the forums will have the best cars but they will cost more� good luck..

I agree with the above that figuring out what model you want (the right platform) is the best place to start. It seems like the .1 headlights are having their moment right now; the .2 headlights don't get a lot of love but IMO they're just that much different. I wanted a wide body but didn't like the rapacious gashes on the turbo's hips, so I went with the C4S. I accepted the M96's limitations and have at least emotionally budgeted for a 4.0 swap at some point down the road if the factory M96 ****s the bed someday. For me, the N/A 996 is a very well-balanced platform. I preferred the 996.2 after driving a friend's 997 and after owning a 986 Boxster S. The 996.2 has a slightly more refined interior, but it still accommodates the GT3 console delete that I don't believe is possible on 997 and later models. After getting your maintenance baselined, for my money the best mods have been suspension, then interior, then cosmetics. My car is now basically "done" to my specs. If you go with a narrow body, I would recommend upgrading brakes to the turbo calipers & discs. (The C4S comes with those as well as turbo suspension components, so the 4S gets you a lot of what the turbo gets you (except, of course, the wonderful Metzger motor). I do believe you've found your community, though. I have followed along and learned from many generous experienced folks here, and hope to give back at least a modicum of encouragement and support along the way. Welcome to the best kept secret in the Porsche world. The 996 is still my favorite platform.

996.1 arrow aero for the win. C4S close 2nd. Even this dirty it looks good.

I found the 996 to be the perfect used car because they cut down whole forests just to document the numerous issues with the car and mostly the M96 engine so I knew in advance what needed to be fixed or might break on me. I've not been surprised once in 6 years of ownership. Make or get yourself a list of all the known issues, figure out what it will cost to fix them and then back into how much you are willing to pay, knowing that you may be spending a lot to remediate the known issues. The fact that you may have to spend even more to refresh the 20+ year old parts isn't idiosyncratic to the 996, but there will be costs there. Also, just because the IMS bearing has been replaced doesn't mean the car is out of the woods. There are instances of unscrupulous people replacing the bearing knowing that the previous version had already started to come apart. The best defense against that is to make sure the new bearing is in the LN engineering registry and stay away from any that aren't in the registry. A good place to look is on the PCA Mart. Higher than normal scrupulous sellers who know these cars can be found there.

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i freaking love this

@killua , the 996 is an incredible car and worth it. Best advice I can give is to... 1. Figure out which model of 996 catches your attention the most. we will all give you our opinions, but your opinion is the one that matters most. 2. Research all 996 models. See as many as you can in person and drive as many as you can to understand their differences. 3. In addition to Rennlist, there are two very good sources of 996 technical data that I highly recommend you consider purchasing. These books will also provide you with a laundry list of topics that you may want to search Rennlist to dig in deeper. The 996 Essential Companion 101 Projects For Your 911 (996/997) 4. Get involved with your local PCA region. They all host plenty of events (track, autocross, concourse, picnics, cars & coffee, tech forums, etc). This is a good place to see plenty of cars, ask questions, possibly drive a few, find the best Porsche shop for a PPI and service, as well as possibly even find a car. Plenty more to talk about.

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Agree with some statements here on my own "996-Search". For whatever reason, I liked the Seal Gray (although common) and lusted after a C4S. I just love the back end, actually LIKE the different headlights as Anybody can have roundish headlights. I wanted bigger brakes, suspension Turbo bits, all the "extras" the C4S had as "standard". I definitely did NOT want a Turbo. Been there, not again. Both the Turbo and C4S have their own brand of P-warts/failure modes, both fatal to engines. I was sorely tempted by a very good silver 997, but hated the lobster wheels, not fond of silver, and blah back end, not a 996 C4S. So I passed. Color went by the wayside when I decided to ONLY look at C4S versions. There was a beautiful Ice Green Metallic (late 70s-early 80s color), but waaaay over my budget. As a "kickker" (pun intended), I needed a Tip after 5 knee surgeries. Manual-mode is fine and works great IMO. Sure, original 996 Tip=1/10 of a second slower than manual, but so what? NBD. "You can "shift" in a corner and Not loose engine rpms with a Tip, not a manual". quote Brandon. Besides that, a bonus for me, lower price. The 996 C4S I bought had a few, maybe a lot, of issues. OK, 17000 of these C4S cars minus crashes, total, other countries, Cabs, so not many for sale. I got QuickJack and did replace front suspension, front axles/CVs, and fix other stuff. Car already had 4 new pads and rotors, decent wheels (not too much in appearance damages), new tires, and good interior. Tasks still need to be done, I had parts here: water pump, LTT, coolant tank, coilpacks, engine mounts, front wheel bearings (my 12 ton press could not get them out!), UAOS+T.D., trans fluid-flush, and possible start of Bore-score. A few coilpacks were cracked, and who knows what else rubber hose, rusted nuts/bolts, and more. All good. Then I started researching engine stuff. Slakker is new (ish, started around late 2023? thereabouts?). Read more on Hartech across the pond and results. A 996 on Pcarmarket with a Slakker 4.1L came up, sold for a lot, my opinion. I got so I know the specs of various models, Hp, Tq, brakes-calipers, rotors, variants, and "do-able" mods. I just said, I'm in an area zero Indies, no P dealers, no P cars for that matter. In 15 years my area, only seen 12-15 Pcars, maybe 3 911s. I am my Indy. Other RL folks said Slakker does great work. So, many conversations with Brandon Clark, car driven to OKC and Slakker rebuild. Long term reliability + warranty were my main goals. Sure enough, they found hoses I didn't even know existed ready to fail, or failed when removing, and a few other problems. Long wait for rebuild process and finally finished. Without going into detail, the 4.1L is fantastic, an A+ job. It easily surpasses a 997 3.8 S, and a 996 GT3 engine specs, all on a basic rebuild. It is fantastic in every way, and pretty close to 996 Turbo specs with a NA engine. The 4.1L blows away all of the "slower Tip specs". If you want "more", just look at Slakker's "option menu" and choose. How fast do you want to go, how much $$$ do you want to spend? Expensive? Yes. Time consuming, yes. Customer communication, rather poor in my case, D or D- job. Multiple reasons, unfortunate, but true. Brandon is truly honest and forthright, acknowledges customer service failures, trying to improve, and still builds a genuine fabulous engine. Not many companies are the same, so there is amelioration for Slakker. For me, the C4S is a keeper, forever car. It looks great and now has the engine it should have had leaving Stuttgart. Would I recco a Slakker engine for others? A resounding Yes is my answer. Time heals all the other "issues" and the engine lives on with a warranty. Behind every storm cloud there is a silver lining. My opinions. Added: It is a PITA trying to find the "Approved Oil" for the 4.1L Warranty, but I'll do it. I just have to order from God-knows-where and plan in advance. KISS. YMMV

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Yeah got it. The dream is a turbo, but since the carrerra prices are like half of that I was debating if I should just settle. But maybe that's not the best way to go about it. I'll take a look at these resources you provided, I appreciate that!

Some of the guys mentioned this, but you should consider how you are going to use the car. 1. Comfortable street driving? 2. What seasons/weather will you be driving the car in? 3. More aggressive canyon carving? 4. Combo street and track driving? Most folks do not have any performance/track driving experience, so they will never be able to squeeze out all of the performance that the 3.4 (300 hp) or 3.6 (320 hp) M96 can deliver driving around town, nor on the track. For sure, the same can be said for the 3.6 Turbo (400+ hp) or 3.6 GT3 (380+ hp). So take that into consideration as well. I street and track mine, so I prefer the handling characteristics of 996.2 narrow body. But for every guy like me, there is another guy that will say the same about a 996 turbo or C4s. Best advice I can give you is to study all of them and drive a couple of different models to see. You can't go wrong with any of them. They are all great cars. Just comes down to your preferences and bank account.

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You can either pay now or pay later. Better to pay now -- that's why I ended up in the car I did.

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You should buy a Turbo if that�s what you want. Never settle

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Settling will end up (likely) in disappointment and wasted effort/money. Now, if you want a Turbo but think you could be happy with any 996 based on the value you are looking for, that�s a different story. I shopped for 2 years for a Turbo and ended up buying a C4S but I knew I would be happy either way. $60k (at the time) for a 60-80k mile Turbo or $40k for a 36k C4S, all other specs were equal. In hindsight, I should have bought one of the Turbos I passed up but it sold the next day. However, I�m still happy with my C4S and do not regret that purchase. I still saw plenty of value in the C4S purchase and enjoy driving it. If I decide I want something else, I�ll sell this one and buy another. But with the way 996 Turbo prices are trending, that probably won�t be happening for me haha.

Nah, NA all the way. More funner.

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The 996 C4S is a great car, my opinion, especially "appearance & looks". Keep the C4S and have Slakker do their magic on the engine. It comes out in 4.1L at near 400 Hp (+/-) and really "wakes up" the car on "request". One plus is you already have the car, so the $$$ cost is not all at one time. Just thoughts, something to think about. YMMV

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It seems like most people are telling me to go for it. Thanks for sharing your side hahaha, this makes me wonder how high the turbo market can really go.