Taco Tail Deliciousness

I started rebuilding my car almost four years ago after it had a dashboard fire and another Rennlist member sold it to me. It is finally finished....my OEM aerokit that has been sitting on my garage shelves, since before I got the car running, is now installed. I finally own my dream car. Thanks to all my fellow Mk1 aero owners for providing me with a variety of desktop backgrounds that have kept me dreaming of today. Thanks most of all, to my wonderful wife, for putting up with my car habit.

Mark, That is AWESOME!

Mark you did one helluva job and should be very proud of your work! Pete

What an undertaking Mark. Great pics of all your car projects and your understanding wife. Hats off to a job well done.Hard to believe 4 years have gone by so fast.

Really awesome,the thought of even looking inside my dash scares the hell out of me

Nice job......the car looks GREAT!

Car looks great. Good job.

Looks awesome Mark!

The black wheels look very good!!!

Beautiful car!

It's been a long road for you, Mark, but your perseverence has paid off handsomely for you. A great looking P-car has arisen from the ashes of that fire - hard to believe it's been 4 years already. Way to go!

HA...you guys SUCK!! all this "gee Mark, nice car...." and not one nod to your HOT WIFE WTG man looks great...one question... are you going to put on the rear lower wings? I never liked them before but have found them to be very much something I would like to have if I had an MKI again Thanks for the pics !

Nice blue car...Maserati 3500?

Terrific color combo. Car looks ready for the track. I assume your out driving a canopied twisty road.....

Nice, nice work!

Thanks for all the kind words guys.....it really is hard to believe it has been so long. I have been spending way too much time on the Maserati 3500 GT project. I am hoping to have it at the Concorso Italiano (in Monterey) in a little over a month....then it will be time to sell and move on to another project. Thanks Ed....I am very lucky to have my better half. I like the side spats from the side view, but not as much from the back. I will probably leave it alone at this point. It is ready for the track and will find itself at Thunderhill, as soon as the Maserati is sold.

Time to update your avatar Mark...

I think the sides sort of grew on me....maybe it will be something for the future. have you hit the track yet this year? I have a cool "evening session" this next week, really looking forward to it....then I think I can only squeeze out one more DE this year and 3-4 skills days...the year is going FAST !

wow, gorgeous car with the aero kit

Mark: Congratulations. The car looks wonderful, and you're lucky to have a supportive wife. Enjoy. larry

Mark, Congrats!! I have a friend that used to specialize in restoring singed cars. It takes a lot of fortitude. Does the last pic in #1 have BUNNY slippers in it?

Nice Job! Looks fantastic!!

Awesome! Nice to see it finally finished! Nice job!

Great project with a fantastic finish. Looks great!

The finished P car,the Maser, the wife all in one post. Sir I salute you !

Steve, you are right. An update is in order. Ed, I have only autocrossed it so far this year. I can't wait to track it. An evening track session sounds like fun. Frank, my wife and I got a serious laugh about the bunny slippers (they are a pair of sandals that I bought her last week...it's a leather flower....but it really does look like bunny ears). Wayne, I would love to see some pictures of the M3 when you get it. I seriously considered one. You picked my favorite color. Did you get the paddle shift transmission? Larry, Gregg, Seb, jpowers, and cuttinsod.... thanks again for the kind words guys....you make Rennlist a great place to hang out.

This truely came out awesome, I would'v'e loved to have been around from day one to watch it all transform, but the result is amazing either way. Very well done.

Mark, the M3 is a standard manual transmission - no paddles or dual clutch - just the standard box and less to break. Here are a few photos for you - great car and a very nice supplement to the 996, but not a replacement. I remember Arr0gant used to rave about his M3 sedan and although he said that it was as good as his turbo I would have to disagree - it's a great car, but whereas the 996 is a scalpel, the M3 is an ax. That doesn't mean that I don't love both, they are very different.

nice colour Wayne! sweet ride...the thing that ALWAYS impresses me about the Bimmers and ESP the M3 is the stopping power..seriously stops way better than it looks like it will

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It is a surprisingly agile car and responsive car. I've not yet gained the confidence to throw it in and out of tight spaces like I do the 996, I'm pretty sure that it would do it if I asked.

mmmmm t a c o. I still like this one better:

that would look funny on a NB - ask me how I know

Nyegaard, thank you. Wayne, congratulations. You picked a gorgeous car. The great thing about it is you get to drive a car that offers all of the performance of the Porsche and carries your whole family in comfort. I can't think of another car that offers the same performance, comfort, style, and value and will function as the familymobile....it beats the heck out of driving an SUV (unless that SUV is a tricked out Cayenne Turbo). I know that neither my wife or I look forward to driving the family Range Rover. Life is too short to drive cars that aren't fun. Logray, I can't argue with you on that one.

Mark, you nailed it exactly. I wanted a fun car that could transport the family and this does the job very well - no regrets at all. We had a BBQ with colleagues from my company and it drove home how lucky I am to have the wife I do and the cars I have. There was a steady procession to the garage to drool over the 996 and the M3... not many people get to experience the toys we have and I only get to do it because I have been lucky in life and have a tolerant wife.

Wayne, we both realize how lucky we are to have wives that tolerate our hobby. I got to follow mine the other day in her toy car (2001 Mercedes SL600). When I heard her take off from the stop light (with the V12 growling through a Renntech resonator delete pipe that I gave her for Valentine's day), I was pretty happy.

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Yup, that would be pretty cool. I have to teach my wife how to drive manual transmission, so that she can drive the M3. We did our first lesson on Friday... she has a ways to go, as we didn't make it out of first gear, but we'll get there eventually.

Gotta love the MK I aero. Looks very good.

Excellent color Mark! Nice to see that you sorted out the side skirt issue. Its a beautiful color. Still can't get over how much attention the MK1 aero gets driving up to ALMS yesterday. Love the lines..

Wayne, my oldest son bought a manual 944 for his first car. We did some lessons with my 996, before I replaced the clutch. He decided a manual wasn't for him and he is driving (and eventually buying) the 04 330i that we rebuilt, because it is an auto. My youngest son and I are shopping for his first car. He wants a 5.0 Saleen Mustang with a manual, so he car track it with me. Thanks Dennis and Chao. The aerokit does attract more attention. I would love to go see an ALMS race...I bet it was a blast.

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Yeah, I do wonder if my wife will get the hang of it... she did have problems pulling away from a stop in a smooth manner... we'll give it a few more lessons and see how she does. It would be nice if she could drive my cars.

congrats! I remember seeing when you got it and all the work you have been doing to it. you deft deserve a 12pk of something cold to drink

If anyone else thats late to the party wants to see parts of the amazing way this car has gone, here's an old thread I dug out: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...6-rebuild.html Thanks for sharing all of this, it's really nice to see and read up on :-).

Thanks again guys. Every time I get in the car now, it is a treat. It is like having a new car. Every time I change lanes to the right, I have to look twice. It appears that there is a blue car just behind me to the right....oh wait, it's just my tail. The taco and roll bar do obstruct the vision out the back, but they are both worth the slight inconvenience.

Initially, when I was in the market to buy my 996 in Sept. 2006, I had no interest in an aero-package Porsche. Now after seeing some well done examples like yours, I regret not owning one.

Beautiful car. Now I'll show you our new - to us - Iris Blue Taco Tail Cab.

^^^ not a taco tail.... thats a carrera wing. wow, I missed the thread.... Its finally on! Congrats Mark! That aero in that color is beautiful! You have something very special! Enjoy....

Thanks Ferdinand. It took me long eough. I am in the last week of my Maserati restoration/preservation, so the Porsche has been getting neglected of late. I had to buy a battery for the Maserati, so the Maserati got a Porsche battery and the Porsche got a new mod, so she wouldn't feel neglected.

Mark, I totally missed this thread also. Glad to see you finally got the car the way you've wanted it for a long time. I remember when you got it from Chuck. I can't believe it's been four years! Congratulations and have fun with her!!

Down South, thanks. It is hard to believe it has been that long. I really love my Porsche and plan on keeping it forever.

Mark, don't forget to post your completed Maserati pics...

Ok Steve, you asked for it. It is in a local concours this Sunday and still isn't drive driveable. I can not get the brake and clutch systems to bleed. I had it at a firend's shop for a few days finishing the suspension and he couldn't get them to bleed either...he specializes in Cobras. I sent both masters back to the company that rebuilt them and they checked out fine. I have tried everything. I am probably going to have it towed to another friend's shop to let him try. I probably have a buyer for it after the show. I have lots to do in the next three days...the original leather must be redone with a new batch of dye that should match the recovered areas. I am looking forward to returning to Porsche projects...they remain my passion.

Thanks for pics and an update. GL with the clutch and brakes, and of course the concours event. Is that the original paint Mark...looks very good. Beautiful job overall especially when compared to the condition you started with.

Hey Steve, thanks. I just spoke to the owner of the shop where I had it towed this morning. After 4 hours, he and all of his mechanics have pressure in the brake system. They are working on the clutch system now. I thought the paint was original until about a week ago. It has had one repaint. If I had known, I would have repainted it. If I do not get the money I want out of it, I will repaint it and replace the carpet & the original leather with new. I believe I already have a buyer, so I should be done after Sunday.

I should really stick with Porsches...they make sense. I had 4 mechanics working on the Maserati for 6 hours, with state of the art equipment, and they were unable to get the brake or clutch systems to bleed. No concours for me.

Fingers are crossed, GL Mark.

Beautiful Maserati, too!! Nice garage. -Eric

Thanks Steve. Eric, thank you. My garage sucks. Before I do another car project, I will try a little paint, texture, and epoxy flooring. If you look hard between the Maserati and Porsche, you can see a Porsche bumper that needs to go.

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LOL I know the feeling but I meant the contents of (read: cars in) the garage. -Eric

Where can I find an MK1 front bumper? Anyone want to trade a GT2 front bumper for an MK1?

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I don't think an MK1 bumper will fit on a GT2 because of the different headlights. You probably need an '02+ 996 bumper. -Eric

You're right. I just learned that. Thanks.