Ryan's "Hold Me Over" 1999 996

The title is tongue-in-cheek (mostly) but I did originally purchase this car as a placeholder car until I could get another aircooled 911. The reality is that I've become quite enamored with this car in my short ownership period, and my wife likes it a lot more than the 964 I previously had, so this may be a long term keeper. With that being the case, I figured I should document my adventures in modifying this car rather than post it here and there in miscellaneous threads. But first, the story in how I ended up with this car: At the beginning of the pandemic, I sold my 1990 964 C4 at probably the worst time ever to unload a car. Had I waited until July/August, I could've broken even or better. So, as the pandemic progressed and I got a little more comfortable with my company's prospects for surviving the pandemic in one piece (as well as my wife's), I decided it was okay to buy another toy (I don't drive anywhere, have been working from home for the past 4 years and generally Uber for work stuff since I can work while being driven around). I began getting an itch for a replacement car going into summer, but it seems so did the entire United States. My goal was to get a fully sorted air cooled hot rod, but after looking for what felt like forever, and prices just going bonkers, I began to broaden my scope to the newer water cooled models. Before I fully gave up, I thought I found a '79 SC that fit the bill, so I flew out to Austin to check it out but it was a lot more beat up than the photos made it appear. After that, I found a 2002 C4S in Speed Yellow that I wanted so badly. Since it had an accident on its history, I had a body shop check it out first before I sent it in for a mechanical PPI. The shop called me and said nearly every panel has been resprayed and despite it only having low 40K miles, it looks like it was driven HARD (and put away wet) for over 100K, not to mention a few baseball size dents in the under body. So, PASS... Next up, 3rd candidate was a speed yellow aerokit 997 at RAC in Dallas. Super gorgeous looking car that I put a deposit on, but had them do a borescope first. Sadly, it showed minor scoring so that was a pass as well. At this point, I had spent a decent chunk of change looking for the right car and was getting frustrated and beginning to give up hope. That's when I came across this car. The photos were processed/artsy, which meant this was a hail mary this wasn't going to be a turd, but I figured I'd call anyway since he was local. I talked to him on the phone and it turned out he's the owner of Rasant (air cooled shop/products) in Long Beach and this was his personal project car. He bought it as a roller in the beginning of the year (blown IMS) and they rebuilt the engine along with a whole host of other things (see image below). With this information in hand, I think I spoke with him in the AM around 9 and told him I'd be there by noon to check it out and pay assuming it checked out. Everything checked out and a few hours later, I had a car. What I was greeted with when I arrived at the shop to check out the car: This is the former owner's primary car: An hour later, I was on the road home: Home!

Rebuild Sheet done in February 2020

Considering your a "hot rod" guy what are your plans for the 996? I think the 996.1 is going to be a big deal for hot rodding.

Once I got the car home, I had a laundry list of little things to touch up: the leather seats needed to be conditioned, all the rubber needed treatment, there was compound caked everywhere, starter motor/cable needed to be replaced and the paint was fairly scratched. Over the course of a few weekends, I addressed each of those one by one, including an 8 hour paint correction. This car has undergone a budget respray (windows in, unfortunately) so it's never going to be the right mix of what it takes to appreciate, which is fine by me because I wanted something I could tinker with without being concerned about affecting the value. After I cleaned up some of the nit picks I had with the car, I decided to add some aesthetic improvements: yellow brake calipers and OEM MK2 aero side skirts. I had Schiro's in North Hollywood do the side skirts and they came out fantastic (their work is great...my wife is unfortunately a frequent customer of their collision repair services). Wheels back on, full side shot:

Congrats and welcome! Looks like a well sorted car with many right upgrades so wishing you many worry free miles. I'm sure the air cooled cars have something about them but you can't really argue with the performance you get out of a well sorted 996. The picture of the gauges shows like it was a hot day but that water temp gauge looks to be climbing up there. Worth keeping an eye on that.

Looks like a good "hold me over"... Good Luck with 'er

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Hot rod may have been the wrong word, I'm a big fan of the outlaw builds. I probably won't do any engine tuning because that gets $$$$ very quickly but over time I'll mod the interior and maybe drop some weight. I have a few interior projects (one of which I wrapped up this weekend) to make it a little more refined, less plasticky. I'll do another post on driving impressions but in short, I'm quite impressed with how this car handles. We did a group drive a few weeks back at Lake Hughes and we were to line up based on how fast we felt we'd drive. My dumb *** (with wife aboard) put myself 4th wheel behind the 3 718 Cayman GTS's and close to 20 other Pcars behind me. I managed to hold wheels and not really ever got gapped (the 997 C2S behind me got gapped a few times by a few football fields at times). Our group put a few minutes on the next group of cars. Hundreds of hours of racing karts and racing sims definitely helped but this car is definitely in the category of fast enough for me to have a **** ton of fun. Hmm, I thought that was normal operating temp? It generally always reads that but hasn't read higher than that even after heavy sustained driving.

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My 996.2 usually stays just a tad past 180 but if the temp holds where it was even after hard driving then you're most likely fine.

Temp is probably right for a mk1 but make sure the first stage of both fans r kicking on. Most shop scanners or a duremetic can turn them on as a diagnistic feature. Understand if u dont was to say but how much was it?

Really nice 'hold me over'. Congratulations! Most guys buy a car and then put that build list together. I'm still in the middle of it. 2 questions: Do you know what height the Ohlins were set to? I'm about to put my Ohlins on and am looking for a reference on their standard setting. And, Did you get comments from the engine builder about the quality of the piston skirt coatings? This seems to be the key for future bore scoring.

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25K. I probably could have haggled it down but having most of the wear items refreshed, fresh engine rebuild and Ohlins made it worth it. Yeah, most of the specs of this car would've been on my wish list post purchase so I was super excited to find a car with it all done. Regarding the piston skirts, no, I didn't ask but they said the pistons and Cylinders looked flawless when they took them out. I'll add the rebuild photos here in another post. I'm not sure what the ride height is, I had it raised 15mm from the previous owner though at West End Alignment. ​​​​​ ​​​Stance before and after:

Dig it...

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Although maybe technically wrong I consider them one in the same. The 996.1 is the next logical step in the Porsche hot rod/outlaw lineage I think.

West End Alignment tends to come up very often by people in your neck of the woods for being one of the best shops not for just alignment but for properly setting up the suspension. Love the stance - looks perfect to me. What size tires are you running? The look right too.

Looks gorgeous after the paint correction. Looking forward to your driving impressions, especially compared to your previous 964.

I cannot believe how much those side skirts set the car off. This is a definite upgrade whenever I refresh my suspension. Did you buy them new from somewhere like Suncoast Parts or were you lucky enough to find an authentic used pair?

Looks good!

Car looks great! Who or what did you use for the calipers? That's been on the to do list for me for a while.

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225/40/18 and 265/35/18 I shouldn't ask but any good examples? Thanks, I bit the bullet and got them from Suncoast. Proper paint added $700 to the bill. I used a few coats of VHT brake caliper paint and finished with their clear gloss high temp paint. I had one caliper flake a very small piece off but the others have been fine. Vinyl decals from: https://snapdecal.com/collections/po...decals-4-sizes

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^^^ I don't think the temp gauges are either accurate or consistent from car to car. The average seems to be around the left side of the 0 in 180 but I've seen gauges that seem to be both lower and higher with consistency. As long as it doesn't fluctuate by much I wouldn't worry - If you haven't removed the front bumper and cleaned the rad's I'd recommend that though...

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You can judge if its a good example

The next item that was on the to do list was the headlights. I like the amberdectomy look a lot better, so that was on my wish list. In addition to that, the driver side light was yellowing a bit. I ordered the 3M headlight refinishing kit and spent what felt like ages sanding the one light. I think I used a majority of one kit to do just that headlight. I finished it with Spraymax 2k clear but I must have screwed up on the surface prep since it developed light cracking in the clear all over. I'll need to redo that later but for now, it's not noticeable unless you're close to the lights. I also updated the brights to Hella Xenon and the parking bulbs to LED. Lastly, I used the McMaster Carr P rubber stripping to fix the crumbling weather seal on the one light. Time to prep the patient: Ready for surgery: It was fairly easy to do this job. Took about 30 minutes total: Chunks removed from the light: New xenon brights and LED parking lamp bulbs: New weather seal around the headlight Headlights before surgery: Headlights after surgery:

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Not my speed. I like what is done with the aircooled cars in that there's a lot of room to do bespoke finishes that look better than OEM. So, my projects will be driven by "what can I improve over OEM?" Somewhat in contrast to the above statement, and while I'm not a fan of his choice of colors, this type of build I find really interesting: http://911uk.com/viewtopic.php?t=106137 The pragmatic part of me would prevent me from going that far into the deep end as I'd rather put that money towards a GT3 but it has given me a lot of ideas and motivation to tinker a bit more than I had planned on. I completely stripped out the interior of my 964 including an A/C delete but I don't think I'll go that route with this car.

Good example here. Even though it blew up on the way home with it's new owner, this is one of the best I've seen and it fetched some good coin on BAT (no BAT comments, please). Also this is by no means license for any new comments about the red car. Go back to that thread and comment or be called out! If I wasn't in a "hurry up and buy one before she changes her mind" situation and went against my better judgement I would have bought a 996.1 and modded it. Probably heavily. And spent lots of money. On the other hand I wound up withg a nice C4S that really doesn't need anything https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...-911-targa-13/

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My �99 ran a tad past 180 as well, until one warm day last summer I noticed it was running quite a bit past 180. I did some checking into it and it turned out both fan resistors were shot. When the car is at low speed, the fans were always on high due to the AC pressure instantly goes high without the low fan speed available at low maneuvering speeds. Bought the Amazon resistors noted on another Rennlist thread and soldered them in place. Temp is rock solid again, at a tad above 180.

Just used the 3M kit on one headlight as well this past weekend. Fortunately my other one is about half the age so they look about equal now. More work than I was expecting for sure.

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Mmmmm, I really like that one. Very tastefully modded. Yeah, after probably an hour I was almost certain this wasn't going to work out, the headlight still looked yellowish to me. Fortunately I persisted and it came out really well (except the clear coat issue, which was most likely my fault).

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That�s a good price for a �99 C2 manual coupe w/rebuilt motor. I like the raised stance.

Here's some engine build ****:

You certainly found the right previous owner. Hope to cross paths at some point (also a socal resident...for now). I had no idea you could pluck out the amber parts from the headlights...any special techniques or a how to on this? It looks like you made holes with a soldering iron for the needle nose pliers to grab onto?

There's a Porsche group in LA on Facebook called LA Porsche Addicts. I did a drive with them in November and plan on doing their monthly group drive going forward. You should come out if you're local. Regarding the Amberdectomy: I bought a $20 soldering iron kit on Amazon (you won't want to use a good soldering iron, it'll get plastic all over it) that came with a cutting tool blade. The amber piece is 3 sided, so I just made vertical cuts on each panel like below. From there, just poke a hole for the pliers to grab onto and just twist.

My "Hot-Rod"....will continue to get hotter as $$ permits.

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I do like those wheels. You're aware of the word from Ohlins - not to drive an AWD 996/997 until they fix the problem with the struts? See here for the word from Ohlins: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turb...96-turbos.html

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i had the same issue with the 2k clear. Turned out I sprayed it when the ambient temp was too low 60s. Reparayed on a warm spring day after sanding and all is good. When the temp is low, the thinner does not flash over correctly and you get uneven drying causing the cracking.

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Hmm...I appreciate the additional detail. Car is on my home lift waiting for parts; might give this a shot while I wait for the mail man.

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I did read about that and have a note out to Ohlins still with out a response. Keeping tabs on the situation but information is scarce and nothing looks official.

Nice ride. Enjoy, you did very well IMO.

@cwbrown your build reminds me of this car: https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1209232 which is probably one of my favorite 996 hot rods. I almost tried to buy that car but it would've been hell trying to get it smogged in CA.

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The wrst911 is TAS-T!

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Saw that a wile back while researching the APEX wheels.......love the look/build and thanks for the compliment....mine's not quite at that level...yet.

What could these be?

Hate to tell ya. Them ain't snowtires that you got there...pretty sure.

New exhaust?

Interesting packing method. Fingers crossed!

Surprisingly, the seats were unscathed. I don't think I have the ***** to try shipping seats like this but it worked this time. These seem a bit wider than Recaro Pole Position. For my size, I prefer the Pole Positions but for canyon driving they seem to hold well enough.

These look fantastic - well done! I've sat in those at a track day and they felt wonderful. The guy that owned the car drove in them from NY to VA for a track weekend and found them just fine. Can't help it but the tops remind me of an alien head hah!

Next up on my to do list was to begin tackling the interior and make it a little less drab. This brings us to last weekend. It started with addressing the headliner rattle, so some pillars came off and I was able to get to the problematic rod. A dab of RTV sealant on each side should fix it. After that, I wasn't really planning to tackle this yet and wasn't even sure I wanted to, was to upholster some of the interior in Dinamica (similar to Alcantara). I was originally intending to just make a custom rear upper shelf to replace the roughly 15 lbs of carpet but with pillars out, one thing led to another and this happened: So, I basically went all in and upholstered pretty much anything that was easily accessible. Rear seats came out as well as rear seat belts. I decided to cover the seat belt receptacle to make it more of a true rear seat delete. This is the third car I've done some minor upholstery work on and this one came out pretty well. I'm mulling over buying a second dash to send off to get covered but for now this is a big improvement:

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WOW. That looks TERRIFIC! Would you be willing to share the materials list and sourcing? Looks like a great rainy day project!

@jobyt ​​​Thanks! I purchase the Dinamica from an ebay seller in Texas. I've purchased from them a few times and they always ship very quickly. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dinamica-Au....m46890.l49292 For the glue, I use 3M Super 77 spray adhesive for the main parts. On the backside (where the material wraps around/terminates), in a second step I use DAP contact cement (make sure you don't get the environment friendly one, it doesn't work at all). You'll also want an exacto blade set and heat gun. The pillars are all pretty easy shapes with the C pillars being the most complicated of the 3. It's best to start in the area that has the tightest radius and work out from there when applying the material. Also, when the glue is tacky, you can position the material lightly and get things into place without issue of repositioning. Once you press down firmly, you shouldn't lift it up again otherwise you risk the glue coming off of one of the pieces. If you have any creases, use the heat gun to work that area down. Also, you'll be better off looking up YouTube videos but you'll want to understand how to cut the material on the back side. I spent about 10 hours on a Saturday doing this. Make sure you are in the mood for a lot of repetitive tedious work to finish the parts, particularly all the console pieces. Getting the front of the pieces done is the easy and quick part, terminating the fabric in the back side is where all the time is.

When I purchased this car I thought it would be a temporary place holder to keep me entertained until I could find the right aircooled car to get back into. What surprised me was how much I've come to adore this car and to some extent, I prefer it over the 964 I previously had. Now, my 964 was a C4, so this is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison but I'll try to touch upon the main differences: The main things that I like more about the 964 were: Engine/exhaust sound is glorious, there's nothing quite like it. When you're standing at the valet with your friends and you can hear the rumble of the car for 15 seconds or more as it is pulled around the block, it puts a grin on your face and anyone that is remotely into cars pretty much will giggle when they hear it. Exclusivity/cachet yet not a super car. Air cooled Porsches are interesting because it's one of the few cars you can own that can cost more than a super car, but you can still drive it to visit a client or family member, and unless they are into cars, they won't know. Someone like my mom would see a Singer and say, oh, that's a cute car. For those that are into cars, I think there's a certain level of appreciation/respect for those that choose to own the air cooled cars since they're perceived as expensive. You could be talking to a guy that owns a GT3RS and they can still be intrigued/interested in your air cooled car whereas they will only feign interest in your 996/997/etc... With a stripped out interior, it's a much more visceral/raw experience. That street goes both ways though, less pleasant to take the wife out to dinner in. So, with that out of the way, what are my notes on the 996? When I got my first proper canyon drive in with the 996, I was amazed at how engaging the car was to drive without needing to push the car. With my 964 C4, Bilsteins and Recaro Pole Positions, the adrenaline didn't kick in until you were really pushing the car. I also managed to induce understeer somewhat readily in the 964. The 996 is hard to describe what the experience is like. I went up to Newcomb's Ranch this morning and in usual fashion, was fully ripping it and as you go from turn to turn, the front feels floaty then it bites into the turn. It's such a fun feeling. My father was visiting a few months back and he owns a 2016 GT4. When he drove my car, he was surprised at how engaging it was to drive even at slower speeds. The actual steering weight and feedback seems roughly the same between the 996 and 964. I'm sure if I drove them back to back I'd say the 964 is heavier and possibly more feedback, but unless you're going back to back, I find the 996 very good. Exhaust note with gundo hack is pretty good although I sometimes yearn for a little more volume. Engine sound though, particularly when driving around at 2-3K RPM sounds like a Corolla to me. Not the same caucophony of noises that the 964 makes even at low RPMs. Driveability though, and this is partly down to the Ohlins, is superb. The 996 is such a pleasant car to drive. It has enough creature comforts (mine has a backup camera and modern head unit) including good A/C and Xenons that you don't feel like you're missing anything when you're driving to dinner or something. The Ohlins also glide over ****ty roads, which is a huge improvement over the Bilstein setup on my 964. The 964 on Ventura blvd would make you clench your *** while the 996 just glides over that stuff. Brakes on the 996 are probably one of the weak areas, they feel underpowered until you get on them. I'll upgrade pads later to see if that remedies it. What else? Oh, last thing, and really the only thing I find pause with this 996 is that it's currently "the cheap one." Part of that bothers me but today was a good reminder that is not really how others see the 996. At Newcomb's today, I had a few walk by my car and say something to the effect of "man, this is the car to get if you want to have fun." So, car enthusiasts don't look at it like it's the cheap one and probably the average joe still sees a 911. I think that covers my thoughts, as scattered as they were. There's a part of me that wants another air cooled car. I actually bid on a Mexico blue one yesterday, but it was half hearted. Part of me wants a pre-75 air cooled car that I can hot rod to my heart's content without CA smog non-sense but I'll lose out on another aspect that I enjoy with the 996: my 996 is fast enough (and dialed in) that it's not the limiting factor in canyon group drives. I mean, the other month I was ripping it behind 3 718 GTS's and managed to hold wheels without forming a gap. We hit over 100 several times, so it wasn't like they were exactly holding back. I couldn't (or wouldn't want to) do that with a pre-75 hot rod and maybe...just maybe...I'd be comfortable doing that with a hot rodded 964, but the 996 just instills confidence and feels super planted. Here's some pics from today's drive: Only a handful when you get there before 8am

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"Cheap one", ha ha, I don't really think about it that way at all. Maybe for a minute at first. Now I just drive the thing and all's hunky dory. Heck, my 964 was the "cheap one" when I bought it. Back then no one, including myself, liked the bumpers until one day my opinion flipped like a switch, and I whacked myself upside the head for not figuring it out sooner. I'm kinda slow but catch on after a while. I'll let you imagine what they were selling for at that time but I bought it on account of I didn't feel good about driving my '72 skiing. The 964 was a choice just staring me in the face. Now I am down the river a bit. Can't say I ever saw the 996 coming but here we are, aren't we. Real nice. Glad to hear it's working for you too. Ventura Blvd? I used to live in the area and worked at the Roxy and the Whiskey-a-go-go. (And the Rainbow/ Over the Rainbow, reference Cheech and Chong's "Rainbow Club") Dang, I don't think about that stuff much anymore. Too funny. Whoa, off topic...Thanks for the alcantara info. Looks great. I oughta should but one thing at a time.

Your car looks great! So glad to hear you're enjoying it. I just bought an '03 C4S a few weeks ago and after only a few drives I'm loving it. Currently having some preventative maintenance done and then I'll be out and about. Maybe see you up on ACH.

So, this is a little bit unexpected but a Speed Yellow Gt3 just came up that is specc'd exactly how I'd want it, low miles and enthusiast owned. Unless something unexpected happens, I'll be going to the dark side and moving to the GT3 club. I had a chance to get a 73 RSR clone the other week but this car sold me on staying with a 996 and moving to a GT3 over air cooled hot rod. I need to take some detailed pictures of every paint blemish but I'll be posting this up for sale in a few days time. What's a fair price? Without the gt3 seats, I'm into the car for $29k. I bought it at $25k with the fresh engine rebuild, newly installed Ohlins/suspension work, brake lines, AOS, backup camera, etc (see first page). Since then I replaced the starter motor, refinished the yellowing Litronics, upgraded interior lights to LED, new clutched style alternator, upholstered interior in Dinamica suede, paint correction, fixed the rattles, and painted the calipers yellow. Almost forgot the Aerokit II OEM rocker panels ($1500 painted). Edited to add: car does have one non-airbag accident on the records, 92k miles currently and it did have a glass in respray. Around the window seals there's chips where it was taped off. Most people don't notice it unless I point it out. I've received a lot of compliments on the paint (even though I know it's flawed).

It looks like my hopes of picking up cgfen's GT3 is dead based on his comments in the GT3 for sale thread and my last convo with him. I'm not super interested in picking up a color other than speed yellow, so right now I'm leaning back towards keeping the C2 and continue modding it. Skip forward to today and I decided to install the Function First transmission mount inserts (yellow) since I had them in hand. Getting them fully inserted was quite a challenge, had to use C clamps with wood to assist. If it weren't for that, it would've been a 30 minute job. I started the car expecting it to be noticeably different but for the most part, it seemed the same. I headed to the freeway to see if there was any drone issues at 70 to 80 mph. Nope, everything seemed fine, just slightly more transmission noise but not nearly as much as my 964 when I removed the sound deadening. Stepping on the gas though and holy hell the interior cabin sound improved. It sounds so much more raw and aggressive in the cabin with a full notch more volume. Downside is that something around the console area is rattling above the 4k rpm. I'll have the console off for repainting in a few weeks so I'll diagnose then (or the Numeric shifter will address it). Even with the rattle, I think it's totally worth it for the sound. These were definitely a good step towards making the car a more invigorating and immersive experience when driving through the canyons. I have RSS semi solid engine mounts coming mid-January and I think the eta for the Evoms intake is end of Jan. I'm assuming the RSS mounts will also transmit more exhaust noise to the cabin? I think between the Evoms and RSS the car will be where I want it for cabin acoustics. I was thinking about getting a Fabspeed maxflo with fister mod but if the RSS is also going to increase the interior volume, then that may be too much.

Nice. I'm leaning towards the transmission mount inserts and semi-solid mounts. At first, I thought I wanted to keep the car more on the civil side when I started modding it, but I'm finding that I want it to be more visceral. Replacing the worn engine mounts with stock components did nothing for the car that I can feel. After replacing the K&N intake with a stock box, the car is just way too quiet. I definitely need more noise. I was tired of the MAF codes with the K&N, though, so re-installing that is out of the question. Also probably going the Numeric route. I have a B&M style shifter, which is nice, but I want more precision, if possible.

You seem to put a lot of emphasis on what others think or say about your car...Personally, I couldn't give a rats *** what others may say or think. I Just enjoy the hell out of the car! As for being cheap,... after 6 years, lots of mods, maintenance and a FSI engine build my car drives just about the way I'd like it to - cheap? Nah... (but still just a little over half of what it cost new) FWIW, I have no fantasies/ambitions of it being a race car (or me being a race car driver) an auto x or DE once in a while sure, but it's 99% street driver/cruiser. I have a set of lightly used Black Function First manual transmission mount inserts $50 shipped PM me if interested... ^^^ The Black FF Trans inserts are sold...

All the 996 owners here should be thanking you for buying the cheapest 911and gracing us with your presence. Hopefully something better comes along soon.

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I know, and I'm trying to change that but the reality is that we are driving 911s and not Miata's for a reason. I think for many of us, it's not because a Miata is slower but because of the price point it occupies. Anyway, 6 months ago I perceived the 996 a certain way based on what I had read, but owning the car has changed that. Subconsciously though, I still have those lingering thoughts. I don't know, I think it's part of my personality better or worse. For road bikes, I've had some cheaper bikes that were good, well mannered bikes (Fuji comes to mind) but it didn't tug on my heart strings the same way a higher end bike does and a lot of that is vanity; otherwise, I would ride Ultegra over Dura Ace Di2 since they're functionally identically. Conversely, I don't like money-no-object bike builds. I want my gear to reflect well thought out choice of components, beautiful design, functionally the best but also unique and cool. For those that want to geek out on bikes, here's my forever bike and here's my past bikes . So, I want my car to be the same way and I think I'm just trying to figure out if this 996 is that. It's not that I want everyone to like my car, but I do want to drool over my own car. I think that's what drives me more than anything else. I assume that's facetious and I'm sorry if I came off that way. I was only sharing my thoughts as I worked through this decision, the same thoughts probably many other 996 owners probably have had (and 997 and probably 964 owners several years back). After getting into a sorted 996, I don't think there's much that is better out there in the 911 family, at least under $75K or so. The only 964 I'd be willing to replace this car with would probably cost close to $100K, G bodies are too slow for how I like to drive and 73 RSR clones are easily over $100K unless you get lucky on a used one. My above response provides more context to this.

I thought the user name RyanH sounded familiar! As a fellow cyclist and weightweenies member (actually bought some parts from you years ago) I think you have a great sense of form AND function. This comes through in all the bike builds and now in the 996. Keep up the solid work and enjoy the car. BTW, how great is Sea Sucker!

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It�s all good and I really like what you�re doing with your 996.👍 Reading through the thread reminded of something that happened a week or so before Christmas that I wanted to share. We were experiencing some really nice weather in northeast Pennsylvania when I entered the drive-thru of my local Starbucks. I texted my wife a picture of the car in front of me with a simple request: �Please let me know if I ever become this guy�

Enjoy reading through this - especially as we frequent the same forums. There's something about how an item makes you feel that's hard to quantify. I've had a bunch of bikes over the years. But keep coming back to this one: It's not the lightest, fastest, most $, etc. But it's the one that I always think about. Perhaps because it was a dream bike when I was growing up. Maybe the classic lines. Whatever it is - it makes me smile whenever I ride it. Similar pattern with cars. Been a Porsche fan for a very long time - mostly 944s. But when began looking for a 911 - gravitated towards the 996. Maybe because I wasn't already a 911 guy, I wasn't bothered by any of the complaints that seems to plague the 996. I loved the look, it had the classic 911 silhouette but modernized. I loved the interior - the layout is just fantastic. Then I drove it - I initially drove a 996tt which was phenomenal! Then I drove a 996 C2 which, despite not being as fast, was just as much fun! And for zooming around town and the hills - it has more than enough power. Simpler to maintain. After searching for a few months, found one in LA, made the deal online and then flew down with my son and drove it back. Best road trip ever! (just before the pandemic). I've found that the 996 balances these various aspects so well (classic looks, modern comforts, power, handling, affordability, etc). It regularly pulls me to go for a drive to nowhere - just for the drive. Puts a smile on my face every time. Find what makes you smile.

File this under things your wife is better off not knowing about (sparkly clean oil filter though):

"Sparkly" is an adjective I'd avoid when describing a clean oil filter.

as long as you didn't use the bread knife to cut open the filter...

Fyi large roasting pans from your local resturant supply store really help from getting the wife wrath.

I had a bit of ‘996 inferiority complex’ with my first 996. In SW FL, I’m surrounded by brand new Turbos, 992’s, GT3’s, etc. But, I’ve come to realize, many of them aren’t getting the same feel from their newer models. Sure, they’re awesome cars but they are a bit different. Any Porsche is a delight and I count my blessings every time I drive mine. TC

Temperatures are going to be in the 80s later this week in LA so I figured it was a good time to strip out the interior parts that I'd be refinishing in piano black. Now that I have the parts out though, I think I'm more interested in doing a center console and lower dash delete. That way I can showcase the Numeric shifter that arrived today. I'll need to fabricate some things and figure out how to make the ebrake more visually pleasing. To do the lower dash delete, I'll need to get rid of the Sony head unit which means I'll lose my backup camera functionality. I'll probably remove most of the stereo while I'm at it (I'll leave cabling intact) since the only music I want to hear 99% of the time I drive this car is what's coming from the rear. If I change my mind down the road, I can replace the storage tray with a Continental unit from ToreB. I underestimated how many pieces I'd want to refinish...

Numeric came today: So, I went to grab the cable ends from the old shifter: Clearly these won't do. Yes, I could pay $40 and get OEM replacements from Pelican in two days OR... I can use this as an excuse to order some Numeric cables... Guess which I chose? Lol

Get the numeric cables and the silicon nvh covers. They will only compliment the shifter.

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I highly recommend pairing the cables with the shifter. I've been a very happy customer.

All the pieces in the Numeric equation (see what I did here? ) make a difference and will give you incremental increases in performance. The Numeric cables are impressive from the cables themselves, right down to the ends. Though a little pricey, you'll be glad you took the plunge. The Numeric shifter/cable combo really is as good as all the users say

Painting these plastic pieces is turning out to be a lot of work. This bedazzled coating Porsche puts on is a pita to sand away and you need to get it ALL off otherwise it comes out like this: Went back and did it again (still need to wet sand and then clear): ​So... This weekend I'll be doing A LOT of sanding.

I sanded for an hour today and then decided I didn't want to sand anymore for the day so I decided to disassemble more of the car. I removed 24kg, most of which won't be going back into the car. Door cards including speakers and airbag came out to 6.1kg per side. I'll work on making custom RS style cards in a week or two. I bought 1/8 fiber board today and decided it was much too heavy so I think I'll see if I can get away with foam board and upholster that. Next up was something minor but needed to be done, since I'm doing a center console delete, the switches need to be moved to the dash which means I need to undo the carpet which means a lot of things needed to come out: I'm still working on finishing that. There's a part of me that wants to run the car without carpet; or, I may remove the foam from the carpet which is supposed to save around 30 to 35 lbs. Removing the carpet would be the lightest and easiest to revert back to stock but I'm not sure I can make the interior look nice that way unless I was going to custom fab a metric **** ton of pieces. Goal is a minimalist and focused interior without looking like a race car. OEM+ more or less. I've seen a few air cooled pull off the stripped interior but they also smoothed all the interior body panels down and repainted which gave it a finished look and feel.

I'm interested in where you're going with the door cards, I have been playing with that idea (RS Style) over the last week while my interior is apart - keep us posted.

@zbomb this is my inspiration: The challenge is that the 996 door isn't flat like older models. It shouldn't be an insurmountable issue though.

I have the same picture saved on my computer...

@zbomb Do you have any updated pics of your interior? I didn't see anything recent in your thread. I love this but I don't think it's possible with the amount of wires running through the 996:

Check this out... To get that beautifully simplistic environment takes an abundance of customization. You Tube As of today - interior looks like the below. Waiting on hardware to get the passenger harness setup finalized then the seat can go back in. Still need to get window switches mounted in my CF radio delete And of course, the door cards. I have started making a template, I think I'm going to make the 1st try out of dense foam. I'll carve out the inside pockets where door protrudes. Put steel standoffs through it for mounting points... At least that's my plan but I have really not got far on it, I figure its going to take at least a couple attempts. PS - Interior WIP, needs a vacuuming.

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I think I may try creating a mold using the fiberboard and 2x6s (or 8) to serve as the outer perimeter and either doing a wet layup CF or fiberglass. Fiberglass would probably be the easiest and once I back the Dinamica with foam, any minor imperfections won't be noticeable. I'll need to order a router but I think the only "challenge" with that is getting a nice smooth transition from the board to the walls, but I think I've seen them use caulking and the back of a sharpie or similar to get the nice radiused edge. Also, I was looking at the door today and I think putting rivnuts into the holes where the clips normally pop in would make it easier. They're ~7.6mm diameter so M5 rivnuts would fit without modification (and easily drill out when you decide to go back to stock). Throw in a nice brass or stainless thumb screw and it should look nicely finished. If you go the foam route, Polyurethane foam is supposed to be very easy to work with which is what they use to work with fiberglass based off of my 10 minutes of research.

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You're way more industrious than me with your CF talk... sounds awesome - I wish you did all the work like a couple months ago and I would have begged you to sell me a set Plan is to use rivnuts for mounting for ease and serviceability.

Managed to get the carpet out today (found so many things under the carpet including an early 2000s audiovox cell phone receiver and lunch money's worth of loose change). The front portion weighs approximately 17 lbs. Not as much as I had hoped. However, looking at the interior without carpet, I think I can add some velcroed in pieces of automotive carpet on the sides paired with the standard floor mats and it won't be immediately obvious the carpet is gone. I may spray the center tunnel satin black since it's partially gray. I'll wait til I pull the dashboard out for the new one. Oh, I think I forgot to post about that but I had a dash drop shipped to Classic 9 and they'll be upholstering it in Alcantara with deviated yellow stitching. Seatbelts are going off to get re-webbed in yellow. Will probably finish off the look with a Momo Mod 7 with yellow center stripe. ​​​​​​ ​​​​​ ​​​

gt3 cup car interior https://www.pcarmarket.com/auction/2...-gt3-cup-car/# I've seen your WW builds - always appreciate your attention to detail on those. Looking forward to seeing what you do with your interior. Loving the direction your taking.

@ManM thanks, that gives some inspiration. So, today I tackled getting the dash out (eta is still 4 weeks away for the Alcantara dash), but I'm now having thoughts I shouldn't: can I remove the dash altogether and just add some finishing touches to this?

Down the rabbit hole we go, lol. It. Took a few hours to get the dash off but sand dash, it looks like there's promise for something custom made that is simpler: ​​​​​ So, let's continue removing stuff: The entirety of the stuff behind the dash is ventilation related it looks like. If it weren't so tall, a very slender old schools like dash would be possible. Without the main triangle air disperser thing: ​​​​

Fearless! How much air do race cars put up on the windshield? Is it even necessary?

I took it down this far more out of curiosity than anything else and to give me something to ponder about until I get my finished dash back. It will also let me revise some of the wiring routing so that I can clean up the center tunnel area near the front. I am curious why the race cars don't strip it down this far. Nothing in here really seems necessary for a race car and you'd have more room for the roll bar by the knees.

Any particular resource you were following for the dash removal? Reupholstering mine is on the to do list.

@yaz996 this gave a very good rundown: You Tube

his videos on removing the entire interior are very helpful. Ryan - did the large center vent piece (LL) screw off to separate from the blend door portion? or did you have to cut that off? what wiring runs down the center other than window switches?

@ManM i need to double check but I believe it was held on by 3 screws total, one on the driver side but I could be thinking about the vent under that. Anyway, it unscrews and pops off with a little force. Have you seen a resource on how to open the flap? It doesn't want to budge and I don't want to break it but would like to address the foam issue. Regarding the wires running down the center console, you also have: ebrake switch, two lights and one brown wire running down under the car which I'm not sure what it's for.

Don't push on the flap or you will break the servo motor. Under the air box right below the flap there's a little motor with a linkage to the flap. You can see a tiny green bit underneath and that's the servo motor. Unscrew the motor and then you can move the flap easily. I don't think the linkage is removable unless you unscrew the motor. The flap you can see moves the air from the vents to the heater outlet. There's a second little motor further back underneath that moves the temperature flap which is behind the visible flap. This one is purple, I think. There's a third motor that moves the defrost flap. The defrost flap is furthest to the driver's side inside the vertical air duct. This motor is yellow. There's a fourth motor way over on the passenger's side that moves the fresh air inlet flap. This motor is white. The entire air box assembly is the same one that is used on all Climatronic equipped VW's and AUDI's from about 1999 to about 2005.

iirc the brown wire is for the glovebox switch (for alarm).

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It goes into the center tunnel, so that would seem odd, no? @theprf thanks, that's super helpful. Also, does anyone know where to get carpet by the yard that's a close match to factory black plush? This stuff I bought on Amazon is too different. Would probably be fine in the trunk of a cayenne but not anywhere in the 911. I can hit up Appbiz but I feel like it'd be marked up a lot.

I have had good results with interior carpet from stockinteriors.com

I didn't get a ton done today. I had hopes that I'd get a solid amount of time in the garage but I woke up and felt like crap, diddled around the house for awhile until my Zwift race and then finally got to work on the car around 1pm. First order of business was to clean up wiring (it's never ending) and put felt tape on anything that might rattle (it's these little details that make a difference): Wiring cleaned up and a little vacuuming: Spent some time cleaning up the wiring in the center tunnel, including a fresh wrap of Tesa tape: Next up on the itinerary was to paint the center console and footwell area satin black. I figured this would be a low risk item to do since if I didn't like it, I could hide it with carpet: After 3 coats on the passenger side (lighting made it look a little funky in the foot well area): Decided to put the Numeric in to see what it'd look like. I'll need to order some brass or SS nuts to provide a more finished looked. I'm on the fence of leaving as is or fabricating a top piece that'll run along the top of the center tunnel and covered in alcantara: I also had a chance to mock up the door cards: It didn't bow as much as I thought it would have: Curious if I can get away with 1/2 closed cell foam around the edges on the back, upholster around that and call it a day rather than fabricate something. I'll mock this up in foam board once I get the hole locations onto the card stock and then see how thick of standoffs I need to clear the highest point.

Why don't you take the template to a fab shop with a bead roller and have aluminum cards made? Something like below. The bends will add rigidity without adding any weight.

@sweet victory ah, that's cool. I'll look into that if my current idea doesn't work out. Another member sent me a pm suggesting Kydex, which is a heat moldable thermoplastic. I'm going to order a few sheets and see if that'll work. I think that'll be the easiest. I cut the fiberboard and there's a good amount of gap that would need to be addressed whereas with the Kydex, I can mold in a curve and have it lay flat around the edges of the door. Also, some goodies came in the mail today: After hours exhaust from another member which weighs 4.3kg per side: My re-webbed seat belts from Safety Restore. That was super quick, I think I shipped them last Monday.

Kydex is an interesting idea, works great with my G19... I wonder how much it would weigh in the amount we're talking.

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I'd go for 1.5mm thick, which weighs 3.2 lbs for a 24"x48" sheet according to USA Plastics' site. The 1/8" fiberboard I cut today weighed 3.2lbs just for the cut shape, 24x48 sheet is 5.2 lbs. So, Kydex should be roughly 2lbs per door. I think that's going to be hard to beat; although, I did have a fleeting idea of just making the door card out of closed cell foam and wrapping alcantara around that like I did for the rear shelf but affixing it near the top would require some type of U shaped piece to secure against the lip on the door.

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I was playing around with the wife's yoga mat today with the same kind of idea....

Stupid question, but does anyone have some suggestions for the best way to index the holes on the door onto the card stock template? Best I can come up with is taping parchment paper to the door behind the template while on the door, outline the template on the parchment paper and then directly on the parchment paper mark the holes and then using that to create the holes on the template.

Hopefully the Kydex idea works because I'd like a simpler door panel set up as well.

I think your parchment idea sounds good. alternatively they all trace existing cards https://www.club4ag.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7592

You Tube Jeff's channel is great (and addictive if you haven't seen it)

@ManM i checked that video out last night and that's definitely up my alley, thanks for sending that over. File this under totally unnecessary but has anyone attempted installing an aftermarket pedal box? These are so pretty: Having the stock throttle plastic box disassembled right now and laid out is depressing when compared to the above stuff by OBP.

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Mylar, plexiglass, cardboard can be used to transfer the fastener/hole pattern.

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Kydex is a great idea. My neighbor has an extensive shop in his garage and forms stormtrooper helmets that way. He helped Disney make costumes and makes helmets for LARPers. It was a really easy material to work with. I think for best results you will definitely want to vacuum form it. I've seen small parts like holsters made with a shop vac, but with a much larger part (surface area), you may need a real vacuum pump.

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Do you happen to live in Northern FL and he is a new neighbor? You can hand form Kydex around a suitable plug with a heat gun and patience.

I don't feel like I accomplished much today despite being in the garage for 7 hours. I installed the Numeric cables and fabbed a custom cover for the center tunnel as well as replaced the ignition Switch and put closed cell foam on the vents. Template for the tunnel cover: Grams are important: Making sure everything fits: ​​​​​​ Shifter installed but everything is still a mess: Old ignition Switch wouldn't turn lights on if I turned the key top far: Lastly, closed cell foam in place on the vent (goodbye foam shooting out of my vents):

Does anyone know of an aftermarket ebrake assembly that's cable operated and would look good exposed? I can only find hydraulic ones. I dismantled my ebrake today to see if I can make it look better but I would have to make something custom for the handle and lever part. I don't have the tools to do any type of serious aluminum machining.

It was nice out today (read: warm) so I took advantage of that and painted things that probably don't need to be painted: I need to really get around the finishing the interior trim pieces but getting them smooth and ready to paint is a chore. Hopefully my new mini orbital polisher can tackle the sanding needs since the OEM speckle paint seems to be tough as nails to remove. ​​​​

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Negative. Currently living in SoCal. Ryan, have you tried soda blasting any interior pieces?

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Ah, may need to try that. Thanks for the heads up. Also, I was installing the Numeric cables onto the transmission (99 uses a pin type connection) and I think I should use steel wire at the end to make sure the connector doesn't come off. What type of steel wire and gauge do the racing guys use for securing things down so they don't back out or vibrate off?

The term you're looking for is "Safety Wire." .032" monel safety wire is what you'll want. Milbar makes the industry standard safety wire pliers. Do not exceed 8 twists per inch.

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Ryan. Interesting build thread. Thanks for sharing. ps, shipping seats is EZ https://rennlist.com/forums/off-topi...hip-seats.html

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Good info here, well except one part. 8-10 twists per inch is spec. 🤓

Got the Kydex in yesterday and had a minute to mock one of the sheets up. I'm struggling to figure out how to make the bend near the top as my test piece I'm getting waviness in parts I don't want as I try to make the bend. I may just go to home depot and get a U channel piece of aluminum to secure the top. Even without heat molding, the flex on the Kydex conforms well to the shape of the door. I just need to redo a few holes to get rid of some bunching and maybe add another rivet point along the bottom left. I have temporary steel screws but I'm either going to do brass or black anodized thumb screws. Once I get it situated, I'll upholster it.

That looks extremely clean!

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I like it, can you shoot me the detail on the kydex - source and pricing if you don't mind.

@@zbomb ​​​​ https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=125156

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If we're being didactic, it depends on the spec you're referencing. FAA AC 43.12-1B Acceptable methods, techniques and practices for aircraft inspection and repair is 6-8 twists/inch.

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While we�re being didactic, can you share that reference? Pretty sure it specs 6-8 twists an inch for the pigtail... But, holy smokes Ryan! Really like what you�re doing with the car and cannot wait to see your outlaw 996 finished!

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Jump to page 329 AC 43.13-1B - Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices Aircraft Inspection and Repair (w/Change 1) (faa.gov)

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Well slap my uncle. You are correct sir. Same picture and everything.

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Meh, only correct in this context. If you want to save quite a bit of time and keep installs cleaner, Daniels offers a crimped cable system as a replacement that I think is superior. May or may not be acceptable depending on what quality system you are working with: Safe-T-Cable (dmctools.com)

I went cheap and bought a moto tool on Amazon for $25. This is just a precaution. It's not in Numeric's instructions but there's a notch at the end of the shift pin and I'd feel better if there was something there to prevent the fitting from backing out. A c-clip would've been sufficient too I think. Now that I have this tool, what else can I safety wire? Lol.

Most likely can be filed under something you won't even be able to see but I wanted the flexibility with how I finished the front center console area so I painted the main brackets last weekend: Also in the photo are some replacement black flange nuts from McMaster Carr to provide a slightly more finished look.

Bracket is a little crude but I'm pretty happy with this. Much better than how the air cooled ones are secured.

Got the carpet in yesterday. Classic 9 was able to source the same carpet. The rear portion was the most difficult to work with but overall, once the seats are back in, the small bunching here and there won't be noticeable. I was originally going to sew the velcro to the carpet but the adhesive seems to stick well to the carpet backing. Low tech but it works: Front area which is going to be the most noticeable came out the best: Full view:

I was supposed to do work today (real work, not car work) but ended up working on the car instead. First up was securing the Numeric cable ends. I really feel like safety wire or a C clip should be standard as the ends just slide onto the pin and while probably unlikely, could walk off: Next up, since I really wanted to hear what the Afterhours exhaust sounded like (thanks to a fellow forum member), I installed those, breaking my rule of no more than one change at a time. I took a quick video clip of it. Keep in mind 911s sound pretty anemic without load but this is very promising: https://photos.app.goo.gl/tbKJEXQwwC9RnXoT6 It wasn't as loud as I thought it would be. Also, while I have that all off, I'm contemplating getting rid of the 5mph impact bar. It looks like I'd lose the heat shielding by the cats. Any concern of warping the bumper without the heat shields?

You should put safety wires where I've highlighted as well - this is generally where the cables fall out/come loose...

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numeric cables have a nut that locks the cable into the clip. It is a very positive connection.

Finally finished one of the door cards. The Kydex got wavy when I heated it so I was concerned that would be an issue but I was able to smooth it out the best I can and the foam hid the minor issues. I think I'm going to do black thumb screws for the top row instead of brass. After applying the foam: Dynamica applied over the foam. Not the best finish as the edges are a little uneven and there's some creases from the foam: Installed in the car, I'm hoping the imperfections won't be noticeable (I have two extra Kydex sheets if it bothers me): I think I might still fabricate a top cover of some sort as there is a channel behind the door card that is visible when looking down at the door.

How did the painting of the piano black trim work out? I�m considering painting my spare vinyl cluster surround to match the Vesuvio body/center console color

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It's a work in progress. I spent hours sanding everything down to get it smooth. For painting, I used Dupli-color adhesion promoter primer and Dupli-Color acrylic enamel gloss black on top but it ended up going on unevenly and showed texture still. The paint itself goes on too heavy unlike the VHT stuff which is easy to get light coats on. So, I need to redo the pieces. The adhesion promoter I think should be used in conjunction with a sandable primer. So, I need to tackle that again this week since the dash should be here Friday.

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Came out great!

I figured out what I was doing wrong when upholstering the door cards and managed to get the 2nd one to come out much better (edges aren't perfect but it's serviceable). Before, I would lay the fabric glue side up and bend the Kydex onto the material starting at one end. This caused the material to bunch as the Kydex returned to flat shape. So, round two, while more of a juggling act, I put the Kydex glue side up and worked the material on starting at one end. You have to make sure the material doesn't fold over on itself and get stuck together but this keeps it taut. Another helpful tip is to a) make sure you cut your material on the backside around the holes so you don't have to hunt for them and b) use a cheap soldering iron to poke holes for the screws. The soldering iron goes through like butter and makes a clean hole for the screws. I'll need to redo the drivers door but that'll be a later project.

Wax paper between the 2 glued surfaces will allow u to work the fabric accross without having to hold it up.

Dash was supposed to be here Friday but it got delayed until Monday. I was bummed about that I had hopes to get the car running for a weekend drive. So, much to my surprise, after I got back from a bike ride, I came home to a large box from Classic 9. ​​​​​​I also had dinner reservations at 6:30 and wanted to drive her so I had to work quickly to get the car in operational state sans dash trim pieces (was going to finish painting those today). I only got freeway miles in but the After Hours Exhaust sounds glorious wide open. There's drone between 2500 and 3k but driving above that it goes away so not a big deal for me. Numeric shifter feels awesome, very defined but I messed up my adjustment at the trans end and it won't go into 2nd. I think that should be an easy fix, just need to figure out which one is too short. I have a bunch of little things I need to take care of over the next week: won't go into 2nd (should be an easy fix), windows are hitting the door pull hardware I made, center the steering wheel, finish assembling the dash etc... Overall, the dash looks fantastic and really improves the interior feel. I also think I was able to get rid of the residual rattles and one creak (fingers crossed). I can't wait til I get it out for a proper drive as it's about 100 lbs lighter than when I last drove it.

dash looks amazing. If you don�t mind sharing the ballpark cost for that. I�m thinking of a similar mod. A previous owner had painted the top half of my full leather dash black and it�s starting to blister from heat.

A big thanks to @Tom Loder for sourcing this dash for me and drop shipping it. Total cost for upholstery was I think 1180 with shipping for the dash, airbag and cluster cover. Ebrake was another 180. Turnaround was about 5 weeks. http://www.classic9leathershop.com/p...6-boxster-996/

This looks fantastic, Ryan! The yellow accents are great and looking forward to seeing some nice photos once all buttoned up and finished.

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I've been pricing them out for a month or so now for some small parts, glad to see you worked with them and looks like their work is outstanding.

Sanded all the parts to a smooth finish and then started from scratch with primer, then base then clear. I'll wait a few days for it to cure then compound and polish. Bottom right is the ebrake base, which is in satin black.

How did you separate the HVAC vents?

Would love to see the interior in person one of these days Ryan!

I love this thread. I really like what you're doing with the car.

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The left and right vents? The pieces pop out:

I filmed this the other day to try to capture in a video as best as I can how the Numeric feels (sound up): https://photos.app.goo.gl/cGQPDKNQ9HgyAWZe6

Hmm, I'm missing something. What's needed to mount the A/C unit to the top? I have the bezel but this needs to be secured somehow.

I'm guessing it's this: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...p%2F1182168939

Almost done with the interior but got all the pieces in and was able to take it out tonight for a dinner in a parking lot and a short spin through Mulholland with the wife and dog. Every gram counts: ​​​​​​ Surprisingly, the wife didn't complain about the exhaust loudness other than she freaked out a few times on Mulholland thinking we were going faster (only 35, can't toss the doggo around) than we were due to how loud it was. And yeah, I sloppily applied vinyl over the holes for the bumperettes. Still need to call a body shop to fill the in. Any recs in North Hollywood?

I like what you're doing so much that I wish you hadn't done it so I could have done it first. I think this is great inspiration and will be a blueprint for the inevitable Singerization of the 996 that is coming. I think that what happened to the early 911's and the 964 will happen to the 996 within the next few years.

looks great! lets see some more pics of the removed center console/shifter area. what did you do with the back seat area?

I appreciate the kind words. I think it's a bit away from anything Singer like but it's unique and will continue to evolve over time and that's what I like about it. @ManM I'll take some photos sometime this week. Rear area was replaced with a lightweight piece of foam covered in Dynamica. Question: I need to put a receptacle in for the horn contact, a 90* one that I'll solder the horn wire to. Does anyone know what that's called and the size? I went for a drive in the canyons today and not being able to honk at slow traffic is annoying.

Where does the doggo sit? I have seen a bumperette delete panel that covers over the brackets

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Found the part number: 999-652-639-22 She sits in the back. For now, I fill up the foot well with beach towels and put a heavy blanket over that and the seat area so it's level. She likes to sit with her back against the passenger seat which minimizes the jolting from braking. I have a bunch of Cordura I bought last year that I've been meaning to make something specific so I don't have to grab a bunch of towels each time. ​​​​​​

So, I managed to sneak out for a group drive up Glendora Mountain Road yesterday. Got to kinda show off the interior as best as you can while social distancing but I did get to show off that the 996 is no slouch when it comes to canyon carving. After the first regroup, I was asked if I wanted to lead and I was able to stretch her legs properly. I'm super happy with the new shifter setup. I found myself more willing to shift up a gear just to go back down in a second or two. The exhaust is just the right level of intoxicatingly loud. One of the guys two cars behind came up at the regroup and said that he was able to hear my exhaust over his own car's and that it sounded glorious. There was a bit of exhaust note envy with the 718 guys. Overall, super pleased with the decision to go forward with this project and the direction it's evolving into. Here's a bigger pic of the group: Also, if anyone is in the greater LA area, join the group on Facebook. They do a drive once a month or so.

BTW, if anyone wants to do the same for their .1, I have a very good condition dash that I could ship directly to Classic 9.

Soooo... Looks like I sourced a MkI Aero Bumper from a fellow RLer. It'll need some repair but the price was right. Mulling over what I want to do with the rear end. Wing, no wing or duck tail? Not sure yet. Wing and duck tail would be lighter but I do like the rear profile of the car as is. I also need to figure out what phase II (or 3?) will entail. Part of me wants to repaint this car Viola Metallic. So, similar to what RPM Teknik did with their 996s. But, if I'm repainting I would also want to replace the roof with a non-sunroof and some other slippery slope **** that I can't recall now. I probably can't recall it cause I already did it, lol.

I�m planning on doing the CSR ducktail or similar unless I can find someone that makes a Singer style spoiler that still works with the active deck lid. To me that would be the best of all options. I will be replacing this Getty ERS spoiler that has been modified with a 993 grille. If you�re interested in it let me know.

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Not sure if it shows up but I just had a carbon fiber plate made to cover that.

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Pretty stoked about getting mine. Just a head's up for others who are looking at one and have a GT3 wing... new CSR duckbills will not have provisions for a 3rd brake light.

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so I guess just live without it? what�s the going rate for them?

I got around to re-assembling the e-brake:

Two questions: 1) What's the piece that plugs the hole circled in red called? Or, a part number, mine is cracked to heck and I need one of those. 2) What's the gloss black piece called behind the dials, circled in purple? Many thanks. Your interior looks amazing! -Matt

Cluster trim/surround is what I usually see them referred to as. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-911...EAAOSw8aBdPJtl

The piece in the red circle is the microphone holder. Something like this: https://www.sunsetporscheparts.com/o...SABEgKYVvD_BwE Didn't look far enough to find just the trim, sorry.

How hard was it to remove the e brake from it's bracket?

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It took a fair bit of whacking. I had bicycle brake nut that fit well inside the aluminum part that the ebrake rotates around and then paired that with a punch and went to town. Took about 10 minutes to separate.

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yes, yes, I think you're one of the few people who has done it. I think a press might be useful. Me, I probably would also end up with a hammer and some kind of drift to drive the pin/axle out.

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I've done it on two now so hammer method seems to be perfectly sufficient. In other news, I found an OEM taco wing, so looks like I'll be full aerokit soon!

Didn't have a ton of time to work on the car but I did install my new pedal set from eBay:

Gorgeous work!

I really like how its coming out Ryan - I think you have done an excellent job of reducing and improving the materials / finish of what remains.

Pedals look great! Can you share the link to the item?

@zbomb @TheChunkNorris Thanks for the kind words. Build threads are kind of funny things as you can post several updates and it can be crickets, leaving you wondering. @plpete84 It's these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-Manua...T/383684349733 They shipped with some hex head screws (non-concave) for some unknown reason so plan on ordering an M4 kit from Amazon too: Amazon Amazon I've been keeping an eye out for wheels, if anyone sees a light pair in 18" with ~50mm offsets, let me know. Kinda/sorta really want gold centered E88's but CCW and BBS RI-A are on the list.

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I get you and rest assured... no crickets chirping in this thread.

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I'm confused about the cable ends. In the installation videos, Numeric supplies plastic caps which go on ball joints and then the ends snap on to those. It looks like this car has cylindrical rods and the cables have eyelets that attach to them. I recently ordered the Numeric bundle and they don't give an option to buy either/or. Are there two different setups?

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Give them a call. U have the early shift ends and they have the correct parts to send u. U r not the first ti have this issue and they should really have the option listed when ordering.

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Thanks. Sorry if I wasn't clear, but I wasn't saying I had one or the other. I was just asking if there were two different setups. Thanks for confirming that. I took a look under the car today and it seems I do have the ball joint type connection.

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Ok, now you are the one leaving us hanging. Where are the updates?

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Ha, I've been focusing on home projects that have been neglected. I did get this in the mail today though. I wasn't 100% sure it was OEM since it was coming from a yard but it had the right markings on it so I took a gamble. I took the center piece off and it has the adjustment mechanism which the clones generally do not.

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Nice pickup. I need to get serious about finding an aero kit front bumper. So hard to find and expensive when you do. Just understand this thread is like crack to some of us and we need our daily fix. Lol.

Looks awesome and looks like the real deal. Have you found a body shop for the work yet? Saw your other thread....I know TLG Auto seems to have a great reputation as a mechanical shop. Perhaps they could point you in the right direction?

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Another member suggested Doug's Custom in Simi Valley so I made the hike over there today and met with the owner. He's putting together a quote. On the table is a complete color change. I really like Viola Metalic and Amethyst. This PPG color sample may also be a good candidate:

I'm a sucker for purple... probably my favorite car / color combo of all time... I say DO IT !

One vote for Amethyst

CSR Merlin Purple!!!!

I really hope you are not getting rid of the car after all this work. Would really like to see this in person as it seems like we are neighbors!

Definitely no plans on selling it. I am trying to figure out the next chapter though. Since the paint around the trim is crap (hard lines and chips), I have 3 options: 1) Keep it as is, paint the incoming aerokit parts black and ignore the blemishes. Most people don't notice unless I point it out, but as we all know,I know and that's the hardest to cope with. Other than the trim areas, the paint presents well. 2) Go full send and make it a dream build. This would be a repaint in probably Amethyst metallic and include sunroof delete, and probably if I'm spending the money, an MK2 update. I'd probably get an mk2 aerokit from sunset. I really like the 996.2 headlights so at this price point, it'd be worth it to not overlook over the details. This would probably be in the 20k ballpark which would put me around 60k. A lot for a 996 but I don't think you can look at it that way since in the restomod world, that's not even an entry price. 3) Get it wrapped. I'd have to get the paint blemishes sanded down but this would be a much cheaper option that would get me 95% of the dream build without worrying my wife is going to Bobbett me at night. I don't think I'd get the MK1 bumper and spoiler painted, so under the wrap it'll be a hot mess but not sure how big of a deal that will be if I ever sold it down the road (at least relative to how much I'd likely lose on selling the car after the significant investment in a respray). Option 1 is probably 2 grand and option 3 probably around 5 grand. There's a newer wrap by Inozetech that's pretty stunning: https://inozetekeurope.com/gallery/i...dnight-purple/

Your car would easily bring close 40 as is IMO. The money is worth the investment if you�re sold on this being a keeper. Otherwise I wouldnt plunk that much change if your heart isn�t in it. You know the answer.

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I will take back every compliment I gave you if you change the MK1 to MK2. That said, I call dibs on the MK1 aero kit if you bought if you go that route.

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Ryan, I'm actually in the same boat. I have a Mk1 car that I now have to keep (new shortblock to 3.8L conversion), Aerokit, etc. I'm considering Mk1 to Mk2 conversion as well, and a full repaint. Here are my thought since I've been pondering back and forth for a while: 1) Keep all your Mk1 parts and have them painted in the same colour as the Mk2 stuff, if you plan to do that. That way, you can always switch back if you want to. That's my plan. Maybe one year, I'm a Mk1 front end. Another, Mk2. I'll be keeping my Mk2 rear wing consistent no matter what, but if you have the storage space, why not? 2) I considered a wrap, but, if you're keeping it longer than 10 years, that's basically two wraps over that lifetime, which gets close to a decent paint job. So, my plan is to keep the car in its current colour (Lapis) until I'm fully committed and finished the mechanicals and most of the interior, then I'll do the exterior colour. Since my paint isn't peeling, I feel like I'm not in a rush to do mine ASAP, so it may be done in a year, maybe two. 3) I've considered the sunroof delete, and haven't decided if I want to do it or not. I honestly like having a sunroof, even if it is a pain in the butt, but I've considered it... 4) Amethyst is a gorgeous colour and it was my second choice after my first choice. I initially considered Ocean Jade Metallic, but the spray outs show it as way more green than one would expect from pictures on the internet. I've instead chosen a slightly different teal metallic shade, but using either amethyst or ultraviolet (purple) accents. I think it'll turn out just fine. I'm going to say just go all the way and make it your baby. If you don't plan to sell it in 5 years, do it.

If going the Mk2 route, I wonder how the aero kit would look with the turbo bumper.... I really dig the look of my 40th - narrow body with turbo bumper.

The Turbo bumper does look good with an Aerokit back. I've seen it once and didn't think it was awful.

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You Tube

I like the C4s bumper on the 40th anniversary but I like the mk2 bumper more. I think I've come to my senses though and I'll get the parts painted black for now and wait a year or two to change the color. I'm bummed I won't be losing any weight with the taco wing but whatever, it looks sweet.

barbancourt - this is the exact car I was thinking about! Kind of wish it came with the duck tail from factory, like the 997 Sport Classic. Ryan - with the parts you have selected it will look fantastic for sure. I don't know about you but keeping black clean would drive me nuts! I think waiting for the color change is wise. It will allow you to get it done perfectly and in due time but I can relate to wanting it done now and enjoying it now!

I had to wait for the garage guy to come by so I decided to test fit the wing before I send it off to paint:

Lookin' swell. -Matt

Those MK1Tacos have such beautiful lines!

I think this was the 996 that had some metal replaced in the frunk? If you peel back the carpeting in the frunk you'll see some pieces were replaced after a fender bender. I believe that was the damage from the accident you mentioned earlier in the thread. Some of the tub or rails had only minimal wrinkles though. I found it when I looked at the car in or around august of 2020.

It's been awhile since I've sat down and watched one of Jonte's build videos but man have I missed a lot. This build is going on over in the 964 forum but it's beyond next level. His most recent video is one of a few dozen but this gives a good idea of the direction he's going: You Tube Here's his thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...challenge.html He's aiming for 964kg which just blows my mind. That's making me rethink what can be done. I remember the CLR build and thinking that there wasn't too much more on the table but after watching Jonte's most recent video, I think there's quite areas that could have lost further weight. This has got me thinking of looking into taking this car down to the tub next winter....

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I happened to have the front end disassembled today anyway so I checked this. Unless I'm missing something, the tub looks original:

^^ Ouch!

Ya tub was definitely not replaced on it. Just some new metal parts that were easy to spot with their new black finish. The original metal around there just had some small wrinkles. Don't think it was a big collision. Edit: The weather seals/plastic trim might have to be removed to see the new metal pieces. The wrinkly metal was mostly around there or the frame rails.

Well, this is quite a pleasant surprise. I wasn't aware of these until a few days ago when I was browsing eBay and the guy was local, and also a fellow RLer. BBS Manthey Racing Re795 / RE794. Actual weights: 8047g for the rears 7283g for the fronts. Front looks a tad tight, looks like I need a spacer. 5mm? I'm researching tire options. I currently have 225/40 and 265/35 which I'm happy with and don't feel like I need more rubber. With that being said, what are the minimum widths I can get away with these since they're 9"/11"?

Really cool wheels Ryan. Nice pickup ! Hope you're going to keep the color, I think they will look perfect on your car. I believe those wheels are Mg, if so - just be aware of the debate on running Mg race wheels on the street, I won't impart my opinion, but it is something worth being aware of. The smallest tire I would run on those wheels would be 235/285. Not sure what the offset is on the front, you will likely have to do some massaging to the liner, you may be OK with damper clearance with a 5MM spacer but a 10MM will give you more clearance and should not cause any issues that don't already exist with the 5MM.

My Apex SM-10 wheels are 8.5 front and 11 in rear and I'm comfortably running 235/40 front and 295/30 rear. When time comes I may look into getting something with more sidewall for the rear, maybe 35. This is on a 996.2 so perhaps some fender rolling maybe needed on a .1 car.

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Unless it�s a C4S or Turbo, I was under the impression that the fenders the same dimensions on the 996.1 C2/C4 and the 996.2 C2.

So, tire options...hmm. Michelin Cup 2 Connect: I may have to go 295 if I want Cup 2s since they state up to 10.5" for the 285/30s. So, these would be 235/40 fronts and 295/30 rear. Front diameter 25.4" and weigh 21 lbs. Rears 295/30 at 25.0" and 26 lbs Goodyear F1 Supercar 3R: Largest rear is 285/30. 235/40 is 22lbs and 285/30 (24.8" diameter) is 26 lbs. These have SL load range vs Cups are XL so maybe more compliance? Bridgestone RE71R: 235/40 and 275/35 rears? The 285/30 is 10.5" max. The diameter of the 275/35 is 25.6 so this is probably not an option. Any reason to go with the Goodyear over the Cup2 Connect if they're the same price? I only use this car for weekend, very spirited canyon driving and maybe I'll do one or two track days this year. Track performance isn't going to be a major deciding factor since it'll be a question mark if I make it to the track (if I start racing again, I'd probably rather go back to Karts). I live in Socal so the only time it may see wet roads is up in the mountains but very unlikely it will see rain and I try to avoid mountain trips once the temps start dipping.

Rennlister with a youtube channel just put up some videos on what he had to do fit some similar sized wheels on his 996.2 c2. jasonp was the name I believe. Edit: jasonp996 He had to put a little work in to make sure things didn't rub under full compression. He made it work though.

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That would be zbomb

Welp, my gardener decided he would be helpful and toss out my rear heatshields I placed on the side yard...

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maybe he�s also rejuvenating a 996 and needed the part

They could turn up next week all polished. Perhaps ask how they are coming along!

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ill check if I have a pair for sale.

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Thanks Tom, I almost reached out to you but since my bumper is hopefully going to be done this week I ordered from a local yard for $90 a piece. Annoyed because mine were in good condition and everything I've bought from a yard so far looks like it's been sitting in a yard for years.

Coming from cycling, putting together a weight spreadsheet is almost a given. Right now I should be sub 2800 pounds dry and I'd like to get under 2700 by end of the year: Cost column isn't accurate so ignore that. I need to go through and color code verified weights vs estimates. Orange is potential savings, anything with implemented corner is on the car.

After a little delay on the front tires, I got the RE794/RE795s clad with Michelin Cup 2s (235/295) this morning and mounted onto the car. I ended up getting by with a 2mm spacer on the front. Clearance to the springs is 6mm, which I think should be fine, right? Fenders should be fine with the wheels this much inboard, a 10mm spacer probably have a better looking stance. Saved 3.3kg in spacers Size matters: So, tally for weight savings despite much wider rubber (225/265 to 235/295) is: Fronts: 5.4 lbs for wheels/tires per corner Rears: 2.5 lbs per corner Spacers: 7.3 lbs Total: 23.1 lbs saved I'm trying to figure out tire pressures. GT3 spec is 33/39 which is what I was running my narrower PS4s at. I think given that my car is around 2800 dry, I should be lower than before with the wider rubber, right?

These new wheels are also 18", right? Don't remember seeing the number. I think the set up looks great and the pressure is a good starting point. I assume the bigger tires may come to temperature at different rates and the guess is that this will be more of a canyon set up? Bring a pressure gauge, got for a drive and see how things feel. Visually this looks fantastic. Maybe adjust the right height a tiny bit lower... Another observation is that 295/30 gives you a decent amount of sidewall. Some tires tend to round off a bit more where as these have a more squared look, which I personally prefer.

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A good trick my friend Aaron showed me is to mark the transition of the sidewall to contact patch with chalk - run the car and see how far down the chalk is rubbed off, too far down the sidewall and pressure needs to go up, not getting to the transition to sidewall, drop pressure. This is what I've done on track since I learned it, seems to work pretty well and is easy to do. Don't see why you couldn't use the same methodology for the street. I have run mine at 35R and anything from 30-32F FWIW.

@zbomb awesome, that seems like a super simple method. In other news, work on the Aerokit bumper started yesterday...sooo....much....paint... It looks like it's been painted twice, both in SY. There's a lot of cracks that need to be repaired so I need to get those areas down to the material and begin repairing.

Every once in awhile (or every day) I have a moment of weakness and think about how sweet it would be to build a 73 RSR clone, but then I get to the weekend and get a proper drive in and remember how awesome this car is:

This falls under nits but is the secondary air injector supposed to be this loud (see video below)? It took me awhile to identify it but I noticed that the 996 sounds like a Nissan when I'm rolling out of my neighborhood or revving the engine while working on it. I originally thought it was like that all the time and thought a new intake would fix it but the other day I briefly started the car without the intake and the higher pitch suction/fan/something noise was still there. I finally put the two and two together after reading up on smog stuff and that the SAI pump only runs when the car is cold. The other day I did some engine revs after a drive and realized that Nissan noise isn't there when the car is hot. Keep in mind the after hours exhaust is most likely over 100 decibels so I'm surprised an SAI pump is audible. https://photos.app.goo.gl/kHKacBPV1fmSWP5f8

Is that the right video? I couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary, even as you revved the engine. The SAI will come on for a few seconds and then go off. It can do it a few times as the car goes through various adaptation modes needed to pass inspection. Mine kind of sounds like a portable Dyson vacuum but only runs for a few seconds and it's off.

@plpete84 Yeah, I'll record a video after the car is warmed up to show the difference.

Where did you find the front aero bumper?

A member sent me a PM awhile ago that he had one that needed to be repaired. I guess a benefit of doing a build thread is that people pm you about things you express that you want so they never hit the market, lol.

Had a nice morning on the Crest today: Also got a chance to record a drive by clip of the After Hours Exhaust note: https://photos.app.goo.gl/c6HMyVSQqAsKLogm7 On the way back down, I rolled with two of the guys I was talking to. It's not often I come across people that drive faster than I do, but Holy hell the M2 was booking it. I was initially in front but after 5 minutes or so of not being able to put a gap on him through the twisties, I waived him through and he was out of sight within 30s. Don't worry, that was taken on the lower part of ACH when we were stuck in traffic.

Cordura for rear seat delete? Holds up well? What type of foam for base will be strong enough for the dog? Just bought a 996.1 Silver over Boxster red (interior) that came with fixed back Corbeau FX1 seats and a half cage (&6 point harness). Ready to change pretty much everything about the interior (can’t do red interior w my complexion) so studying your thread daily. Seems like I want either fixed-back & cage OR rear seats. As my 12yo has ridden in the (relatively very roomy) back of my M3 a handful of times, leaning toward rear delete. Would be nice to be able use the rear area for a gym bag and briefcase. How do you get dog in/out w fixed back seats?

I missed how you finished the top of the door panels?

Wow, very impressive build! The tear down looked gnarly. And that dash came out awesome! Looking forward to seeing the aero kit with the color change.

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The surprising thing about the fixed back seats is that they're not as long as OEM seats and have thinner backs so for a dog, it's easier to get her in and out of the back. I still need to make a Cordura cover for the back that covers the seat area and fills in the footwell as well as has a flap to cover the side sill. We currently pack the footwell with blankets and she sits with her butt against the seat to keep movement from braking to a minimum. I was hoping I could pack it with cotton stuffing and overfill it. Maybe I'll get around to that this week and report back. It's still on my to do list. I'll have to redo the doors I think to do it the way I want. I think an L channel alloy piece affixed to the back of the door card will do the trick but that means I'll need to reupholster the cards. If I do that, I think I'm going to do deviated yellow stitching along the lines of what Carbone has been doing. Thanks, shooting for the fall for the color change.

�...it's still on my to do list. I'll have to redo the doors I think to do it the way I want. I think an L channel alloy piece affixed to the back of the door card will do the trick but that means I'll need to reupholster the cards.� Really awesome build, has me wondering if I can do some of this stuff. Rather than redo the whole panel, what about just a leather covered 2-3� cap?

I went the L Bracket bent in a bit... I don't love anything about my setup, but the bracket works well.

@TheUnscented None of this stuff requires much skill,, just some patience and willingness to do it over as the first time often won't be right. Case in point is the driver door has some creases in it whereas the passenger door is taut once I learned how to lay the fabric down. So, that's why I'm okay doing it over again. Also, had some time to attempt the rear dog seat solution. Spent a bunch of time sewing: Used the rear mat as a template I overstuffed it the best I could but sewing the last section closed was challenging. While it fit well in the foot well, it sat two inches higher than the seat (on purpose) since it became level with weight on it. However, Daisy wasn't super excited about that so I took a stack of extra exercise mats and cut them to size which worked much better: I'll make a cover for it later but that worked well for our trip around LA tonight. With the passenger seat moved back, it's a flat transition from the foam to the seat. Daisy was able to sit with her back against the seat and paws towards the sitting area so even under hard acceleration or braking, she didn't get tossed around.

Figured I'd take advantage of the 15% off promo:

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That�s pretty awesome and light!!!

I've done some soul searching over the last few days and I know deep down inside I'll always lust after a GT3. Those cars are probably going to go down in history as the pinnacle of combustion, NA cars for Porsche, so it makes more sense for me to splurge to get into one of those as it'll be something that I'll want to keep for a very long time. So, I'm putting up my car for sale for anyone that is interested in picking it up as I wait for the next SY 6GT3 or 7GT3 to pop up: https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1253681

can't argue with wanting a gt3! I'm sure you've seen this one already https://www.responsemotors.com/used-...911-gt3-c-648/

Thread appropriately named! Nice work on this one. I've enjoyed following. Good luck on the sale!

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Yeah, I've been seriously eyeing that one but I'd prefer to get from a fellow enthusiast if possible. I'm also working on softening up the CFO. Ryan

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You were an asset to the 996 community. Good luck in your sale and I hope you find the GT3 you want soon.

Good luck with your search👍 GT3 prices are a little crazy right now The Carrera GT is the pinnacle of combustion, NA cars for Porsche. Followed by the 997.2 GT3 RS 4.0

Ideally, I would like to wait until people are back at work and the used market cools down (hopefully) before I pick up another car. I started doing group rides again (cycling) this weekend which means I'll at least have that to take up my weekend time and I'll have less of an itch to immediately replace mine. 7GT3s seem to have jumped A LOT, particularly low mileage RS's, so picking up one now seems like I could be buying at the top of the market. Who knows though, maybe things will continue like this for another year. Another part of the equation is that I really want to get the Aerokit on mine and have it all done in a fun color which I was going to strip down and rent a booth with my neighbor to do ourselves. However, a few things might be changing with work, so free time is going to be scarce over the next year. That has led me to looking to pay to get it done but going over my most recent estimate, it's going to be around 15 to 20k. I really enjoy this car but I don't think I want to be that upside down on a car that is approaching 100k miles. That 100k magic number is a funny and cruel thing. I don't know, the rational, pragmatic part of me says that even if I paid to repaint the car and that added zero value to the resale, as long as I keep the car for awhile then that'll cost me less than most other options and provide nearly as much fun as something more exotic. I've been pretty frugal my entire life and ever since I was on my own, I put out of my mind cool cars as it didn't fit into trying to save for a house and retirement. For most of my post college life, my wife and I have gotten by on one car. 5 years ago it was a Panamera but after that met an early demise, a base 2013 Cayenne with low miles replaced it. At the age of 31, we bought a house in Hollywood Hills in 2018 which was a shock to the system of now being in debt for what felt like the majority of the remainder of my life. It wasn't until the end of 2019 that I finally felt comfortable buying my own car, a 1990 964 which felt like a splurge at the time. I sold that at the beginning of the pandemic in April for a pretty hefty loss. A panic sale. Several months later after I realized the economy wasn't going to collapse, I began looking again, and again, being frugal, I wanted something fun but without spending a bunch of the cash reserves. So, that leads up to today where I'm wondering if I should break from my frugal shell and splurge to get what I want, a reward so to speak. I am sure this is one of those things where only I can answer that but not knowing the future and being frugal by nature, it leads to a lot of hymning and hawing. One could argue that I'm being overly conservative with my finances, particularly since children aren't going to be part of the equation. Sorry, that was a bit long and off topic.

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This is a bad question to ask this group. Personally, I think we work way to hard to not have nice things. Buy it. You clearly know how to have fun in it and take care of it. I didn't buy my cheap 996 until my wife asked me when we were going to retire and I figured out that I could retire today. I can't see myself retiring but it did give me a new perspective on how to use the money we've been saving and saving. So if the budget allows, do it!

I say do what you think would make you happiest which sounds simple enough but I believe it's true understanding is undervalued. You're at the point now where it's all or nothing to finish the project how you envisioned it or getting something you've always wanted (think the latter would fulfill that void of letting the 964 go to be honest). Without getting to heavy, you listed financial reasons for doing things in regard to the change of heart towards a GT car. I bought my 996 Dec 11 of last year mainly because my cousin gave into his depression in May or so of 2020 and it kind of changed my perception of wanting something and satisfying that need because I see the mortality of it all now. If you've always wanted a GT car, then I'd say go for it but your vision on your 996 is to be admired so we as the 996 bastards will always wonder how that car would've ended up.

@TheChunkNorris sorry to hear about your friend. I'm leaning towards a 6GT3 over a 7 as I like my interior more than the 7 and they're only a slight premium over a few months ago vs 7Gt3s have gone full retard on pricing. So, that means I'll probably swap my entire interior over to the replacement car and it'll be a continuation of this build.

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Yeah it was sad, our family was in disbelief but the silver lining is do what you want when you can. It's funny you mention that, I was looking at GT3s now after your post... bro 997.1s are expensive and 997.2s are on another dimension.

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Do what your heart desires if you can afford it. Life is short.

Best of luck with your decision. As others have said, seems like you have your head on your shoulders and do your best to make wise financial and life decisions so if you're not putting any unwanted stress on your financial and family life then go for it! I've enjoyed following this thread as well (as well as your bike builds on the other forum) and definitely appreciate your approach to builds.

Last month I was showing my pristine E92 M3 (the one with the �all-singing, all-dancing V8) at Cars & Coffee when I noticed someone was really looking it over. �It�s for sale,� I offered. He demurred but told me about the E39 M5 he once owned then showed me the 987.2 Cayman S he brought. after showing me his Porsche, he got around to asking why I�m selling such a nice M3. My reason was that I feel I�m a custodian with this car. I can only make it worse. So I sought out a car that I could only make better. The replacement car is the most unloved 911 made. �Is it a �99 narrow body C2?� He asked? �We�re going to get along just fine.� My new-to-me 996.1 C2 looks a little tired w chips and scrapes. It�s a car that does not look new, I don�t feel bad about me $10/hour (wait, now $16/hour) employees seeing me in this car. It�s got a red interior, which clashes w my pasty Irish skin. Yet it�s a car that for which I�d been searching for a couple years. Silver and Boxster Red leather, a few RennListers have offered to buy my car, but they don�t know the whole story. How do you make a narrow-body less loved? Add a Chevy engine. Ryan�s thread has been an inspiration for me to get this car self customized to what I want. Ryan has been good enough to PM me some tips and I�m excited to own my 996.1 C2. Today I�ve got two Prototipo and one Mod07 steering wheels arriving (my seats are fixed-back Corbeaus bolted to directly to floor) for test fitting. Although I can afford a 997 GT3, I would never get the pleasure that this little C2 is bringing. I can only make this car better.

Stealing Ryans thunder. He sent this last night. Love me some 8g rpm.