Deans 1999 996.1 Carrera 2 Aero

I’d looked at a few 911s before this one. Even a couple of Boxsters. Every time I got close, I couldn’t quite justify the splurge. Which is odd, because I’ve had some interesting stuff over the years including a proper Impreza rally car and a couple of serious BMW track builds. I also daily a sorted Panamera. So this wasn’t about speed. It was about finally owning a 911. First image I ever took of the car on collection Awaiting the ferry from Shetland to Aberdeen Then this Arctic Silver 1999 Carrera 2 Aero popped up in Shetland. Tiptronic. Honest. Not perfect. But it felt right. I flew up, bought it, and spent 14 hours on the ferry home wondering if I’d made a mistake. I hadn’t. The Car 1999 C2, 3.4 cable throttle Factory Aero Arctic Silver / Metropole Blue Tiptronic Now on J13 OJR Not concours. Slightly mismatched peeling front wing which replaced with a Boxster one off eBay. But straight and fundamentally solid. And the wheels were too bad to refurb so replaced straight away Before and after The one major issue with car, Gearbox & D4 issue 2nd oil change after 3k miles with full gearbox flush and sump changed I did change the OEM Shifter to a slightly wild HSpeed one from Germany Intermittent D4 flashing followed with no drama, just occasional limp mode. So far: Front right speed sensor replaced All ABS sensors replaced Fluid changed Faults monitored Only thing not yet replaced is the transmission range sensor, which is next on the list, which will be done when gearbox dropped when doing IMS work done It’s never stranded me. Just part of 25-year-old 911 ownership. I did buy a complete 3.4 auto gearbox if I ever needed it For how I use it, Highlands roads and GT cruising, the auto actually suits it. That said, paddle shift and LSD are likely future upgrades. Underneath laser blasted and epoxy treated where needed. Then fast forward a few weeks later Brakes refreshed with genuine Brembos and full handbrake kit from Porsche Centre Perth. All genuine Brembo and Porsche OE handbrake kit fitted for recent MOT Swapped P Zeros for Michelin CrossClimate 3s as makes more sense up here. Future and ongoing work planned Engine-wise: I opted these as they were slightly softer than the RSS ones given mine is auto RMS IMS All tensioners, pulleys and belt etc Major service plugs and filters (number 3 in my ownership) Gearbox mount insert, I thought about the bush and opted this for now Suspension: Cora vs rear H&R spring Bilstein B8 H&R springs Poly arms H&R ARBs Geometry Adjustable H&R ARBs still en route from Germany Low mileage approx 4k used arms just to reduce cost for now cleaned Most of the spend is invisible for now Just thought I’d share my 996.1 and my life with it here in the far north of Scotland, thanks for reading

Great write up!! Some fantastic pictures of your car in there.

Subscribed, impressed...!!! Excellent work!!!

Top stuff

Great write up and great work.

Awesome mate ! Hopefully catch you at a pinky’s meet this year !!

Great report Your car looks really good….. and what a playground to enjoy it in

Fantastic last pic with the N lights. Also impressed with your underside refresh - looks amazing.

Looks great, some dedication gone in there.. I can’t get over the original wheels what on earth happened to those !?

Looks great I’ve got a set of those wheels not yet fitted was tempted to refurb them back to OE but quite tempted stick them on as they are after seeing yours! Good work there love the maintenance and underside clean! just done a suspension refresh as well drives so much better!

Good work fella

Great work and fantastic write up. It's been great seeing this car go from strength to strength

Looking good, you’ve brought back to life a great car, now it’s time to enjoy

A quick update, so the car is currently under some work as I type, this update will be picture heavy, as I know everyone loves looking at new parts, so you’ve come to the right place The end result is to have the car looking better than it already is and running better than it left factory. Just a little lower and dynamically brilliant for a B road blast when the occasion calls for it. The car currently sits with no gearbox in and with LOADS of “essential” new parts awaiting to go on. That’s the replacement gearbox I sourced early last year behind car. The issue with the D4 flashing mention in the original post with the gearbox I hope has been solved, I made the executive decision to use my “ Insurance ” gearbox with progressing forward. It was noted in MOT that the oil cooler pipes had seen better days and I noticed the hose from diaphragm perished, even though 90% of time the gearbox ran sweet it’s coming out. One modification upgrade i’m deeply looking into is paddleshift similar to my Panamera, not so much bothered its shift speed being slower than PDK, I want it as i’m used to it for the years been using the Panamera and the buttons personally detract from the driver feel, so eventually will bin them and replace with a non button wheel and paddles. Old gearbox removed, you can see the range finder is shot amongst a few other niggles. You can also see sand where the whole front of car was cleaned where I haven’t really used the car since. Note how bad the pipes are and general condition, I’m planning later down line having it rebuilt but that is a later story. Here is replacement 5HP19 gearbox going in Note the condition is way better, ideally I’d love to have lazer cleaned it prior to fitment. The driveshaft bolts (and a few seals you’ll read about later) were ordered for when it all goes back together. One thing I was surprised by was the gearbox mounting bush on the one I removed was beyond help, perishing and breaking away from itself and the new one is intact and in great order. Ironically I bought the powerflex yellow gearbox insert for the old gearbox but now can’t wait to stiffen the new ones movements up a little with them in a good condition bush. Add these will be a little win as the bush is in good order on replacement box. Plus I’ll be fitting adding this upgrade to these I kept thinking about the RSS ones and opted for these for now just to feel the improvement when I eventually drive it. Another thing I noticed dropping the subframe was how worn the bushes are They ideally need replacing now before going back on, so I opted for powerflex parts 11 and 12 the front and rear bushes for the subframe in purple. I opted for these bushes as they are a little bot more durable than the OE softer ones and hopefully will last about lot longer. I plan to clean the subframe properly when I clean the back fully like I did the front underside I ordered bushing kits 11 (2x Rear Subframe Front) and 12 (4x Rear Subframe Rear) which combined with replacement arms and all the suspension work should dial the car back into a more new, but faster road feel. I hope! Cora modelling as always when I’m checking contents These combined with the arms will hopefully stiffen the rear up a bit more without taking away the subtle feel I hope to achieve Annoyingly the handbrake cable snapped due to age dropping the subframe so yet more pennies I opted for OE match parts from Design911 for the cables Whilst the engine is down is I am replacing all the brake lines, a lot of them are now copper, which isn’t bad but I want it correct and have been lucky enough to get complete brake lines from Porsche OPC I got all lines as I wanted to replace the hard to reach ones across the top of engine whilst every thing was dropped for the IMS work. I opted genuine for piece of mind. The mad thing, as I have a great relationship with Perth OPC they delivered these to me with a white glove service, so I can’t commend or recommend this team enough, as I love in Inverness! Once they are on with the Brembo bits already fitted below I’ll be adding the final details I know these will be overkill in my car, but I dediced that with al the work I’m already doing to the car why not fit HEL braided hoses just for pedal feel more than anything, the car will never make it onto a track I highly doubt. One thing I do have is big reds, need refurbished, these were planned to go on at this time but I’ve looked at the effort involved and its a next winter project, but here they are I believe they need the wheel carriers form a C4S or Turbo to fit, I genuinely thought (blindly thought at that) they were like the BMW F3x platform Brembos being direct fitment onto the early E90/E92. So for now these won’t be on the car when its on the ground Another part arrived from being ordered an eternity ago. The H&R adjustable ARB’s. I thought about just replacing the bushes and keeping the old ones and painting them. After some thinking, I decided as I’m going to the level I am with the H&R lowering springs and Bilstein B8 struts amongst all the other overhaul bits to the suspension I’m already doing I decided that the ARB’s H&R offer will dynamically be correct for the car. I will be running in the “soft” or “middle” setting. Another thing I that was noticed when dropping the gearbox was that the fuel rails have become so corroded that they were leaking some 99 RON straight onto the exhaust! Which may become a rather expensive problem. After a tremendous effort by everyone in the Pinkytacos club, one of the members (Stuart I hope you don’t mind me namedropping) let me know he had a set, and not just any set, but they came from a car in California that had never seen the delights of UK Winter! After spending days of research as I couldn’t find a set, let alone a good set anywhere, so much so that I was looking at early Boxster parts to solve my issue when I seen the pictures, I almost fell over and humbled they will be going onto the car! These are true art and I can’t wait for them to go onto my 3.4 this coming weeks! Which ties in with the fuel injector seals in the picture above with my driveshaft bolts. So essentially with all the pulleys/tensioners/belts replaced this will reset the fuelling to factory standard beyond my wildest dreams. The engine will be great with all these upgrades and the new LN Engineering IMS. And here it is in my hand (well one of the tiny boxes it arrives in) So other than a bottom end rebuild the engine will be reset. So the car will have a complete revival of the follwing systems, either now complete or happening in next few weeks- Complete refresh of braking system, complete and new Replacement Gearbox Engine refresh, IMS/RMS etc changed etc Full suspension refresh And so much more I hadn’t anticipated doing “while I was there” or “while it was out”! Another job I did that turned out to be super expensive even with discount, my rear spoiler was always annoying me that I couldn’t raise or lower it (not for downforce but inner child looks I wanted it flicked up). When the car arrived home initially this is what I was presented with… Thanks to Porsche OPC I sourced the correct parts to replace these badly damaged parts, the only difference is the OE ones are now made of a slightly more durable anodised black metal than what appears to be the aluminium of the past. My inner 2 year old is happy with the end result You can see the dramatic change to the rear already. This leads onto the final part I can’t wait to get onto car as the original one was missing and they are expensive to buy, a tip off from Mark lead me to being lucky to get one of splitters group order custom made on here from Andrew aka Interfernce Fit, which when the car is back on the road I can’t wait to complete the aero look with this So far some head aches chasing my tail and so much bits arriving for the car and everything falling into place. I’m hoping to have the car ready for first week of April so I can enjoy it for my birthday weekend. If I can’t get it back on road in time, my first world reality is I still have the other beautiful Porsche available The Panamera under the Northern Lights at the start of the year. It’s been the ultimate delivery van for the 996 parts lately. The 996 is coming along perfectly well and I can’t wait to get it on deck and update the progress.

Great write up and a hell of a refresh, now got out and enjoy

That’ll keep you busy ! Thanks for the write up

That work will keep you busy! The car is sure to feel amazing after all of it though. Let us know how it drives with all those changes, particularly the bushings. Oh and that shot of the Panamera under the northern lights

Engine phase with replacing the original IMS / RMS / brake lines at 105k miles. We’re now into the engine phase of the recommissioning, exactly as planned and addressing everything properly while access is there. The IMS and RMS have been replaced as part of this. The original bearing now coming out at 105k miles actually came out in good condition, which surprised me given the level of concern and worry I genuinely had around the IMS and was a big part of why I wanted it done. That said, this was never about reacting to failure but resetting known weak points. The tiptronic gearbox has likely helped its longevity over the years. I looked at so many options, EPS for example and went for the LN Engineering IMS. The LN Engineering bearing is now perfectly in place along with a fresh RMS for added piece of mind. While the engine is out, the genuine Porsche hard brake lines, pictured previously, that go over the engine are also being replaced, one of those jobs that makes complete sense now and I planned into the work scope. More engine work to follow, with belts / tensioners / pulleys and the work to replace the fuel rails and the complete brake lines too.

Great write up!

Quick update as it’s finally starting to look like a car again rather than a long-term garage ornament Rear end is now pretty much there. Went with Bilstein B8s and H&R springs, new dust covers and bump stops etc, but the main aim wasn’t just bolting parts on — more getting rid of 20+ years of tired compliance and bringing everything back to a tight baseline with no loose ends. Subframe is now on Powerflex purple bushes. I know they’re not everyone’s choice over OEM rubber, but the originals were past their best and I didn’t want to replace old soft with new soft. The aim was to firm things up without going full track-spec, so these seemed like a good middle ground. In theory it should keep the rear geometry a lot more consistent under load rather than letting everything move about as it does when worn. Before... ...After, with all new arms, bushings etc and the Powerflex purple subframe bushes prior to mating back to the car. Alongside that I’ve fitted 964 RS semi-solid engine mounts and added a Powerflex insert into the gearbox mount. The original engine mounts could literally be twisted by hand and the gearbox mount on the old box was completely perished, so there was definitely movement there that shouldn’t have been. The replacement gearbox I’ve put in is in really good condition mount-wise, so made sense to tighten everything up around it. ngine side is coming together nicely — all pulleys, tensioners and belts done, as seen below (it'll get a good clean when complete). The gearbox mount inserts visible and the purple subframe mounts visible. Hoping this combination will tie the drivetrain into the chassis a lot more directly — less of that slight delay you get between throttle input and the car actually reacting, especially noticeable on older setups. While I was in there I ended up replacing anything that wasn’t up to scratch (as you do…), so mix of new arms and good condition refreshed parts. Brake lines over the gearbox done, handbrake cables in, and the replacement box is now fitted. Original one will get rebuilt and possibly treated to some sort of LSD later on, still researching this. Managed to source a really good set of injectors and clips from Stuart (same gentleman I picked up the mint fuel rails from California), so sent those off to be cleaned and pressure tested before going into the new fuel rails. They initially came in around 80–84 but after cleaning and balancing they’re now all sitting at 87–88 and within a very tight spread, so fuelling should be a lot more consistent across all cylinders and car should run smoother with that and the work above. The condition of one of the rear injectors, which none of the 6 will be going back into the car. The condition of the injectors and failing clips which were removed and now replaced with the ones below The new condition fuel rails going in shortly look better every time I see them The injectors have now been cleaned and pressure tested, ready to go into the above rails. Fuel rails going back in next along with the airbox to finish that side off the rebuild complete and it'll (hopefully) run better than it has ever done in 25 years! A quick comparison of the ones removed on left against the replacement ones after cleaning on the right, what a difference! Also added the upgraded magnetic sump plug while was there — simple thing but gives a bit of insight into what’s going on inside over time, especially on a car of this age. The car will be running on Millers Motorsport CFS 10w50 NT+ oil. Plan once it’s on the ground is to get it aligned somewhere around X74 settings to suit the ride height/setup. I’ve gone that route as a baseline over standard C2 geometry as it’s a bit more aggressive from factory, with more camber and a sharper overall setup which should suit the stiffer suspension and reduced compliance from the bushes and mounts. X74 is effectively a factory -30mm setup, and although mine obviously isn’t factory with the H&R springs on B8s, it’s a very similar philosophy in terms of ride height and damper control, so it made sense to carry that thinking through into the alignment rather than start from a softer baseline. With the H&R ARBs in the mix as well it should still remain compliant but a lot more controlled. It looks epic seeing it going back together so nicely The new arms and handbrake cable end against the Bilstein B8 look like art! A better clearer look at the rear end work prior to it all going back together. When you see the old suspension that left factory you can see the difference. And a quick comparison The original almost 30 year old suspension strut against the new Bilstein upgrade Front end is next to do and match the rear end with brand new coffin arms, tuning forks, TRW track rod ends, genuine Porsche top mounts, along with B8s and H&R springs to mirror the rear setup. Slightly ironic doing all of this and running it on Michelin CrossClimate 3s, but for the roads I use they make sense — softer compound, good in all conditions and still give what feels like 95% of the handling of a more aggressive Michelin Cup type tyre without the compromises I need to cater for with the car in the Scottish Highlands, with our unique 4 seasons in one day type climate. Being fully aware it’s a slightly odd route for a Tiptronic but the aim has always been to build something that actually drives properly rather than just look good on paper. It'll be very interesting to see how it compares to a “normal” 996 once it’s all dialled in and run… suspect it might be a good surprise. It’s getting close now — really looking forward to getting it back on the road and seeing how it all comes together compared to what the car was before.

Bloody excellent work..... wow i can't believe the state of those injectors......!!!!!

Craig has worked hard to get the car to this point and it’s finally starting to feel like we’re turning a corner with the build. The front end is now fully back together. Once the original shocks came off it quickly became apparent there was very little reusable, so alongside the genuine Porsche top mounts, Bilstein B8 dampers and H&R springs I ended up needing to source a surprising amount of additional OE parts including new bearings, stop discs, support rings, compensation plates and hardware. One of those “while you’re in there” moments that spiralled slightly, but worth doing properly while apart. *old original front shock fitted at factory vs the new set up on car The car also now has completely new hard brake lines throughout with all of the old copper removed. It was actually surprising how soft the copper lines felt compared to the OE-style replacements. HEL braided hoses are also fitted now, so it’ll be interesting to see how the pedal feels once everything is bled and bedded in properly — especially on fast B-road runs in the Tiptronic. The rear was initially all back together and the engine fired up beautifully for the first time since the IMS/ancillary work. The car genuinely sounded and ran sweet in the short time before disaster struck… unfortunately the replacement gearbox turned out to have the smallest crack imaginable in the casing which immediately sprayed oil everywhere. Typical project car luck. Rear end built but you can see the oil leak from gearbox putting a spanner to the party A zoomed in closer look, it’s gutting but the situation is in hand luckily. Decision was made to get the original gearbox back into the car, but swap some of the better ancillaries across from the replacement box while everything is apart. I also spoke with Porsche Centre Perth who managed to source genuine oil cooler pipes and, unbelievably, the last gearbox mounting bush left in the UK warehouse. While investigating everything further we also found corrosion in the gearbox/range finder wiring on the vehicle side which has now been repaired. Combined with the new range finder, hopefully this finally cures the intermittent D4 flashing issue I’ve experienced occasionally while driving the car. The underside photos really show how well the laser cleaning and epoxy work has come up before the rebuild started. Seeing everything fresh underneath with all the new suspension, lines and hardware fitted has made the scale of the chassis refresh feel worthwhile. The H&R ARB is visible with the new brake lines and the awesome job of refreshing the whole underneath *I know I need to top up my screen washer fluid Current work completed so far includes (plenty will have been forgotten): - LN Engineering IMS bearing - RMS - Full complete suspension refresh front rear - Bilstein B8 dampers - H&R springs - Genuine Porsche top mounts - New arms and bushes throughout - H&R adjustable anti-roll bars - Purple rear subframe polybushes - 964 RS engine mounts - Yellow gearbox insert - Full hard brake lines throughout - HEL braided brake hoses - New Brembo discs and pads - New handbrake cables - New Michelin Crossclimate 3 tyres all round - New gearbox ancillaries/cooler pipes - Injector replacement service/refresh - Replacement fuel rails from a car originally from California - New belts, pulleys and tensioners - Gearbox/range finder wiring repair - Various additional OE hardware and fittings All going to plan, once the car is back together it’ll be tested and set up to a fast road X74-style specification which has really been the philosophy behind the whole build from the start. I’ve also picked up a PCCM+ from Porsche which is waiting patiently at OPC Perth and even ordered the genuine navigation SD card. I figured I may as well cover myself properly if I end up somewhere in the Alps later this year with no phone signal while attempting the planned road trip from the Scottish Highlands down to the Furka Pass. On the less serious side, I also bought a custom gearknob from The996Shed featuring Homer Simpson disappearing into the hedge with the Tiptronic gear selection operated by pressing Homer’s doughnut… because every build needs some personality somewhere. Holding my personal Homer Simpson custom gear shifter in my hand, this should look amazing with PCCM+ and metropole blue interior. The doughnut gear selector is amazing and I can’t wait to use it soon. Wrapped this update up with another photo of the Panamera sitting under last month’s meteor shower. That car has genuinely kept me sane while the 996 undergoes what has basically turned into a full chassis recommissioning project. Taken on GoPro Hero 13 in night trail mode, I’ll try and get some with 996 when it’s home. Big thanks again to Craig for all the hard work, patience and late nights getting the car to this stage. Still more to come once it’s back on the road properly.

After almost five months off the road, today was finally the big day. The journey to get here has been far bigger than I ever intended when I bought what looked like a tired but honest 1999 996.1 Carrera 2 Aero. The rear today finally sitting perfectly on the Bilstein B8 and H&R springs What started as “I’ll sort a few things” quickly snowballed into one of the most comprehensive mechanical refreshes I’ve ever undertaken on a car. What started as “I’ll sort a few things” quickly snowballed into a full mechanical refresh and a deep dive into just how many age-related issues a 27-year-old 911 can hide. Along the way the car had all these surprises ready: Flashing D4 gearbox faults A replacement Tiptronic gearbox Fuel rail issues Injector testing and cleaning Range sensor investigations Various electrical gremlins Worn suspension throughout Engine and gearbox mount wear Endless “while we’re in there” jobs The biggest mechanical job was the IMS bearing replacement and RMS while access was available, giving some peace of mind for the future. The suspension received a complete overhaul rather than simply throwing coilovers at it. The aim was never to build a track car or a stance car, but to build the best fast-road 996 possible. During the past 5 months, Work carried out includes: Bilstein B8 damper H&R lowering springs H&R adjustable anti-roll bars New OE factory front top mounts Complete front suspension arm refresh Complete rear suspension arm refresh Rear subframe polybushes 964 RS engine mounts Gearbox mount upgrade Full geometry setup Michelin CrossClimate 3 tyres The braking system was also refreshed with: Brembo discs Brembo pads New genuine OE handbrake components complet HEL Braided brake hoses Replacement to complete Porsche OE hard brake lines The drivetrain and engine received: LN Engineering IMS bearing (changed at 105k miles) Rear main seal Replacement Tiptronic gearbox (later rebuilt original using components from both gearboxes) New genuine Porsche gearbox mount bush New Porsche gearbox cooler pipework Gearbox cooler pipe work New belts New pulleys New tensioners Replacement injectors Injector cleaning and flow testing California fuel rail replacement Fresh fluids throughout Millers Motorsport oil Other additions included the forum-recommended splitter, which finishes off the Aero kit perfectly and subtly sharpens the front-end appearance. What makes today’s collection even more satisfying is that, right at the end of the project, it nearly didn’t happen. After sourcing and fitting a replacement Tiptronic gearbox, the final pre-delivery testing revealed issues with the replacement unit itself. At that point, what should have been the finishing line turned into yet another major setback. The solution ended up being a bit of a Frankenstein build. The original gearbox was brought back into service and rebuilt using the best components from both units. Along the way it also received new Porsche gearbox cooler pipework, replacement seals and what turned out to be the last genuine gearbox mount bush available in the UK, sourced through Porsche Centre Perth. The cooler pipes alone were eye-watering in price, but the original items had deteriorated badly and simply weren’t worth risking. With the gearbox already out of the car, it made sense to do the job properly rather than revisit it later. Even on the final stretch there was one last battle to fight before the car could finally get back on the road. What makes today’s collection even more satisfying is that, right at the end of the project, it nearly didn’t happen. After sourcing and fitting a replacement Tiptronic gearbox, the final pre-delivery testing revealed issues with the replacement unit itself. At that point, what should have been the finishing line turned into yet another major setback. The solution ended up being a bit of a Frankenstein build. The original gearbox was brought back into service and rebuilt using the best components from both units. Along the way it also received new Porsche gearbox cooler pipework, replacement seals and what turned out to be the last genuine gearbox mount bush available in the UK, sourced through Porsche Centre Perth. The cooler pipes alone were eye-watering in price, but the original items had deteriorated badly and simply weren’t worth risking. With the gearbox already out of the car, it made sense to do the job properly rather than revisit it later. Even on the final stretch there was one last battle to fight before the car could finally get back on the road. Today wasn’t completely drama free. Within minutes of getting ready to drive the inner driver’s door handle mechanism decided it had waited long enough and promptly failed. The flashing D4 issue also remains, although at this stage it appears to be electrical rather than mechanical. The fault can be cleared via the iCarsoft CR Pro 4 and the gearbox itself now performs perfectly, so that investigation continues. The surprise was the drive. After months of chasing faults, replacing parts and second guessing suspension choices, I finally got to experience the finished car. Even in heavy rain on drenched roads the car felt incredibly stable, precise and connected. The grip from the Michelin CrossClimate 3s combined with the refreshed chassis is genuinely impressive. The car finally feels like one complete package rather than a collection of old components. What really surprised me was how confidence inspiring it felt. On one particularly wet stretch of road I accelerated hard to an indicated 100mph before lifting off, fully expecting some movement from a rear-engined, rear-wheel-drive car in torrential conditions. Instead it simply tracked straight and true. Stable, planted and remarkably composed. For the first time, I genuinely understood why so many people become lifelong 911 owners. At home on driveway today The custom one of one Homer Simpson gear knob also made its debut and somehow feels completely at home in the car. A huge thank you to everyone who helped along the way, whether through advice, sharing information, troubleshooting obscure faults, or supplying parts that had become almost impossible to source. This project simply wouldn’t have reached this point without the knowledge and support of the community. What has surprised me most through all of this is how attached I’ve become to the car. After a glorious week of sun I finally got to drive the car in monsoon Scottish Highland rain! When I bought it and brought it home, the intention was simply to save a slightly tired Aero car and create a nice fast-road 996. Somewhere along the way it became much more than that. Every fault uncovered led to another improvement, every setback taught me something new about the platform, and every drive reminded me why the 911 has such a loyal following. I’ve owned other Porsches and there are certainly faster, newer and more valuable examples out there, but this particular car has got under my skin. It’s far from perfect. The paint still needs attention, the D4 gremlin still needs chasing, and I’m sure there will be more surprises from a 27-year-old 911. But for the first time I can genuinely see the finished result. This one is staying. The plan was never to build a garage queen. It will be driven, road-tripped, taken across Europe, used in all weathers and enjoyed exactly as Porsche intended. Next on the list: Porsche PCCM+ (on shelf ready and awaiting fitting) Paint correction and bodywork improvements Solving the remaining D4 electrical gremlin Driving it properly and enjoying it For the first time since this project started, I can finally stop working on it and start driving it. Even if it is raining! What really stood out driving it now was the balance. Turn-in is far sharper than I expected and the front end genuinely bites when you commit to a corner. There’s very little of the understeer and instead the car seems to rotate naturally before the rear simply digs in and drives itself flat out of the bend. The throttle response feels instant, with none of the hesitation or disconnected feeling that can it had before. The brakes are equally impressive, pulling the car down perfectly straight and with complete confidence. Every input feels clean, direct and predictable. For the first time since buying it, the car feels as though every major system is working together exactly as Porsche intended. And honestly, this is only the start of this love affair with this car.

Enjoyed reading your posts, well done for keeping another one alive ! Great to read you’re finally out driving it, enjoy, it’s the best part !

A quick update a week later after finally getting everything complete and car back on ground. After driving it properly and living with it for a week, the biggest surprise is I genuinely can’t pinpoint one thing that transformed it — it’s the cohesion of everything together. The handling is crisp and unbelievably sharp. The front end now has so much grip and confidence on turn in, while the rear feels tight, planted and properly connected rather than following behind. The whole car feels lighter on its feet and more eager to change direction. Throttle response feels instant now too — even a small tap gets an immediate reaction and the engine just seems to breathe so much more freely than before. One thing that raised eyebrows was the Michelin CrossClimate 3 tyres. They’re probably not the obvious choice for a 996 project, but paired with this setup they actually suit the car brilliantly. The balance, compliance and real-world grip have completely won me over. BEFORE → AFTER Suspension & Chassis • Original tired suspension → Bilstein B8 dampers • Standard ride height → H&R -30mm lowering springs • Standard anti-roll bars → H&R ARB setup • Worn bushes → refreshed suspension bushes throughout • Factory alignment → combination of X74 and GT3-inspired geometry • Original engine/gearbox movement → semi-solid 964 engine mounts and refreshed gearbox mounting Drivetrain & Mechanical • Unknown long-term IMS status → LN dual-row IMS solution • RMS replaced • Gearbox removed, repaired and original Tiptronic retained and refreshed • Range sensor replaced and wiring repaired • ATF refreshed and cooling pipework renewed Braking & Control • Full brake hard lines renewed • HEL braided hoses fitted • Refreshed braking setup throughout Result *Front end now feels coherent and the combination of X74 and GT3 geometry settings on the H&R and Bilstein B8’s. Before — comfortable, slightly vague and older feeling. Now — front end bites immediately, virtually no understeer, rear stays flat and follows cleanly, throttle response feels instant and the whole car feels like one complete package rather than a collection of parts. I genuinely think this is the first time since buying it that I’ve experienced what the car was always supposed to feel like. It’s so immersive and phenomenal driving swiftly on the wet (something we get a lot of in Northern Scotland). *Ford vs Porsche, my friend Matthew spent a few days machine polishing the car ready for summer. His Mustang looks massive compared to my little old Aero. Side note — the only thing still lingering is the D4 flashing issue. Ironically after all the heavy mechanical work, suspension overhaul, gearbox out, range sensor replacement and wiring repairs, I’m starting to wonder if the final answer ends up being something simple. I’ve ordered a new Bosch S5 85Ah battery (something I probably should have done a while ago anyway) and while waiting for it to arrive I’ve been experimenting a bit. Oddly, if I turn the ignition on and leave the key in position for around 20–30 seconds before cranking, the car starts and so far the D4 flashing hasn’t appeared. Not calling it fixed yet as I want to repeat it properly, but it’s definitely made me look harder at voltage/start-up behaviour rather than assuming something major. Front looks perfect, I was considering spacers and opted to keep as is as it looks sublime. Next week I’ll be fitting the new battery when it arrives together with a replacement ignition switch while I install the PCCM+, so hopefully after all the heavy lifting it ends up being something simple and this is the final chapter of the build for now.

Your car looks fantastic.

A quick update before heading along to Cars & Coffee last weekend. Before doing much more I swapped the battery for a new Bosch 85Ah unit. Looking at what came out of the car, the old battery was physically much smaller than I’d expected for the car and given the ongoing D/4 flashing saga I quietly hoped it might have been one of those simple wins after all the heavy lifting elsewhere. Initially I thought I might have cracked it. The car ran faultlessly for days and I drove it for over an hour today with no issues at all. Got home, switched it off and restarted while fully warmed up…and the D/4 gremlin returned immediately. Cleared the fault and it drove perfectly again. So next on the list and already sitting ready to go is the ignition switch. Looking back, there does seem to be a possible pattern appearing with heat and restarting, so perhaps there is still hope this ends up being something simple rather than anything more dramatic. The 996 back in my workshop ready for a non essential but uber cool upgrade. On a more positive note, I finally fitted PCCM+ (and all the other bits I ordered) this week supplied through OPC Perth. It’s a slightly fiddly job routing wiring around the dashboard and A-pillar areas and I realised afterwards I’d never really seen many photos of the install process itself, so I’ve attached a few. Before- The upgrade itself completely changes the experience of getting into the car. It somehow manages to modernise everything without making the interior feel less 996. The interface and responsiveness feels surprisingly familiar coming from my Panamera and even later Taycans I’ve borrowed. I even opted for the map SD card… mostly because it felt right to complete the package. After- The funny thing is from the outside the car looks almost unchanged, but inside it genuinely feels like the car has moved forward 25 years overnight. As for what’s next, the 996 may actually get a quieter period now. I’ve ended up with another project in the form of a C1 race car, so the plan might simply be to drive and enjoy the 911 through summer while getting the little C1 ready for some endurance racing later in the year and hopefully Silverstone 24 next year. So back to the 996, I’m now enjoying evening drives and loving the new exceptional handling set up and new PCCM+ experience.

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I keep coming back to this first picture, there are some great photos in this thread but this shows the 996 shape off brilliantly and looks gorgeous. Absolutely stunner.

Nice to see the old VW LT35 pickup in the yard , they've done well to keep that on the road especially in Scotland.

Quick PCCM+ update. Firstly, thank you for all the comments and messages so far, I’ve genuinely enjoyed reading them and seeing people pick up on little details in the photos. Also for those asking…yes, the old VW LT35 pickup in the background is alive and well It’s looked after properly and still used daily for scaffolding work, which feels fitting somehow. Back to the 996, the PCCM+ is installed and working well now, but one thing annoyed me every time I looked at it…I ordered everything for the retrofit and completely forgot about the section below where the old CD holder/storage area lived. Once the PCCM was in, it made the centre console look unfinished. So naturally I ended up ordering the OEM cubby hole direct from Porsche to finish it properly Throughout this whole build I’ve tried to support the companies that have helped me along the way. A lot of parts have come through Design911 and Spyder Performance, but equally I’ve deliberately chosen to use Porsche Centre Perth where it made sense and honestly their service has been excellent throughout. The PCCM itself came through them and what stood out to me was after installation when I had issues getting Apple CarPlay connected, despite me being up in Inverness and fitting it myself, they were still on hand helping troubleshoot and advising from their side until we got there. That level of support deserves credit and I’m genuinely thankful for it. I know OPCs sometimes get avoided in enthusiast circles, but my experience has actually been really positive. I keep the Panamera within the Porsche network for servicing and selected work, while the 996 has become the opposite, almost entirely done in-house by me as part of the enjoyment of ownership. I quite like that balance between the two cars. *the car looks fantastic at OPC Perth By complete coincidence my Panamera was in getting some work done at the same time I ordered the 996 caddy hole for the dash and Porsche kindly let me use a Taycan Black Edition while I was there, I’ll share a few photos because they ended up becoming part of the story too. I think this thread has slowly become as much about my life around driving and Porsche ownership as it has become about the rebirth of my 996 itself *for size comparison, spot my Porsche 996 against the modern Porsche Taycan body Interior is finally getting to the point where it feels how Porsche might’ve built it from factory…although the Homer gear knob is staying, and soon to be joined with paddle shift. I am looking at seat insert options, houndstooth (blue/black/grey) or pasha in black/blue as I want the interior to feel mine. I’ll wrap this up with the 996 at the garage last night in the sun and car as sun is setting on my driveway.

The Taycan is really starting to grow on me. It's such and original shape and that front end ...I just wish they weren't so big and heavy.

It’s been a good month with the 996 despite the intermittent Tiptronic issue. I’ve managed to get out to a few events and have been enjoying the car rather than constantly working on it. The highlight was taking part in the Moray Miglia alongside a great mix of classic and modern machinery. Awaiting the start of the Moray Miglia 2026 Mid day lunch hault on the Moray Miglia 2026 high up Cairngorm mountain Pulling over for a quick rest during event with 911 Turbo leading my path over the mountain passes Ending the Moray Miglia with a 996.2 Turbo At the Drive at Haddo later It was nice to finally stretch the car’s legs properly on some fantastic Highland roads and mountain passes. Running with everything from classic 964s to newer 911s really reinforced just how well sorted the chassis now feels after all the work that’s gone into it over the past year. The car also attended the Porsche Boxster 30th Anniversary meet where it performed faultlessly all day. At the start of Boxster meet drive, the aero spoiler became invisible Then headed to the next point with some rather gorgeous machines One of the more random view points of the 30th anniversary Boxster meet was taking a ski lift up Glenshee mountain and seeing all Boxsters line up to the right Having 70 Boxsters behind is a unique sight Mark’s Aero with mine at the meet, we took the opportunity to get them close with the glorious Scottish mountains offering ultimate back drop. More recently I took it up to the Million Dollar View on the NC500 with my brother. The more miles I put on it, the better it seems to get. It really feels like it’s all starting to come together and reminds me why I bought the car in the first place. Between getting the 996 right, I almost took it on a track day mid month to Knockhill with the humble C1 race car I’m setting up for endurance racing next year. The C1 in the pit lane with a GT3 RS Knockhill in the evening after success of a great track test Anyway, The next job on the 996 is to continue chasing the Tiptronic fault. After months of intermittent D/4 flashing, the gearbox has finally produced a useful fault code instead of leaving me guessing. Combined with some live data that occasionally reports the ATF temperature jumping from a perfectly normal 72°C to over seven million degrees, I’m beginning to suspect the ATF temperature sensor or its wiring may be contributing to the issue. What’s interesting is that around 90% of the time the gearbox behaves perfectly, and even when it enters its reduced driving programme it will still manually select gears. That increasingly points me towards an electrical signal issue rather than a mechanical gearbox problem, so I’ll be replacing the ATF temperature sensor and investigating the associated wiring over the coming weeks to see if that finally puts the issue to bed. While I’m there I’ll also be fitting a low-temperature thermostat and giving the cooling system a full flush and check over. The plan is to drive to the Furka Pass in Switzerland next month, so I’d like the car to be in the best condition possible before setting off. Overall though, I’m finally spending more time driving the car than fixing it, and that’s exactly where I wanted to be. Hopefully the next update will be from the Alps rather than underneath the car! I’m still excited by the reflection Thank you for reading

Impressive to see the work you have done from your starting point to how you have it now

Wow great thread, thoroughly enjoyed reading through that. The car looks absolutely superb, appreciate u sharing

Excellent!! Keep it up!!!

Car looks great. Recently purchased a similar 996.1 and likely I'll end going down a similar renovation route! Keep meaning to pop along to the Drive at Haddo one of these days.

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they dont feel heavy when driven......................well not as heavy as you expect them to feel. I love mine - on my second now

terrific thread - thanks for posting all this, but also doing all that excellent work to keep another great car alive! hope the pesky D4 issue gets resolved soon...............

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How do you find the Panamera? I'm looking to upgrade the wifes car early next year to use as the family car. I've got the panamera as one of the cars on the list to look at.

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Thank you all for feedback, the car has really transformed in my tenure over past few years and there is no agenda to sell which makes these decisions feel rational. I do have a few body panel bits I forgot to mention in last update as rust is creeping in the rear left arch. But, I’ll enjoy the next few months without worrying about it until the longer winter months. Thanks! I can honestly recommend the 970.2 3.0 Diesel, especially if you find a well-specced one. Mine has air suspension, Sport Chrono/Sport Plus and a few other options, so it feels very close to a GTS in terms of equipment. It somehow manages to be incredibly economical while still having loads of torque, and it makes every journey feel a bit special. I’ve driven mine almost 50,000 miles now and whether it’s a short commute or a long European run, I genuinely struggle to think of anything that does it better. I’d definitely budget for preventative maintenance though. They’re not cheap cars to neglect. Porsche’s service interval is 20,000 miles, but I service mine every 10,000 as I’d rather err on the side of caution. Front and rear discs and pads were due around the 70k mark, which I had done at Porsche Centre Perth after negotiating a decent price. The only fault that’s really annoyed me has been the parking sensors, which stopped working years ago, so I’ve just relied on the rear camera ever since. Tyres also transformed the car. Mine came on Vredesteins which were perfectly good, but swapping to the correct Porsche N-rated All Season Pirellis made a noticeable improvement in how planted and confidence-inspiring it feels. It’s a big car, so you do notice the width squeezing through tight gaps, but once you’re on the move it carries its weight incredibly well and feels effortless. As a family car it’s brilliant too. I regularly have two dogs in the back and the boot is genuinely huge – I’d say more practical than many estates. For me, the 970.2 3.0 Diesel is one of the bargains in the Porsche range. Find a high-spec, well-maintained example with a good history and I think you’ll love it. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few Taycans over the years, from dealer cars to longer drives, and they’ve really grown on me. I’m genuinely considering adding a well-specced Taycan GTS to the collection at some point. The performance is just surreal. Full acceleration is one of the few cars I’ve driven where it genuinely takes your breath away. What surprised me most though wasn’t the speed, it was how Porsche it felt. The steering, the weighting and the confidence it gives you reminded me so much of my 996 that it was almost uncanny. The new Black Edition also recently surprised me. Despite the size and weight, it would happily rotate and let you play with the balance through bends in a way that reminded me of an old E36 M3, just with 25 years of engineering development behind it. I never thought I’d say an EV could have a soul, but the Taycan absolutely has Porsche DNA running through it. It feels completely different to something like a Leaf or Kona EV. Those feel like electric cars first; the Taycan feels like a Porsche that just happens to be electric. Taycan GTS I drove while my Panamera getting work and I genuinely almost put deposit on it! In hindsight, I sometimes think it was the right car launched at the wrong time. I’m really looking forward to trying one with the new e-Shift system, as that sounds like another step in the right direction. As for the Turbo GT… that’s probably the dream, but I’d happily let someone else absorb the depreciation before I go shopping! As this is a 996 thread, before I’m banned for all the Panamera and Taycan chat here’s J13 OJR sitting on the drive tonight keeping the Panamera company under the midnight sun in the north of Scotland right now. Thank you all again for taking time to engage

completely agree with the points on both pannie and taycan - i used to have the pannie 4s e-hybrid and absolutely loved it to bits. I bought it as a company car whilst there were tax benefits for the hybrids and it did everything perfectly well - it was nimble and super for long journeys - 167mph on the autobahn was effortless................and pretty economical to boot. As tax rules changed i had a short spell in an X5M then ordered my first taycan - the 4s XT which was great, but i got bored, think it was the colour or perhaps the dent on the front and back i just couldnt be bothered having repaired so chopped it in for an even better specced Turbo S sport turismo now with rear wheel steering and chassis control, torque vectoring etc etc - there aint no moving this baby on a round about!!!! It corners like the proverbial rails..............before anyone buys a taycan try the chassis options - the 4s was no slouch but this thing feels like its alive in all situations..........its not the car that was timed wrong, it is the UK's lack of planning for the infrastructure................on the continent it is so much easier to own and run an EV - we are still years behind with no sign of catching up

Had a great afternoon meeting up with Carl and Ange and their Arctic Silver 996.1 Aero. On the face of it the two cars look remarkably similar, but once they’re parked together the differences really stand out. Carl’s car has a Hartech 3.7 conversion and the next step I’m considering. We ended up talking all things 996, including the one that’s probably occupied my thoughts the most recently, the red Slakker Racing 996.1 from the USA. It was interesting discussing how different owners take the same platform in completely different directions. Driving through Elgin together definitely turned a few heads. Seeing two Arctic Silver Aero cars travelling in convoy seemed to result in plenty of double takes from people wondering if they’d just seen the same 996 twice! On a side note, the Tiptronic gearbox behaved impeccably all day. It shifted exactly as it should, with no hesitation or flashing lights, so that was another reassuring step in the right direction after everything that’s been done over the last few months. A few more photos from the evening…

A little update, and thankfully a very positive one! The battery tray had been bothering me, so that’s now been changed with new bolts. At the same time the coolant was completely flushed and a low-temperature thermostat fitted. In normal use it now sits around the lower side of 80°C, only really climbing when worked extremely hard, track use or sustained mountain climbs. Low temperature thermostat The temperature sits perfectly on the low side of 80 degrees C. The sump came off and the internal loom (melted and mangled) was replaced with item below More importantly, the D4/Tiptronic saga finally appears to be over! Craig established that despite the cooked gearbox loom we’d already replaced, the actual fault was corrosion further up the wiring causing the gearbox to lose its electrical feed. That has now been repaired and the difference is remarkable. The gearbox has relearned beautifully and genuinely feels like new. After everything we’ve chased, saying I’m overjoyed is probably an understatement! This was the culprit!!! Here was the remedy…not OPC…but Craig performed a miracle here…and it works, with the TCU now getting a live feed it hadn’t had for almost a decade!!! It had a local excursion to the west coast up to the famous Applecross pass. Heading up Applecross The view is surreal the higher you go I had the go pro attached to car as I headed up and captured these cinematic anamorphic photos The PCCM+ really completes the interior of the 996 so well and it’s great when in low visibility conditions having the maps on, even knowing the road so well, but the mist and rain didn’t help. The top is normally a stunning view down valley famous the world over…but not the day I headed up! Proper Scottish mountain weather, highest pass in UK with the lowest cloud! The wet road just added to drama but the 911 took it in its stride. It hasn’t exactly had an easy test either. It’s since been around the track at Golspie where The Grand Tour filmed a few years ago followed by an eight-hour round trip including Applecross Pass, all without issue the next day as shown in pictures above. Hopefully this video can play, you can hear the car sounds so healthy and see how dynamically brilliant the car now is point to point after all it’s chassis work as I pass the main Golspie straight The car is very flat and controlled, so easy to understand how it communicates itself to me. One of the three lap passes I did with car, I thought it would be cool to have GoPro looking back at spoiler as I wanted to be creative A couple of nice bits have also appeared. After being tagged in a Facebook post I picked up a mint, low-mileage pair of ceramic-coated cat pipes, ready to go on with a mint pair of Porsche GT3 tips. I already have GT3 tips, but one being slightly oval has always annoyed me! And after searching high and low, I finally found the three-spoke Tiptronic wheel I’ve wanted since buying the car, importantly in the correct Metropole Blue. That’s going away for an Alcantara retrim with a blue leather 12-o’clock marker purely because I want it that way. I’ve gradually fallen out of love with the original 993-style wheel. Current wheel (sorry no recent better picture, I didn’t think I’d be referencing it for this post ). Hard sought replacement in very good condition in correct blue to have outer circle retimed and fitted. For now though, I’m just enjoying having J13 OJR back and working properly. Furka Pass is still the target before the end of the year, then the new bits can go on over winter. After all the Tiptronic headaches, it feels fantastic to finally just drive the thing.