I don't see too many build threads on here and I thought you guys might enjoy seeing one. For those who don't know me, I have a small salvage yard specializing in the 986 Boxster. I stumbled into them after buying a flood damaged S at auction. I had bought it for the calipers to put on my 911sc. That one boxster turned into two, and two turned into four, and so on and so on. The problem was I don't even have my own boxster. Here I am, the self proclaimed "King of the Boxsters", and I don't even "own" one. It's not that I didn't want one. It's that I couldn't afford one. Any money I made went back into the business. I was hooked on the boxster by the second one and knew I wanted one for myself. I would have to wait for the right one to come along.
As I waited, I started collecting parts that interested me. I've been able to collect quite a collection these last three years. Most of the boxsters I get don't come in with anything special or aftermarket. The biggest source of "cool stuff" has come from trading with people or shops. I'm not sure if I'll ever be done collecting anything 986 related. I have double of some things so I can compare. Like mufflers for instance. I have a Dansk sausage and a Chinese knock off. I plan on trying both and keeping the one I like best. I have a feeling i'll be disappointed with both though.
Back to the search for my own 986. The right car would have to have a good title. that means a clear title or a salvage title that I could later get turned into a rebuilt title. It can't have a nonrepairable title. Nonrepairable title means the car can never see the road again. Surprisingly a lot of very clean cars get branded with a nonrepairable title by the insurance companies. I bought a beautiful 99 with only 43k with a nonrepairable title and it didn't have a speck of damage to it. It happens often. The right vehicle couldn't have any major body damage either. I don't mind replacing a body part that unbolts, but I don't want to do any welding or body pulling. I thought I had found my car. It was a 97 that had been ran into something and also vandalized. Someone shot the cluster?! I started to prepare that vehicle when a 2003 with water damage came in. The 2003 was in better condition and only had a bad immobilizer. It had it's own wear problems too, but otherwise was a great candidate. Both the 97 & 03 were base models. I had all the parts to convert either over to an S. That was all fine and dandy until I got this 2000 S. It only had 52,000 with full leather interior! Sorry 97 & 03, you've been replaced. Arena red isn't my favorite color, but I can live with it. The car as a whole was light years in better shape than the other two and already has the S upgrades. The only thing wrong with it was a wet immobilizer. I threw another ECU/immobilizer in it and it started right up. I can't imagine a better 986 coming along, so here I go.
I had a buyer for the 3.2 motor before I even bought the 2000 S. I decided to sell the motor for two reasons. One, I needed to keep the money ball rolling. The 2000 S was the most I ever spent on a boxster. I didn't want to take that kind of hit $$. And Two, the 2.5, 2.7 and 3.2 don't have enough power for my taste. I want a 3.4, 3.6 or even better a 3.8. The 3.4 will be the easiest and cheapest motor to swap. Until I find a donor motor, I'm going to progress with the build. So follow along if you like.
Sorry about the picture quality on these three pics. They're the only pics of the car I have before I started messing with it.
