Finally got most of my projects done on my new 2001 Zanzibar Boxster - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

CVLCPorsche · 04-02-2018, 06:01 PM

I am a lifelong Porsche fanatic whose primary passion has been air-cooled 911's. About a year ago I started thinking it would be nice to have a more "modern" Porsche, one that had functional AC, would be comfortable for a weekend trip with my wife and one that was still a momentum car as the new high HP Porsche's don't really do it for me. I like to have to work the car and really drive.

With that in mind I decided I wanted an original 986, the purity of the original design drew me in. The problem was I had my heart set on just one color, Zanzibar.... I have loved that color since I first saw it. Luckily I found my ideal car, a 34k mile, all original 2001 Boxster. It's not heavily optioned and I would have preferred an S, but it was literally as new in every respect.

From there I had to start making it my own. Here is what it looked like when I got it (after I had detailed it... It was clean but not this clean)

I started with the mechanical items and tackled the following:

Replaced IMS Bearing with Roller Bearing style
New RMS
Full major service including all fluids, filters, spark plugs, belts, etc
New Battery
Cleaned out the front radiators

Once I felt good mechanically it was time to upgrade the exterior appearance. The list included:

OEM Litronic Headlight Upgrade
OEM 2003-2004 Rear Tailights
Clear side Markers
OEM Sport Exhaust (wired the valves open all the time)
OEM 18" Hollow Spoke wheels in Matte Black 7mm rear spacers
Black Hardtop

From there I moved to the interior and did the following:

Painted the Center console and dash trim in Zanzibar
Deleted the center console and installed the GT3 trim
Deleted the airbag warnings on the visors
Black and Orange Cocoa Mats (not pictured)

Today was a great day as its the first time I have driven it since getting everything all done, it was done on a time available basis so 3 months of off and on. I am thrilled at how it has turned out and have just a few small items on the to do list. Thanks to the forum for lots of project ideas, FAQ and project guides!

BYprodriver · 04-02-2018, 07:23 PM

Looks great! I love Zanzibar

Deserion · 04-03-2018, 03:50 AM

Awesome work! And welcome to the forum.

Good call on the GT3 console, I did the same to mine not long after I got it, and have far more comfort when driving.

RedTele58 · 04-03-2018, 05:03 AM

Wow - just wow!

I love Zanzibar - i's my favorite color.

You did an outstanding job making a great car even better!

Burg Boxster · 04-03-2018, 05:27 AM

Very classy touches - nicely done.

Congrats and drive her in good health!

Brian in Tucson · 04-03-2018, 05:59 AM

Welcome. Nice car. You live in a great state to go motor touring in. Enjoy!

MWS · 04-03-2018, 10:12 AM

Welcome! Curious though...if your mission was to find this color, how big of a net did you have to cast, and how far was the car you purchased?

BTW...kudos on work don thus far.

Finnegan · 04-03-2018, 10:17 AM

Really nice! I love the black hard top.

CVLCPorsche · 04-03-2018, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MWS

Welcome! Curious though...if your mission was to find this color, how big of a net did you have to cast, and how far was the car you purchased?

BTW...kudos on work don thus far.

That is the crazy thing, I was doing a nationwide search and was getting really frustrated as I wanted an all original, all original paint, low mileage manual transmission 986 in Zanzibar. I was watching for about a year and only 2 cars popped up, one was a Tiptronic and one was an S that was quite rough. The car I bought met all my criteria, had just 34k miles and I bought it less than 10 miles from my house! Go figure, it was meant to be!

Thanks for all the kind words so far. It has been fun learning about and working on a new genre of Porsche for me.

MWS · 04-03-2018, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CVLCPorsche

That is the crazy thing, I was doing a nationwide search and was getting really frustrated as I wanted an all original, all original paint, low mileage manual transmission 986 in Zanzibar. I was watching for about a year and only 2 cars popped up, one was a Tiptronic and one was an S that was quite rough. The car I bought met all my criteria, had just 34k miles and I bought it less than 10 miles from my house! Go figure, it was meant to be!

Thanks for all the kind words so far. It has been fun learning about and working on a new genre of Porsche for me.

Further proof that people don't find cars, cars find new owners.

BruceH · 04-03-2018, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MWS

Further proof that people don't find cars, cars find new owners.

Yep

Very nice looking car, well,done

KevinH1990 · 04-03-2018, 04:10 PM

I did some of the same exterior mods a you did - litronics, de-amber and 03/04 tail lights. De-and Changed Some Interior Items

I did go in a different direction with the interior, but the Boxster world is a big tent.

I think the black hard top is an inspired touch and works well with with the zanzibar.

I recommend that you consider painting the bumperettes to match your car.

rp17 · 04-03-2018, 04:48 PM

Nice looking ride!!! Way to stay patient! Couple of questions for you though.. How much was it painting the console? Mine has been out so much now that I'm a pro getting it out. 2nd is the seats. They look great!! Any work done their?
Congrats!!

since95 · 04-04-2018, 02:35 AM

That looks great! How did you paint the dash trim? I read where the only way to get it out is to remove the dash, or buy new pieces, line up and drill out where all the screws are, then use a soldering iron to melt the the screws out! New piece just pushes in and friction holds it. Let's just say mine are still black. Only other option I could come up with was to mask dash in car and spray, but not sure how that would work.

Sent from my SM-J700P using Tapatalk

rexcramer · 04-04-2018, 10:31 AM

Well done sir.

CVLCPorsche · 04-04-2018, 11:24 AM

Thanks for the compliments everyone! To answer a few questions:

Rear Bumperettes- I agree, I would like them painted and its on the to-do list!
Painted console- I had a friend paint it, the most expensive part was the paint, Zanzibar is crazy expensive as it has a 3rd stage Pearl. It took 2 times to get the match right. The biggest PIA is removing the rubberized coating. I thought Bumperplugs was expensive on this but real world I spent close to that in agravation and $$. Happy with how it turned out!
Dash Trim Strips- These are needlessly complicated as they are fastened from the back, why they dont just "pop" in I will never know, Porsche! I had damn near the entire dash out doing other stuff such as adding the OBC, console delete, etc so I figured all in. Just be patient and work your way thru it.

Here was disassembly:

BRAN · 04-07-2018, 09:49 AM

REALLY NICE COLOR, love it!
I dunno why, but I had to photoshop two colors which came into my mind for the top.
teal, kind of

bronze brown, kind of

Porsche9 · 04-07-2018, 12:28 PM

Really nice looking Boxster. Curious, did the color dictate a price premium since there are so few and it was a extra cost option?

Cunningr · 04-07-2018, 12:49 PM

Sweet ride! Try a carbon fiber wrap on the top!

CVLCPorsche · 04-07-2018, 09:08 PM

I was able to do an inaugural road trip with my wife in the Boxster, 2 days and ~700 miles all over the State of Washington. We saw torrential rain, snow, high winds and the occasional mix of sun. These are such a great long weekend, couples, 2-lane road trip type cars. My wife does not enjoy riding in my air-cooled 911's, but she didn't complain once about this car, thats a win!