What to do? Car sat for years.

[BIGJake111]

Hey guys.

I’ve been gone a damn long time from this forum. Hope to see some familiar faces from back around 2015 or so when I was really active. Replaced my boxster with a fiat 124 spider abarth but recently got out of that and into an e350 coupe to have something with a bit more room.

However that leaves my sports car itch acting up.

I still have my boxster. Beautiful 2000 speed yellow S with a black hard top. Full leather, deviated stitching, yellow belts. The car has sat though ever since it had an intermix issue in January 2018. I have a good bit of extra capital now and no sports car. Curious what I might should do?

(Complicating factor the cars at my parents house in SC and I now live in St. Louis.)

[NewArt]

Hi, and welcome back! First, did you find the cause of the intermix?

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by NewArt

Hi, and welcome back! First, did you find the cause of the intermix?

99% sure it was a cracked head.

I was full time in school and busy with internships every summer so honestly I haven’t been able to check for sure. But Apperantly cracked heads are somewhat common on 2000 S models particularly in cold weather and the symptoms started to appear after a cold snap into the teens. (Rare in SC)

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

99% sure it was a cracked head.

I was full time in school and busy with internships every summer so honestly I haven’t been able to check for sure. But Apperantly cracked heads are somewhat common on 2000 S models particularly in cold weather and the symptoms started to appear after a cold snap into the teens. (Rare in SC)

Hi Jake, yes 2000 heads are the year most likely to crack mine did & I discovered it during my engine rebuild. Welcome back to the forum.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

Hey guys.

I’ve been gone a damn long time from this forum. Hope to see some familiar faces from back around 2015 or so when I was really active. Replaced my boxster with a fiat 124 spider abarth but recently got out of that and into an e350 coupe to have something with a bit more room.

However that leaves my sports car itch acting up.

I still have my boxster. Beautiful 2000 speed yellow S with a black hard top. Full leather, deviated stitching, yellow belts. The car has sat though ever since it had an intermix issue in January 2018. I have a good bit of extra capital now and no sports car. Curious what I might should do?

(Complicating factor the cars at my parents house in SC and I now live in St. Louis.)

I used to live in St.Louis & I had tickets for opening day for the Cardinal's this season.

Before you start your car I would add the driven racing fuel Stabilizer & then add as much Chevron Supreme premium gas as you can. Once it starts drive to the nearest gas station & top off with Premium gas.

[BrokenLinkage]

Welcome back!
Been wondering what happened to you and your second (yellow) boxster...
Did you stick with your educational plan?
How did you find the time for your automotive adventures?
Any thoughts on the comparisons between the Fiat and the Boxster?
And since you now have an excess of capital... can you say "3.4 or more"? Or has your training just reinforced the financial foolishness of such a decision? (I think it is ok as long as recreational expenditures from discretionary income are not conflated with necessary work/travel or investment expenditures. But by now you know more about that than me.)
Anyway, glad to hear from you again!

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by BrokenLinkage

Welcome back!
Been wondering what happened to you and your second (yellow) boxster...
Did you stick with your educational plan?
How did you find the time for your automotive adventures?
Any thoughts on the comparisons between the Fiat and the Boxster?
And since you now have an excess of capital... can you say "3.4 or more"? Or has your training just reinforced the financial foolishness of such a decision? (I think it is ok as long as recreational expenditures from discretionary income are not conflated with necessary work/travel or investment expenditures. But by now you know more about that than me.)
Anyway, glad to hear from you again!

Thanks for the welcoming return.

1. Finished up college in December. Two degrees in three and a half years. Economics B.S. marketing B.S and a minor in political and legal theory. Graduated magna cum laude

I came out with ultimately two dual degrees though due to the dual nature of those degree programs. A data analyst sort of qualification thanks to lots of marketing analytics and research classes as well as classes in advanced econometrics etc.

Plus a dual degree in sort of human behavior. Thanks to the social science aspects of economics and lots of work in consumer behavior. Of course you have to factor in my liberal artsy minor focusing on moral theory.

This tilts me to be well set up for politics. And I actually had an offer to work with the council of economic advisors but turned it down.

Instead I rolled it out all up and treat it like an MBA. I’m now working in project management/ consulting as related to mega scale electrical engineering projects. Lots of private data center/ energy/ and DOD type work. Thank god I graduated in December. Most of my friends who are graduating in May have had offers rescinded regardless of their personal merit.



2. Sadly I haven’t had a ton of time for automotive passions. I’ve enjoyed a lot of road trips. Having the Abarth while at an internship in Charleston SC was a joy and my now wife went to a different university and lived about 90 mins away so it was actually pretty fun for those highway miles I was making pretty often.


3. The fiat was definitely lighter than the boxster. It was extremely nippy at low speeds (like litterally around parking lots and stuff). The 6 speed was really nice and the interior had a great build quality. It’s the sort of car you can easily floor between lights without being too illegal but still has similar pull to the boxster between 60 and 90. Above 90 the boxster had way more power. Handling was tight and nimble bit less fun in sweepers. It has 205s while my boxster had the large 18s. I’ve become a little comfortable and used to my Bluetooth and using calls through the fiat. It had really good audio. Bose speakers integrated into the seats. The trunk was surprisingly useable (carried enough for me and my wife to spend a week at Disney and to pack light to live in a hotel for my full internship in Charleston). The abarth has 22 lbs Of boost from the factory, this means turbo lag for sure. But it was actually pretty fun to play with. Plus the exhaust was very animated without being artificial which was fun. I had zero reliability issues... as I should have. Planned to keep the car longer and had a lifetime Powertrain warranty on it but once I was out of negative equity it was time to move into something more grown up and start focusing on student loans instead of car payment.

Having the Mercedes E350 coupe is actually a pretty good compromise. The interior is fantastic. Despite being a 2012 the infotainment is on par with the 2018 abarth. The steering is smooth and despite weighing way more it handles great. The car is the first year of direct fuel injection and has over 300 hp. It’s really nice to be back in something Naturally aspirated and I’m realizing I’ve really missed that. The only issue is. It’s an automatic. However the 7 speed in the car is really nice. It has an amg package giving it more hugging seats, larger wheels for more grip and pretty responsive paddle shifters. It’s a really smart auto and I find myself never fighting it wishing it was in a different gear despite it not being a DCT.

4. I’m thinking if it’s worth going in there. It may be worth the 3.4... but that would probably requiring waiting a bit to be a worthwhile financial decision. A 3.2 however I’m thinking is attainable now.

Honestly what I’m asking here is how much would I be looking at? Labor and engine plus whatever what’s left of my engine is worth. How much trouble will it be to fix the fact the car has sat? New tires.. what else?

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

I used to live in St.Louis & I had tickets for opening day for the Cardinal's this season.

Before you start your car I would add the driven racing fuel Stabilizer & then add as much Chevron Supreme premium gas as you can. Once it starts drive to the nearest gas station & top off with Premium gas.

I really enjoy it here in STL! It’s 20 mins to get anywhere. Also more rural and conservative than I was expecting and WAY safer than I thought I was getting into.

Granted I live out between town and country and chesterfield so that may be skewing my experience. We really like the ozarks and one of my last drives in the 124 before we turned it in was through the mark twain national Forest.

[Gilles]

Welcome back BigJake

First of all, Congratulations on your two degrees..!

Regarding the intermix, did you already check the oil cooler? This could be a low cost first step, hoping is not a cracked head as Bill mentioned...
.

[tommy583]

Welcome Back Jake!!!!!!

[NewArt]

Too bad. I have a perfect reconditioned head but it’s for an 04 (a 3 chain engine). Look around, a used, clean head shouldn’t cost too much and changing it out isn’t rocket science!

[BIGJake111]

@Gilles

Haven’t checked to be honest. What would the process be to check?

[Flavor 987S]

You are super close to some great driving roads in & around Augusta and Defiance. Have lunch at the winery Defiance Ridge Vineyards. Say hello to the owner, Chuck. Great place. Great food.

Ship your Boxster to Jake at Flat 6 Innovaions. Have it repaired, then go get it, and drive it home.

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

You are super close to some great driving roads in & around Augusta and Defiance. Have lunch at the winery Defiance Ridge Vineyards. Say hello to the owner, Chuck. Great place. Great food.

Ship your Boxster to Jake at Flat 6 Innovaions. Have it repaired, then go get it, and drive it home.

We actually drove that way on our way to buy an elyptical in Washington Mo recently. We’re really loving rural MO each time we drive west. May have to become a super commuter if I keep working in town.

Can’t wait for things to open up on the backside of this virus. thanks for the suggestion to visit defiance. The boxsters not far from Jake for right now. Are they still doing work on M96 engines same as ever? That honestly may be a best bet.

Could even take the long way home and hit the dragon on the way back.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by NewArt

Too bad. I have a perfect reconditioned head but it’s for an 04 (a 3 chain engine). Look around, a used, clean head shouldn’t cost too much and changing it out isn’t rocket science!

So then you repeat the process all over again! Send the head to Len Hoffman in Georgia so He can make it better than new. You don't want to do this again, but you do want more power!

[Flavor 987S]

Originally Posted by BIGJake111

We actually drove that way on our way to buy an elyptical in Washington Mo recently. We’re really loving rural MO each time we drive west. May have to become a super commuter if I keep working in town.

Can’t wait for things to open up on the backside of this virus. thanks for the suggestion to visit defiance. The boxsters not far from Jake for right now. Are they still doing work on M96 engines same as ever? That honestly may be a best bet.

Could even take the long way home and hit the dragon on the way back.

Hermann is another great town, and fun drive from your location.

You already know about Annie Gunns, but my current favorite St. Louis restaurant is Twisted Tree (Sunset Hills). I hope it survives. Sit at the bar, and have Courtney do her magic. And for coffee and scones, I love Kaldis.

Yes, Jake is still the Porsche engine whisperer.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Flavor 987S

You are super close to some great driving roads in & around Augusta and Defiance. Have lunch at the winery Defiance Ridge Vineyards. Say hello to the owner, Chuck. Great place. Great food.

Ship your Boxster to Jake at Flat 6 Innovaions. Have it repaired, then go get it, and drive it home.

Jake doesn't repair engines unless he completely repairs everything in it, around $16,000.
minimum.

[Gilles]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Jake doesn't repair engines unless he completely repairs everything in it, around $16,000.
minimum.

Yesterday I saw a 3.8 long block (stated as a Raby built) in Rennlist for $15k... also the 3.6 that you have for sale, either one would be awesome on the Boxter..
.

[rexcramer]

Congratulations on the education success. Safe travels.

[dghii]

As a dad that just graduated a Mechanical engineer in December and an Electrical Engineer last week, a big congratulations to you!!

I moved to FL from Edwardsville, IL (SIUE) a billion years ago. I'm sure you'll love all thats offered in the area. You will become a Cardinals baseball fan, there's nothing you can do about it but go to the games and enjoy!

The advice about your oil cooler is very good. You are not close and you need data so think about paying to get your car looked at. Don't worry about tires etc from sitting, just figure out if you want to fix your car and the best way forward.

If you find out you're car needs big $ repairs, source a motor and be done with it.

Go CARDS!!