My little Outlaw Boxster

[RedTele58]

A month ago today I drug home a little stray that Jon (78F350) had alerted me to in Oklahoma City. A 2000 Base Boxster, 103,000 miles, 5-speed, Biarritz White with a Metropole Blue interior and top.

I've been looking for over a year for either a white/blue or a white/red car. When my search didn't find me much, I put the word out to a couple of my buddies to keep an eye out for me. Jon came through.

The car was a non-runner that had gotten wet and had the immobilizer replaced. Even with a new immobilizer coded to the car, the owner couldn't get the car running. It sat for a year, getting wetter and wetter and more and more neglected. Thankfully, he pulled the new immobilizer from the car after he couldn't get it running. For some reason, the PO had a set of seats reupholstered in black for the car. They're going to Woody for his daily driver the next time our paths cross.

After some discussion and negotiation, $3,500 later, it was mine with a clean title. When I brought it home on the trailer it was a sad looking little car. The bottom couple pictures show what I started with. A soaking wet interior and a shop vac full of goo. I've spent every evening after work and most weekends the past month just cleaning up the car. By far, it was the dirtiest car I've ever dealt with.

More to follow...

[RedTele58]

I have a pretty big stash of spare parts that I've gathered over the years just waiting for project cars like this. And I've been lucky the past month in finding some hard to find pieces at very reasonable prices and close enough that I could pick them up.

The first was a few days after I brought the car home an ad was posted on Rennlist for a worn set of gray sport seats, a set of blue seatbelts and a pair of litronic headlights. They were in the Dallas area, a few hours away. I was able to grab the lot for $1,100 - a very fair price.

Then about a week later, an add pops up here for a hardtop for $850. Again in the Dallas area. I was able to make the deal and picked it up a few days later. It's obviously not a color match, but a trip to the body/paint guys will cure that.

[RedTele58]

As the white car has started to clean up and present itself, I've started to hatch a plan for how I want it to look. I have a large handful of Boxsters, '99s to an '02S. I've kept them all pretty well looking how they came from the factory, with maybe a few optional pieces added.

This car is going to be different.

I've always liked the look of a Porsche wearing a Martini livery. Martini was an Italian racing team who's heyday was in the '70s. Their cars were usually white, with some sort of stripe - red, and two different blues, light and dark, along with the Martini logo. And they always had the best looking paddock girls.

With my white Boxster and navy blue interior, I'm half way there.

[BruceH]

I’m liking the thread, great finds so far! I’m looking forward to the end result

[986 Boxster]

I like where you`re going with it.

[RedTele58]

The Little Outlaw is cleaning up nicely and I'm starting to breathe life into the engine and electronics.

On the electrical side, I have everything working now but a drivers window that doesn't drop when I open the door and the front and rear trunk lights are inop. The right side dash speaker is intermittent. The door window I'm guessing is a microswitch. I have to pull the driver side door panel to replace a spring that puts tension on the interior door handle lever. I'll fix the window issue and the door spring at the same time. I haven't even given thought to the front and rear trunk lights, but I'm guessing I'll get it figured out.

The immobilizer is an unknown for now. It's off getting a diagnostic check before I get deep into getting the car started. I want to eliminate any potential issues with it before I start to troubleshoot the engine. I did install it and played a bit before I sent it off. The engine cranks well, I have tach movement and with a shot of starting fluid, I can get the car to sputter and run for a few seconds. That's a positive sign to me that I'm not dealing with a dead engine. I'm hoping/guessing it'll be something fuel related, since w/out the starting fluid the engine turns over strong but refuses to catch. More to come as I figure it out.

The UPS and FedEx guys are making almost daily appearances. Pelican, Suncoast and eBay contribute a lot of parts for the car.

I decided to replace almost all of the soft touch interior with new, earlier, 97-99 trim pieces. I don't know who hates soft touch trim pieces more - me or Woody. And again, Jon came through for me with a nice pair of early door pocket lids since those were the one thing I couldn't find. I also used S door pulls - they're painted silver to match the door handle lever and class up the interior a bit.

The upholstery shop is busy with my gray Sport Seats, wrapping them in Metropole Blue leather and Martini plaid inserts. I have a set of carbon fiber replica GT3 seats for a second set of track seats. They'll be done in a Navy Blue Alcantara.

A new center console is on the way to BumperPlugs to be painted and a GT3 console delete kit is ready to be installed. New 3-spoke steering wheel, airbag and aluminum/leather shifter in Metropole Blue are between here and Belgium where I ordered them. New parking brake is tucked away waiting for the interior to come together.

I need to trailer the car up to the glass shop for a new windshield, then It'll go to the body shop for a front and rear bumper cover re-spray and re-spray the hardtop and Speedster humps.

I had a set of Boxster Dyno wheels powder coated Guards Red about 5 years ago just waiting for this moment. When I knew I was buying the car I had a new set of Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires mounted in stock sizes, with 20mm spacers rear and 15mm spacers front to give it the stance I like.

I had clear corner lights sitting in the shop and ordered a set of Special Edition 550 red taillights. I mounted a set of Guards Red mirrors that I bought from Woody years ago waiting for the right car to use them on.

I also ordered a Joe Toth front splitter and duck tail this weekend. I have several factory aerokit cars and I wanted a different aero look for this car. I'm looking forward to seeing them on the car. The splitter will be Guards Red, the duck tail white with the Martini stripe.

So here's the car one month after I drug it home. It looks a bit like Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors for now, and it has a long ways to go still, but I'll enjoy every minute spent putting it together the way I want it.

Usually a build like this will take months and months, if not a year or more. This one I'm wanting done NOW for several reasons - I'm tired of the events of the past 15 months. I've sat, my cars have sat, I miss being around my Porsche buddies. It's time to get back in the game!

Also - for the new guys or the younger guys that look at something like this and think - "Hey, I'm going to buy a cheap non-running Boxster and do that too. That looks like fun!" No, no, no, no, no! This is a terrible way to get into the Porsche game. A "cheap" non-running Boxster is the most expensive, soul sucking way to ever start off. Get yourself a nice, clean, well maintained car. You'll spend much more up front, but a build like this is a massive money pit. You only do something like this when you're bored, have a specific project and outcome in mind, and have totally gone down the Boxster rabbit hole.

I'll keep updating and hope to have an engine run video before long. Stay tuned!

[Stl-986]

You got it to turn over and crank right? That eliminates the immbolizer as an issue.

I would drain all the gas since it has been sitting and you could get it to fire with starting fluid. Put 5 gal of fresh gas in along with a bottle of HEAT and I bet it will fire up. That is once you get the immobilizer back.

[itsnotanova]

Lookin good. I love the seat upholstery choice. FYI, the A pillar trim of the 97-99 is shaped differently than the 00-04. The 00-04 has a larger aluminum bracket behind it. I can't remember if I modified it or switched to the early aluminum bracket too When I converted my 00 trim to the 97-99. I have two early cars if you need that bracket? You can grab it when you come down

[RedTele58]

Originally Posted by Stl-986

You got it to turn over and crank right? That eliminates the immbolizer as an issue.

I would drain all the gas since it has been sitting and you could get it to fire with starting fluid. Put 5 gal of fresh gas in along with a bottle of HEAT and I bet it will fire up. That is once you get the immobilizer back.

Already been there and done that.

The PO told me that when he hooked up the new immobilizer and went to start the car, he was met w/ smoke and "the sound of wires shorting". He stopped at that point. He also replaced the fuel pump, so I assume he had the same thoughts about the engine not receiving fuel. To eliminate any potential problems, I sent the immobilizer to ECU Docs. It's $95 to have them run a diagnostic. That's cheap insurance for me to be assured there is nothing wrong inside the immobilizer. I can start with a clean slate for it.

To note - I had no such "smoke and fumes in the cockpit" when I hooked everything up and tried to start the car. So - whatever/wherever it was, it either healed itself or broke itself hard enough that it won't even respond.

One thing I found out only last week - the Indy shop that provided the PO with the new immobilizer is also the shop I use, so I asked them if they had any records on the car. They stated this is the second time the immobilizer was replaced. In 2013 the car got wet and it was replaced then. The only other records on the car they have was a water pump replacement and oil change back in 2011.

I've noticed that even after cleaning all the drain ports and putting on the hardtop, I still get some small amount of water inside the cab. I dug around and found about six different ways water can get inside the car (in a post by Woody), so I'm going to attack each of those areas. For the car to get wet enough twice to replace an immobilizer, there's some long-term water leakage problems somewhere.

I have a three day weekend coming, so plans are to go through all the fuses, pull/inspect each one, and clean up the panels. I might get some clues or solve whatever the problem is. Wish me luck!

[husker boxster]

Fun project and should be cool when done.

And keep us informed if your paddock girls improve. If so, I may have to paint the LE in Martini livery, sale to Frodo not withstanding.

[Javi Cooper]

Subscribed. I'm following your lead as you mentioned in another post and collecting parts I like as I run across them, whether I plan to use them right away or not. As you have mentioned the 986 used parts market has shrunk considerably these past couple of years.

I wish I hadn't sold my RTS

[78F350]

Great progress Rick. Your upholstery choice with the seats is perfect. Can't wait to see them done.

[RedTele58]

The UPS guy brought me Christmas in July while I was in OKC this afternoon picking up one of the Boxsters from the detail shop.

Last holiday weekend I ordered a Joe Toth ducktail spoiler and a splitter for the Outlaw Boxster.

I had only seen pictures, never in person. I am VERY impressed. These are high quality finished pieces. If you're even thinking about it, go ahead ands spend the coin. Well worth it.

The ducktail is just fitted in place, not mounted. Fit looks perfect. I can't wait to get these on the car. They will definitely add to the look I want.

[pilot4fn]

I'm qurious to see the splitter as it is installed to your car.
Mine is a same color with also the bumper w/o center radiator and the splitter you bought seems interesting:dance:

[Dave80GTSi]

Yes, I've been considering Joe's front splitter as well, so please post pics and commentary when available.

I already have Joe's rear spoiler, and would confirm that it is a very high quality piece. Very pleased with it.

[Jgkram]

Nothing to contribute here other than to say I LOVE these project car threads! Well done so far and keep up the good work.

[husker boxster]

And not to side track, but how's the shark doing?

[RedTele58]

Originally Posted by pilot4fn

I'm qurious to see the splitter as it is installed to your car.
Mine is a same color with also the bumper w/o center radiator and the splitter you bought seems interesting:dance:

From their website https://www.demonspeedmotorsports.com/Joe-Toth-Composites_c97.htm

Below are pictures of the splitter on a white 986.1. They also offer it for the 986.2 cars with the upgraded front bumper cover.

To mount the splitter, there are 6 pre-drilled holes (with hardware) spaced along the mounting point and two tabs on each end that I imagine fit into slots in the bumper cover. I didn't fiddle with it tonight, but it looks pretty straightforward. You'll need a way to hold the splitter in place to mark where to drill through the underside of bumper cover, then attach the splitter with the provided hardware. I'm guessing it would be easiest to remove the bumper cover from the car and have an extra set of hands while you're working the project. It looks pretty simple.

Two cautions I would suggest to anyone - if you look at the attached pictures, the splitter is fairly aggressive - much more aggressive than say, a 996.1 GT3 or 996.1 aero splitter. So you better like the look, because it's not subtle like on a first generation 996. Second would be that if you're the guy that stops pulling forward only when you hear the front of the car scraping the parking lot bumper, you're going to go through several of these before you learn when to pull up short. They aren't going to last long if you try to take them off roading.

I'm very happy with my initial impressions - I knew it was an aggressive splitter looking at it from the attached pictures, the quality is definitely there, and it looks pretty straightforward to mount.

You could keep it in the original black gelcoat or paint it to match the car. Mine will be painted Guards Red in keeping with the Martini theme of white, red, light blue and dark blue.

The ducktail is even easier to mount. (They also make it for the first and second generation spoiler) You detach the rear spoiler cap from the pop-up spoiler, center the ducktail in place, then it mounts with three pieces of double-sided sticky tape that is pre-attached to the ducktail. You may question the use of double sided sticky tape, but this stuff is high speed. Nothing to worry about.

I have to decide if I want the ducktail black - which looks very good and makes it stand out, or paint it white to match the car. The Martini stripe is 19" wide and will come straight down the center of the decklid and down the rear bumper cover - if white, I'll run the stripe continuous through the center of the ducktail. If black, I'll delete the stripe from the ducktail and keep it solid black. Thoughts or suggestions?

I'm also pondering dive planes. Why? Just because. I think they're kind of neat looking. And it's my money.

Thoughts?

[RedTele58]

This past weekend I went down to my shop to dig through my stash of Boxster "Speedster Humps". I've collected 5-6 sets over the years, mostly Arctic Silver. I remembered I had a pair that I thought were still in primer when I bought them off the parts board here several years back. I'm sure all I did was pull them from the packing, check them over, and stick them on the shelf.

I pulled them down, took them from their wrapping, and they were in original factory paint, the same shade white as the car.

So that'll save me a few dollars at the paint/body shop.

[Boxstard]

Originally Posted by RedTele58

I've collected 5-6 sets over the years, mostly Arctic Silver.

Woah, may I ask if you are willing to sell me a set of humps in Arctic Silver???