Looks awesome! Now don't park it on the street:eek:

First day at the track started out well and I got some laps in but then had problems with the fuel filter and fuel pump - both of which came from the donor car. The fuel filter clearly had not been changed in quite awhile and the fuel pump had 204,000 miles on it and might have been questionable - this is one of the risks of buying a car that doesn't run (lots of other things can be wrong).

With that being said, the general impression of the new car is that it is friggin' awesome! With the less weight, the car accelerates a bit faster and the handling felt great with more camber (-3.5 deg front/-3.0 deg rear).

Topless, thanks for stopping by and saying hi today. :cheers:

HRG is going to try and swap out the fuel pump overnight, so I might be back at the track tomorrow (or might not). If not, then it will have to wait 2 weeks until Streets of Willow. No disappointment, there are bound to be a few things that need to be worked out on any new build of this magnitude. :)

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps79b421ef.jpg

PlEase post if you make it out tommorow .
I've had the worst hangover ever today so had planned on making it there tommorow :)

The plan is to R/R the fuel pump tomorrow morning. My worry is that there is simply a lot of crap in the bottom of the fuel tank which keeps plugging up the fuel filter and changing the fuel pump won't fix that. We'll give it a go again tomorrow morning and see how it goes.

The car looks great Tom. Looking forward to tying those few loose ends and you posting some fast laps.

We went today but got there very late .
A race had just started so we went strait to the stand to watch that .
And I flattened my phone batter making videos for youtube , so I couldn't call you :rolleyes:

After that was the last set of time trials , and we heard an announcement for your group , but there was only 3 cars ??? 996tt , gt3rs , and a boxster ... So I take it you didn't get it fixed and went home ?

We got the car to run well in the morning but had fuel delivery problems again right after lunch so I left the track around 2pm. Sorry I missed you. We'll get a few things sorted and be ready for Streets of Willow in two weeks. :)

We will meet you there !!!

stone, she looks sensational! Good on ya!

Brad

Very nice build!

Hows it going with the new car.

I imagine that there are always bugs to work out and then the suspension fine tuning and other things that us newbies have no clue about.

Care to shed some light on the process AFTER the new race build arrives and what the next steps are?

Sorry for the long delay in posting an update. To catch up, we got the new car onto the track and had a few teething problems - this should be expected when buying a non-running roller because there is no way to know if any of the engine accessories work or not.

Major symptom was lack of power over 3K rpm. Felt like fuel starvation. Replaced fuel filter (very dirty) and fuel pump as both were from the salvage chassis. This helped things quite a bit but then power became intermittant. Engine would run fine and then stumble and even die. Engine would re-start immediately and then run fine for awhile and then just when it seemed ok, it would stumble and die again.

Everything else checked out ok so the mechanics swapped ECU's (putting the original ECU from my totalled silver Boxster into the Black chassis) and this solved the problem completely. Hard to say why there was a problem with the ECU in the salvage chassis but it wouldn't be the first time that someone sold a rolling chassis and had already swapped out a part or two. Salvage chassis also had a leaky clutch master cylinder that needed replacement.

The car is still street legal (so I can still drive it to/from track) and passed the CA DMV validation inspection last week. The DMV examiner liked the car and wanted to hear more about how it handled on the track than checking to make sure that it had all of the required equipment to remain street legal! With all of the graphics on the car, I drive conservatively on the street as I'm sure it will be a cop magnet.

I haven't had a chance to get to the track the past few weeks (busy getting two son's moved back to their colleges) but I will try to get out as soon as possible and then I'll post up some first observations (and lap time differences) between the Spec and previous street versions.

Thanks for the update, Stone. Very glad to hear how few problems you have encountered to date and looking forward, as always, to updates once you get her back on the track!

Brad

Here are a few more pic's (and one of the interior). I plan to be out at Willow Big Track this Sunday...

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps592c6c34.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...psa1863a63.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5ed5adfb.jpg

In this photo you can see the Momo removable steering wheel, Sparco seat, Schroth 6-pt harness, center console delete, center dash replaced with aluminum plate with switches and power for traction control off, AIM Solo lap timer, and Cool Shirt. Using good ol' banana plugs for power connectors (cheap, easy, and reliable)!

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps53b5f521.jpg

Looks good T Man !

Extremely jealous! Good luck on Sunday:cheers:

+1 on that. Looks really nice.

looks like you relocate the fuse box on the left side of the seat like i did.

its alittle problem with me since i dont have any windows

what do you do to product them while your on track ?

I think I'm jealous. That looks great

Yes, the fuse box is moved down on the lower door sill (if you missed this, look just over the top of the harness clasp in the interior photo and you'll see the colored fuses).

In regards to water, I also do not have windows but nothing was done to address water getting into the fuse box primarily because it just doesn't rain that much here in SoCal (<12in rain per year).

Sunday at Willow Springs Big Track went both good and bad.

My goals were; (1) Get comfortable with the car; (2) Match my previous best lap time; (3) work on lap consistency. All goals met. I felt comfortable in the car with fire suit, helmet, HANS device, harnesses, cool shirt, roll cage, and window net. I matched my previous best time (1:37) so I hadn't become too rusty while being off the track for several months while the car was being built. And last, then I turned about 20 laps consistently in the 1:38's.

By now, it was almost mid-day and it was starting to get hot and then the car started running poorly - no power over 4K rpm. So, I called it day and drove home slowly. CEL's were P0447 and P0453. Both fuel related (P0447 is the tank vent valve and P053 is the tank pressure switch) and both of these components are from the donor car. I'll investigate further and probably make some repairs this week. Then, back to the track soon!

Oh, one last thing is that I had the track all to myself for two of the four sessions that I ran! Later, two other cars showed up so it was just us three. Here I am alone in the paddock:

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...psfe026ec1.jpg

The car looks great!

Whaaaat? Alone on the track/paddock? Wow ahhh where do I sign up for this dream world?? Holy crap I think we need to set up a 986 commune track side right there!

Hmmmm,
Tom is your gas tank still vented or did they just terminate all the vent tubing when emission stuff was removed? It sounds like you may be pulling a vacuum on the tank as gas is used, causing the fuel pump to cavitate. One possibility at least.

Sounds like a nice day at the track. I suspect your BSR will soon be in 1:36 territory. :)

Tank is still vented using the stock system in order to pass emissions test and remain street legal. Agree that lack of vent could create a vacuum and result in symptoms that I am seeing. Will investigate.

BTW: Goal is to get into the 1:34's. :)

This was an "open track test day" where anyone with a race prepared car can show up and drive. There are no formal run groups or sessions - its just open track where you can drive whenever you want and for a long as you want.

Everyone is assumed to have race prepped cars (roll cage, fire extinguisher, race seats/harnesses, window net, etc) and all associated safety equipment (helmet, fire suit, HANS, gloves, shoes, etc) and open passing level driving experience.

On a typical Friday or Saturday open track test day, there can be 30-40 cars but Sunday's usually have very low attendance - a perfect time for me to shake down a car and work on my line without any interference.

I did get some traffic later in the morning - one other boxster spec (which I easily passed) and a Craftsman truck series V8 race truck (who I did not have a chance in catching or passing!).

Nice having so much space for shaking it all down.

Race Trucks for craftsmen?...that's just wrong...down right tacky as well...ugh :barf:
What do they have for HP 600, 700, 800?

Sorry, its called the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series now - the old sponsor was Craftsman tools. 3400 lbs with 650hp. It was fast!

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps77ce7296.jpg

**UPDATE**

Been working through various issues with the replacement chassis. There are quite a few systems that can't be tested when you buy a car that doesn't run. Spent quite a bit of time troubleshooting what ended up to be a faulty fuel tank purge valve and failed carbon canister that wouldn't vent the gas tank properly. Of course, the 99 EVAP system is different than the 99 system so I had to switch back to the 97 ECU to get the right codes to be reported.

Thus far, here is what I've replaced on the replacement chassis:
- Fuel pump (worked but low pressure)
- Clutch master cylinder (leaked badly)
- Fuel purge valve
- Fuel carbon canister
- Fuel cap
- Fuel filter

Everything seems to be running great now and the car passed smog yesterday. It already passed the CA DMV inspection to be street legal so I'll get the new license plates this week.

It was a beautiful day here in LA (sunny and 80F), so while getting ready for the track tomorrow, I did a quick photoshoot;

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...pse501d252.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6f2c33af.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps054752c7.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2b2b4784.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...pse141332a.jpg

That's one sweet looking car...

Hey Tom, how did the ice racing go last weekend? It sure looked cold on the Edwards AFB weather station.

The temp was in the high 20's druring the early morning drive from LA to Rosamond. With no heater and no windows, I had to wear a lot of layers to keep warm!

Just before the first session, there were snow flurries visible which turned into a steady rain once the session started. Lots of slipping and sliding around, especially for the guys running Hoosier and Michelin slicks. I was glad that I still had windshield wipers and Toyo RA-1's with at least DOT tread!

By mid-morning the track was dry and speeds were fast - just had to be patient to get the tires fully up to temp. A couple of Spec Boxster's were doing 1:33-1:34 lap times.

The wind kicked up in the afternoon and for a short while was blowing hard enough to create a sand storm at the Turn 9 apex. I went through Turn 9 twice completely blinded by the sand!

Sunday was again cold in the morning but the remainder of the day was sunny and near perfect conditions to set a fast lap time.

At the end of the POC racer's clinic we had our first race and with two laps left I put two wheels off in Turn 9 when attempting a pass for the BSR lead. Dang, I really wanted to win.

Overall fun, fun, fun. But a little cold too.

Tom? Did you hear Nathan ran a 32.5 on that Friday? I was doing his tire temps and pressures for him and he comes into the hot pits yelling through his helmet and pointing at his lap timer!!

Holy crap!! 32.5!!

That weekend was stupid cold.. I went back a week later for testing and it was 64deg. :)

Yes, I heard about Nathan's 32.5 and Alex Bermudez' 33.4. That is fast, fast, fast!

And WTF? As soon as I move up to BSR everyone else decides to get 3 sec's faster?

Alex and I are going out to WSIR on Sunday for some testing and for me to work on my times!

Here are a few pic's from testing at Willow Springs. Final POC racing clinic this coming weekend - then I start official wheel to wheel racing the first weekend in February!

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4e816cfc.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps94b0db8b.jpg

http://i1114.photobucket.com/albums/...ps42be8cac.jpg

Awesome!!!

You smiling and out front, good on you!

I envy all the fun you'll be having.

That sort of speed is still scary for me, but I suppose just like spinning out the Boxster in Auto-X and thinking no big deal, it just takes some getting used to.

Must get the adrenaline flowing though in any case.

T-Man,
Great pics - car looks amazing! what a great story its been from the sorry wreck when it got rear ended whilst parked to this!

Congrats

The story gets better!

I just finished the two required POC Cup Racing clinic's (one in Dec and one in Jan), so I am now the proud holder of a POC provisional racing license! My first real wheel to wheel race will be in two weeks.

I'll post some video from the race at the clinic in the next couple of days.

Bravo! Now go give Alex the business! :D

Congratulations:cheers: That's quite the accomplishment, Looking forward to the video!

Check out the video here: http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-racing-forum/50561-poc-race-clinic-video.html#post384145