Spec Boxster Build

[thstone]

Went to work on the front this morning...

Also, you can see the cable lock that I route thru the front wheel and tow hook to help keep the honest people, honest. With no way to lock the car, it would be too easy for someone to simply roll the car away so I keep it locked to something solid. Of course, the cable could be cut in a few mins so its not infallible but will hopefully make someone think twice and go find something easier to take.



I started by removing the front bumper cover and placing it in the sun. I thought that this might make pushing out the "dent" easier.


Sure enough, the dent popped right back out with a little push but still had quite a bit of scuffing.


Next, I removed the front wheel and taped it for re-painting with Plasti Dip...


Then I pulled off the old Plasti Dip where the edge was ragged. The goal was to get a nice smooth edge so the new paint would transition cleanly. I used an exacto to pre-cut a clean edge and then pulled back the old plasti dip until it reached the pre-cut edge.


I re-installed the front wheel and bumper cover, then buffed out the front fender, front quarter panel, and bumper cover by hand. I used some black plasti dip to cover a spot at the edge of the front door and on the front bumper where the paint was damaged.

Here is the finished job. Not good enough for a street car but more than good enough for a race car. And the price was right ($0).

[thstone]

I still need a replacement headlight corner but I refuse to pay $54 for a colored piece of plastic!

The Most Expensive Part on a Boxster

[Lemming]

$10 less at Sunset http://www.********************************************** **************************.com/porsche/boxster/99663103600/1999-year/base-trim/2-5l-h6-gas-engine/electrical-cat/headlamp-components-scat/?part_name=lower-trim

EDIT: I guess listing the competition gets you a bunch of ****** and an invalid address.

[seningen]

Originally Posted by thstone

I still need a replacement headlight corner but I refuse to pay $54 for a colored piece of plastic!

The Most Expensive Part on a Boxster

Where's Woody?

Mike

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by seningen

Where's Woody?

Mike

I don't sell those as they usually are brittle and break if you try to remove them. You'll want to bite the bullet and buy those new. Sorry to see the damage but happy to see you got it fixed and didn't get a 13. I hate the 13/13! Necessary evil I guess. WRL does fine without one though

[thstone]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

I don't sell those as they usually are brittle and break if you try to remove them. You'll want to bite the bullet and buy those new. Sorry to see the damage but happy to see you got it fixed and didn't get a 13. I hate the 13/13! Necessary evil I guess. WRL does fine without one though

Thanks Woody. Yes, the 13/13 is a double-edge sword. The good news is that most of the org's that use them apply them with careful thought and review.

[rastta]

Nice job! Looks great!

[thstone]

^^^^^^ So, it looks like Photobucket has decided to change its business model and is no longer allowing 3rd party links to users photos unless you have a premium paid account. If you haven't paid up, the links are dead and the image above is now delivered instead of the intended photo.

Its their site and they can do what they want, but the only paid account which allows 3rd party links is priced at $399 per year!



Well, that seems like a pretty hefty price tag for 500GB of storage, so I'll be moving all of my photos over the next few weeks to one of my privately hosted websites where I can self-host my photos forever to avoid a similar recurrence.

The hard and slow part is that I will have to edit the link for each and every photo that I've ever posted to this Forum with the updated image address. Not the end of the world, but this is gonna be a real PITA.

Sorry for the issue but this thread (and all of my other previous posts) will get back to normal soon.

[Need_for_speed]

Sorry Tom, what a pain! Just know that your fans (like me) will appreciate it hugely.

[thstone]

The car was at House Automotive this week for some midseason updates. Details to follow soon. Here's a nice pic of the car...

[thstone]

A big shout out and thanks to Forum member PaulE for the headlight corners! I got them installed and painted. Looks as good as it ever has. Thanks Paul.

[Lemming]

I like the blackout look.

[PaulE]

Looking good!

Originally Posted by thstone

A big shout out and thanks to Forum member PaulE for the headlight corners! I got them installed and painted. Looks as good as it ever has. Thanks Paul.

[Chuck W.]

Hey Tom... any races to report? ...any videos?

[thstone]

Originally Posted by Chuck W.

Hey Tom... any races to report? ...any videos?

I've had to skip the races this month due to work (I'm starting another new company and its a 24/7 commitment).

The Boxster has been in the shop for a few weeks having some mid-year work done. I'll post photos when I get it back.

I'll be back to Boxster racing in Sept and have been talking with some other teams about doing some BMW Spec E46 endurance racing this fall. Also, I've been asked if I want to go SCCA racing. Lots to think about!

[thstone]

For your entertainment....

[thstone]

I had both car covers off this afternoon and liked the look...

[PaulE]

Nice look!

[thstone]

Ok, this thread has been a little slow this summer while I've been looking into a couple of racing opportunities that came my way and trying to decide what to do (I know, 1%'er problems for sure!)

The first opportunity that came along was to go endurance racing with a team that fields a Spec E46. I met the owner of the car earlier this year when I hired him to coach me and as we continued to keep in touch, he asked if I wanted to sell my Boxster and buy a Spec E46 or join him and share his car at endurance races.

This took me down the Spec E46 path pretty deeply and since one of my goals has always been to go racing around the country at some of the great tracks like Lime Rock, VIR, Daytona, COTA, Road America, etc., this looked like one way to make that happen. Plus, I have a great affinity to the BMW E46 after having previously owned two E46's. Great cars and fun to drive.




The second opportunity was to join my friend and previous POC Spec Boxster champion Alex Bermudez racing Spec Racer Ford (SRF) with the SCCA. A really nice SRF had become available where I could sell the Boxster, buy the SRF, and probably pocket some cash. If you're not familiar with SRF, here is an info link (Spec Racer Ford ) and a pic of Alex in his car;




After much thought and consideration, I ultimately decided to stay in Boxster Spec for the same reasons that I didn't move to an air-cooled 911 race car last year - I'm still not at the top of the Boxster Spec class so that means that I 'm still not ready to move up or out.

So, its back to Spec Boxster racing starting on Sept 9/10 at AutoClub Speedway in Fontana!

[NigelT]

Glad you finally came to your senses, Tom. You had me worried for a while there. Looking forward to mixin' it up with ya in a couple of weeks.