Boxster project??
 

So this weekend I ended up picking up a 986. Not just any 986 but a pretty serious project. The previous owner has been working on it for many years but the last couple it has just been sitting. I guess he lost interest after some issues with the dealership that did most of the work.

Anyway, now it's mine. So what's different? Well, it has a new (factory remanufactured) 996 3.4 engine / ECU. H&R coil-overs. The brakes come from a later model Porsche, have not figured out which one yet - 997S perhaps. The car is all gutted and bodywork has been changed. Front is fiberglass Cup car, front and rear hood and doors are carbon fiber. Tail section is TechArt (kevlar?) And yeah, it has a full cage. Since the project never got finished the engine, brakes and other mods only have a few miles on them!

It's not a beauty queen but it doesn't need much to become a pretty serious track car.

Since I can't keep both now I have to decide whether to keep it and sell my current street / track 996 or sell it (as is or parted out).

Here's a few pics for your enjoyment. Yes, it needs a serious cleaning, been sitting for awhile.

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Jesus Christ.... I wouldn't even allow my cat to take a ride in that car fearing the thing catching fire at launching - in its current state anyway.

FIX IT QUICK

You would consider selling your beautiful 996 for that monstrosity?

Again, it's not a show car, never will be. I don't really care about how it looks, just how it drives.

At just over 2,000lbs, 300hp, great brakes and decent suspension it should be quite a good track car.

Be patient...

Don't get rid of the 996:eek: Try to find a way to keep both:cool:

looks like potential for a serious track weapon. watch the 3.4 - it's probably even more fragile than the engine it replaced, esp on the track. find eric523 on this forum for a track hardtop for it. kroggers on this forum can provide advice on how to mount the side radiators to work with the rsr side vents. the base car was probably a 986 (hence the need to upgrade the brakes) so it might need the third radiator, and if it is still on the 5-speed then be prepared to replace transmissions on at least an annual basis - smart money is a 987/cayman 6-speed (there's one for sale on rennlist for $4k with LSD). i like it!

Thanks for the suggestions. Having tracked a 996 I'm well aware of the IMS issues with that engine. I'll definitely need at least an X51 oil pan. The radiators are already set up for the side vents. Looks pretty good with a carbon fiber duct feeding them. It does have the third radiator but that one does not have a duct yet. It has the five speed, didn't realize those were so fragile, the 996 gearboxes are pretty much bullet proof. Definitely needs a hardtop so I appreciate the suggestion there.

So I've made a bit of progress over the last few weeks. Nothing earth shattering but I have most of the front done. Fabricated some aluminum brackets for the radiator ducts, got rid of unnecessary ducts, wiring etc. Today I was able to give it a pretty good cleaning to get rid of the cobwebs. Found a lot of interesting stuff, coins, beer bottle caps...

Rear section is next.

What size discs are they....350mm? Are they mounted on gt3 uprights or are the calipers fitted onto stock uprights with some kind of adaptor?

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what brakes I have.

Pads are 996.351.940.10 which per this site are 996 GT3 pads FVD Brombacher Online Shop - 99635194910 - Brake pad gt-3 front 99-02 - BRAKES → Tuning → Brake Pads "Racing"

The uprights are marked 996.341.658.91 which according to this site are GT3 Cup parts Porsche 996 GT3 Cup Radträger - Rennsportteile - MotorsportMarkt.de.


Looks like the discs are about 330mm diameter. I don't have a part number yet.

The calipers are marked 996.352.425 and 996.352.426 (no fourth number).

Based on the above info I guessing that they are GT3 (Cup?) calipers and discs but I don't know. Any help figuring out what the brakes are would be appreciated.

Thanks chap.. you have 996 turbo/997 S/GT3 MK1 type calipers. If 330 then prob disc from same cars...though there was a 5mm difference on the discs across some od those models ....can't remember which.

Your cup uprights make the cost of the whole car much cheaper.....they are valuable!

Thanks for the info. The previous owner threw a lot of money in this project; crate 996 engine, carbon fiber bodywork, GT3/Cup brakes... He said his goal when he started out was to make it a Lambo killer. After awhile he gave up though and bought a Lambo instead LOL.

A bit more progress today. Finished cleaning up the rear trunk area. I was able to get rid of a fair amount of wires back here too. Moving on to the cockpit. After much work I was able to get the HVAC box out. While the wiring looks like a rats nest I did find an actual rats nest behind the passenger airbox cover :-). Also need to remove the hoses for the heater coil and find a way to cap them back at the engine. Removing the parking brake is also on the list.http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1399169392.jpg
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Wiring done, interior cleaned up and dash installed. Next will be a the seat / harness.

Decided against getting the immobilizer kit, just removed all but the minimum required wires, moved it to a safer locations and installed a push start switch. Should be only a pound or so heavier than removing it.http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1402793970.jpg
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No. :)

I have one car we got down to 1950lbs. You are nowhere close (and won't be) :cheers:

Brad, do you have a build thread? I love to know how you did this.

No build thread :) The car now resides in Austin TX and ran SCCA AutoX at Nationals multiple times. I believe the female driver won a National Championship at Lincoln in it a year after it was sold.

Steel doors :)

It had another 50lbs I could have pulled out for a true AutoX car (small fuel cell)

How serious was it? One radiator in the right front. The current owner put it back (they were running 3 drivers in it)

Hehe, Grant's car.

http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/30264-light-weight-boxster-racer.html

The car is currently at 2148lbs with only one radiator. (2116 lb goal for FP formula) It now has a 2003-2004 2.7 motor with the larger cooling pipes which added some weight. I also added fiberglass flared front fenders (heavy) and rear fender flares that added some weight, custom solid 28-spline heavier axles, as well as added bars on the roll cage that went forward to the front strut towers. The car has 16x11 front and 16x12 rear wheels with the new Hoosier R75A radial slick that are not very light. (Grant ran 16x10 on light bias Avon). And yes, Beth, my wife, won L1 Pro Solo Championship with it in 2012. I messed up the car last year with custom cams that made 20 less hp at Nationals with late year attempt at improvement. After figuring out the problem with slipped cam timing reluctor wheels and a custom tune, the car now makes 25 more hp, so hoping to add a few more championships going forward.
Btw, Brad, I'm interested in that light fuel cell idea. Do you have one built up?

Thanks,
Erik Strelnieks


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Erik, the car looks great. Thank you for moving the development forward :) I come from EP-FP SCCA road race cars.. and helped push through (w/ the technical help) the Boxster into production classes. Erik Madsen did 99% of the communication with SCCA pushing it through. I about :barf: puked when they decided on 2650 for the weight LOL WHAT WHAT WHAT!! LOL

I also knew a long time ago the 2.7 was needed. It breathes a lot better than the 2.5.

I wanted to apologize in person (but haven't seen you yet besides the '12 nationals) I wanted to apologize about the door coming off at the Austin track :( I'm not accustomed to putting the bolts back into the doors. I leave them out on purpose. Our west coast corner workers are told/taught they can lift the handle and pull the door off to get someone out of a car quickly if need be. The issue with that on your car? No windshield posts.. no posts to hold the door down.

I do apologize for that. It was a mistake on my part that should have never happened.

Hope all is well :) I'm in Austin several times a year for PCA events. A customer of mine lives there and we run his cars back forth for CA/TX events.

Small fuel tank:

I made a cardboard mockup a few years back for it. I *doubt* I can find it :( I did the mockup, then planned to have Fuel Safe find a tank that was close? or have one built for the car. It was designed to utilize the factory pump (I think they work pretty well) but I could think of 3-4 other pumps/pushers that would work. The mockup was designed to move the tank as far right from the driver as possible in the factory space. As I have found playing with the corner weights, just moving the stock battery over on its mounting plate above the stock tank can add 20+lbs to the right front tire (which is always light with the driver weight in place)

Just like in the past.. I'm now moving ALL weight into the passenger floorboard behind axle centerline and building a cover for it (per most rules orgs)

Don't worry about the door, I knew it came off that way, but would never guessed it would see off road work at an autocross. It made for a good laugh, and gave my dad something to work on in his retirement. ;-)

Erik

Oh? The feedback I was getting "Erik is pissed" LOL :cheers:

It's been awhile since I last posted an update on this project but since the car is done (or as done as a track car ever gets) here's a couple.

Still have some fine tuning to do but the ugly duckling has turned in to a really fun track toy.http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1425775130.jpg
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Nice!

Just a simple idea:

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It took me a moment to spot the differences. I agree, the hood lines do not make a good break-point for color.

Nice project.

Overall, you deserve huge kudo's for taking someone else's half-baked project and finishing it quite nicely!

Job well done!

I want one!