Techart Style GT2 Boxster just back from the Body Shop

[aaronrcheng]

I just got back from the body shop not too long ago, picked up my 98 Boxster. I've been putting in money here in there over the past year, Litronic, Clear Rear Lights, etc. I finally took the dive and spent $2,200 to put on a techart style GT2 front bumper and Techart style side skirts. I must say... I'm pretty happy with the new look:

From this:



To This: (I apologize for the text over the images - I don't want vendors on Ebay to use my images to sell their body kits)















I had the work done at McCurdy Body Works in Pasadena. I think they did an amazing job on the color matching - 10 year old Arctic Silver isn't an easy color to match.

It's not quite my Dad's real deal 996 Techart GT Street:











...but for spending 1/10 the price on the parts and labor, it's no longer a chick's car =)

[chaudanova]

Looks awesome man! Very very nice. If you don't mind me asking, how were you able to score all that for only $200?

[aaronrcheng]

My mistake... lets drop another 2 in front of that number. $1600 for parts and $600 for paint and install. You can't tell in the pictures, but I had the rear bumperettes painted while they were at it.

What blows my mind is that I spent almost $2,000 on Litronics, Rear Lights, Side markers, and a Chrome Emblem.

Looks like we got similar rims too... mine are 17" OEM 3 piece.

[chaudanova]

Originally Posted by aaronrcheng

My mistake... lets drop another 2 in front of that number. $1600 for parts and $600 for paint and install. You can't tell in the pictures, but I had the rear bumperettes painted while they were at it.

What blows my mind is that I spent almost $2,000 on Litronics, Rear Lights, Side markers, and a Chrome Emblem.

Looks like we got similar rims too... mine are 17" OEM 3 piece.

Ohhh okay... gotcha. Yeah I hear ya bout the litronics, rear lights, sidemarkers, etc... I just did those upgrades a few months ago, so I know what u mean. Yeah our rims are pretty similar style... mine are the 18" oem.

I'm getting kitted next, and possibly movin on to some 19s...

Well, Aaron your car is looking awesome man... making some great progress. What's next for it?

[aaronrcheng]

I think whats next is to make a little money... fixing up Porsches... even with replica parts is pretty damn expensive.

Maybe if I find a good deal on a used set of 18" or 19"s... I'll pick those up, but until then, no big plans. Exhaust maybe? I'm a little hesitant to buy a cheap muffler from ebay for like $600 when anything of real quality costs $1000+

[joyfrog]

Hey it looks really good I love the new bumper...what is it made out of? And it looks like it matches up really well...how is it up close on fitment and where did you get it from?

[aaronrcheng]

The bumper is made out of hand-laid fiberglass. I was a little concerned about the material until I learned that my Dad's real Techart Kit is actually made of fiber glass as well (granted, much higher quality with extra reinforcements). The parts he makes are actually molded off of Techart componenets (the fin splitters in the front air damns still have "Techart" embossed on them.

The bumper fitment is excellent. The body shop had to do some minor modifications (cutting the steel frame of my front bumper... sounds alot worse than it actually was), but after that, it fit like a glove. The side skirts fitment is mediocre at best because it doesn't meet flush with the side of the body... all side skirts (even the real thing) is attached with double sided tape, but its beginning to separate slightly after just having the car for one day.

I purchased the parts from a local manufacturer in Torrance, CA. www.precisionporsche.com

All of the parts are hand-made in the facility using hand laid fibers cloth over molds followed by the resin. Its then coated in a gelcoat. Quality is very high... much better than most sprayed fiberglass kits. You just need to prime it and paint it.

they also have a number of polyurethane kits (a 996 turbo style, and a 997 GT3 style) but when I saw them, I wasn't very impressed

1.) They're VERY heavy and droopy. Apparently over time and in very high temperatures, the shape of polyurethane parts can change significantly. After having seen and touched the parts, I don't doubt it. The texture is much more like Rubber mixed with plastic.

2.) Its mold-injected so there are usually some imperfections such as air bubbles or extra lines and creases that you can't just easily sand off and refinish. The molds are very expensive (apparently over $15,000 per model to make) and if they made a small error on it, they're not going to fix it,

3.) Fitment is a little more difficult based off of the parts he showed me.

The benefit is that they are in fact more durable meaning if you get into a very light bump, the kit wont' crack (although the paint will).

[ezeks]

looks awesome. The only thing I don't like is the wheels but that's only a personal preference. Congrats and enjoy :-)

[Perfectlap]

I ordered form Precisionporsche too (side skirting). Good price $430 delivered, but they took nearly two months and one side was teeny bit longer than the other so there is a 1/8 inch gap between the body and skirting. No one but my car enthusiast friends has noticed this. No way I was going to go through the hassle of returning them. Paiting this was very expensive in this area, $600. The cheapest I found was $400 but the shop's booth looked crappy so I went with the mid level shop.
Also agree on the varying qualities of fiberglass. I had a full fglass kit on my previous car from Racing Beat and it was flawless, but expensive ($1100 4 piece). Had a few cars bump into me while it was parked and never had a problem.
But about 3 times other cars rear ended me and each time it cracked in same exact spot.

[Tom Blue]

Really sets the car apart, your work and cash has really paid off.