Woody's build thread

[Nine8Six]

This have happened to one guy we know here in SH (can’t find his vid now for some reason). He had genuine $1500/each BBS wheels on his bimmer. Residential CCTV concluded that the thief couldn’t complete his job and left the passenger side lugs just sitting on one thread (F & R wheels). Friend ended up losing one front. Just like you; mid speed, no warning, one second of wobbly’ing and ding-ding-ding off it went. Damage was incredible apparently because his locked and exploded in the footwell, passenger door couldn’t even open if I remember in his vid.

That’s what happen when you have 20” or 21” wheels I’m guessing

Side note Woody. No panic. Rotation of the wheel is the same as the thread lock pattern. Hence making it near impossible for lugs to unscrew, in fact it does quite the opposite. According to legends, the concept of “torquing” lug bolts is primarily to ensure that you do not ‘over-torque’ them, not the other way around – although also quite important lolll. Regardless, 99 cases on 100 of lug/hub documented failures were caused by over-torquing; cracking, stripping, etc, the internet has it all.

But here, I think you win something Woody. NEVER I’ve heard/read of even 4 (four) lugs unscrewing themselves in seconds. Are you dead sure all five were on the wheel before?? If there were only 2 then yes it could make sense that the wheel failed – but the only reason for that is only because you failed to install hub centric spacers, nothing to do with your meaningless 0.5mm thin silicon imo. Hub Centric Spacers => 10mm being a must man

For info Genuine Porsche wheel/hub design works with two lugs only. The 3 others lugs are for aesthetic loll

Ps . 8mm striping is 4 threads on a M14. X2 should have given you plenty, you really got unlucky there Woody :/ Don’t bother wasting money on lottery tickets, trust me on that one man!
Pps . I love wheels

[78F350]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

...

I weighed the rear wheels of all my wheels with tires.
The factory 987 17 inch wheel/tire 45#
The black knock off 18 inch wheel/tire 55#
The arena red knock off 19 inch wheel/tire 60#

Woody, thanks for sharing it all. Glad you came out of it with just a story to tell and a few hundred less in your pocket. I was considering buying cheap spacers and lugs for my Carrera wheels, but you talked me out of it.
Our '01 came with 20s. The rears are 20x11 ET52 with 275/30ZR20 and weigh in at about 65 lbs. Not a choice I'd make on purpose, but it was an online auction purchase and I liked the look. I have 18s ready to go on, but just don't have the heart to do it.

[BruceH]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

I weighed the rear wheels of all my wheels with tires.
The factory 987 17 inch wheel/tire 45#
The black knock off 18 inch wheel/tire 55#
The arena red knock off 19 inch wheel/tire 60#

That is a huge difference! No wonder you felt the difference, time to find something lighter I do still like the looks, but looks aren't everything

[itsnotanova]

I wouldn't be too afraid of wheel spacer. I've had good luck with them in the past and didn't have anything go wrong. I had a set of wheel spacers on a Chevy Malibu that I had turned into a pro-touring beast. 355hp, 405 ftlbs, under 3000lbs and tubular suspension. I had 3 inch spacers on the back of that car and I use to beat the tar out of it. I completely F'd up on the boxster and shouldn't have done the things I did. I got those spacers/lug bolts off a Boxster that I had dismantled. Whoever put them on that boxster used liquid nail or something similar. I used a putty knife and tapped it with a hammer to get them off. Yes using no spacer is better than using one but I wouldn't hesitate to use spacers if you need to. Just don't be a dumbass like me. Nothing wrong with spacers. Heck even Ford uses 4-6 inch spacers to turn their front Dana 60 single axle into a dual rear wheel axle to use on one ton trucks.

[78F350]

... I was considering buying cheap spacers and lugs for my Carrera wheels, but you talked me out of it. ...

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

I wouldn't be too afraid of wheel spacer. I've had good luck with them in the past and didn't have anything go wrong. ...

Right, I didn't mean not to use spacers. I meant that I had been thinking of using the cheapest ones I could find on eBay that fit. Now I realize that material and design of the spacer and lugs really does matter.

[Top_Ramen]

Just as an extra precaution, when using wheel spacers, always torque lug nuts/bolts while the wheels are off of the ground. Especially when using wheels spacers without the built in hub centric rings.

[MinnMonk]

Did you buy the car through IAAI?

Can you buy more cars through IAAI?

Great thread!

[itsnotanova]

Yes I got both the 986 S and the 996 from IAAI. I get most of my vehicles from IAAI or Copart. The best deals are the ones you'll find on Craigslist though. Thanks

[garybull]

Interesting thread! I'm really thinking about buying one of these cars but I'm not too sure where to go with it though, what are the common issues with the car (if any) or is there a part that needs regular maintinace? went Servicing Stop with my car the other day and spoke to them and they gave me abit more of an insight on these cars (they know me, been using them for years) but need abit more help.

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by garybull

Interesting thread! I'm really thinking about buying one of these cars but I'm not too sure where to go with it though, what are the common issues with the car (if any) or is there a part that needs regular maintinace? went Servicing Stop with my car the other day and spoke to them and they gave me abit more of an insight on these cars (they know me, been using them for years) but need abit more help.

I appreciate the compliment but that's a very big question to ask. In general these are great cars and are mostly easy to work on from underneath. You'll need to do a lot of reading on here to decide what year and what options interest you. Everybody has an opinion on them but one thing we all agree on is that these are not cheap cars to own and maintain. I sell Porsche parts for a living and even I can barely afford to own one. Do some research and decide what you want before you start looking at buying one. Buy smart and don't buy the cheapest Porsche you find!

[10/10ths]

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Woody and driving with him in the Texas Hill Country and enjoying the sights and sounds of his Boxster build. His car sounds wonderful, the exhaust he put together gives off an exotic wail over 4K that will make any car enthusiast swoon.

The car looks great.

But much more important than the car, is Woody the Man. What a great guy. He was kind enough to give me a tour of his wonderful facility and I got to see the Boxster Bone Yard.

Folks, if you need parts, Woody is the sort of person we should all strive to to business with. He's one of us. And he's good people.

[compinsating]

just read this entire thread... cool stuff. love the color of that car.

I've only ever been in my 2.5 boxster.... how much quicker is the 3.4? night and day? I've driven a lambo and own a vette as well and both those will set you back nicely into the seat.. my 2.5 box... not so much lol but its fun as can be to drive. I'm hoping my 3.8 swap makes me smile like the vette does when its done.

Brian

[itsnotanova]

The 3.4 is a big improvement over the 2.5, 2.7 and 3.2. It's fast but not scary fast. I'm thinking the improvement difference might be with the intake, exhaust and 996 tune more than the displacement. The 986 is majorly corked on the intake and exhaust over the 996. I'm about to switch back to a 3.2 block because my cam adjusters on the 3.4 are starting to throw chunks of green bits in to the oil. There are some other issues I'm having with the 3.4 and it's just easier to pull the motor. I plan on switching out the intake system and exhaust from my 3.4, and putting it on the 3.2 before installing it in my boxster.
Back story on the 3.2. I bought a flooded 2002 S out of Louisiana last week. It was hard to tell from the pictures how high the water had gone. I've bought many "flood damaged" boxsters before with the only thing wrong was a wet immobilizer. I wasn't so lucky with this one. This one had actually been in a flood. The water had got as high as the bottom of the dash. I checked the dipstick and found moisture. I got it on my lift and pulled the drain plug. For 30 seconds nothing but very clean water came out. Bummer! I decided to pull the sparkplugs and the pan to see what damage might have incurred. 5 of 6 cylinders had water in them and here's with the pan off.

With nothing really to lose because I can't sell this motor, I decided to carry on. I cleaned up what I could and replaced the DME, Immobilizer, key with a spare set. Turned it over a few times to clear out the water and then threw some oil in it. I had to jump the fuel relay because it had corroded. After about 30 seconds it fired up.

[Mad Max]

about the 3.4 having issues. Seems like the 3.2 may be the same. Good luck with the 3.2, I hope it works out.

[itsnotanova]

Thanks Mad Max. The 3.4 is in it's cocoon and I've begun to switch over the 3.4 stuff onto the 3.2

After I installed the 3.4 a few months back, I was able to get a ROW tune which basically makes the air pump and it's hardware just dead weight.

Only 4 small bolts hold it on, but you'll need to cap the holes if you do. Supposedly you can buy delete plates from Porsche. I decided to make my own because I'm impatient.

I want to use the 3.4 intake on the 3.2. To do so, I had to drill and tap for the different bolt pattern the 3.4 has. The red dots are where I need to drill

[CrisZenithBlue]

I don't know about you other guys but I'm jealous Woody.. You have your playground and your toys and you get to do this kind of stuff. Meanwhile I don't even have a proper place to work on my car unless I'm paying

It's great to follow an enthusiast especially one that helps the Porsche community as much as you do with fairness and advice. Keep it up man and good luck with everything you do!

Cheers!

Cristian

[fanguy]

Blue, I feel the same way. Sold my house last year and moved into a condo which was fine for a year. Then I got a Boxster and know no garage shop to work on cars and limited tools. I saw a show about 2 years ago where some guys in CO bought some land and bulldozers, backhoes, graters, and the like. They set a vacation packages where people fly and play with the heavy Eq. Maybe Woody should do the same. You get to forage and use shop.

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by fanguy

Maybe Woody should do the same. You get to forage and use shop.

You might be disappointed when you see it. The whole Woody empire is a non-insulated 24x30 building and 2.5 shipping containers.

So I finally modified my 4 post lift so I can remove and install engines easier. I guess Jon's safety thread motivated me. No more "Hold my beer" moments. I notched the platforms and welded some angle iron on the backside. Just enough room for a M96 to squeeze through.



She's alive!! I ran some old oil through the 3.2 when it was in the flooded box. After installing the 3.2 in, I then got the cheapest Walmart oil and ran it for a few minutes. Drained that oil and refilled with some mid-grade oil. I don't want to put any good stuff in it until I'm sure I'm not completely wasting my money. So far it holds good oil pressure and runs smoother than the 3.4 it replaced. I haven't got to really put the car through her paces, but my butt dyno doesn't really feel a difference between the two motors. Torque does feel a little down under 4000rpm but HP feels higher over 4000rpm. I have a neighbor who has a dyno at his house and I'm going to hit him up to test both motors.

Switched my wheels again. These are 987 wheels that are 17x7 and 17x8.5. the other 987 wheels were 17x6.5 and 17x8

[itsnotanova]

I thought I found a great deal on CL. Two Cobra kevlar racing seat for $500. Both were in great condition but one had a black gel coat and the other was gray. I figured I could just paint them and they would match. So I started to take one apart and I ran into a snag. The plastic trim pieces where the harnesses go through wouldn't come out. When Cobra build the seats, they lay the foam and cloth down first. They then clip the plastic trim pieces on sandwiching the cloth to the seat. The trim rings are a two piece design that are glued together. Not sure what to do now as these seats are ten years old and I doubt I can find those clips.

[Smallblock454]

Hello Woody,

3 ideas:
Cobra seats are manufatured in the UK. I would contact the manufacturer if they still have original spare parts for the seats: Cobra Seats - The World's Finest Automotive Seats

Ask a 3D printer shop if they can reproduce the parts. In general 3D printed parts are not that durable and have a rougher surface than injection molding plastic parts.

Use a hose that's profile is cutted exactly in the middle of the diameter and put it in the hole. There are some manufaturers that offer precut profile parts from rubber and other materials. This won't look like original part, but maybe will give a similar functionality.

Regards, Markus