Woody's build thread

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by jcslocum

That nose looks quite a bit like the one we picked up. Haven't tried to paint it yet, Too damn cold already here in NY, 20 this morning....

I've been watching your build and our cars will look very similar. I'm almost thinking about copying your spoiler idea. I want to do something too but haven't figured out what yet. I really wish someone would build a ducktail for the 986 boxster. I think that's the look I'm really after.


Relocated the battery today. I've seen a lot of 996 and 986 guys move their battery for better weight distribution. Most I've seen move it to the passenger floor because that's the best place if you're trying to shift weight to the best spot. That won't work for cars that still carry a passenger. The other option is to bring it down into the frunk. I still need to carry a spare, so I put it in the best location that the tray would sit flat. I used a preexisting ground location. It's a little bit smaller and I have some ideas to help create more surface area for the connection if problems arise.

[jcslocum]

We are going to be a little bit warmer tomorrow, so I may get the heaters going early and paint tomorrow afternoon. I will post pics if I do.

Why not run one of those small powerful batteries and put it behind the back seat?

To everyone using smaller, lightweight batteries... - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

[itsnotanova]

Not saying it can't be done, but I haven't seen anyone put a battery anywhere but in the frunk or right of the driver. Not sure if there's room for anything behind the driver with the top still there. I hope to someday go to a lighter battery. I'm curious how well they hold up in a street car?

[itsnotanova]

I like to think my box as race car inspired. I want it to have a somewhat raw feel to it. One of those things was the upgrade to coilovers. The next will be to lose what I consider unnecessary weight. My box is still a street car so I don't want to go all spec car on it and ditch all the interior. I've decided to strip almost all the insulation and trunk/frunk plastic & carpet. The trunks are easy. Just yank it! The interior carpet pieces are a little harder. They have a foam and some small pieces of Styrofoam bonded to the back. To get it off the back I used two methods. Sometimes you can pull it off and it stays together. It's similar to skinning an animal when it peels off. Most of the time it comes off in chunks. The other quicker way is to use a grinder with a wire cup attachment. The wire wheel makes quick work of the foam, but is VERY messy. You also need to make sure you don't grind into the carpet too much. It only took about an hour to remove the foam from the back. You might ask "Does the foam really weigh that much?" Yes and no. If it's completely dry, then it probably doesn't weigh that much. But that foam soaks in moisture and it's nearly impossible to get out. I've tried vacuuming wet carpet with a very powerful shop vac and couldn't get it out. Once you get your carpet really wet, about the only way to get it out is to drive over it with a steam roller. My box got wet in May and sat the whole dry/hot Texas summer protected from getting wet again. It still had some water I could squeeze out of the foam. I'm not trying to scare anyone into worry about moisture in their carpet. From what I see, it doesn't seem to cause too much damage if it's a little wet. My only advice is if you some how get your interior wet, take your carpet out and get as much of the water out. Don't assume it will dry on it's own. I would also let it air out for as long as you can but not in the sun. The foam doesn't like sun. If you do this, not everything will sit nice and pretty like it did. There's some cross bracing on the floor board that will cause a lump.

I also removed all the insulation from around the engine compartment

I also removed the top motor and transmissions. An idea taken from sassmatt72 was to use a trunk latch to keep the clam shell from rattling. I went with it and have gotten to this point before I ran out of time. I used the motor mounting bracket and only need to weld a brace.

[itsnotanova]

Converted a 986 cluster pod to fit a 996 cluster. Getting interior pieces together for painting prep.

[silver-S]

I was messing with my Boxster today (replacing a headlight bulb and general cleanup) and it occurred to me that I have never seen anyone who has taken apart so many Boxsters go through the car area by area, explaining and showing photos and in general letting us get to know the car so well under the surface.

So, THANKS man, for this education!

[itsnotanova]

I have the opportunity to see and do things to boxsters that only a handful of people in the country have. I've learned most of what I know by taking them apart, but I've also learned a lot from info I get on here. I feel it's my responsibility to return the favor. Here's another thread I started to help inform the community. Pictorial differences between a base and S model Boxster
Thank you back .

[steved0x]

Originally Posted by silver-S

I was messing with my Boxster today (replacing a headlight bulb and general cleanup) and it occurred to me that I have never seen anyone who has taken apart so many Boxsters go through the car area by area, explaining and showing photos and in general letting us get to know the car so well under the surface.

So, THANKS man, for this education!

+1000 Thanks!

[amagalla]

Woody,
It's great that you're saving so much weight by removing the insulation, but it's gonna be LOUD inside the cabin without it (ask me how I know). If you can live with that on a day to day basis, then great. You might want to consider keeping the firewall cover and the engine cover with the foam still attached.

Tony

[The Radium King]

how I do it is pull the two engine compartment covers off when I am at the track - less weight, lets more heat out. when driving around town or on a road trip I put them back in.

[The Radium King]

some other ideas - front and rear bumpers are heavy (and removing the rear bumper lets you do the cool bsr vent in the back) - go spec racing (gsr) make lightweight front and rear bumpers (w tow hooks) if you want some reinforcement there. gsr are also a good place to shop if you want to do the electric power steering thing (but just by the specialty parts there; you can get the actual electric pump cheap on ebay uk).

you might find the molded carpet funny with the insulation removed (air gaps) - might also affect the space btw the floor and the gas pedal - there are currently some rennline track mats for sale on rennlist that would sort that out.

i like the idea re the trunk latch for the rear tonneau cover. i was thinking just some rubber straps for an old-school roadster look. another idea i'd had but can't find a bodywork guy to do it (you might have more resources available to you than i do up here) is to combine the tonneau and rear trunk lid into one panel. get a fiberglass tonneau cover and one of those techart (or copy) rear trunk lids without the third brake light and extended to cover the spoiler. join them into one panel - now to raise the roof you just have to pop the rear trunk lid. allows you to remove - third brake light, rear spoiler, rear trunk hinges, roof mechanisms. also gets rid of a lot of busy trim lines on the back of the car.

door panels. search ebay uk (9apart is a good vender). porsche sold cars in the uk that didn't have air bags or stereos, so you can get door panels (they call them door cards) that are really light. remove the door pocket lids and add some pull straps and you have a true OEM rs-style door panel.

finally, i TOTALLY agree we need someone to make a ducktail for our cars. something that would fill the gap made when you remove the heavy oem spoiler.

[The Radium King]

sorry for salivating all over your thread - another tip. braille lightweight batteries (as sold by suncoast, etc.) are actually rebranded deca batteries - ie, for atv's etc. - and can be bought at your local powersports shops for cheap. a search on the internet will tell you the model you need (deca don't advertise them for automobiles). they won't fit any of the motorsports battery brackets, but a cheap rubber strap from your local auto parts store should fix that.

[The Radium King]

more lightweight stuff - the 987 engine cover is a direct fit and MUCH lighter + gives your engine more breathing room.

if you want a stereo but not the weight, think about one of those rear speaker enclosures that mount over the engine. get one of those, one of the speaker kits sold on ebay, and a bluetooth amplifier (also cheap on ebay). allows you to pair with your phone, play music from your phone, control volume from you phone, etc. want you car lighter for the track - remove the speaker enclosure. a switch in one of those switch blanks on your centre console can turn it on/off. suncoast sells speaker blanks for your dash speakers.

another stereo option is to delete the head unit and use a cheap ebay ipod adaptor to connect direct to the amp in the frunk. you don't get fader control, but your phone has balance, volume, etc. wiring diagrams are on the mighty internet. the oem amp is designed to only turn on when it gets an input signal so no switches, etc., required.

[silver-S]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

i TOTALLY agree we need someone to make a ducktail for our cars. something that would fill the gap made when you remove the heavy oem spoiler.

Cayman S spoiler installed

You have to take the whole spoiler assembly out to do some modifications for this, so you could easily pull out the motor and just leave the rods that mount the spoiler. Not quite the RS America look, but pretty good.

[mikesz]

I think we should all move down to Texas, and just camp at Woody's! Bring tools!

[TrumpyAl]

Judging from the pics in that road & track article it would be quite a good place to pitch a tent!

[itsnotanova]

I welcome everyone's opinions and comments. I'll admit that removing the insulation might be a little extreme, but I figure I can always go back if I need to. The main floor carpet that I stripped the foam off of was cut by the insurance adjuster. The cut is about six inches and will be covered by the floor mat. I didn't feel too bad about modifying that carpet because technically it was already garbage. Now the engine covers were good and I'll have to throw those away if I find that I prefer the insulation. Most of the things I'm doing to my boxster can be reversed if need be. Having 20+ boxsters to pick parts from gives me the luxury to do that and I don't recommend following my footsteps until I can give my feedback on the modifications I've made. I think I'll be able to deal with the sound. I've had some real loud cars and trucks in my life time. Really it's the heat that has me worried more. It gets hot down here for 4 months a year. Like 90-100 everyday! As of right now, I'm still dedicated to the cause of loosing weight. At least to a certain point. Some things I'm willing to accept the weight penalty for. One being the leather dash and leather 996 door panels. I've never had a car with a leather dash and love the smell of it. The seats are on the fence though. Again, I love the leather, but they're heavy and switching out to light weight seats will be an easy way to lose more weight. Second is the stereo system. As of right now I really want the Bose speakers and Kenwood head unit. I'm not a big stereo guy anymore so I can see me chucking that whole system in the future. I really like your ideas Radium King for saving weight and might follow them when I do decide to chuck the stereo. I also like the cayman engine cover idea. I've seen something about that but haven't looked into it yet in detail. I also like the cayman engine cover because it might give me more clearance for the Carrera engine too. Thanks

You guys had joked about camping at my shop and working on our boxsters. I really wish there was enough of us around here to do that. I'm also big into Ford 7.3 diesels and there's a group of us that get together every few months just to hangout and work on our trucks. It's a lot of fun and a great way to learn. For most of the guys it's just a reason to get away from the wives and . I've even thrown two events at my shop. I've thought about throwing one for the Porsche crowd too, but there just isn't enough of us. Oh well

Back to the build,
I have to paint some body parts and I want to paint some interior parts body color too. My factory roll bar is black, so I figured I would paint it too. The factory roll bar has a weld right in the middle that I feel looks ugly. It doesn't really bother me that much, but it's not that hard to smooth out if you're going to be painting it anyway.


I feel the back of the boxster needs something. Don't get me wrong. The box looks good but I think it's just lacking something visually. I've been looking everywhere but I have yet been able to find something that I love. There's tons of wings out there. Some I like more than others. I had this wing from another car and I didn't really like it that much. The problem for me is that it sits too high on the trunk. I moved it down the trunk three inches and narrowed it 1.5 inches so it could fit. You can see the dirt marks where it use to sit. I'll paint it and see how it looks before I mount it. I think it might look good with the cayman spoiler.



I switched the rear bumper cover out for an 03 and opened the license plate area like the spec guys do. While there I removed the rear bumper, bumper shocks and aluminum heat shields. I plan on getting mesh that matches the front and you won't see too much behind it. Opening that up allows lots of heat to get out.

If you guys with the 97-02 ever switch to the 03-04 rear bumper. Don't forget to grab the mounting bracket because they're different

[78F350]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

...I really wish someone would build a ducktail for the 986 boxster. I think that's the look I'm really after.

I know you said 'Duck', but how about a 'Whale'?
Just saw this on CL.
https://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/pts/5301612169.html

[mikesz]

I have that same rear trunk mounted spoiler on the rear deck, haven't installed it yet have to buff it out first.

[martsink]

Stripped interior is the way to go! The build is progressing nicely