Woody's build thread

[jcslocum]

The car looks damn good!!!

[mikesz]

Looks terrific! Nice job!

[itsnotanova]

Thanks guys. I realized I'm not completely done with the exterior. I have a fellow member who's going to be trading me an arena red hardtop for my seal grey hardtop. I also have decided to keep the red calipers. I have a black set but I feel they would get lost with the wheels. I might experiment with different colors down the road, but for now I'm satisfied with red.

[Dubaday]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

I also have decided to keep the red calipers. I have a black set but I feel they would get lost with the wheels.

Nicely done there, your Boxster looks incredible. What about making that black set of calipers arena red, to match your rollbar? Just a thought

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by Dubaday

Nicely done there, your Boxster looks incredible. What about making that black set of calipers area red, to match your rollbar? Just a thought

Someone had mentioned that before and it's my color of choice but I'm hesitant to paint them with automotive paint. I'm not sure how well it would hold up to the abuse. I prefer to powder coat them if I'm going to go through the effort. I have the equipment to powder coat but I'm not sure about where to get the right color matching powder. Eastwood sells some that look close but I want an exact match.

[mikesz]

I painted my calipers red. I just went to advanced auto parts, got some high temp red and some white stickers off ebay. Cleaned with good cleaner couple coats of primer then several coats of the red, put the stickers on then several more coats of clear. Came out great. but my car is arctic silver

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by mikesz

I painted my calipers red. I just went to advanced auto parts, got some high temp red and some white stickers off ebay. Cleaned with good cleaner couple coats of primer then several coats of the red, put the stickers on then several more coats of clear. Came out great. but my car is arctic silver

His are red, I think the question was about arena red, which is the same color his car is.

Woody, I think it looks great. You could probably do a contrast color like green or yellow and it would look ok. Be interesting to see some arena red calipers though. Could you paint it with arena red and then use some kind of high temp clear coat to seal them?

[particlewave]

The calipers look great in red. I wouldn't change a thing

[BRAN]

Fantastic build! Nicely balanced design... love those painted headlights.

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by BRAN

Fantastic build! Nicely balanced design... love those painted headlights.

Thanks. The headlights are one of my favorite mods' I've done so far.

A little update on progress. Re-greased the axles and put new boots on too. Boy that's a messy job! I also installed the 4 stalk and ran wiring for the OBC and oil pressure to the 996 cluster. Nothing too exciting so I didn't take pics. I did take pics of my 987 airbox install though. I kept hearing how the 987 airbox was so much better than anything aftermarket. So I decided to install one instead of using an aftermarket air filter that I had bought from a fellow member. The 987 airbox is far from a bolt in and probably should have read up on it more before going that route.
Here's the 987 airbox before modification.

It wouldn't fit without notching the bottom and trimming the intake horn. After some trimming and fiberglass/JBWeld/screws and gasket maker, the three bolt holes line up perfectly.

Not the prettiest, but won't be seen once mounted

[itsnotanova]

I worked on getting the 3.4 ready to be installed in the boxster and I also performed some preventive maintenance. I mostly followed the instructions from "101 boxster projects" on swapping a motor. The only thing I differed from so far was the instillation of the vacuum hoses. I didn't like Wayne's plumbing on the vacuum hose for the brake booster, so I'm going to attempt a different way. I kept the connection in the rear and used the 996 hose that connects to it. I plan on cutting off the 986 fitting and connecting a hose to it.

I have some other ideas if it turns out that there's not enough room for my way. I also used the 996 gas tank vent valve, which seemed to fit better to me. I used some extra hose to protect the line from chafing against the A/C compressor.

Everything else was pretty accurate and helpful on preforming the swap. I don't like the way he plumbed his fuel lines though, and have ideas to improve on what he did.
This is what you get with cheap Chinese headers. Otherwise they fit ok once I ground down the bolt head.

Here I am so far. Needs a little bath but otherwise ready to install once I get the LN IMS pro installed. I also replaced the water pump, sparkplug tubes, spark plugs and 160 thermostat.

[thstone]

Great thread! I've been following along and its been a great journey!

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by thstone

Great thread! I've been following along and its been a great journey!

Thanks Tom. I've been following yours too, but haven't had much to say. Silent admirer

[itsnotanova]

Earlier in the thread I posted some pictures of the aftermarket front caster control arms I was using. I had one break on me very easily and I rewelded it back together. I had a friend who has used these on his race car tell me I should also drill the back side and weld there too. It sounds like a good idea so I followed his advice. I first drilled out until I reached the shaft.

I then turned up the mig and laid some deep penetrating welds.


I spent today loading my truck and trailer full of boxster parts. I'm taking my 3.4 to a friend of mine up in Dallas to install the IMS Pro. I believe he's the only person in Texas who's certified to be an installer for the LN IMS Solution. He can do the IMS in his sleep so I'll let him do it. I work on these things because I have to but I don't enjoy the mechanical side as much. I'd rather paint a car than rebuild a motor.
I let it be known in the racing community that I was coming up there and I got swamped with orders. This is going to be a big Saturday for me. I have three shops and my friends mancave to deliver parts to . One shop is at a race track and I was told if I get there early enough, he would take me out on it.:dance: I'll take some pic.

[itsnotanova]

The first stop was my friend's place where we replaced the ims with a LN IMS Pro. For those who have the single row ims, you're not going to replace that bearing with the pro unless you have the special tool created by LN engineering! While there my friend sold me a 4 inch under drive pulley that is suppose to give you back 10 hp(tested by Jake Raby on his dyno). It also slows down the power steering pump which is known to overheat and boil the fluid.

I had to grind down the block a little for it to fit

Here's a the factory and aftermarket comparison. Behind that you will notice the arena red hardtop I traded with Rick.

We met at the shop that was getting the red boxster body to fix two spec boxsters. Here's Rick on the right talking to the owner of the shop. I only got this one shot but there's more to the left.

A real 914-6 straight out of the 70-80's

[itsnotanova]

I think I win today's redneck engineering award. I normally don't have to get the car this high to get the motor out. My table lift has an engine and transmission on it so I used my transmission jack instead. It looks scarier than it really is.

Then I lower the car and raise the jack.


This is where I'm curious what other people have done when using aftermarket headers. On the 1997-99 boxsters and the 996's, the O2 sensors are connected to the secondary pipe. One is before the cat and the other O2 is after the cat. The 2000-04 have the O2's on the exhaust manifold/pre-cat. These exhaust headers give you two O2 bungs per side, but one has a horrible angle. What I did was I used the secondary pipe from a 99 and used the first bung for the second O2 sensor. Curious for opinions?

[jcslocum]

That os most definitely a bubba setup you got going on there. A real "Hold my beer" moment :-)

So, no cats?? With no cat there is no way the ECU won't throw codes unless you use a fooler to make the o2 sensors read differently... I think. That all I got.

Please start to wear gloves. I hated them in the beginning but now I can't work without them. I will send you a box if you want.

[Van914]

Woody,
Go here 90 degree offsets for sensors.
Check Engine Light Eliminator

There is another place that sells them but I can't find the site.
I used them on my car with headers
Van

[paulofto]

Looking at that rear end suspended out there made me cringe a little, but hey, it's Woody, things are cool. Now where is that beer.

[itsnotanova]

The "two post lift guys" have a winning argument when it comes to removing and installing a motor on a Porsche, but I still wouldn't give up my four post over a two post. I've yet to come across anything that a two post can do that I couldn't do with mine too.
As for the O2 sensors. I moved the last two to behind the cat on the secondary pipe by making an extension wire harness out of two old O2 sensors and the connections from an old engine harness. I'll probably need to use those O2 foolers when I switch to bypass pipes. The headers are huge but those secondary pipes look so small and restrictive. I'm also thinking about making my own exhaust system at a later date. I'm not a fan of the factory system. Mostly because of the weight, but because it looks overly restrictive too.

If everything goes together fine and I get a thermostat gasket in today, I should have it running this weekend.:dance: Too bad we're getting 3-6 inches of rain over the next week though.. I'm dialing in the ride height of the motor. Even after notching the engine bay, I still have to lower the motor 1 inch. The flapper valve can't tilt forward anymore because of the AC lines.