Nevergrowup's 986

[WizardSmokey]

Gosh darn it, that is a gorgeous car. How in the world are you gonna top that for 2020?

Also, are you going to clear coat or buy a replacement filler cap? That autograph is awesome, and it would be a shame if it faded away.

[BRAN]

Originally Posted by Starter986

NGU, I don't see a smoking jacket.

...'cuz it is, where it belongs...behind the driver's seat

[Nevergrowup]

Thanks! The irony is that I really dislike smoking, having my mother chainsmoking all my childhood. But my love for the livery stems from having Ronnie Petterson’s F1 toy car as a kid.

Next year? Who knows? All I know is that I usually get restless over the winter. We’ll see.

[itsnotanova]

Looks good!

[Nevergrowup]

One of the things I miss the most from my previous p-car, a '81 911 SC, was the Momo Prototipo steering wheel. I have had paddle shifters on my stock 4 spoke steering wheel for a while now, and even though it's a far, far better feeling to shift with compared to the stock buttons, I really wasn't completely satisfied.

So, the question naturally appeared: Would it be possible to add paddle shifters to a Momo Prototipo without it looking terrible? I had to find out. As Clarkson says - how hard can it be?

Here's the previous setup:



I ordered the steering wheel and a hub kit from ebay. The hub kit included the airbag resistor I needed, and also a gizmo going behind the wheel to retain the function of the horn. I later discovered that I probably don't actually need it as I hacked into the clock spring wiring.

Yeah, the clock spring... I found some threads online where it was claimed that there is a Momo hub for Porsche which retains the clock spring, and I searched and searched for it but couldn't find any anywhere. So, a hack it would be...

And here comes the ghetto part. Google revealed that many after market paddle shifters (and NOS buttons, apparently) use a 'curly wire' or spiral cord, like the ones we had on the old telephones, so I soldered 4 connectors at each end of such a cable. It would perhaps not be pretty, but I thought it would work.

Following the wiring to and from the clock spring, from the connectors in the dash through to the wheel, I figured out which went to up, down and ground (and horn - more about that later) buttons, and soldered connectors in place. The green wires in the yellow connector are for the air bag, and I soldered short wires at each resistor leg and stuck them in the green connector in the dash, and secured it with electrical tape. This was for me the most scary part, as if the airbag light comes on you need the Duramatric to kill it (after what I've read).



Now, how do I mount the paddle shifters to the wheel? The shifter are AMG ones which I found on ebay. (I followed a how-to on Rennlist where I got the part number for them). They are mounted from the inside, which was a possibility with some washers and a screw, but that wouldn't be nice.



Also, the curved metal tabs in the corner move inwards when the paddle is pressed, so it can't be mounted flush to the wheel, so I needed a spacer. I looked around in the house and my eyes fell on my 4-year-old's marble game. I dremeled thin 'cylinders' which I painted and Tec-7'ed to the paddles. Since the wheel has holes, and the underside of the shifters aren't particularly pretty, I put grip tape from the underside of the holes. Looks better than duct tape, and has a nice texture. Then I Tec-7'ed the units to the actual wheel, carefully setting the placement.



The shifters hav a lip going around the unit, so I also used thick grip tape to camouflage the MacGyver'ed mounting.



Then it was time to put all wiring and connectors inside the hub, mount it in the car, cross the fingers and hope that no airbag light comes on...





And it was a success! Well, almost... Airbag light did not come on, but as soon as I touched the negative battery terminal to the battery the horn sounded. I had shorted the horn... somewhere... I had to think a little, but realized that one of the two wires I thought went to the ground in the wheel, actually is for the horn... DUH! Connected that one to the horn button instead, and then... YES! Success!

Now, I have a vacuum leakin the oil filler tube, so after reconnecting the battery it sputters terribly and won't idle properly. I really have to swap the oil filler tube, but I MacGyver'ed than one for now and have to drive for a bit for the car to 'relearn' itself. (I had the same issue last year). Thus, I haven't yet fully enjoyed the feeling. But the up an down paddles shift as they should.

I thought about painting the paddles black, but they match the trim rings around the instruments, so I let them be. For now.

[Nevergrowup]

The coiled wire solution wasn't really working, so I modified the Momo hub heavily so I could still use the clock spring. As a bonus the steering wheels comes a little closer which feels good.

I also got a custom golden gauge background for the tacho from whitegauges.net (edited), to match both the JPS livery homage, and also the interior.

[Racer Boy]

Looks great, Raymond!

I'll be in Norway in about three weeks, I'll keep my eyes open for your JPS Boxster when I'm in Drammen.

[Nevergrowup]

Thanks! Cool, don’t hesitate to say hi!

[fridsten]

The rev counter looks great, but I have to point out that it's whitegauges.net. If you go to whitegauges.com, you get a page full of malware. :/

[Nevergrowup]

Ah, sorry, you’re of course right. Fixed it.

[Ronjoy]

Originally Posted by Nevergrowup

Ah, sorry, you’re of course right. Fixed it.

Been following your Boxster mods-they’re interesting and tasteful. The mesh behind the front bumper grilles is genius. I’m surprised the factory didn’t come up with that idea. I haven’t looked-are those grilles removable without pulling the entire bumper? I’ve had an ‘86 3.2 coupe for a few years. Based on all the good press and comparo tests I found/bought a ‘98 2.5. While they are different cars I much prefer the Boxster-so much so I’m trying to sell the Carrera or trade it for another 986 + $. The Boxster reminds me of my MGB/Sprite days but without all the leaks/rattles (I do have a hardtop). Wondering what your feelings are regarding these two. Maybe it’s my age (74) but I also prefer the relative simplicity of the early cars w/o driving aids and electronic gizmos Americans seem to expect. Sorry to drone on but an inquiring mind is also curious whether English is your native language?

[Nevergrowup]

Originally Posted by Ronjoy

Been following your Boxster mods-they’re interesting and tasteful. The mesh behind the front bumper grilles is genius. I’m surprised the factory didn’t come up with that idea. I haven’t looked-are those grilles removable without pulling the entire bumper? I’ve had an ‘86 3.2 coupe for a few years. Based on all the good press and comparo tests I found/bought a ‘98 2.5. While they are different cars I much prefer the Boxster-so much so I’m trying to sell the Carrera or trade it for another 986 + $. The Boxster reminds me of my MGB/Sprite days but without all the leaks/rattles (I do have a hardtop). Wondering what your feelings are regarding these two. Maybe it’s my age (74) but I also prefer the relative simplicity of the early cars w/o driving aids and electronic gizmos Americans seem to expect. Sorry to drone on but an inquiring mind is also curious whether English is your native language?

Thanks! Sorry for the late reply - I actually didn't see this post until today... The grilles are hot glued on from the back of the bumper, so it has to come off.

I don't miss my old SC as much as I thought I'd do. The 986 is so much cheaper so I don't feel guilty for modding it, and the creature comforts in the newer car make it so much more pleasureable to use daily. The G-models are one of the best looking car designs ever, and the quirky nature of them is really special, but I have no regrets over swapping to the Boxster.

I'm 48 myself, and I'm actually very excited over modern gizmos! That said, I'm glad the 986 is quite simple, so I dare to dive into it.

I'm born and bred in Norway, but I've seen a LOT of TV and movies growing up! :-D Also, I work in IT and we have our helpdesk in UK/Germany so I speak/type in English quite a lot.

[Nevergrowup]

"How hard can it be?"

This next 'installment' is a bit 'in your face' and probably a bit too much for a lot of people, but hey! When I get the urge, I have to scratch it!

In the early 90's I was a hang-around in the Norwegian car stereo scene. I had friends that competed in and won National competitions, but back then I only dreamt of Porsches and actually didn't have a car at all! And to the people who 'only listen to the great engine note, and that's enough!': Really?!! What do you do on the highway? Accelerate, brake, accelerate, brake etc? And in stop and go traffic? Do you constantly rev the engine to ther the sweet, sweet sound? OK, I digress... whatever floats your boat.

I've built subwoofer boxes of wood before. Nothing very fancy, but they have worked and looked ok. But now I got the idea to place a small woofer between the seats, sort of like in the Viper, and I found a couple of pics online where someone has done just that. But in order to make it look good-ish, wood would be quite difficult to use. Also, I know that fibreglass boxes are very much the norm these days, if you want to use the nooks and crannies available.

So, I hit YouTube and watched a lot of fibreglass subwoofer creations, and thought 'how hard can it really be?'

I started with covering the designated area with several layers of masking tape, and made a 'border', or walls, of cardboard to get the outline of it.



I mixed resin and hardener, cut strips of fibreglass cloth and a mat which covered all of the base of it, put it in layers and drenched it in resin. After drying and more layering, I had the tray ready and then I measured and hot glued the mounting ring and supports. Then it looked like this:



Now it was time to cover it in cloth. I used a quite elastic fleece blanket, spray glued the underside, stretched and stapled it to the ring, like this:



After covering it in several layers of resin and fibreglass strips and pieces, I did a test fit again:



Then it was time to sand it smooth, cover it in spray glue and speaker cloth. Many that make fibreglass speaker boxes sand and spackle it super smooth before painting them, but my plan was to cover it in cloth all along (and it's easier!).



And then I could not restrain myself, so I had to drop the woofer in and fit it to the car!





It's not protruding enough to touch your shoulders, even with the seat at the rearmost position. I now need to hook up the amplifier and make a mounting plate for that in the frunk.

In order to secure it I have angular brackets on the back side of the box, in which I drop the 'speaker board' I have at the back side of the rollover hoops. I'll get a pic of that later.

[Nevergrowup]

Because we all love Boxster pics, here are a few I shot after it had a bath:

Starting with a summer mood pic:








I'm actually fond of the fried egg headlights.



I know I could use some spacers.



I have also painted the paddle shifter matte black.

[jmitro]

I'll confess I'm one of those diehards that prefer a manual gearbox and the exhaust note over a stereo (I never turn it on) but still, your creativity and fabrication are impressive

[Nevergrowup]

Thanks! With my boosted confidens (cockyness?), I'm really itching to try and make something like this:



And integrate my foglights into the already battered and beaten front bumper. And get myself a proper paint gun and move away from the rattle cans in the process.

[BRAN]

love your designs...

[BRAN]

Hey Nevergrowup,
what brand are those fog lights and how did you attach them properly?

[Nevergrowup]

The lights are these: My Hella Lights :: HELLA 500 Black Magic with the yellow protective films.

The mounting was really quite ghetto, as you can see here:



A screw from inside into the top of the plastic ensured that it stayed upright. (Told you it was ghetto!)

But last fall I began my project to embed them into the bumper with fibreglass. I cut out an oval at the top, to get them as far into the bumper I could, but had to make sure it didn't get too far in and hit the metal bumper inside. While also getting it as close to vertical as I could. Then I fibreglassed around the headlamp while it's in place. Adjustable? No...

But I had to rush the painting (as you can obviously see) due to low temperatures, so I desperately need another paint job in the spring. And I will do the finer edges and improve the filler before the new paint.



They are low and don't cast much light on the road, but hey! It looks cool!

[Nevergrowup]

Godd*mn it! My new Googles shared photos don't show anymore?

OK - created a new shared album. They appear now, right?