Official 2004 Boxster S 550 Anniversary Edition thread

[Oldcarguy]

Originally Posted by Tomikaze

The second Boxster I owned was a 550 SE. Wanted to keep it forever but then had a kid. Wife said the unnecessary par payment had to go. I've recovered now. Still have some 550 SE swag left over. I'd sell the model and the brochure if someone was interested.

Hi Tomikaze, I already have the brochure but I’m definitely interested in the model. I’ll send you a PM now. You don’t happen to have the 550SE keychain by any chance? Can’t find one of those anywhere!

[Ottomotion]

Is there a source for LE exhaust tips?

[Oldcarguy]

Didifred

Originally Posted by Ottomotion

Is there a source for LE exhaust tips?

I’ve never tried to find the SE tip directly from Porsche. I’ve seen them used on overseas eBay sites for 300-600 euros. I think I saw one on US eBay in the past but I don’t recall the price. I still have mine but it’s not for sale. Good luck with your search!

[Oldcarguy]

Hey, just noticed we disappeared from the topic list! Here’s my latest mods update. Let’s hear from some of our new 550SE forum members!

Originally Posted by Oldcarguy

Well, here we go! Let's see some pics and have some info about our 550 Spyder Anniversary Editions. I'll start.

Special Edition #317 of 1953
Production Month: 02/2004
105,000 miles
Factory Options: C02, 424, 454, 502, 581, 680
Color Codes: TW, U2, V5
Original Purchase Price: $62,075.00
Purchased from the PO in Febraury 2017 for 15,500

Work performed:

(2020)
Stripped rubber coating from sport seat backs and repainted backs in GT Silver Metallic to match exterior
Replaced broken driver side sport seat foam/heater, frame and suspension webbing
Replaced both sport seat back foam
Replaced sport seat upholstery with custom stitched Napa leather upholstery ordered from Classic9 Leather (Cocoa with silver stitching)
Ready for shipment to F6I for my 3.8L Stage 1+ Street Performer plus misc add-ons

(2019)
At 112k miles replaced M030 struts and springs with Bilstein PSS9 coilovers
Replaced rear LCAs with custom machined Elephant Racing adjustable parts
Replaced rear toe links with adjustable Elephant Racing parts
Installed 15mm rear and 10mm front Elephant Racing hub centric wheel spacers and appropriate length lug bolts
Installed LNE .5qt sump and oil pickup extension
Replaced standard plastic oil sump baffle with x51 type oil sump baffle (FVD type)
Replaced left side axle assembly with Porsche OEM
Deleted secondary cats and replaced with Fabspeed mid pipes
Replaced rear lower underbody pan with new OEM part
Replaced steering wheel with DTCM reduced diameter, flat bottom, increased rim thickness wheel in Napa cocoa leather with silver stitching
Contracted with F6I for a 3.8L Stage 1+ Street Performer engine upgrade (with a bunch of misc add ons)

(2018)
Installed Rennline pedal and dead pedal set
Installed FVD ‘turbo look’ side vents backed with CCG grill material
Installed hardtop spin locks
Purchased preowned late model Porsche 986 hardtop
GBox 2nd gear detent (preventive, not having any popout problems)
Porsche Genuine AOS
TechnoBrace
Zimmerman Z rotors and Akebono PC pads
Had minor crack in rear Carrera Light rim lip repaired and rims refinished in correct Seal Gray/Artic Silver with clear powder coat
Replaced BMC oiled air filter with stock Mahl paper filter
Replaced Borla muffler with Brombacher ‘sound version’ muffler
Replaced broken driver side sun visor mirror cover
Prepped, painted and installed ‘preowned’ Porsche Aerokit I side skirts

(2017)
ECU Doctor waterproof immobilizer case
Cleaned AC condensers and radiators, fabricated and installed CCG intake cooling grills
BluTranslt Bluetooth
Frunk and trunk struts
Passenger side cooling fan thyristor
DRL hack with OPT7 led fog lights and on/off switch
.04 version coolant cap
LN Engineering spin on oil filter adapter
Refinished headlights with SprayMax 2 stage catalyst headlight system
Set of 4 genuine Porsche seal gray wheel center caps
Whole car PDR by a great PDR guy in central NY
Sun visor air bag warning label blackouts

(2016 - by previous owner)
Borla exhaust (I have the original muffler, bracket & end piece)
LN Classic IMSB in 2016 at 103,000 miles.
987 front engine mount
Rear upper control arms
Clutch
Heater core
Thermostat
Water pump
Front sway bar end links



Links to my other pics (didn't want to duplicate post):

Some Beautiful Pics - 550 Anniversary #317

[Tomikaze]

Moderators will probably put this is the for sale section but i wanted it to go to another 550 AE owner if possible. Competition Motors has long been out of business but it’s where James Dean bought his 550 spyder. Had this on my AE. Thought it was a nice touch and a nod the original. Mint condition. $25 shipped.

[BRAN]

I have a question concerning the floor mats color:
Does the 550SE have "regular brown" floor mats, as I only see brown and cinnamon brown in the Porsche Online Classic Shop for the 986.

[Tomikaze]

Nope. Cocoa brown. It’s got its own color code. And they’re about $300 for a set. The edges of the mat are wrapped in leather.

Originally Posted by BRAN

I have a question concerning the floor mats color:
Does the 550SE have "regular brown" floor mats, as I only see brown and cinnamon brown in the Porsche Online Classic Shop for the 986.

[BRAN]

Thanks!
...wow...they (and only them) are listed in the PET 986 catalogue, nice!
986 551 491 00 R41 cocoa (LHD=00/RHD=01) (R41=cocoa/A41=black)

[Smallblock454]

Afaik cocoa was only available for the 986 as interior color. Later on cocoa was also available for the 987 and 997, but never for the 996.

[Subman]

Just went to look at an Anniversary today. Stunningly clean, 38,000 miles...but...original engine blew 2.5 years ago and was replaced with a new engine from Porsche (My Indy shop - a VERY good one - obtained the engine from Porsche & installed). It's literally the cleanest car I've ever seen outside a showroom, and drives unbelievably well. Brakes, suspension, steering, etc. are superb. New tires too (as in, just installed today). I've already got a 2002 Boxster S (and a 2000 911) but unlike those this is a tip, which allows my wife to drive. (She can, but won't, drive a manual, and the others are six-speeds). Will decide tomorrow whether or not to proceed...it's the black interior, 2004-02-01 production, $66,735.00 new. If I pull the trigger I'll post pix...

[Subman]

Finally had time to post...the wife's new baby. 38,000 miles, absolutely pristine. Number 478 of 1953. She's beyond happy...

[Oldcarguy]

Originally Posted by Subman

Finally had time to post...the wife's new baby. 38,000 miles, absolutely pristine. Number 478 of 1953. She's beyond happy...

Congrats and welcome! #478 looks great!

[cdumitru78]

I've chased this one since the start of the summer, finally completed the deal. Just turned 25k miles, so far loving it!

[GTA_G20]

Originally Posted by cdumitru78

I've chased this one since the start of the summer, finally completed the deal. Just turned 25k miles, so far loving it!

Well done and welcome

[10/10ths]

Welcome to the party, pal.

[blair206]

Bought mine in 2008, second owner. Rare Black interior. 66,000 miles now and loads of mods.
Older Photo:

lol

This year photo:



Door pocket cover sprayed GT Silver:



A few mods done over the last 12 years:

BMC Air filter
Pedros plenum
911S throttle body
ECU Flash
Full sport Cat Exhaust
RZ Wheels 17mm spacers
Under drive pulley
Pedro's strut brace
Complete Stereo replacement 750 watts
M030 suspension
Clear sign markers

Car Dyno at 295 HP

Plans:
Koni shocks
Buff out all clear coat scratches
Don't sell it lol
Window tint

[blair206]

Car now has Sirius and blue tooth.

[Lugnut]

I'm the second owner of #288. I picked it up this fall with about 115k on it. So far I've replaced all the trunk shocks, engine mount, clear front markers, rollbar screens and a new windstop, PCCM+, fixed the HVAC blend doors, door pocket lids, light bulbs, window regulator, and a broken heated seat switch. I also picked up a hardtop in arctic silver that I haven't had painted yet.

I also have an IMS Solution, 2-quart deep sump kit, and a bunch of other maintenance items for it that should go on over the winter.

[GTA_G20]

PCCM +. More Details and pics please

[Lugnut]

Originally Posted by GTA_G20

PCCM +. More Details and pics please

I love the PCCM+. I have a Sony XAV-AX5000 in my '01 Boxster and the PCCM+ is way, way nicer. It fits its space appropriately and it sounds terrific. I don't know why the new radio would sound so much nicer than the original radio without any other modifications, but it sure does.

It's a little slower than I'd like (but, I mean, we do play with Boxsters, so this isn't the only thing slower than I'd like!) to boot up and be ready to go, and I still need to get the XM add-on for it. The GPS is pretty cool, but not better than Waze. I do like how configurable it is for displaying different landmarks on the map. For instance, you can tell it to display gas stations, and then you can go through the list of available gas stations and tell it exactly which brands of gas stations you want to display on the map. Like BP but avoid Thornton's? No problem, you can set that right up in the menu.

CarPlay is exactly what you'd expect CarPlay to be.

Radio reception is good and sounds great.

It has the standard Porsche knobs for volume and menu item selection. You can set the button light color to white or amber, which pretty much matches the climate control/gauge color. It looks totally factory and like it belongs there.

Installation couldn't have been easier. The SE is an '04, of course, so it has a MOST adapter to deal with that older cars won't have, but Porsche made that super easy and included a great decoder box. There's pretty much only one way to plug everything in, so you plug it in and it works. As always, it was a little bit of a pain to move the HVAC controls because the wiring harness is always a little bit sticky, but no surprises there. One big disappointment was that the port box, with the USB ports and aux ports, doesn't have a cable long enough to actually sit in a storage bin in the lower console. I routed both a USB cable from the CarPlay port and the external microphone into the storage cubby and stashed the USB port box behind the radio.

Sound quality is great, Siri always hears what I have to say whether the top is up or down, once it's booted up the unit is responsive. It was expensive. I think getting the Sony running in the red car was less than $600 all in, but with the PCCM+ you need the extra couple of trim parts (if you didn't already have a PCM in your car to begin with, and the 996-552-231-12-01C Center support was on backorder and took forever to arrive from Germany) and it's like $1,300 or so, so double what I paid for the setup in the other Boxster. But I think it was worth it. Every control on the thing looks like a Porsche control. It looks like it could have come this way.

All in all, if you feel like the fit and finish, ease of installation, and matching design is worth an extra few hundred bucks, go for it. Next time I get another 996 or 986, I'll be getting another one of these to put in it.
Here's the PCCM+ in the SE:

Here's the Sony installed in the '01:


Here's some of the PCCM+ in action.
Booting up:

Main menu: