A $1,600 Boxster and two projects

[78F350]

I started taking excess weight off the car. When I drove it this evening it felt a lot quicker and lighter, but it's probably my imagination. I weighed some stuff as I took it off:

Clamshell: 16 lbs
Convertible top: 37 lbs
Seats: 46 lbs each
Misc interior (rear shelf, center console, misc plastics, rear carpets, stereo...): 37 lbs
Doors: 75 lbs ea (added in Stripped out door with window 57 lbs) net loss: 18 lbs ea
Spoiler mechanism: 7 lbs
Convertible Top motor & transmissions: 10 lbs
Rear Bumper: 12 lbs
Bumperettes: 1 lb ea

There's still plenty more to go. I had thought of cutting back the dashboard, but after pulling it out of my parts car it really didn't have much weight. The weight there comes from the HVAC system and bracing behind the dash. The bracing is good for safety and stiffening the chassis. The AC in this car is working great and still very useful, so for now, it's staying. For the Challenge, I may just put on an AC delete belt to bypass the compressor.

For now, I have a hardtop on it to keep the weather out. I may build a hardtop shell for the Challenge. There's a lot of drag with the top completely removed.

Porsche boxster 986-topless - Turbulence Energy by GT Collection, on Flickr

Swapping doors:



My total cash found in the car was $9.30:

[itsnotanova]

I get having ac for a car you're driving a lot but I think for this car you should ditch it. At best it's only needed for 4 months of the year and most racing around here doesn't happen during summer. Sure ac is nice but I think the weight savings is worth the sacrifice.

[Fiddlebog]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

I get having ac for a car you're driving a lot but I think for this car you should ditch it. At best it's only needed for 4 months of the year and most racing around here doesn't happen during summer. Sure ac is nice but I think the weight savings is worth the sacrifice.

I'm planning on converting my '03 to a track car and was considering doing an AC-delete. How would you recommend doing this-specifically, would you replace the compressor with an idler pulley, or get a shorter belt? If you use a shorter belt, what belt?

[78F350]

Originally Posted by Fiddlebog

... would you replace the compressor with an idler pulley, or get a shorter belt? If you use a shorter belt, what belt?

There's no need for an idler pulley. Just get a shorter belt and run it directly from the crank to the PS pump. I have bypassed the AC compressor like that with it still installed. The AC delete belt is: size 760k6, or Gates - K060760.

Woody is right about getting rid of the AC. I need to quit thinking of this car as having other purposes and just commit to making it into a car for the $2,000 Challenge and whatever else looks fun after that - I have plenty of cars to drive on the street with AC.

[78F350]

Without the AC and condensers, I'm probably going to go with a single inboard radiator rather than the pair in front of the wheels. I have a Toyota radiator that fits the space well. For budget, the Toyota radiator was $40 at a junkyard with the fan and the Boxster radiator unit plus shroud is about $200 'fair market value' per side. That nets me $360 more to spend.
I have a damaged front bumper and frunk lid I can alter as needed for air flow and keep the good ones from the car for future use (and more net budget value in trade).



I just picked up a used racing seat from a circle track car. $60 and weighs about 17 lbs with the cover. I just washed about 5 lbs of circle track off of it:



How should I mount that thing?? Bolt it to Boxster seat rails? Use the mount from my Sparco seat? Is there a fabrication DIY somewhere? I never looked into it before, what do people do?

[78F350]

Here's how the seat went in...

I was hoping someone would post some simple instructions I could follow, but you gave me Nothing. I did a quick internet search and looked thru my junk pile. Here's what I came up with:

Stripped a seat base from storage down to the rails and bolted on some cut pieces of slotted angle iron (1-1/2 x48" ) cut to 5" lengths. I would have preferred U-channel, or box, but this was the best choice for local availability and budget.


Bolt right seatbelt through angle iron.


Bolt a flat plate to the slotted angle iron. This piece came from a scrapped flat panel TV mount.


Drill holes in seat and mount to flat plate. I bolted through the seat and plate to the rails. The other holes were in the seat from the previous owner's install.


Covered with the harness installed.


***Note: This car is being built for an event with a $2,000 budget limit and for my own entertainment. Do not try this on your own car without first consulting a competent mechanic and some YouTube videos.

[78F350]

The next big thing for this car is the 'Gambler 500 Mexico' Rally. Not a race, more of an off-road tour in the Big Bend Region of Texas and Mexico.

Planning on 30" tires, 1" to 2" lift at the struts, armored undercarriage, recovery winch, No AC , light bar on the roof, and maybe a trailer.

Just getting started...





Currently sorting through a pile of struts and springs to see what works best.

[Homeoboxter]

Must be a lot of fun to drive. I wonder how the big wheels alter the handling. Not that it matters, just curious