My Red '97
 

I was looking on Craigslist and the Facebook market for a cheap Honda Fit for my youngest daughter. She's been driving one of my '99 Boxsters and I thought that a Fit would be more practical. For a couple weeks, I ignored the $3,000 1997 Boxster that came up in my 'peripheral' searches. The last thing I needed was another Boxster and at $3k, it was bound to be junk. Let some other sucker buy it. I finally found a couple decent looking Fits for under $3,000 and forwarded them to her.

"What do you think Nikki? I hear that these are good little cars. Lots of space inside and great gas mileage."
"Um, no dad. They're ugly and they look cheap. My Boxster is just fine thank you."

So, I had my 'Fit money' in hand and remembered that sad little red '97 somewhere past Oklahoma City. By now it had been on Craigslist for about a month. I expected that it would be sold, but went ahead and emailed the seller asking for some basic info. I immediately received an email back with a phone number to call.

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In summary, the seller said: 5 speed manual, hardtop included, soft top is broken, big stack of maintenance records, 184,000 miles, interior '9 out of 10', some hail damage easy to see up close, but not bad from a few steps away, runs and drives fine, but the new coolant tank he just installed is leaking from the hoses. "Make an offer I just want it gone."

I said I wouldn't be available to get it for about a week, but that if he still had it on the day after Christmas, I'd bring cash and a trailer. On the 26th, I called to verify it was still there and got the address. About a three hour drive. My wife and dogs stayed at the house eagerly waiting my return.

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The car looked better in person than I expected. From the front, the hail dents are hard to find and the ones on the rear trunk can probably be leveled out with some PDR. The seller had owned it for about 7 years and had really enjoyed it most of the time he had it. Now it had high mileage and minor problems starting to accumulate. After messing with the coolant tank, he didn't want to keep trying to DIY and the cost of taking it to a shop would quickly surpass the value. I paid $2,500 and broke it down on the receipt as $1,300 for the hardtop and $1,200 for the car. I may use it in the future in the "Grassroots Motorsports $2000 Challenge" and need to keep the receipt for the car under $2k.

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It took most of the day, but it was all smooth travels with no surprises. Home at dusk, I unloaded the car from the trailer and parked it in the garage after taking it for a quick drive around the block.

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I haven't done any work on it yet other than a very simple PPI (Post Purchase Inspection) Here's some basics:

• Oil leaks from most of the spark plug tubes.
• Oil on top of the engine looks like it came from oil cooler o-rings
• New shift linkage and left side suspension (replaced after old driveshaft came loose).
• The coolant tank was just replaced, but it was a cheap aftermarket tank and hoses aren't fully connected.
• IMS bearing was said to have been replaced by the previous owner - no details.
• Good regular maintenance with documentation until the last couple years.
• Oil sample looks great visually, spin-on adapter installed.
• Soft top frame is broken, minor window/door issues.
• Chipped tail lights and headlights need a polish.
• Rear tires need to be replaced.
• Power steering may not work, but fluid level is good.

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The issues are all stuff I have dealt with before and most of the parts needed are in my garage and shed. As a '97 with over 180k miles, it's hit the bottom of depreciation and would not be easy to sell for a profit even if I do make it pristine. For now I plan to fix the issues I find and enjoy it for a while as what it is.

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Good taste for color, John ;-)) That Pcar line-up is starting to look good!
lol "Tuttle", funny...

For $2500 (hardtop included!) how can you go wrong? Looks like a good project. What do the dogs think? :D

Today I swapped the top with the almost new one that came from another car I bought last year. In the process I found that both the arms for the clamshell were also cracked and needed to be replaced along with the left side drip tray.

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It was all pretty easy to swap the parts over, but I started too late in the afternoon and didn't have time to get it set-up to open and close electronically. I'll get that done tomorrow and have a full set of parts available if I need any.

My garage floor is still covered with parts from the car that I stripped for scrap a week ago. I should probably focus on organizing that soon, so I can work inside with cold weather coming this weekend.

...and today we have rain. The top looks good and should keep the interior dry. I'm not going to put the hard top back on until after I finish going over the engine maintenance.

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This afternoon I'll be clearing some floor space in the garage. If I have time over the weekend, I'll do the spark plug tubes and oil cooler.

Busy at work, some travel, and waiting for parts; I finally got some more work done on the Red. Clearly it has been leaking oil for a while and that needs to be addressed before putting many more miles on the car. Oil is everywhere. I cleaned the engine and after a drive it was on the top, the bottom, and both sides. Best to start with the simple common stuff before worrying about the RMS or anything difficult. Spark plug tubes and the oil cooler o-rings are my prime suspects and good to do anyway as preventative maintenance on a 180k+ mile car. As I worked through them, they clearly needed it.

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The spark plug tube o-rings were clearly leaking and most of the coil boots were in rough shape. I replaced the right side with the parts I had on hand, but had to order a set for the left side - forgot that I had used up most of my stock on another car during the summer. How to remove old spark plug tubes: http://986forum.com/forums/518603-post5.html

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After going for a 15 minute drive and checking the top of the engine, it was clear that coolant was leaking on top of the engine as well as oil. Most likely suspect for that is the oil cooler and it can be a cause of intermix of coolant and engine oil as well. So far there has been no intermix, just leaks. I removed the old oil cooler. The large o-rings on the coolant side were shot, but the oil side didn't look that bad. I was glad to find that the oil cooler on this car was the standard one and not the version that was specific to the early '97s. That meant that I could put a new, larger S-Model oil cooler on without an adapter plate.

After putting it back together, torquing the bolts to 7.5 ft/lbs (90 in/lbs), I ran the engine to check for leaks. There was a sound of rushing air, not quite right for the intake. I moved around listening and feeling for leaks. the oil filler tube on top of the engine was hissing. I put my hand on it and it easily rocked back and forth. With the engine off, I found that the rigid part of the tube that bolts to the top of the engine was cracked and not fully inserted into the engine. I have two used ones 'in stock' from scrapped engines. Tomorrow, I'll have that replaced and go for a drive. Hopefully that will take care of the leaks.

Replacing the rigid oil filler tube...
Here's my general procedure, but not an exact guide:

Put the car in the 'service position'.
Disconnect the negative battery terminal.
Cover the drain holes on the sides of the engine compartment so tools and parts don't fall in.
Remove the throttle body:
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Disconnect the intake tube from the air filter.
Disconnect the AOS hose.
Loosen the throttle cable.
Unbolt the support underneath.
Rotate it upwards.
Remove the wire connections.
Remove the bolts holding it to the intake crosstube.

Remove vacuum hoses from the intake crosstube.
Slide the boots and remove the crosstube.
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I cleaned the intake and throttle body. All the vacuum hoses look good and are flexible. AOS and it's tubing look good and that reminds me that I still need to sort through all the receipts to see what maintenance was done and when.

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What a mess underneath the intake. The filler tube isn't broken, there just aren't any bolts holding it on. It had probably been pushed in place and stayed there until the previous owner replaced the coolant tank. Glad I didn't drive the car any further. I started cleaning up the oil and dirt. The long lost bolts were deep in a puddle of grime. I fished them out and kept cleaning, hoping to find a few 10mm Snap-on sockets. No luck, but I got it clean enough to help isolate any more oil leaks after I finish this maintenance.
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There's a loose wire under here. I'm 97.5% sure that it should be connected to the alternator '+' terminal. It's all covered with black heat shrink, so I can't see for sure if the insulation is red or brown. 2.5% chance I'm going to be very disappointed the next time I start the car.
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When I started putting it back together, the flexible portion of the oil fill tube felt too loose. I gave it a tug and it came off in my hand. That's not right, it's broken off and a bottle has been fitted to the end. Glad I still have a spare.
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I looked a little further at the tubing installed for the coolant tank. It works, but the main coolant hose to the tank has a big kink in it. I might as well correct it while I have this much access. That's going to mean draining some coolant again and taking off all the hoses to the coolant tank. Time for a break and dinner. This is not going to be technically difficult, but it's going to take some patience. I started out with 90s alternative music and coffee. I've already had to switch to beer and Christian contemporary to mellow out a bit. I may just finish posting this and let the car rest for the night. My schedule is free for most of tomorrow.
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Wow, a cut bottle?!:eek: The car is fortunate to have found you! Nice write up :cheers:

I'm also having a feeling this Boxster will become one of the best soon or later, lets watch!

Always love to read your posts. I think this one is going to turn out great, and red cars are faster too!

Hasbro sent me his dirty old Dansk Sausage. I've decided where I'm going to put it, but I should probably clean that dark, crusty stuff off first...

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I'm going to try Chuck's formula from post 16 here: http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/56379-installed-pse-porsche-sport-exhaust-photos.html

to get it to look more like this:
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I spent a couple hours in the morning and again in the afternoon cleaning up the Dansk. I'm at work, waiting for actual work, so it's just a productive way to pass the time. I hadn't taken a picture of the bottom side of the muffler, but it was coated with burnt black paint.
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I used some acetone and a scraper on the worst parts, then a nylon wheel and 3M pad on a sander.
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It looks pretty much like a normal muffler now. Tomorrow, I'm planning to use a Dremel on some of the smaller spots, then work towards more of a polished finish. There's one weld on a bracket that needs to be repaired. The rest of it is in good shape.
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I used a some 'Rust Gel' to clean some of the stains, that weren't polishing out, then polished it. Now it has a nice uniform stainless steel shine.
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During the week, I'll fix the cracked weld(s) on the mounting brackets, then see how it looks and sounds on the car.
:cheers:

Huge difference :cheers:

The Dansk muffler is going to go on this car, but first I want to fix the basic problems. It looks like the oil leaks are fixed, but there's still some coolant getting away.

I had thought that the problem was related to the oil cooler and hoses to the coolant tank. I finally got the kinked coolant hose replaced. That part of the system looked good. I could have replaced all of the clamps and hoses while I was there, but the others don't seem to be having a problem.
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When all the parts were back together, I went to a car wash to rinse the underside of the engine and transmission. With most of the residual oil cleaned off I drove the car for about 30 miles; carefully at first keeping it to about 3K rpm, then doing some good runs up to 6k rpm after I gained confidence in it.
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All was going great until the coolant temp light started blinking, indicating a low coolant level. Only about a mile from home, I continued - keeping an eye on the temp to make sure it didn't rise. Back at the garage, I found that the tank and associated hoses looked good, but coolant was on the plastic 'belly panels' forward of the engine. There's probably a bad hose going to the radiators or heater core. I plan to address that later this week. ...and that's a great opportunity to replace the fuel filter.
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I think the leaks are fixed now. One of the main coolant hoses from the engine to the radiators had a hole that leaked under pressure. The fuel filter is tucked in where the coolant hoses go forward, so it was easy to replace while I was there. I drained some fuel into a jar to see how dirty it was. Glad I replaced it.
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I drove it around town and took it to work tonight. No sign of leaks; oil or coolant. Looking down from my office... That's a lot of red.
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There's plenty of things to take care of next. Too much to list to make the car 'right', but for now the only thing I feel urgency about is replacing the rear tires. I kind of like the 16" wheels on it and will probably keep them. Most likely I'll find some inexpensive daily-driver tires to make it safe and swap a set of 17s on if I ever feel the need to 'drive beyond' the cheap 16s.

What an awesome thread.
As I read through it, I was impressed with a couple of things:

1) what seems to be honest enjoyment of the wrenching. Like.... maybe you bought the car so you could di just what your doing? That's something i'd relate to completely, by the way)

2) just how deeply in trouble a person could be, buying a "cheap" Porsche, without knowing what they're doing (DIY). It helps too that you've got accumulated parts and parts cars. Buying that stuff adds cost, but also adds delays.

3) (and here's where jealousy kicks-in for me, Haha) SPACE. you've got space for parts and parts cars. And multiple cars, so you can drive the one you feel like....


Anyway:
Very cool thread. Fun project. (That almost seems like the wrong word.... )

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Great thread. Is that a Bio Circle cleaner I spy??

Older but not any wiser!

I keep forgetting to mention, one (quirky?) little thing that I Love about this car is: No door speakers and no side airbags.
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Sometimes I forget that I have to be careful about encouraging everyone to buy a cheap Porsche and dive right in. I've been blessed with a stubborn persistence that got me to where I am. Doing a thing the wrong way enough times, I eventually start to default towards doing it right. There has been a long slow learning curve and the Forum has always been a great help.

I like to post these projects as my own maintenance record and also in hope of helping anyone else who comes across the same issues.

Thanks. Yes it's a Bio Circle, nice to have around so I don't have to dispose of as much waste. I'm not a mechanic, but there's an aircraft hangar where I work with lots of tools I get to use.

I like the clean look

I'm still planning to keep the 16" wheels assigned to it. ...but I realized that I have a set of 17s with tires that are getting dated (about 5 years old), but still have some good miles left on them. I swapped them out today.
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I plan to keep the 17s on it for a couple months now and run the car as my primary daily to see how it holds up.
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Not bad for $2,500 and a couple weekends worth of work. Still lots of stuff to work on: rattles in the track arms, no power steering, cracked and missing plastic underneath, window/top issues. Yes it's old with lots of miles and some lumps and dimples, but for a fun, no-cares roadster that I can take a dog along in, it's perfect.
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Looks great, nicely done :cheers:

Well done - I'm that same on my car, think I have a few DIY threads on here but most of them are on the Ireland site. There's a lot of satisfaction in getting a job done and knowing its been done right even if it was heart break at the time.

We sell Bio-Circle in Ireland, great little unit and excellent chemistry for cleaning. Some of their other products are also really excellent. I use the CB100 a lot in a 500ml spray bottle for cleaning and de-greasing.

Ok.... somebody learn me up: what's a "bio-circle"?

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I think they are talking about the Bio Circle parts washer/chemicals.

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Yes, it is the green parts washer in the pics with the muffler. Rather than using harsh petro-chemical cleaners it has a water based enzyme solution that 'eats' the oil and sludge.

The car is running well and the only leak observed so far was from the screw on oil filter not being tight enough. Next week I start 7 days of day shift at work and that should be a good time to work on some issues that won't put the car out of commission or get me too dirty. I plan to fix the problems with the top and windows.

Windows: The driver side window usually doesn't stay dropped when the door is open. It can't be pushed down by hand when open. That is most likely a problem with the door latch.
The passenger side window will drop if it's pushed down by hand, then raise back up normally when the door is closed. That is most likely the 'slack regulator cable' issue that many people have fixed with a spacer. I think the root cause is actually the window motor. I have parts... and will report further next week.

Top: Lots of issues when I got the car. The frame for the top and lift arms for the clamshell were broken, a plastic ball link was broken, and all the linkage was disconnected. I expect that there are still multiple problems, but I have complete sets of parts boxed up and ready to replace the whole system if needed.

That's a nice to do list I replaced the driver's side window regulator last year. Not a bad job, ordered an OEM one and a new foam liner for it while I was at it.

Marking the glass where the original backers clamped it and the position of the alignment bolts in the bottom of the door meant there was virtually no fiddly alignment afterwards.

Not sure if I posted it in the DIY section.

Older but not any wiser!

I had a little free time in between remodeling my living room (new flooring and a built-in shelving unit) and going house-hunting with my son and his wife (I just got word their offer was accepted on our favorite house from yesterday). I seized the free moment to hide in my garage and huff welding fumes. The cracked brackets on the Dansk are repaired now. I hope to have it installed tomorrow, but no promises.

I learned how to use a welder by reading the instructions on the box it came in. Not making pretty welds yet, but the metal seems to stay stuck together. I wish that I had masked off the rest of the muffler - I got little slag bumps scattered around.
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Wise man say "bad at welding good at grinding" LOL

Guys at work are always laughing at my welds, but they don't break. And once I grind them down you can't tell the difference.

Gas MIG is easier than flux core if you get the chance to upgrade. ;)

I received a set of headlights and taillights with black covers. Why not try them out on this car..? I plan to go with a Red/Black theme, painting the wheels a glossy black. With the headlights still black it's sort of a 'Clark Kent' glasses look.
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I loaded the pic on my computer and colored them red to see if they will look decent painted.
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Filling more of it in (I think the best look would be turn signal where the corner piece sits and the fog and turn lights filled in) changes the character of the car where it really doesn't need to be changed.
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I decided to stay with the stock lights. Nothing against what Bran and JBauer have done with theirs, but I like the classic lines of a 986. Dividing up the shape of the fried eggs into little pieces has a busy, discordant appearance. For what it is, I prefer the original shape and contours.

Oh Noooo... Stop me!
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How much do you want for those covers if you’re looking to get rid?

Will, I won't decide what to do with these for a while. I just checked eBay and there's plenty for around $99 shipped or less. That would probably be your best bet right now.

Edit:... actually four for $99 more from about $129 up to $250. I can't get my eBay link to post correctly, but searching "porsche 986 headlight cover eyelids" found a variety of them.

👍🏻 Will check the bay

I love this too much. LOL

lol...I know I know...you can't stop it anymore :cheers: welcome to the club

Yesterday late in the afternoon I decided to install the Dansk muffler. The weather was nice and I thought I'd be able to have it done before sunset, so I did it in the driveway.
You don't have to take the rear bumper off to remove the muffler, but after doing it once, I realized that 'bumper off' is the way to go.

• Raise the spoiler and remove the top, then unbolt the spoiler from the lifting arms.
• Unscrew the bumper cover from the car - 3 under the spoiler, 2 at the top of the fender wells and I think it was 6 across the bottom.
• Remove the bumperettes, 1 bolt each, inside at the bottom.
• Pull the bumper cover out, then disconnect the license plate light.
• Remove 2 bolts for the bumper reinforcement bar. Heat shield attached to the bottom should come away with it.
• Now you have enough space to access the bolts and supports for the muffler and room enough to remove it.
• Dealing with the rusted bolts on the exhaust may require uttering some sacred words and a small sacrifice of blood. Use penetrating oil liberally and have a breaker bar handy.
• After the bolts on the clamps are loose, I like to pry them wide open with a small pry-bar or heavy screwdriver before trying to move them.

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It got dark earlier than I expected. Then my wife came out to say that dinner was cold and she put it in the microwave for me to reheat when I was ready. "I'm almost done." I ignored a couple phone calls from my boss. *Why is he calling this late anyway.* Oh, late..., yes, it's almost 7:30 pm. I paused work on the car for a moment to text my boss: "I'm just 'finishing' an 'easy' job and will call back as soon as I can." He restores old Mustangs and I knew he'd understand.
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Eventually it was done. Nothing was particularly difficult, but working with the old bolts and getting everything lined up right to mount the Dansk took a little more effort than I expected.
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Most of it is covered by the bumper and the change is subtle, but I like it a lot.

This makes me smile. Well done!

While I have the 16" whells off and bad tires on them, I decided to paint them. I was thinking of glossy black with my spray gun, but then saw black Rustoleum with a hammered finish and decided to give it a try. I plan to let the paint set and harden for about a week now before i mount new tires
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