Headlight Switch Failure
 

I've done a bunch of upgrades to my '02 Box in the almost year that I have owned her but this was the first part(s) failure. Apparently a common one and with the car being 21 years old somewhat expected. I ordered the new switch from Pelican a few months ago when I had to constantly turn the switch on and off a few times to get the headlights to function. Low-Beam didn't work. Eventually last week that stopped working altogether so:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1690289302.jpg


I bought the more expensive OEM German version:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1690289378.jpg


However... WTF, China? Oh well:
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Thank Goodness for Youtube with all the hidden little screws:
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All went well. Should be good for another 21 years:
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In addition...
 

... since I had those plastic tools out and a small bottle of "Goof Off" (kinda the same a "Goo Gone") I soaked those now weathered and even more yellowed old warning labels on top of the Sun Visors. Not sure who they were actually "warning":

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Similar to removing the "do not remove under Federal Law" label on a mattress I suppose. Comparison, looks a lot better to me:
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Car was so happy I did a full leather clean & conditioner as well. I'm happy too.

Track Arm
 

Installed driver's side track arm. A relatively simple job, although I did have a heck of a time getting the front mount to go into place. Almost like it was a little too big. I hit it a couple of times with a brass punch and it seated right in. It completely eliminated the clunking when going over bumps at slow speed. Not sure how, but the whole rear end feels like it's tightened up a bit. Maybe I should do the other side, even though there are no signs that it's bad?

Sway Bar Links
 

Installed front sway bar links. Super easy! Always happy with the difference new links make.

German Cousins First Meet-up
 

My '73 Super Beetle has been away awaiting major rust (Front-end/Front clip) for over a year. Just brought it back home yesterday. Still will need new shocks and wheel alignment but okay to drive around town.

I have a one car garage so at some point before Winter...
Different worlds of the driving spectrum:

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Nice cars! Of course, I love my 986, but there's something about a Bug that makes everyone attracted to it. I actually learned to drive stick on my college roommate's '73 Super Beetle convertible in orange ((perfected, more like it as my first standard tranny driving experience was my granddads '67 Impala 3 on the tree). I also have only a one car garage, so unless another car (Beetle, 914, etc) lives outside under cover - it's unlikely I'll have the pleasure of owning. I still could be talked into it, though!

Went racing on Friday and Yesterday on Porsche Racing Club Finland event at alastarocircuit.fi. Friday was a day for practice runs with Time Trial (I run at TT with my Boxster), Club Racing and 992 Cup Cars.
Saturday we had a massive downpour of rain most of the day. Still raced on all classes...
Probably due to the really wet track, the exhaust pipe immediately before the cat cracked on my car (image).
Will get it welded this week.

Today I also installed new camberplates (EuroCupGT-Pro GT3 Adjustable Front Top Mounts) to the front suspension. Will get the alignment re-done also later this week.

To finish off the good Porsche weekend, I washed the car.

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Washed it, which seldom happens. Took the hardtop off, which never happens. Went for a drive, ordered coffee, watched F1, made a 12-egg omelette.

Sometimes I forget how good these cars look and how well they perform. So underrated!

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Center console delete and shifter
 

First mods on my new to me '99 boxster: console delete and b&m sportshifter

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1690861593.jpg

Looks nice and welcome! :cheers:

Dropped the trans as the first step in an engine out service.

I hadn't strapped the engine in at this point, it now has a strap and a jack underneath it:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1690905388.jpg

It came out much easier once I got the last mount bolt out that I missed:
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1690905422.jpg

Installed new rear sway bar links and sway bar bushings. Nice improvement!

Nice looking car! What wheels are you running and what are your wheel/tire specs?

Front Sway Bar Bushings
 

Installed front sway bar bushings. Not as easy as the rears, but not difficult. Tightened things up nicely.

They finally made one that fits the 986/996. And I have the first one!!!
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1692692506.jpg

Before the summer I saw one of their head units in a 997 and talked to the owner. It looked stock and was way cheaper than the PCCM+. So I got in touch with one of the sellers on Aliexpress.
They said they were working on a 986/996 version but had run into some problems, so they could use an original Porsche unit in order to get the dimensions perfect. I had already replaced mine with an Android unit, so I shipped my PCM1 to China. In return I got one of their new head units as well as my old one back. :)

It has a 7" 1024x600 pixel displa and physical buttons. They used the same buttons as they already had on the 987/997 version. It might have been nicer if they had replaced them with round/oval, gloss black buttons, like the 986/996 have. But it still looks great.

There are several version you can get, but I have an 8 core CPU, 6GB RAM, 128GB ROM, 4G/LTE and they even gave me a reverse camera, that I haven't plugged in.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005746490879.html

That's actually not too bad looking, thanks for doing that! How is the performance of the one you got? They have a cheaper one with less RAM, all I really want is wireless Android Auto, I don't really care about the other stuff. It looks like they have some with a Bose optical cable, I presume this is supposed to work with the Porsche MOST system. I might have to look at this as my current setup is a bit...clunky.

Wow, that looks great! I have been trying to decide on a new HU for some time. How is the screen with the top down and some sun?

Edit: So after doing some reading on Rennlist I ordered one. I ordered the one with the most ram, extra memory never hurts. Now the wait…

The one I've got is working great. I use Waze and Spotify without issues. The 4G/LTE connection is reasonably fast (here in Sweden) and it's very responsive. I'm honestly not quite sure it acutally runs Android 12, but there are ways to figure that out. I'll also install an app to remap the physical buttons, since it can't be done with the current software.

Thanks. Wheels are Apex VS-5RS, 18x9" +46 front, 18x10" +36 rear.
Tires are one size wider than stock (235 front, 275 rear)

Another thing to be noted with this unit is that it does not have a memory card slot, despite what it says on the front. You can remove the SD button (which is actually a lid) and see a slot, but there's nothing to receive the card. Ask me how I know... :rolleyes:
It has two USB ports, though.

The reported memory size is correct, but it does not run Android 12. It's actually Android 10, disguised as 12... Other than that, it works great!