new boxster owner. Q on BSR build.
 

hi all,

i recently bought a 98 boxster. she's quite a gem with 39k miles on the clock and well maintained by previous owner.
I want to gradually build the car to BSR. Thus, I want to run the car thru DE first and get acquainted with it. Been running a GT3 for the past 5 years and want to put that into "retirement" due to running cost.

My first order of business is to put in a full cage. The car already have an OEM hardtop and am trying to solicit people who are currently BSR owners on which path I should go as there are aftermarket hardtops out there that are much lighter than OEM. pros and cons would be appreciated.

anyone have a BSR running OEM hardtop?
is it possible to design a full cage based on the OEM hardtop and still be able to fit an aftermarket top like GTracing or Sheridan w/o compromising safety.

thanks in advance. pics of the car. attached.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1369337335.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1369337410.jpg

Wow, great looking Boxster!

All of the Spec Boxsters that I know (including the one that I am building right now) are running the lightweight aftermarket hardtop. The stock top is way too heavy and it puts the weight in the worst place possible (up high).

Some BSR cars do indeed run the Porsche OEM hardtop... generally not the ones on the podium though. ;)

The aftermarket top weighs 1/2, and a cage will work with either as they have the same profile per class rules.

Hmm... aero kit I. That makes it a rare box indeed !

cool! welcome!
 

Joe, we have a good bunch of nor cal SPB cars and drivers now. I sort of went through the same process as you, with my daily driver bought new, turned DE then TT then track car / race car, and then finally SPB to start 2012.

If you are on Facebook, shoot me a PM with your info and I'll add you to the BSR group there and you can meet the locals. We'll be at Buttonwillow this weekend and Laguna Seca June 21-23.

The factory top should be gutted, and if combined with a Lexan rear window won't be too heavy. However, the fiberglas tops are better and if you are a bit patient you can probably sell your factory top for as much as a fiberglass top & window will cost. Since you are not in a hurry I'd recommend the Sheridan top since it is a noticeably better "fit and finish" than the GT Racing top. You must wear arm restraints if running a non-factory top.

The nor cal go-to guy for cages is Tony Colicchio at TC Design in Milpitas. He's done many and gets the cage nice and tight up against the a-pillars, etc. for more driver space. Tony actually asked me whether I was going factory or fiberglas because he could push a little more space with the fiberglas, I think because even a gutted factory top takes a little more space inside somewhere.

I did nearly all of the stripping of the car myself in my garage, so I can answer questions on that topic pretty well. My car was just 25 lbs over minimum on the PCA scales at COTA recently, so for a driver cooling system's weight to be "free", I need to drop 40 lbs more.

thanks! that's what i said when i saw the seller's ad. immediately called him up and bought the car sight unseen. needless to say, the seller did not disappoint. ;)


that's what i thought. oem hardtop is heavy and at the worst spot. which aftermarket hardtop are you using for your build and how is the fitment?



yeah not looking for podium right now. hahaha. just taking it easy first thru DE. if i could get away with a full cage design with the OEM hardtop and later on replace it with aftermarket hardtop if that's all it takes to get me to podium LOL. the other mods inline are deep sump, baffle kit, and AOS before i put her on the track. been reading up on this forum. thanks to those who posted valuable info.



thanks. i like the look of this aero kit I. so that's what it is huh. i'm not sure it's 'legal' for BSR. may have to put the aero kit at some point.

thanks trygve. wow you and your car thru and thru since new. awesome! :)
i've been wondering where the norcal bsr group are hiding in the forums. i see fairly good field when running with pca-ggr. it's one of the main reasons why i want to do bsr. my gt3 buddies will be at BW this weekend. unfortunately, i won't be able to make it.

i spoke with TC and he mention exactly as you say about oem vs. GT racing. looks like i will be putting up the OEM hardtop for sale. hope it sells fast 'cos i don't have room to store the top. i will be stripping the car myself as well. i'll hit you up with a pm. thanks!

Good info on tops. I eventually will take the same route and get a fiberglass one.
Wonder if anyone is familiar with the top from Texas Performance Concepts. The price is good, but not sure about quality and fit.

What the!! GT3 retired? Never thought I would see the day.

Have fun building the BSR and look forward to harass you with my civic :)

I would build the cage properly under the lightweight top. You will be able to build a taller cage (safer!) and also plan on mounting the top during the cage build. If you build the cage under the factory top, you will lose headroom and ultimately safety. Selling the factory hard top can also fund a lightweight top plus extras.

I'm awaiting a top from Sheridan for a cage build right now, as we won't even start building until we have a roof to snug the cage up against.

yeah mike part of the excitement will be building the car. going to diy as much as i can to save a few bucks. :)

thanks for the sage advice. I went and ordered GT racing hardtop and scheduling the full cage build with TC Design. can't wait!

meanwhile, have some stripping to do. started with the oem hardtop and softtop off. :D

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1369442131.jpg

taking a peak at the engine...
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1369442167.jpg

As someone who also went "backwards" from DEing a GT3 to building and then club racing a Specbox I can probably offer plenty of advice along the road. Do not hesitate to email me at Laurence.jitts@att.net if I can be of any help. I will also put you in touch with Texas spec Boxsters on Facebook.

Couple of quick things. Be prepared that the front bumper and rear spoiler have to go. And (although it looks like you already have a plan) ditch the top and go for a lightweight roof. You can sell yours for more than you'll pay for the replacement and you'll loose the easiest weight from the best place.

Before you start read the rules many, many times. They are really clear and list exactly what you can do. It also by default tells you what you can't do - that is, anything that it doesn't say you can do. If in doubt ask someone who has been through it before. Can't speak for California but the Texas racers I have met (and that's most of them) are all the most generous I have ever met in every regard - that is until it's race time.

Enjoy, Laurie

i was prepared to replace the rear deck+spoiler but the front bumper too? :(
oh well... i've started stripping! :D
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1369677495.jpg

Have fun with the stripping. Don't stop till you have a garbage bag full of ~30lbs of unused wire and plugs (and I'm not kidding).

I'm afraid they are specific about the acceptable bumpers - see rules. I'm pretty sure that yours has an aero special of some sort - correct me if I'm mistaken about that.

i'm told it's an aero kit I. i'll keep it on for as long as possible. :D
i think i've shed about 200 lbs so far. holy crap the seats were heavy. 48 lbs each!
i weighed the car before stripping. starting weight was roughly 3000 lbs. +/- 20
that was with both softtop and oem hardtop on.
i'm going to weight it again ones i taken most of the interior out.
i may just leave the wires in for now.

Joe -
IMHO, the wires will be easier to get to before the cage goes in. Also, I think the dash usually comes out as part of the cage install, that will also make the wires more available.

FWIW, I went from tracking a street car to tracking a SPB. The things I miss most (other than 100 HP) are side windows, E-brake, and door locks. I'm in the east where it rains from time to time and I tow with an open trailer - which affect my opinion. I suggest them as things to consider keeping for a while until you are ready for racing, although the windows may interfere with the cage.

Have fun with the build and keep us posted!

thanks for the tip spendy. i also have an open trailer so yeah the windows will be helpful in case i get caught up in a rain trailering. i'll check with my cage builder. i'm also keeping the e-brake.

strip progress
 

explosives:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...o/IMAG0667.jpg

cleanup these adhesive leftovers from the sound deadening stuff for your cage builder.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-7...o/IMAG0671.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-B...o/IMAG0672.jpg

need to tidy up wires and then she's off to my cage builder!
keeping the side windows for now. i think!
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--...o/IMAG0704.jpg


i have a bunch of interior stuff that's either going for free if you're local.
some will be up for sale like the below items.
ping me if there's something you need.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x...o/IMAG0673.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2...o/IMAG0674.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-f...o/IMAG0675.jpg

side door speakers
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6...o/IMAG0676.jpg

side impact airbags
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Y...o/IMAG0677.jpg

softtop motor
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-a...o/IMAG0681.jpg

Windows are next to useless the minute you go to the lightweight roof. There will be a 1" gap all round. I simply made up a couple of hooks of strap aluminum that are glued to the glass and allow me drop the windows in place for shipping and parking but whip them out come race time.

Also suspect you are about to find out that there is no market for the used roll bar. It looks like it should have a value but I literally couldn't give mine away and ended up throwing it in the garbage.

Definitely a lot easier to de-wire before the cage goes in. Simply find all the wires that now go nowhere and start unwrapping and trimming until you find your way back to the source. It's a lot easier than it sounds. In the end you'll find you only need about 6 - 10 (depending on your choices) of the fuses and only 1 relay up front (fuel pump) and 2 at rear (ECU and something else that escapes me right now). Even if you leave the immobilizer in place you'll discover that there is only about 8 of the fifty something wires currently running to it that you actually need. In my case I chose to leave the complete engine harness in place all the way to the ECU but forward of the ECU everything that went nowhere (including to a fuse that then went nowhere) was taken out. I ended up with a full domestic garbage bin filled with almost 40lbs of wire/blocks/fuse box etc. I built my car on the basis that all it needed was a motor, wipers and brake lights from the original wiring. Everything else is gone.

Hi joe.
i will be interested in the door panels if in good shape and a good price ;)

as a guy who hopes to do such a build (un-build? de-build?) in the near future, how do you deal with:

- immobiliser?
- cels - deleting charcoal canister, etc., will chuck a cel - I presume you ignore it? must make for a cluttered fault read when you run diagnostics.
- door levers - do you get rid of them with the door panels and replace with ...?

RK,

Re immobilizer: in my case I had the ECU doctors in Florida remove the immobilizer function from the Box that contains the ECU and therefore dont need an immobilizer or key etc. Eric (from this forum) subsequently got into all sorts of **************** for doing the same thing (At POC the rules were interpreted to outlaw such a move). This however has not been the case with PCA. I exclusively race with PCA and nobody has mentioned it YET. Most people simply remount the immobilizer in a waterproof place and live with it.

Without cats most (but not all) cars simply show a CEL constantly (some do not) and you learn to ignore it UNTIL IT STARTS FLASHING. No big deal when doing diagnostics simply one fault code that needs to be extinguished. In my case it's one of about six "normal" fault codes.

The door levers actually pull on a cable which you can easily fix to the door (after everything else is gone) and then have a pull cable door opener.

Thanks lots. So the immobilizer won't lose the plot with the locks and windows, etc., removed? Thanks and sorry for the hijack!

Immobilizer relies on a signal from the ignition key. Having accepted the signal it sends a OK signal to the ECU. All the other stuff may set the alarm off but won't cause an immobilization.

The above relationship between key, immobilizer and ECU why they need to either reprogrammed or replaced as a set but also why the ECU can be modified to not need the signal and allow the elimination of the immobilizer unit and the key and switch.

no worries TRK. not hijacking at all. great questions. i was wondering myself. :)
i have durametric so can probably clear some of the codes that stripping trips.

Jittsl, thanks for answering questions. very informative! i will leave the immobilizer alone it sounds like the ECU needs tweaking in order to bypass it.

Meir, i'll pm you on the door panels.

Joe, firstly call me Laurence or Laurie.

Thought of one more thing regards windows. On the driver side you would be crazy not to use what they call NASCAR bars (I think). These bars extend into the door cavity (where the window currently resides) and almost reach the outer skin of the door. Such an arrangement requires both the window removal and the gutting of the door but may well save you from serious injury. At a recent club race at COTA we had an incident where one SPB T- boned another. Despite the fact the metal work was demolished the NASCAR cage arrangement managed to keep the offending car completely clear of the driver who suffered not so much as a bruise. Having seen the result I wouldn't do it any other way.

I also tow with a open trailer and with my temporary windows in place I do get some water in the car but there is very little left to soak it. Other than sometimes racing with a damp seat I don't have an issue.

Laurie, thanks again. :)

my GT racing hardtop should be coming in at my cage builder's shop this friday and i'll be there to discuss bar 'options' with him. i haven't talk to him about the door windows yet but chances are he's going to have me remove them as he is very meticulous about safety (as a cage builder should be). will see...

car is back from cage builder (TC Design) :dance:

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-2...o/IMAG0771.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-K...o/IMAG0780.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A...o/IMAG0779.jpg

next step. paint cage and top.

oh how i miss the OE top... but this is much much lighter.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4...o/IMAG0759.jpg

Wait 'till the first time your racing in the rain and water is pouring over the top of your screen and is simultaneously leaving a puddle at your crutch and obscuring your vision.:)

sounds like fun :o

Nice looking build.
Are you going to part ways with your seats?
I'd like to be on the list if you do end up selling them and getting new racing seats.

yes the stock seats will be for sale. they are quite heavy though ~48 lbs each!
so best if local pickup.

update
 

turned my garage into a paintbooth over the weekend. i'm pretty happy with the results. :)
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-3...o/IMAG0785.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X...o/IMAG0806.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-u...o/IMAG0815.jpg

next up: paint hardtop

took the car for a shakedown at Thunderhill couple weeks ago w/o 3rd radiator, stock oil cooler, stock oil sump/baffle, stock suspension, and street tires.
it was a grueling +106 deg heat but nonetheless, car and driver survived. :D
the engine temp stayed around 190-200 mark.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-9...o/IMAG0834.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-4...o/IMAG0836.jpg

just recently installed new baffles and deep sump kit.
http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-racing-forum/47090-x51-type-baffle-works-deep-sump-spacer-kit.html
so we'll be switching out to RA1s.
can't wait to try it out next month!

more incoming track goodies til then. :)

Good looking car!!

The stock gauge LIES.. and it lies BIG time. Just at Thill this past weekend the gauge red (200'ish) PIWIS said 237!! :barf:

I wish TC had welded in the FIA bars like he *just* did on this Boxster:

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...02198499_n.jpg

Need to ask TC why he keeps selling that piece of **************** from GT racing. It weighs a LOT more than the Sheridan top that comes from Paso Robles!!

thanks. i think i know who's boxster that is! yeah TC mentioned that bar option but i opted out.

the GT racing top is relatively light enough that i could put it on by myself. what i'm not really happy about is its fitment. but i can live with it. it's a race car anyhow. :D see pics below.
i have not seen a Sheridan top. i'll see it when that blue boxster is done. ;)
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-X...o/IMAG0990.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-h...o/IMAG0991.jpg