Woody's build thread

[Smallblock454]

Originally Posted by tightbox

Wonder what exhaust they used in that picture?

I've always wanted to try mounting a 996TT exhaust to complete my RUF 3600S clone.

That's a Gemballa exhaust. They've used this style on different cars.




Website: GEMBALLA - The GEMBALLA GmbH is a German car manufacturer with over 34 years of experience in refining and individualization of Porsche and McLaren sports cars.

Regards, Markus

[silver-S]

I was interested before, now I'm waiting on the edge of my chair. A Carrera engine? M96? This should be goooood!

[jaykay]

Wood,

Is there way to retain the bumper and still get air out of the cutout ? Looks like one would have to take a plasma cutter to those bumperette mounts

Maybe a euro bumper would be easier?

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

I welcome everyone's opinions and comments. I'll admit that removing the insulation might be a little extreme, but I figure I can always go back if I need to. The main floor carpet that I stripped the foam off of was cut by the insurance adjuster. The cut is about six inches and will be covered by the floor mat. I didn't feel too bad about modifying that carpet because technically it was already garbage. Now the engine covers were good and I'll have to throw those away if I find that I prefer the insulation. Most of the things I'm doing to my boxster can be reversed if need be. Having 20+ boxsters to pick parts from gives me the luxury to do that and I don't recommend following my footsteps until I can give my feedback on the modifications I've made. I think I'll be able to deal with the sound. I've had some real loud cars and trucks in my life time. Really it's the heat that has me worried more. It gets hot down here for 4 months a year. Like 90-100 everyday! As of right now, I'm still dedicated to the cause of loosing weight. At least to a certain point. Some things I'm willing to accept the weight penalty for. One being the leather dash and leather 996 door panels. I've never had a car with a leather dash and love the smell of it. The seats are on the fence though. Again, I love the leather, but they're heavy and switching out to light weight seats will be an easy way to lose more weight. Second is the stereo system. As of right now I really want the Bose speakers and Kenwood head unit. I'm not a big stereo guy anymore so I can see me chucking that whole system in the future. I really like your ideas Radium King for saving weight and might follow them when I do decide to chuck the stereo. I also like the cayman engine cover idea. I've seen something about that but haven't looked into it yet in detail. I also like the cayman engine cover because it might give me more clearance for the Carrera engine too. Thanks

You guys had joked about camping at my shop and working on our boxsters. I really wish there was enough of us around here to do that. I'm also big into Ford 7.3 diesels and there's a group of us that get together every few months just to hangout and work on our trucks. It's a lot of fun and a great way to learn. For most of the guys it's just a reason to get away from the wives and . I've even thrown two events at my shop. I've thought about throwing one for the Porsche crowd too, but there just isn't enough of us. Oh well

Back to the build,
I have to paint some body parts and I want to paint some interior parts body color too. My factory roll bar is black, so I figured I would paint it too. The factory roll bar has a weld right in the middle that I feel looks ugly. It doesn't really bother me that much, but it's not that hard to smooth out if you're going to be painting it anyway.


I feel the back of the boxster needs something. Don't get me wrong. The box looks good but I think it's just lacking something visually. I've been looking everywhere but I have yet been able to find something that I love. There's tons of wings out there. Some I like more than others. I had this wing from another car and I didn't really like it that much. The problem for me is that it sits too high on the trunk. I moved it down the trunk three inches and narrowed it 1.5 inches so it could fit. You can see the dirt marks where it use to sit. I'll paint it and see how it looks before I mount it. I think it might look good with the cayman spoiler.



I switched the rear bumper cover out for an 03 and opened the license plate area like the spec guys do. While there I removed the rear bumper, bumper shocks and aluminum heat shields. I plan on getting mesh that matches the front and you won't see too much behind it. Opening that up allows lots of heat to get out.

If you guys with the 97-02 ever switch to the 03-04 rear bumper. Don't forget to grab the mounting bracket because they're different

[itsnotanova]

You could keep the sides that attach to the bumper shocks, but that's about it. In my opinion and from my knowledge of looking at wrecked boxster all day every day. That rear bumper is only really good for rear collisions under 10mph. Anything more than that and you start getting into the structure of the car. I'm willing to take the gamble of not backing into something or someone running into me. I'm obsessed with weight loss as much as I'm after the spec look and getting heat out.

[jaykay]

Yeah when I back it into something it's really not going to be anything near 10 .....I would think the bumper would be important in directing impact loads in to the shock absorbers...no energy absorbsion over 10? Ouch!

So the rear facing side un bolts, and this piece has the bumpette holders? I have never taken my rear bumper off soooo that why I am asking.

I belive there is a spec boxster bumper you can put in there and not block off the opening. It's already blacked out so it won't show under your grill.

What tool and process did you use for the cut?...looks good! I image I would have to do a complete respray after...which is a drag

[The Radium King]

gsr makes (made?) the bumper you are referring to. note that you lose the oem tow point if you delete the oem bumper (the gsr unit had a built-in tow hook). rennline sells a tow hook that bolts to where the bumper shock used to bolt to the frame. if you want to keep the oem bumper but still do the bsr-style vent in the rear bumper cover you can drill the rear bumper - a row of 4 or 5" holes.

[jaykay]

Yes I was imagining a row of 3/4 lighting holes along the bumper.....might even look good showing in silver behind the grill!

How are the bumperette brackets removed or can they be?

[The Radium King]

they come off easy, or you can get a row bumper.

[WillH]

It crossed my mind when I was removing the bumperettes that a 1"-11/2"round steel tube bumper might be easily made and bolt up if one were wanting to keep the bumper shocks and some protection while opening up the area for air flow. A hole saw in the aluminum bumper might be easier.
I made a panel to cover the bumperettes hole. Was also thinking about opening up the panel but have recently received a new louver tool at work and another on the way that will allow venting without exposing the inside view. If I ever get around to it...

Enjoying the thread

[itsnotanova]

https://youtu.be/_TBHiW2ogl0
Taking the 996 out for a test spin. You can really tell the difference in power between a 986 and 996. I've been going up and down my street like crazy ever since I got the 996 in. Now I can't wait to see what it will do in a car with 500lbs less.

I plan on putting mesh in the hole I opened up on the bumper. In fact, if you look at those pics smallblock454 posted of the Gemballa 911. Mine will look just like that. You can see through it but the mesh helps hide everything behind it. My front bumper has that same diamond shaped mesh. I need to find some soon for the back because I'm about to start painting the black items. I also plan on going with the bolt on tow hooks like Radium King talked about.

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by jaykay

What tool and process did you use for the cut?...looks good! I image I would have to do a complete respray after...which is a drag

I cut it out with a dremel. Used tape as a guide and went to town on it. You might be able to put a cap on the edge to hide the cut if you don't plan on repainting it.

[jaykay]

Wierd....my car just got smacked in a bumperette while sitting storage

Looks like something is bent as it is no longer sitting right ... bumperette mount perhaps.


I may have to go and do the cut now....bumperettes were painted too

[itsnotanova]

Isn't my 3.4 pretty?

Here's a pic of a box with the bumper cover removed

[mikesz]

YES! Very Pretty! This thing is gonna ROCK! I really hate you!

[itsnotanova]

Painting day take two. This is what a polished turd looks like. Those wheels should have been thrown in the scrap pile but I decided to throw a coat of paint on them.

[Sassmatt72]

F- Yeah. Looks great. and on wheels whatever, right....


are you getting any heat into them to really cure the paint?
m

[itsnotanova]

Originally Posted by Sassmatt72

F- Yeah. Looks great. and on wheels whatever, right....


are you getting any heat into them to really cure the paint?
m

They spent most the day out in the sun and we got to 83 today. I also was heavy on the hardner.

[PaulDash]

Originally Posted by itsnotanova

Painting day take two. This is what a polished turd looks like. Those wheels should have been thrown in the scrap pile but I decided to throw a coat of paint on them.

They look great. I guess you won't be taking them apart with those screws painted over.

Oh, and be careful about the lug bolt mounting surfaces - these should either be stripped of paint or only really thinly painted to get the right torque.

[mikesz]

Those wheels are awesome

[itsnotanova]

Thanks Guys


[QUOTE=PaulDash;484465]They look great. I guess you won't be taking them apart with those screws painted over.QUOTE]

The bolts are just for show and made out of a super cheap aluminum. The wheels are a one piece cast Chinese knock off. The wheels are semi-temporary and will never see a track or any kind of abuse. I bought them and didn't realize how cheap they were until I started to restore them.