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Project Limoncella - Restoring 993 into a CUP/RSR 1:1 tribute
Good morning Rennlisters and Merry Christmas from Tuscany,
I recently bought a yellow car, that has flown into a river and remained there for 4 and half years: the car was full of mud, silt and clay and everything you can imagine carried into a swollen river, that passes through a city with many chemical and industrial buildings.
At first I decided to buy it just to have the chance of taking the transmission unit, a G50.21.02, since the car is a row 993 carrera m.y. 95 with LSD - code 220 - detail I got from the chassis number: in my mind there was the idea of installing that unit onto my other 993, a row m.y. 96, with g50.20.02, long gearbox ratios.
In order to transport the car it has been necessary to take out approximately 1100 kg of mud from the car, which thing I did by myself during a very long, and as dry and sunny as a spaghetti western scene, summer day of July.
The car was literally fulfilled of mud, debris, pieces of plastic, small wood piece: I also found some tenants, such as still living shells and freshwater shrimps. A-MA-ZING
(I leave the smell while removing that stuff being inside that “stuff” to your imagination)
After that long day, arriving at my parents home, where I could have enough space to continue the de-muddling job: day by day, removing the mud and clay, to dispose of it as special waste in plastic bags.
Every single time I approached the car, I thought the same: and now, how can I do? Not sure I can find the way to do this...
Believe me, the door both locked, the rear lid and front bonnet, locked and full of .... everything you imagine to do in order to open those compartments, while the cable are gone, literally destroyed by corrosion, and the mechanism are totally cemented, forget it.
I had to approach the problems one by one, otherwise was too much to substain psychologically: so I started first from the front bonnet...I didn’t want to cut it, I didn’t want to cut the locking parts...finally, looking at the pet and making a comparison (you notice things you need only if and when you need it) I saw that the hook is fixed to the bonnet with just two small bolt nuts: here we go, I thought, small wrench(we name it “chiave inglese”) and lot of patience, finally the bonnet opened by himself like an “apriti sesamo” of Aladin Lamp, because the two piston were still doing their job really well!
The front luggage compartment was full of, again, s..t, such a pleasure and satisfaction to free another part of the car and discover its conditions.
The same procedure for the rear lid, this time seeing the engine full of stuff...wow...how to remove it all, with the engine still there!
it is such a long process I’ve been through so far, and I am not even half of the way to restore the chassis the way it myust become in my mind...
I was moved when I saw the sticker with the optional codes still attached to the hood and readable!
German quality ... even paper, ink and quality glue!
Regarding this, what color represents the L998 color option?
Last edited by nothingbutgt3; 12-25-2018 at 07:44 AM.
Reason: correct
In order to get Limoncella to the final flawless state of art, she still deserves some attentions on the Electrical system compartment (some very minor fix to be honest), on the Braking system compartment (again, something that should be a real easy fix) and last - but not least on the clutch/pressure plate/SMF compartment.
While pressing the clutch pedal (hence with pressure plate disengaged) the engine is running smooth and with no vibrations at all.
If instead I leave the engine idleing with the trasmission in neutral and with the clutch pedal release (hence with the pressure plate engaged), some very noisy rattle noise appears: this is something people already told me, and from what I understood so far it is caused by the engine dragging the primary shaft of the gearbox, where the gears are all disengaged and so the synchros hit one to another, but I am not sure I understood it correctly.
What I find not just annoying, but worrying, is that this rattle noise continues also during the driving, situation where the gear is engaged, the engine is pulling, and there is supposed to be a tight "fit" or "coupling" between the mechanical parts.
I am definitely going to submit it to the garage that did the job, but meanwhile you guys here are so precious and I am so protective towards Limoncella: a few years ago I had the opportunity to drive a Porsche 997 GT3 Clubsport with SMF, and the clutch was very stiff, but none of the above was present, although I think the clutch/presure plate/flywheel configuration is almost identical to that of Limoncella. (993 RS Clubsport)
On the suspensions set up Limoncella is beyond any expectation: the MCS suspensions are amazing, the monoball control arms, together with the RS sway bars and all the rest on monoball (with the elephant racing auxiliary subframes solid mounts without the tilt kit) ...wow....all of this makes Silverina (equipped with a full and brand new genuine M002 suspension setup coupled with PSS10 suspension system) feel as comfortable and as gummy as a mercedes benz.
And this makes me say that yes, the target I had in mind was reached 100% out, i.e. diversifying Silverina and Limoncella in terms of use: both very effective, yes, the first also offering enough comfort for the open roads, but still retaining a solid sharpness, while Limoncella I suspect (since I've never driven one) further than a 993 Cup in terms of sharpness...no rolling, almost no inertia, noisy, vibrant, visceral.
A day driving her is worth a month on Silverina, not just in terms of pleasure and satisfaction, but also in terms of effort and concentration.
I love that stressful feeling that I got only when I was cross racing against time on uphills climbing, and Limoncella gives all of this generously and incessantly.
Now I am dealing with these final issues to be solved, meanwhile I am searching for sponsors/participations in order to organize the presentation to the public that she deserves, please, feel free to write me in private if you have any hint/proposal, since this aspect seems to me to be even "harder" than the resurrection itself.
And of course NO-ONE at Porsche, Porsche Italia, Porsche North America, Porsche Whatever, took any type of initiative towards this project, that from what journalists are incessantly telling me, is a one of a kind example in the automotive history, and this for sure because of my tenacity, that anyhow has not less than the robustness clearly displayed by this miracled Porsche 993.
Wow! I don't know what else to say. That is quite a job, and crazy. Good luck to you. As far as the color code, it looks like a non-metallic, special order paint to sample.
Merry Christmas and Wow!
Looking from afar and not being the one having to scrape all the s..t out, I love this. Please keep us up to date with your progress and more photos!
let me be the first to say that I'm jealous. Would love to acquire a somewhat bruised example like this.
after such a comment, I don’t feel lonely - in my crazyness - anymore
The few ones I talked about this project, started looking at me like a very out of mind person...
I think L998 means paint to sample option, which in this case, was, from what I can desume so far, the “Lime Yellow” color, code L10W - LM1A.
Before painting it, I will ask for the Certificate at my local Porsche dealer, to have the pedigree of the car.
It is still visible just a part of something like a 0 or a 9 before the W a then 9 and a 1, that I don’t know what they mean.
It is something more or less being a 993 archeologist
Last edited by nothingbutgt3; 06-14-2020 at 02:51 PM.
Reason: privacy reason
"Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."-Bubba
It will be fun to follow your progress - congrats on the dedication to do the project. I am admittedly jealous! Look at it this way: after surviving all of the s..t shoveling, the rest will be easy!!
Is anyone as surprised as I am that the car was just left in the river for 4 1/2 years? I’m shocked someone didn’t get it sooner!
Last edited by 993pbug; 12-25-2018 at 11:54 AM.
Reason: Fat fingered spelling correction
If you presented this anywhere else they would set up an intervention and try to talk you out of it. Here..... we nod our heads and say go for it. Wow.... this will be a wild one.
And, your options;
Code Option Description
030 Sport Group
220 Locking differential
224 Active Brake Differential
233 Original tires, Pirelli
298 Prepared for unleaded fuel, manual transmission
437 Comfort seat left
438 Comfort seat right
573 Air conditioner
Is anyone as surprised as I am that the car was just left in the river for 4 1/2 years? I’m shocked someone didn’t get it sooner!
Exactly: but there is a reason why this happened.
The car went down into a river during a very torrential rain, so the river that usually is 3 meters depth, it was 10 or more, because the accident happened in a point of the river where the width is much smaller, and the banks of the river are high because the path of the river must pass through an inhabited area, becoming practically like a duct channel.
When the car flew down into the water, the owner/driver was barely able to save himself only because is a very trained swimmer, because the drift was very strong and the water was mixed with mud and debris.
The car sank and no longer re-emerged until the spring of this year: as soon as it re-emerged, it was pulled out.
Since then, everything that has been extracted from the car has been disposed of as special waste: even the mud, definitely mixed with pollutants, has been disposed of in landfills.
I have done everything possible to respect the environment, since the car came into my possession, and before it was not possible to act differently, not being possible for the owner to establish where it was finished. The Bisenzio river, not far from the point of the accident, enters the Arno river, which is 5 meters deep even in the lean periods. So the car could be finished literally everywhere.
This is the way it was
I think this is part of the charm of this discovery, especially because, apart from the damage to the car, the owner / driver managed to save himself.
Chuck is very right. We are all nodding our heads in disbelief and approval. To me, this is beyond cool, actually. the whole story - "one dark and stormy night", the stop-frame of a car mid-air above the water, the find, the restoration... Love it!
12-25-2018, 07:19 AM
Project Limoncella - Restoring 993 into a CUP/RSR 1:1 tribute
