New 993 Targa build in the SF bay aea - need help!
11-24-2023, 01:50 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
New 993 Targa build in the SF bay aea - need help!
This is my first post in the 993 forum. I am the lucky winner of a recent BAT auction:
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...rera-targa-15/
Female single owner. Purchased new at dealer in San Diego and spent its entire life in SoCal. Every service record is present. I'm not scared of the higher mileage.
My plan is to take my time and build it out exactly how I envision it. I'm not purchasing this to have it be a garage queen stock car that appreciates and I sell for a profit. I want to customize it and drive the heck out of it. Resale does not concern me
I hope to do:
repaint car (leaf or olive green most likely) - I know Porsche paints the entire tub and without completely dissembling the car it won't be a perfect re-paint with areas of the old paint showing. But since the car is black I'm not worried about that. Can someone recommend a really good paint shop in the SF bay area?
interior - plan to do a full custom interior. I've heard Wardell does good work. Any other recommendations?
suspension - probably full coilover - Shop recommendations?
exhaust - not sure yet. This has the motorsports package, which I'm not sure exactly what is, and supposedly sounds great. But I will most likely do something with the exhaust and cats. Shop recommendations?
engine - maybe at some point go 3.8 or 4.0 if possible. Shop recommendations?
Super excited about this project and to enjoy this amazing car!
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...rera-targa-15/
Female single owner. Purchased new at dealer in San Diego and spent its entire life in SoCal. Every service record is present. I'm not scared of the higher mileage.
My plan is to take my time and build it out exactly how I envision it. I'm not purchasing this to have it be a garage queen stock car that appreciates and I sell for a profit. I want to customize it and drive the heck out of it. Resale does not concern me
I hope to do:
repaint car (leaf or olive green most likely) - I know Porsche paints the entire tub and without completely dissembling the car it won't be a perfect re-paint with areas of the old paint showing. But since the car is black I'm not worried about that. Can someone recommend a really good paint shop in the SF bay area?
interior - plan to do a full custom interior. I've heard Wardell does good work. Any other recommendations?
suspension - probably full coilover - Shop recommendations?
exhaust - not sure yet. This has the motorsports package, which I'm not sure exactly what is, and supposedly sounds great. But I will most likely do something with the exhaust and cats. Shop recommendations?
engine - maybe at some point go 3.8 or 4.0 if possible. Shop recommendations?
Super excited about this project and to enjoy this amazing car!
11-24-2023, 03:01 PM
#2
http://www.realmeangarage.com
RMG Enterprise is a pretty well respected air-cooled shop in Sunnyvale. I’ve used them a fair amount and always been happy
RMG Enterprise is a pretty well respected air-cooled shop in Sunnyvale. I’ve used them a fair amount and always been happy
The following 2 users liked this post by Emmasdream:
HydroLogic (11-24-2023),
JSF (12-08-2023)
11-24-2023, 03:16 PM
#3
Rennlist Member
A very nice original southern California bone stock and unmolested desirable car. You can do what you want to since it is your car, but making a "hot rod" usually starts with beater car since you will be changing everything. I also do classic Fords. Same as cutting up a restored 32 Ford to make a small block high boy.
Beautiful car from the pics. As you noted, the milage means nothing on these cars.
Beautiful car from the pics. As you noted, the milage means nothing on these cars.
11-24-2023, 03:28 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
A very nice original southern California bone stock and unmolested desirable car. You can do what you want to since it is your car, but making a "hot rod" usually starts with beater car since you will be changing everything. I also do classic Fords. Same as cutting up a restored 32 Ford to make a small block high boy.
Beautiful car from the pics. As you noted, the milage means nothing on these cars.
Beautiful car from the pics. As you noted, the milage means nothing on these cars.
Well, to be fair, I'm not chopping up anything, just improving some of the mechanics and changing some of the aesthetics. There were three 993 Targas available for sale. One had an accident and repaint that was not well documented and the other was Guards Red with 31K miles for $50K more. This one made the most sense.
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schroederhc1 (11-24-2023)
11-24-2023, 04:54 PM
#5
Congratulations, I watched that auction to its conclusion. Your Targa appears to be well loved during its build up to over 100k miles and a great candidate to take to the stratosphere of personal choice. Leaf or olive green sounds great. If I were to consider a color change from Aventurine it could only be Vesuvio. GL in the build up.
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HydroLogic (11-27-2023)
11-24-2023, 05:38 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Beautiful 993 Targa! Enjoy making it your own! I am not in the Bay Area so I cannot help out on that front but I have had my 993 Targa for over seven months now and have made some modest upgrades, and enjoyed the process very much. Please keep us posted on your progress!
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HydroLogic (11-27-2023)
11-24-2023, 08:32 PM
#7
Instructor
Congrats and welcome to Targa ownership, fun cars. Ambitious to-do list. Do the suspension refresh and enjoy driving it for a while, it’ll give you time to refine your mods plan which will likely change over time.
Fabspeed x-pipe with sport cats and a Fister muffler mod will give you incredible sound, especially when you add a bit of higher octane fuel and rev to red-line with no pinging. Downside is it that it will not pass smog sniff test and require reinstalling the factory cat every two years for the test. I’ve gone through this swap process multiple time and it’s getting old.
I’m on the peninsula if you want to meet up, chat and see another targa. Mine sits at ROW height.
Fabspeed x-pipe with sport cats and a Fister muffler mod will give you incredible sound, especially when you add a bit of higher octane fuel and rev to red-line with no pinging. Downside is it that it will not pass smog sniff test and require reinstalling the factory cat every two years for the test. I’ve gone through this swap process multiple time and it’s getting old.
I’m on the peninsula if you want to meet up, chat and see another targa. Mine sits at ROW height.
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HydroLogic (11-27-2023)
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11-24-2023, 10:47 PM
#8
Rennlist Member
These are great cars to modify, and make your own.
If I lived in the West Coast, I’d ship the car up to someone like Jeff Gamroth at
. That’s a one stop shop that can modify the engine to 4.0, install proper coil overs, exhaust, seating, etc. I’m a big fan of Fabspeed Sportcats mated with Fister II mufflers, BUT I would hold off on this if you’re going to a 4.0, and see what Jeff recommends for the build. I don’t think you mentioned transmission, but if you’re moving to 4.0 you may consider re-gearing as well. Rothsport can also handle this work. Guard Transmission offers an incredible LSD, and bullet proof gears.
You could also do the suspension at BBI. Their uprights are on sale right now, and you’ll want the BBI wheel carriers or RS wheel carriers to properly lower the car without bump steer. I’m a huge fan of the BBI uprights, and run with them on both my 964 and 993. But Rothsport can easily handle it all.
I think paint, and interior mods would fall last on my list. If you lower the car and rub the fender, better to paint later. But while the motor and transmission are out, that may also be the best time to paint the car. And if your going this far, I suggest painting the whole car. This will be a special car when done, so avoid this compromise if you can.
I look forward to following your progress.
If I lived in the West Coast, I’d ship the car up to someone like Jeff Gamroth at
You could also do the suspension at BBI. Their uprights are on sale right now, and you’ll want the BBI wheel carriers or RS wheel carriers to properly lower the car without bump steer. I’m a huge fan of the BBI uprights, and run with them on both my 964 and 993. But Rothsport can easily handle it all.
I think paint, and interior mods would fall last on my list. If you lower the car and rub the fender, better to paint later. But while the motor and transmission are out, that may also be the best time to paint the car. And if your going this far, I suggest painting the whole car. This will be a special car when done, so avoid this compromise if you can.
I look forward to following your progress.
Last edited by Foxman; 11-24-2023 at 10:50 PM.
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HydroLogic (11-27-2023)
11-27-2023, 02:15 AM
#9
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Congratulations, I watched that auction to its conclusion. Your Targa appears to be well loved during its build up to over 100k miles and a great candidate to take to the stratosphere of personal choice. Leaf or olive green sounds great. If I were to consider a color change from Aventurine it could only be Vesuvio. GL in the build up.
11-27-2023, 02:26 AM
#10
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Congrats and welcome to Targa ownership, fun cars. Ambitious to-do list. Do the suspension refresh and enjoy driving it for a while, it’ll give you time to refine your mods plan which will likely change over time.
Fabspeed x-pipe with sport cats and a Fister muffler mod will give you incredible sound, especially when you add a bit of higher octane fuel and rev to red-line with no pinging. Downside is it that it will not pass smog sniff test and require reinstalling the factory cat every two years for the test. I’ve gone through this swap process multiple time and it’s getting old.
I’m on the peninsula if you want to meet up, chat and see another targa. Mine sits at ROW height.
Fabspeed x-pipe with sport cats and a Fister muffler mod will give you incredible sound, especially when you add a bit of higher octane fuel and rev to red-line with no pinging. Downside is it that it will not pass smog sniff test and require reinstalling the factory cat every two years for the test. I’ve gone through this swap process multiple time and it’s getting old.
I’m on the peninsula if you want to meet up, chat and see another targa. Mine sits at ROW height.
11-27-2023, 03:39 AM
#11
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
These are great cars to modify, and make your own.
If I lived in the West Coast, I’d ship the car up to someone like Jeff Gamroth at Rothsport Racing. That’s a one stop shop that can modify the engine to 4.0, install proper coil overs, exhaust, seating, etc. I’m a big fan of Fabspeed Sportcats mated with Fister II mufflers, BUT I would hold off on this if you’re going to a 4.0, and see what Jeff recommends for the build. I don’t think you mentioned transmission, but if you’re moving to 4.0 you may consider re-gearing as well. Rothsport can also handle this work. Guard Transmission offers an incredible LSD, and bullet proof gears.
You could also do the suspension at BBI. Their uprights are on sale right now, and you’ll want the BBI wheel carriers or RS wheel carriers to properly lower the car without bump steer. I’m a huge fan of the BBI uprights, and run with them on both my 964 and 993. But Rothsport can easily handle it all.
I think paint, and interior mods would fall last on my list. If you lower the car and rub the fender, better to paint later. But while the motor and transmission are out, that may also be the best time to paint the car. And if your going this far, I suggest painting the whole car. This will be a special car when done, so avoid this compromise if you can.
I look forward to following your progress.
If I lived in the West Coast, I’d ship the car up to someone like Jeff Gamroth at Rothsport Racing. That’s a one stop shop that can modify the engine to 4.0, install proper coil overs, exhaust, seating, etc. I’m a big fan of Fabspeed Sportcats mated with Fister II mufflers, BUT I would hold off on this if you’re going to a 4.0, and see what Jeff recommends for the build. I don’t think you mentioned transmission, but if you’re moving to 4.0 you may consider re-gearing as well. Rothsport can also handle this work. Guard Transmission offers an incredible LSD, and bullet proof gears.
You could also do the suspension at BBI. Their uprights are on sale right now, and you’ll want the BBI wheel carriers or RS wheel carriers to properly lower the car without bump steer. I’m a huge fan of the BBI uprights, and run with them on both my 964 and 993. But Rothsport can easily handle it all.
I think paint, and interior mods would fall last on my list. If you lower the car and rub the fender, better to paint later. But while the motor and transmission are out, that may also be the best time to paint the car. And if your going this far, I suggest painting the whole car. This will be a special car when done, so avoid this compromise if you can.
I look forward to following your progress.
11-27-2023, 09:20 AM
#12
Rennlist Member
Maybe drive it for a month or two and make sure you love this relatively small, relatively primitive, and relatively slow car (compared to your others) before you finalize your plans- that easily sounds like a $50k project- and that’s before any engine mods. And as I’m sure you know, it’s unlikely any mods will increase the value of the car (unless performed by Ruf/Singer/Walker lol).
Your previous 2007 Boxster S was comparable in performance, but most certainly more comfortable and refined than a 993.
I personally love the way the 964 and 993 straddle the line between vintage and modern cars, but most passengers just say, “Hmm, it’s pretty tight and noisy in here…”
Your previous 2007 Boxster S was comparable in performance, but most certainly more comfortable and refined than a 993.
I personally love the way the 964 and 993 straddle the line between vintage and modern cars, but most passengers just say, “Hmm, it’s pretty tight and noisy in here…”
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12-08-2023, 12:22 AM
#13
Instructor
Local SF Bay Area 993 Targa owner here. Congrats and welcome to the club! There aren’t many of us targas out there so always nice to see another one pop up especially locally. I’m located in the peninsula so if you are out in the area let me know and we can meet up. I have a 96, lowered to RS +10, tramont wheels, Fister with cat bypasses along with other small mods. These cars are unique with the full glass roof and I get thumb ups constantly. It’s perfect for cali weather year round. Enjoy in good health!
12-08-2023, 02:19 AM
#14
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Local SF Bay Area 993 Targa owner here. Congrats and welcome to the club! There aren’t many of us targas out there so always nice to see another one pop up especially locally. I’m located in the peninsula so if you are out in the area let me know and we can meet up. I have a 96, lowered to RS +10, tramont wheels, Fister with cat bypasses along with other small mods. These cars are unique with the full glass roof and I get thumb ups constantly. It’s perfect for cali weather year round. Enjoy in good health!
12-08-2023, 12:11 PM
#15
Instructor
Big love for RMG, and so happy to see another SF Bay Area 993! Welcome and enjoy the work on the car.
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HydroLogic (12-11-2023)