13BEEZ

Nice story and car. I really like that 4th picture you posted, such a great shot. What did you do to clean the rubber rings around the gauges?

jcochran1

Very nice looking. I really like the current wheels versus the stock targa wheels you had on it before. Also you did really well on the interior photos.

mpruden

I removed the gauges enough to side off the rubber ring. Used some fine sandpaper to shave off the brown hardened rubber leaving only fresh stuff behind. Then I coated in 303. This was probably 9 mo ago and they still look brand new.

Thanks! I think they fit the car pretty well and are a unique wheel. Genuine 996tt turbo look wheels in NB fitment are tough to find. When I found some 5min away with new tires, zero road rash, and for $700, I couldn't resist

We should go for a drive sometime once the smoke clears. That King fire is terrible.

mpruden

Busted.

Jlaa

[QUOTE=mpruden;11667513]Disclaimer: A long read. You’ve been warned!

I picked up my 993 on this day last year, a four owner ‘97 arctic silver Targa with 121k mi. The PO had recently paid for a valve job, clutch, DMF, cosmetic paint work to repair rock chips, along with other odds and ends. The car has no accidents, no rust, and has always been owned in the steel-friendly climate [QUOTE]

Bravo! Quite the prolific OCD going on. Interior shots are beautiful --- no flash and large apertures yielding tight zones of focus.

I've had my own car 13 months and my own list is about half your list's size - I can relate. Given that you are fussy about the interior look to the degree that you sanded your rubber gauge rings (great idea, I will take a magic eraser to mine) --- where did you hide the kinivo and the aftermarket fan switch?

Interior modifications that are immediately obvious are a source of irritation to the degree that 1/2 the reason I added in the rear fog lights was because I couldn't stand looking at the switch blank. ("obvious" being a subjective assessment).

The thing in the lighter socket is a batter maintainer - pay no attention. I wonder how hard it is to retrofit the headlight aiming mechanism from the RoW 993s. That switch blank is also an irritant.

PRSWILL

One year in for me too- here's my list- not nearly as impressive!
New Horn Basket
New Battery
Extra set of Turbo Twist rims and tires
new Chrome center caps (compliments of an R lister)
Brake pads all the way around
Bled Brake System
Oil change
new muffler tips
racing pedals
control module for cruise control- replaced (compliments of an R lister)
new Head light lenses- one had a small crack and the other was pretty pitted. (also compliments of an R lister)
new sunroof seals
new bumper seal
new stereo head unit
HID upgrade
Alignment
fixed one wheel that was slightly bent
fixed rear speaker - wires were pulled out.
rear turn signal bulb

mostly maintenance and general wear items. Also put 5000 miles on the car since April when it came out of storage! Runs extremely well, no smoke, no lifter noise clutch is like new - not bad for 99K on the clock now.

mpruden

Adding switches to the blanks. Now that's what I'm talking about!!!

The Kinivo isn't hidden because I use its microphone function (which is surprisingly good, BTW). I placed it in the only spot that seemed to be 1) easy to reach 2) unobtrusive and 3) would pick up my voice. I settled on the lower dash down by the ash tray. You hardly notice it when in car. It's hard wired so you don't see any wires. My original plan was to bury it with all the wiring out of sight, but it's just too functional.

The oil cooler fan switch is right above the frunk release lever. I removed carpet-covered plastic trim piece and drilled a small hole in the upper left corner just big enough for a standard auto parts store switch. You can't see any of it from the cabin, but it's within easy reach and you'll never know the hole is there if I ever remove the switch.

PS - I hate that the black plastic around the center console switches turns brown with age / UV / whatever. If anyone has a fix for that, I'm all ears.

mpruden

Passed the 2 year mark so thought I'd bump this thread with another year's worth of activities.

• Gearbox oil change with Mobilube PTX from the dealer.
• Replaced plugs, ignition wires, and a torn heater hose while I was in there. Managed 3 stitches on my hand during a brawl with the "b!tch bolt."
• Oil change
• Wiper blades
• Programmed new key fob after sending the old one through the washing machine
• Refit the front bumper cover seal. PO's body shop did a C+ job on it during an otherwise excellent front bumper cover respray.
• Replaced the broken battery cable cover that sits under the spare tire
• Replaced 3 of the little drains in the frunk
• Replaced worn airbag retaining bracket
• Installed new headlight lenses to replace old dingy ones.

All in all < $1400, with half of that coming from the ignition wire fiasco.

Allen

but take pleasure knowing you won the battle... Nice car

PRSWILL

I am at 2 years as well!

New Rear tires
Turbo Air ducts/ LED's
Repainted entire front end and driver's side due to chips in the clear-coat and the bumper cover being beat up- looks brand new now.
added 5000 more miles to the ODO as well!

Next up:
new floor mats
Wheel well liner on front Passenger side is cracked ( on order from Suncoast right now)
can't think of anything else it needs right now....

gt3'er

Mpruden,

In your first post you listed "cowl trim - These were showing their age." Were you referring to the "gasket" between the cowling and fender? If so, what's it take to remove/replace those gaskets? Do you need to unbolt the fender(s)? Can it be done without removing the door(s)? Those gaskets are shot on my car.

Thanks

fatmike

Did you get that bike rack working?

/

mpruden

Nope. Sadly, it's still sitting on a shelf in my garage and still has never been installed. I didn't want to modify it to work with my car's strange bumperette supports.

Correct. Not a fun job, but you don't have to do any major disassembly. Here are the threads I used for reference:

https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...placement.html
https://rennlist.com/forums/993-forum/805505-rubber-bit.html

I found it less scary to not use the mallet approach, and instead use a plastic trim tool to push the fins of the seal one by one, one side at a time, into the groove with a steady supply of 303 for temporary lubrication. Probably would have been helped to freeze the seal in an attempt to make it shrink a bit beforehand too.

gt3'er

Thanks, M. Looks much easier than I thought. Appreciate your comments and links. (I realize now I was searching in the wrong forum...)

Cheers!

fullbooker

Hi Matt,
I enjoyed your write-up regarding your ownership experience. I need your assistance with some wind noise issues. How about another drive?
Phil