Just hit 90K, and the old gal soldiers on
 

I've had my 99 C2 for a year and a month now. From Orange County California to the midwest, I purchased her with 60k on the clock from my brother who had her for a few months before deciding he wanted his girlfriend's Cayman S instead. I was super happy with my Boxster S and probably would have kept it for a long time, having driven it for two joyous years and moved across the country from Milwaukee to San Diego in it (and yes, I packed pretty much all my worldly possessions in it and hit the road in the great American road adventure fashion to set up a new life on the sunny shores of California). When he told me he was going to sell it I told him not to do it, but he was dead set on doing so and offered the car to me. I declined because I loved my little Boxster. As the months went on and he was having trouble selling it he lowered the price about six grand for me and I couldn't say no.

I've driven the car almost every day for the last year. On two cross country road trips, on the track (where the car did make it past turn one without exploding despite KrazyK's prophesies that no 996 could do such a thing), through rain, through snow storms, many below zero starts, and on perfectly sunny days on twisty roads where she just begs to be driven the way the good Doctor intended. She's started every time, save for one cold damp morning when I realized my coil packs were old and cracked. So far the only preventative maintenance I've performed is replacing the water pump, thermostat, coil packs and plugs, and alternator. Oh and the oil filler tube which cracked in the dead of winter.

Often at work when I'm bored I read through the many posts of doom and gloom on here and elsewhere on the interwebs, and for sure that has soured the experience of owning my 911 as I find myself driving along happily and suddenly wondering, "Oh no, is today the day my engine will do that whole explode for glory thing?" But one year and thirty thousand miles into it, she's going strong. And there are some things that will need to be addressed. I have a suspicion that my AOS is failing (had that go on the Box, and changing that was kind of the exact opposite of doing it on the 996 I've gathered), and I've been finding a few tiny plastic bits in my oil filter over the last few oil changes, so my guess is the chain guides. From what I've read that looks like a bit$h of a job to do, but if anyone has done this or had it done please let me know how it went or how much you paid to have it done! As well my cooling system needs some work. On the track and on the Tail of The Dragon my temps were too high for my comfort, despite the new water pump and thermostat.

In summary, I love my car, and I hope to have more years of enjoyment with it. In the next year I plan on adding a baffled oil pan and third radiator for track work. And either adjustable toe links or control arms to sort out the super ridiculous tire wear that I get (I average about three to four thousand for rear tires before they look like race slicks, and with how many miles I put on the car, I'm spending a lot on tires). At the end of a day, no matter how crappy a day it is at work, I get into my 911 and I get a smile. And here are some pictures of the sexy beast :)

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...48126e8768.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...b0d7f9d223.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...fffe9a9095.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...8587e5279c.jpg

I'm up by you in downtown MKE frequently for work. Care to meet up some day for coffee?

Cheers, B-ran!

I knew your car had the .2 front end but I never realized the back end is .2 as well with the oval tips and smoke lenses. Whoever did the conversion did a great job - and the ducktail is a nice touch.

P.S. I do not miss those winters. Grew up in Sheboygan.

I'm a big time coffee fan, so absolutely! Let me know what days you're in the area and hopefully our schedules can line up to make it happen!

A fellow cheesehead! Very few people believe me when I tell them that it is a 99. And I certainly agree, that conversion could not have been a cheap proposition! My only niggle with it is he/she put in a GT3 labeled tach plate. I'm all for the car being GT3-ish, but that one bugs me lol And I do love the ducktail, but have been pondering getting a bigger one, I was thinking the Ghetty(spelling?) ducktail I've seen on a few poster's cars.

I had to look it up but I recognize it. IMO, and I am biased, I like the smaller, more subtle look. Biased because that little duck makes up the bottom half of the .2 Aero wing. Love that little touch on my own.

The original owner cut the wing off actually. They did a good job of it though, but from the top if you look closely enough you can see where the posts for the wing once were. I'm also toying with the idea of going back to the winged deck lid at some point. But I do love my little ducktail, it's something you don't see very often.

Nice work, +1 on the fit & finish of the mk2 work. I really like that ducktail - apologies if I've already asked but who makes that low profile one you have? I'm about to hit 90k after buying in early 2016 at 71k. Too many smiles to count!

edit on the ducktails.. I suppose the safest approach is to go with the one that is closest to the $300k Sport Classic design? Looks like the ones on the CSR fits that bill.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...efcd591b29.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...1480dc4822.jpg

Wow! 30k in 13 months! That's a DD... I was going to ask about the duck-tail as well - it looks about just right! I just have to ask - aren't you scared $hitless that the rear end is just going to take off at highway speeds ;-)

I was sitting in traffic today; my '99 C4, at 90K miles, runs so smoothly that I had to check the tach a couple of times to verify that it was still doing its thing.

When I pulled into the parking lot at work, I sneered at the "clean air vehicle" parking stalls full of battery-powered sh*tboxes that just steamed over from Japan on container ships (likely burning bunker sludge). I haven't bothered with the math on how long it takes a plug-in hybrid to offset the environmental damage of producing and delivering a plug-in hybrid compared to just continuing to drive my 19-year-old Porsche, but I bet it's a while.

Tony, that is definitely the type of ducktail I would love to have!

Dporto, yup she is quite the dd, I can’t believe how the miles have piled up so quickly! I have taken the car up to 155 without feeling like the a$$ was getting light, but it is something in the back of my mind as I don’t think my mini ducktail is as effective as the whole aero winged deck lid or the stock mechanical spoiler. It’s part of why I have been thinking of a larger duck tail, but for now the monies are being saved for more preventative maintenance :/

well good sir, sniff some of that glue and hunker down on the math!