When I was looking for a 911, I originally wanted `78-`89. But it had been so long since I drove one that a friend encouraged me to go drive a few before really aggressively searching for a car. A local specialty dealer had several in stock. I drove two, an `84 that was supposedly "well sorted" and an excellent example, and I drove an `81 that needed some TLC. Both were over priced at $50 and $55k or so. The well sorted car drove like crap in my opinion. I don't know if it was not driving as intended, but it was not to my liking! I grinded 2nd twice and 1st once, and I was very well aware of how NOT to shift quickly with those trannys. The dealer was with me and I showed him exactly when I was clutching, shifting, etc. I'm sure he thought it was me. But aside from that, I hated the steering wheel position, the pedals were so awkward that I couldn't seem to fit my size 9.5 foot onto the clutch without hitting the surrounding areas, and overall, just wasn't pleased.

Then I got into the second car, the one with much more cosmetic needs. It drove MUCH better! (No tranny problems, so :~P on the theory that I can't drive). The steering wheel position ratio to seat was better, and overall, I did enjoy it more. That is, until one of the wheels experienced a noise that turned out to be loose lug nuts!!! We limped it back to the dealership.

Was this experience something I wanted to spend $50k on to repeat regularly?

Then when back at the showroom, there was a 996 40th edition sitting there. Wow, was that nice! The color, the interior seemed SO much more modern, and I even loved those headlights. Mind you, my stable includes a `64 GTO, so I'm not afraid of old school driving experiences.

The next day I took a different 996 for a drive and fell in love. About a month later I located my `99 and have enjoyed driving it ever since. It's only been a few months and a few hundred miles so far, but so far, I'm happy.

 

Just read through your thread and I really like the level of attention your giving your car.

My work benches are often in shambles and I do my best to help my wife with housework (though never to her satisfaction) but I try to spend a little extra time on my cars to keep them sorted. A "simple" tranny mount swap would take days for the brackets to be cleaned and painted properly...

Looking forward to your next adventures with the car!

 

Where did yoy get the M030 from ? I am looking to replace mine this year

 

try Gert @ Carnewal in Belgium

very reputable

http://www.carnewal.com/products/996...for-US-996-C4S

 

I got my kit from Sunset Porsche in Oregon but given your location, Fracture's suggestion is probably the way to go.

 

Wow, great thread, great car and inspiring work....thanks for sharing!

 

You inspire me and I too love my 996! So glad I strayed away from aircooled...

 

Did you notice a big difference with the Focals? I have the base stereo and it sucks! I never turn on the radio.

 

Great thread, car looks really clean.

 

They were a big improvement but if I had to do it over I would look for something cheaper than the Focals.

 

Since this thread was about an anniversary, I thought I'd mention another one.
Tomorrow it will be 20 years to the day that the previous/original owner took delivery of my car. It looks like he put down a $40,000 down payment and financed $40,277 resulting in a monthly payment of $964.61. I don't remember what I was making in 1999 but I'm pretty sure a $900 car payment was out of the question.





I was living in a tiny one bedroom dump with my girlfriend but the dump was two blocks from the beach and came with a garage AND a parking spot which was almost unheard of. I was driving a '75 914 and a '84 BMW 533i. Good times, good times...
(the 914 is jacked up on the passenger side which is why the stance looks weird)

 

That is some good stuff. Thank you for sharing.

 

Cool thread. You hit the jackpot finding such a pampered example. Love the Sport Classic II wheels. The 996 is such an underrated car. I like and own air-cooled 911's but these cars really keep that spirit alive with just the right touch of modern refinement. Keep the photos (old and new) coming

 

Really enjoyed reading this thread! Which exact model of focals did you use? Did they need to be modded in any way? Just drop in?

 

The rears are are model #100AC and IIRC, were plug and play. The fronts are ES 100K and I had to Dremel the mounting ears off. Also with the fronts, I bought some custom adapter rings from CAI-Store.com. I also bought adapter pigtails for both front and rear from Crutchfield. They are Metra #71-017C 'Speaker Wiring Harnesses'. It allows you to use the stock speaker plugs saving you from having to hack the stock wiring.




In this pic on the lower left, you can see I'm getting ready to remove the ears from the front speakers. The tape is because the speaker frame is aluminum and I wanted to keep the shavings out. The adapter rings are shown lower right-ish with one sitting on the speaker grill and the other next to the tweeter.






And here test fitting one on the grill.