How do we know that? I have the full leather seats but not the supple, and it’s rather fragile in the bolsters, have to keep them moist to avoid cracking. I would love some OEM reference.

 

IMHO the difference between 08/98 & 09/98 is more anecdotal than empirical. Good news your car is well past the "intermix" defective block VIN range, and well before introduction of the disastrous single row IMSB

A sweet spot!

 

Connolly and Roser historically supplied leather to Porsche prior to 997; but I don't have any "receipts". And if you think your bolsters are fragile you should see a 997's after 25 years in sun (997 leather actually "delaminates" which is even worse than cracking)

IE leather must be cared for whether from Connolly or China; even Rolls Royce bolsters eventually disintegrate if abandoned solely to UV

What typically happens is a fifth or sixth owner buys an 88K 911 from a fourth or fifth owner who left it outside in Miami for ten straight years. Spiderweb-crack city on those front seats and the dash will be peeling like an old onion

A Connolly covered Corniche would be no different

Restoration time

 

Possibly joining the club here. Got a 1999 6/98 911 Cab on auction. 99,600 miles which is a lot more than I wanted and it had a minor front end damage very early in it's life, but I was really drawn by the basic early 1999s that for a first Porsche, I just went for it. It seems to be in really good cosmetic condition, and has made it almost 100k, so crossing fingers it was driven and wants to drive a lot more! It has all the hood options except the original stereo and sadly, the dealer swapped the 408 wheels out pre-sale (legimatly). I feel though it really needs the OG wheels to complete the amber light package, right??

 

Are you saying the dealer took the #408's off the car before he sold it to you???

 

Yes, but it was clearly listed in description and every photo as having 997 wheels. Dealer did nothing wrong.

 

those wheels look really nice on that car.

I am partial to unmodified cars that match the sticker, and 408s would be cool too... but I think it looks great, actually. Enjoy!

 

Looks really clean. My 99 has 135M on the body and I drive it pretty much daily. Had the engine rebuilt (updated to 04 specs bored to 3.6 and sleeved) after the block cracked at 85K. After that, I gave up on trying to be so OEM pristine as 996 will never be worth a fortune, most mods I do are reversible anyway, so it's all about just driving a paid for gem of a sportscar. they will never go back to the narrow body manual Ice world again, so love it for less! Love the car and just driving it is my passion. Cable throttle fun!

 

Random Question that maybe someone already asked about the 99s- If the many of the production materials were the same as the 993 (like the leather) do these cars have the old school Volkswagen Beetle like Porsche smell in the interior that all of the air cooled cars have?

 

My father drove VW Beetles for decades not one smelled like a Connolly leather smothered 911 (996 or otherwise)

They all smelled like old hydraulic oil leaking from a 1930’s elevator in a decrepit NYC tenement building

 

Not my experience lol. First time I got in a 911 which was an 84 G body Carrera my first thought was it smelled just like my dads beetle he dove in the 1980s. I’m guessing they shared some materials. Same with a 1994 964 I drove a few years ago

 

The G Bodies and early 964’s did leak oil horribly. And it smelled yes. A 1994 should not have smelled like oil they fixed those horrible leaks MY1992. And there’s a huge difference in aroma between full and partial leather; any year. FWIW my 996’s smelled like either plastic or leather depending on full vs partial leather.

I don’t think there is such a thing as VW Beetle leather. It was all that hard, fragile, plasticky vinyl.

 

It’s not just the oil. The air cooled cars just smelled different. Don’t get me wrong I love the way my 996 smells too. It’s definitely pure Porsche. But for me part of the appeal of the air cooled cars is that very undefinable earlier Porsche smell.

 

must have been the plywood floorboards and cardboard glovebox then

that weird off-gassing + oil sludge residue = air cooled funk

I personally don’t miss it

 

Welcome to the club, just finished 2200 mile road trip from south Florida up the dragon, what great time was had