silver99six

Alright, first post - first Porsche.

I purchased my 1999 911 (996.1) back in December of 2021. I had sold my mk7.5 GTI a few months prior and was itching for something new. Originally I was looking at 944S and 951 but thought maybe 996 ownership wouldn't be too bad. After checking everywhere and having a deal fall through on another 996 out in Cali, I found a for sale ad for my car. It is an early build 996 (March 1998) and had the proper "fried egg" ambers, no glove box, no OBC, and no cup holders. Being as the car also had the LSD optioned I thought this would be perfect. I was searching for an early build 996 after learning about them on BaT comments and the threads here on Rennlist. Anyway when i first went to see the car it was a bit of a disaster. It sat really low on coilovers, the interior was filthy, the steering wheel was torn, and the rear wing bellows had holes in them. All in all, I should've just walked away from the car, but for some reason I had the feeling that "I can fix this" and bought this very Unloved 911.

First time I saw the car it had GT3 comfort seats in it. Seller wanted too much (+$4k) so I bought it with the stock tombstones. The night I drove it home I was so happy but the buyer's remorse kicked in when I felt how horrible & tired the suspension and brakes were.

silver99six

When I get home I immediately bought a new Renown 130R wheel, Black Forest Industries shift **** (had one on my GTI), new front brakes and full front control arm kit from FCP Euro. In the meantime I got an oil change at the shop who serviced the car for about 10 years under the 2nd or 3rd owner. Shop owner remembered the car well and told me it had blown a motor at some point and they swapped in a replacement. I couldn't get much more info than that cause it was so long ago. Did I mention buyer's remorse?

Anyway my buddy who has a shop helped me swap the brakes and it felt good to wrench on my own P-car. I used to tinker with the GTI cause I had the time + I didn't really have the funds to pay a shop for everything. Now I have the funds but no time.. go figure.

Flyfishnick

It is definitely fun doing some of these projects on cars this age

EVOMMM

Wow your connection with the 996 will solidify even further and you’ll be rewarded with driving nirvana

freddworks

Very nice!
Which steering wheel hub did you go for?
Any future modifications planned?

diddy2003

Good to see someone is saving an unloved one. Congrats.

wdb

Welcome to 996 ownership. Lots of camaraderie here plus the usual amount of ego clashing etc. Overall a good bunch.

Blown engines and/or engines replaced due to IMS/RMS issues were not at all uncommon even in the early cars. "Numbers matching" will probably induce laughter when these get to be 50 years old!

silver99six

I think I did the momo wheel hub but I don’t remember and can’t find my order at the moment. I did this mod in early 2022 so my memory is a little fuzzy.

I will say whatever I did use probably isn’t the best option because the shop who installed it removed the clockspring and now I haven’t had a horn for two years which is a pain. Just another thing to add to the list…

silver99six

Thanks! Yeah I feel like if I didn’t buy this one it would’ve eventually lead to a parts car. It has good “bones”, it just needed a little love.

I’ll be using this thread to track all the progress. I’ve done a lot so far, just trying to compile all the photos and write an update every day.

TheChunkNorris

Glad to see more and more of these threads!

ZuffenZeus

From the looks of that steering wheel, I would have thought this was our Luis's car (You have to know him to understand)... or someone that loves TACO TUESDAY.
Really surprising from a car with just 90K miles... someone must have had really dirty, acidic hands.

But... looks like you fixed it up really nice! Congrats!

silver99six

Yeah the wear on the steering wheel/interior in general was really rough, especially for a car with 90k miles.

silver99six

So during my first oil change I had the mechanic set aside a sample so I can send the oil out for Blackstone Lab analysis. The results quelled my buyer's remorse and made me feel better knowing that the oil was relatively clean.

All looks OK if you ask me


I also went for my first proper wash at my buddy's shop. We cleaned up the *very* tired paint and noted a few areas of deficiency on the exterior. While we were washing the car we blew out the radiators and removed quite a bit of stray foliage.






She was finally looking like a proper 911.

I bought the car sitting on Turbo spec turbo twist wheels. The rear fitment was absolutely crazy, 11" rears on the narrow body just didn't sit right with me (or the car really). A lot of people like this look and told me not to change it, but I knew eventually I will have to get rid of these wheels. You'll also notice how slammed the front end was on the coilovers the previous owner installed. Another thorn in my side

This was also the day I realized I will have to do a proper two stage detail and mini-paint restoration. The paint was so tired and dull even after a detailed wash + ceramic sealant. More to come on that...

Otto Bonn

It's real easy to pull the bumper and radiators to clean them properly. If that much came out already it will be worth it because there will be more.

What are the offsets on those rear wheels? Are they 45?

silver99six

yeah I have since fully cleaned them out. This thread and daily updates are basically me looking back and recounting/documenting everything I’ve done so far. It’s been a perpetual project haha.

I believe the stock twists were +45 in the rear. They fit the narrow body but just barely. No rubbing at all and the car is pretty low as you can see.