ScottArizona

I just couldn't stay away. Some of you may recall my prior threads about regretting selling my 04, then buying it back, and then selling it to facilitate a real estate transaction, and then regretting it again. I know not everyone “gets” these cars, but man, I just can't move on from them when I sell. Just so special, so raw, so precise, and unique Maybe I'm dumb, but I am just smitten by this generation gt3 and the cost-to-fun value proposition they present. But...even though the current owner of my car was willing to sell it back to me, I just couldn't (responsibly) afford/justify doing so, since I wanted to keep the balance of my stable intact (manual 6spd Gallardo, Euro 911sc, electric caddy, modified Jeep Wrangler, etc....). But I also lamented the fact that after selling my Euro motor e36 M3, I really didn't have a car that I could stomach/afford to drive in anger at the track given my ocd, paranoia, and absolute inability to enjoy tracking a “nice” car. Which was another reason I couldn’t buy my car back…it was just too nice for me to enjoy flogging around our gravely AZ tracks! So I tried to fill the track void in an economical fashion with a pretty sweet 944 with a 5.7L V8 LT1 swap with a ton of track mods. And, it was very, very fun. Very fast, tons of torque, very unique, great looking, super handling...but also not the same...not by a long shot.

But, despite the revelation that a 996gt3 is my driving nirvana, I wasn't about to go looking for a gt3, because again, just couldn't make it pencil and wasn't mentally prepared to plop down $65-80k so soon after just shelling out for a new house and spending close to the equivalent of a 991gt3 remodeling it! But I still lurked on this page every day even though I was no longer an owner, and then stumbled upon an ebay ad for a red 04 that had a, well, "storied" life, and I recalled seeing the car for sale on Rennlist a while back (where the owner/poster promptly got ripped apart based on his asking price, the serious accident in 2016, the apparent lack of care with respect to the cosmetic condition, and the awful shredded seats). Like others who posted on that short-lived thread, I felt the asking price then was too high for the project this car would likely be and the weird vibes put off by the owner in the ad, but it was intriguing nonetheless and I recall thinking “hmmm, if the price were right….”

The much later ebay ad had a starting price of $45k and ended without a bid, and at this point I’m thinking that if I could get this thing sub-40k, the collision repair work had been properly done, and a ppi did not reveal major engine issues or recent type 2’s, it might be a really good track car/street car candidate that I could flog guilt free, since I wouldn’t be reducing its value by doing so (and was pretty confident I could increase its value by just slowly bringing it up to snuff cosmetically and maintenance-wise, as I just love diy projects as my release from the stressful day job). Plus, I had kept my perlon buckets, Schroth harnesses, ccw’s, and a few other desirable tidbits when I sold my car, and since this car already had a roll bar and a few other track goodies, my interest level increased. So I start chatting with the owner and found him to be honest, easy going, and a really, really good guy, and he was no flipper since he had owned the car for nearly 7 years. And, contrary to the vibes given off in his ad, he did care about maintenance and spared no expense when mechanical things (as opposed to cosmetic issues) popped up (i.e., $6k in required and preventive maintenance, including pipe pinning and complete coolant system refresh, after a coolant pipe let go at the track in 2016). He had also just spent a mint on a tranny rebuild (non Porsche shop unfortunately), new Pilot sports, girodisc front floating rotors, and some other nice additions. Although he was not super knowledgeable mechanically, he did track the car extensively, frequently took it in to the dealer for track inspections, was a long-time PCA member, and was apparently a pretty good driver as my pre-purchase web sleuthing showed that he often earned TTOTD honors when he autocrossed the car. The impression I got after several conversations with him and reviewing records was that he was a great guy, with a solid (even if storied car), but a very, very bad salesman. He could have done so much more to properly document and extol the virtues of this car, despite its accident history, mileage, and the hammered interior. I was also comforted by the fact that the shop that did the accident repairs was one of the top notch exotic repair shops in Dallas (and the receipts showed that no affected bolt, screw or clip was left unaddressed).

So, I arranged a ppi and the dme was cleaner than I expected (116 type 2’s, but nearly 350 hours in the past), and the tech reported that the car pulled great and I was not overly concerned about the few noted issues (cosmetic stuff, leaking rear shock, “weeping” RMS, etc…). So we struck a deal at 39k, I instructed the shop to do an oil change, and I flew out to Dallas that very day (last Friday) and drove it back to Arizona about 1,000 miles. Car didn’t miss a beat, except I’m pretty sure that the leaking shock is now a completely blown shock, judging by the amount of oil that has drenched every component in the vicinity (and perhaps the other side too LOL!). My biggest issue on the drive back was the damn “Spawn of Satan,” sado-masochistic Pep Boys seats (not exaggerating here). They were the absolute worst quality, hardest, most awful seats I have ever had the displeasure of gracing with my A--. I was in literal pain for most of the trip, which was to be expected since I’m 6’4, the car does not have cruise control, and the owner candidly admitted that he took so much crap about the shredded (and shedding) folding Recaros that he sourced the absolute cheapest seats he could find so the car would at least look a little more presentable. Oh well, those seats are in the trash heap now as I’ve already installed my slightly more desirable (and comfortable) set up!

So here are the vitals: 69k miles, guards red, xenons, front lip delete (LOL), smoked side markers, full leather interior with red stitching, red belts, carbon ac surround, carbon door sills, carbon batwing, carbon dash strips, silver gauges, GMG WC bar, (really like it), and a bunch of “soft touch” plastic pieces that look like they were humped by an irate badger high on a mixture of cocaine and meth (soooo many scratches LOL!). Surprisingly few rock chips due to the recent paint work, and there is a nice clear bra on front clip, but some track rash and a few scratches here and there (all easily addressed). One nice surprise was that as I was about to leave the owner indicated he would sell to me the “non stock” rotors and pads he bought for the car but never installed, for the sum of $100.00. I said I would take a look expecting Rock Auto specials or Cayenne boat anchors, but they were brand new Girodisc slotted/floating 350mm rears (with 350mm conversion parts) to match the fronts, and brand new in box Pagids (so I politely said I would accept his kind offer while suppressing my grin of delight…see pic below!).

I’ve already swapped in my gt3 buckets and harnesses, and have made arrangements to repurchase from the owner of my old car all of the 997 exhaust parts that were on the car when I sold it! After that I need to replace all four of the coilovers (anyone have anything track-worth laying around they want to sell?), and will then start addressing interior stuff. Also need a cup lip, rear wing shims, some locking toe plates, and already ordered new plugs, fuel filter, mobile Delvac for the tranny, bmc filter, some motul brake fluid, and the missing lighter. Lots more to come! Cross your fingers that it does not explode anytime soon (although I’m pretty confident the car is totally solid mechanically). Then again if it does its going straight to Sharkwerks for the 3.9 treatment, so I'd be cool with that! I’ll update this thread as the car progresses (and let me know if anyone has a line on some previously used motons, ohlins, jrz’s, or even revalved/stiffened up stockers (If I’m going to have to spend the money to replace I’d prefer to get something a little “better” than stock).

Anyway, thank you to all you crazies for keeping me obsessed and entertained. So glad to be back in the fold and among my bretheren with my new-to-me and soon-to-be budget track rat! Really excited to whip this thing into shape and then (finally) whip it around a track on a consistent basis!

Picking her up in Dallas

Really digging the interior (and will love it more after I clean her up)


Carbon sills in great shape...plastic inner sills not so much!

mats need a good shampooing (inner sills...already hunting ebay!

Half way to banishing the Pep Boys Bastards

Score for 100 bucks!

All cleaned up (still need to clay bar, polish, and wax)

mistermct

Welcome back So much awesome in this post... thank you for the entertaining read. Best quote IMO: "and a bunch of “soft touch” plastic pieces that look like they were humped by an irate badger high on a mixture of cocaine and meth"

Spyerx

Nice job man. Any gt3 running for 40k is a hell of a deal

997rs4.0

Awesome deal, if you don’t like the exterior finish I would consider a wrap. Also helps when you change body parts. Fiberglass, carbon hood/deck/doors/

I have to say that my most enjoyable car is the the 996gt3. Just because it’s not in mint condition, however it’s in great mechanical condition.
I would call it a 10yard car. Looks great from a distance. Open the doors and you see marks from belts and some scrape marks from shoes and other aftermarket equipment.

Have fun with your “new” 996gt3. I’ve done exactly what you’ve done. Bought and sold and bought again. Something about these cars that are worth coming back to.

lcrain

I test drove this car when he first listed it on rennlist. Did he do the transmission work since then? It had a grind when shifting that scared me away...

Either way, as noted, this is an excellent deal for a running gt3. Now I'm disappointed I didn't stay in touch with the seller!

bubba928

Well done!

porschedog

Yowza, well done!!!!

ScottArizona

Thanks for all the kind words. I'm super stoked. I noticed two grinds: 1) When downshifting into first, if you are above 12-13 mph, it will grind (it never grinded once as long as I downshifted below that speed); (2) on two occasions during my road trip home (after running it pretty hard for a 300 mile stretch between NM and AZ, it grinded just a tad downshifting into second. After the second time it did this I just started rev matching my 2nd gear downshifts a bit and it never did it again and I've put another 500 miles on it since. PPI caught the first gear grind, so I went in with eyes open and otherwise the tranny is actually pretty smooth. My plan is to do the lwfw and clutch soon anyway, and I'll probably have my guy open of the box and take a look. But first I am going to change the fluid with the proper fill as I have zero confidence the right stuff is in there now, and see how that goes. As it sits however, the tranny issues don't bother me (although they would at the old 55k asking price) as they don't affect my enjoyment of the car and a little rev matching on downshifts is fun anyway.

lcrain

I hope the fluid solves it for you. I really wasn't in a position to buy a gt3 at that time. Despite it being one of the lowest asking prices, I just saw dollar signs in my head to get it fixed up cosmetically, new seats, wheels/tires and then the transmission grinds. I couldn't convince myself that that was how I should enter Porsche GT car ownership. I am eyeing your old car though.

ScottArizona

Yeah, it really helped my decision that he was willing to take 39, I had the seats, harnesses, wheels, and tires already (although the po just put new MPS's on it), and I've become an expert at addressing 996 generation cosmetic issues (having owned 6 9x6 cars now!). I also enjoy diy so I was pretty confident I could address everything that bothered me for less than a king's ransom (provided there is no catastrophic failure).

Oh, and one other thing. There is literally no comparison between this car and my old car. My old car is literally better in every single way, from the way it drives, to the overall condition, to smoothness of the tranny and engine. The difference is pretty stark, but I'm hoping that much of that gap will soon be narrowed by fresh(er) suspension and perhaps motor mounts (I think one is leaking too!). Just wanted to mention that because if you are using my (new) car as a barometer for how a well-kept 996 gt3 rides and drives, you would be misled! In a strange way that difference is a main reason I'm so happy with my new one...no guilt at all or fear of chips/dings/dents/rash. I can just get in and flog it without concern!

Marv

Motor and transmission mounts (i.e., Function 1st) will transform the car. The latter may improve the shifting.

The motor mounts are so easy to change and not a lot of money. I went with RSS.

Don't rule out an alignment, too.

Do the small stuff first and see what it buys you.

Anyway, great find and the perfect color, but I'm biased.

ScottArizona

Thanks! I also love the red. My notes say only 64 GR to north america in 04-05. Already sourced some used JRZ's, then align, then a bunch of maintenance and we will go from there. I once tried some "harder" transmission mounts in my old 997 gt3 and hated them...way too "buzzy." Are the ones you are running tolerable from a NVH perspective? Which ones specifically? Same question for the motor mounts? What are you running, and do you find them easy to live with? My former gt3 had the oem "rs" mounts and they were great, but also much pricier than the aftermarket offerings. Would love your feedback and I probably need to address these areas at my mileage.

Nickshu

Wow you could flip that GT3 for almost twice what you paid for it. Congrats...I "upgraded" from a 996 Carrera to a 996-GT3 last summer. The GT3 is an incredible car and arguably the "last pure 911 ever".

christallon

Def go with hard motor mounts. I'll check mine and let you know which ones. They transformed the ride and shifting. They may have been the RS version though. Stock trans mounts. You will love the JRZ's. Make sure they are rebuilt before you go through the hastle of installing everything. Send then to San Diego, I believe, and have them re-do them. I have the 3 way in mine and they are amazing, along with the suspension mods, which include 600/800 Lbs springs. The car is on rails, and runs and handles as these cars should. Suspension, exhaust, Giro brakes, MM's, LtWt clutch/flywheel, welded/pinned coolant lines, and the cloth Recarros, (I have a pair too-Awesome!!!) and you are good to go, anytime, anywhere. Ya, it's a handful on the street, but if you're a driver, this only adds to the thrill. This is truly a Supercar, and delivers over and over and over again. Long live the Mezger!!!! Way to go Scott

Nickshu

The stock GT3 coilovers are less than ideal for track use. They are way too soft and in my experience when they are loaded up in a corner the rear end gets very light. I put JRZ RS Pro 3-ways on mine along with 997 RSR suspension arms/solid bushings this past winter. The result is remarkable and while I street the car very little it's surprisingly tolerable on the street. I am running 1000lbs front and 1100lbs rear plus 250/350 helper springs.

Solid motor mounts vibrate a lot. The OEM 993 RS rubber block mounts will bolt into these cars and they tighten things up alot. You can get a kit from Carnewal with the longer bolts to fit them to a 996 GT3/Turbo.

I would stay away from the Wevo or Rennline style poly mounts, I have owned both and they both vibrated loose...I discovered when I had occasion to remove them. Bad design IMO.

I think the guys who rebuild shocks is Glen Yee Motorsports in LA.