Mechanicus 996 project, your input is greatly appreciated
10-14-2018, 12:01 PM
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Mechanicus 996 project, your input is greatly appreciated
This week I took the pluge into the Porsche club! After many nights debating what type of project I really wanted I decided a 911 would be different enough to stand out. Just as fate would have it, as I was getting a oil change on my Rebel at the dealership I saw a 1999 coupe. It was in their back lot 3 rows deep, hasn’t been touched by their service team. The out side was spray painted white, engine covered in dried oil, interior was worn. Test drove it for 1.5 hours. Carfax said it had 5 owners, one front end accident 12 years ago, 101,000 miles, spent its life in california. Dealership wanted 16 for it but after 3 days, and pointing out The faults to the dealership owner he settled for a great deal on my part.
So far the problems I have noticed are;
1. The Spray Paint. ( going to try to remove and get the original color back)
2. At 65 the steering has crazy movement to the steering wheel
3. Interior is pretty worn (steering wheel, shift ****, e brake, 3 speakers blown)
4. A lot of wind noise from the right side (mostlikely due to the mirror panel delaminating) and the sunroof at speeds
5. Right side of the engine covered in oil due to a leaking line pictured below.
Im a aviation mechanic so I don’t think anything is outside my skill level, it’ll just be different. It’ll be more of just a street car, not looking to revert it to classic but more of make it as nice as I can. I have a 17 scat pack for going fast real quick but I’m hoping I can make some real power and take this on some road trips when done.
Also this is my first Porsche so if you have input one pretty much anything. I.e. think I need to replace these busings, use this company for sourcing parts, or hey stupid your doing this wrong. Let me know I’m open to all inputs, in the end it’s my car and I’ll research the best method but I want the subject matter experts opinion!
10-14-2018, 01:04 PM
#2
Nordschleife Master
Most likely the alignment is way off. The reason it is off is probably failed 20yo rubber. Get it up in the air and plan on replacing most of the arms. Dont forget to check the rubber at the top of the front struts. Its not that expensive and there r several threads here on upgrades should u choose to spend more $. Also check the motor and trans mounts. When they r bad it can trans late into the steering.
10-14-2018, 01:28 PM
#5
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Is as far as I got and I’m not planning on spending eight hours a day for the next three months stripping spray paint.
So right now I’m thinking my options are to A) clean up the white and make it look presentable. B) get it wrapped. Or C) bring it to a body shop to sand down and repaint.
Looking for something eye catching though
10-14-2018, 01:31 PM
#6
Burning Brakes
Welcome to the club! The are several threads on suspension rebuilds and upgrades. I got up under my 99, with 89k miles when I bought it, and the suspension looked good with no movement then I pushed and pulled in various components. After getting out on the track, I discovered how worn out it really was. If you go the least expensive route, buying the parts and installing yourself, you are probably looking at about $1500 for parts and alignment. If you add aftermarket adjustable parts plus Ohlins coilovers, and get some of the work professionally done, you are looking at about 8k, which is where I will be.
10-14-2018, 01:41 PM
#7
Burning Brakes
Though I like the silver, I haven’t really set my mind on a color. I spent the last 1.5 hours trying to take the spray paint off and
Is as far as I got and I’m not planning on spending eight hours a day for the next three months stripping spray paint.
So right now I’m thinking my options are to A) clean up the white and make it look presentable. B) get it wrapped. Or C) bring it to a body shop to sand down and repaint.
Looking for something eye catching though
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10-14-2018, 02:25 PM
#8
The paint looks pretty thick for spray cans .More than likely an enamel with no clear coat .Might be worth a visit to a few paint shops to get a few options .Actually white is a great color and pretty rare on 996's and would be good if it could be enhanced
10-14-2018, 02:38 PM
#9
Intermediate
Thread Starter
The quality around the car is terrible and the over spray was wild. Took a razor blade to take it off most of the windows.
10-14-2018, 03:15 PM
#10
8th Gear
Join Date: Jul 2017
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Hello welcome in this forum. Nice project, but be advised, you will need very deep pockets. You risk at getting carried away with all the enhancements. Do not forget: in its original configuration this was already a seriously fast sports car, so why bother with suspension tweets and engine tweeks. By the way is it a runner? I would start by checking the engine: cylinder scoring? IMS? Etc. The suspension is easy to do for a mechanic like you.
lots of Succes!��
lots of Succes!��
10-15-2018, 12:25 AM
#12
Rennlist Member
Cool project car. Hope you got a really good deal on it.
I think this is a car that can turn into a slippery slope financially though. It's a car that obviously needs work but due to the history of the accidents, makes it a car that won't likely hold a high value.
I often buy cars in your car's condition. I come up with a budget and stick to it 100%. For example. If i buy a car that retails for $5000 but I bought it for $1000, my budget will be $3500. I fix all the issues that compromise the reliability but leave things untouched like the worn interior parts and paint. Then I enjoy the car for a few years and then sell it usually for a profit.
Cars like yours, and the ones I buy, can often end up costing much more in time and parts than it does for a clean car. It can get out of control pretty quickly. Lol
Are you setting a budget for your restoration? How in-depth will your restoration be?
Can't wait to see updates!
I think this is a car that can turn into a slippery slope financially though. It's a car that obviously needs work but due to the history of the accidents, makes it a car that won't likely hold a high value.
I often buy cars in your car's condition. I come up with a budget and stick to it 100%. For example. If i buy a car that retails for $5000 but I bought it for $1000, my budget will be $3500. I fix all the issues that compromise the reliability but leave things untouched like the worn interior parts and paint. Then I enjoy the car for a few years and then sell it usually for a profit.
Cars like yours, and the ones I buy, can often end up costing much more in time and parts than it does for a clean car. It can get out of control pretty quickly. Lol
Are you setting a budget for your restoration? How in-depth will your restoration be?
Can't wait to see updates!
10-15-2018, 09:29 AM
#13
Rennlist Member
Check out Warehouse 33 for parts ( www.warehouse33auto.com ) Rennlist members get an extra 10% off what are normally good prices. Auto Atlanta ( www.autoatlanta.com ) is also good and have the best visual parts breakdowns. Their prices sometimes leave room to be desired so make sure you shop prices elsewhere. The interior doesn't look bad for a 20 year old car - a good clean-up and light leather repair should get it looking great. The soft touch paint on the console can be fixed by painting it the body color (when you decide on it).As you'll soon find out, restoring one of these things can get very pricey, very quickly. DIY'ing will save you boatloads of cash, but prioritizing can also be a huge help - i.e.; If the car looks great but the engine blows up you've sort of wasted your time. Take care of the mechanicals first and wory about the aesthetics as time sees fit... Good luck! 
10-15-2018, 01:39 PM
#14
I would wrap it, unless you do the paint prep yourself and have access to a reasonably priced paint shop. You can spend as much on paint as you paid for the car since it looks like you have a layer of cheap paint that needs to be removed. Another alternative would be using on of the low budget paint businesses such as Maaco. I looked at some cars they painted at the local shop when I was looking at getting my old Mustang GT painted. The quantity was actually pretty good for a $600 paint job. You definitely need to do a lot of prep yourself going that route.
10-15-2018, 02:24 PM
#15
Rennlist Member
If you paid more than $6-7K I'd stop and re think this one...You'll be way upside down before you know it.