2003 Porsche Boxster S

[LordHaveMurci]

Wheels look great on it, same colour interior as my 996, I personally think it lifts it rather than the drab black most people go for.

Look forward to more updates, hoping for some good weather so you can enjoy it as intended.

[geraintthomas]

Podie said:

Nice update - good to see it coming along nicely

Thank you

LordHaveMurci said:

Wheels look great on it, same colour interior as my 996, I personally think it lifts it rather than the drab black most people go for.

Look forward to more updates, hoping for some good weather so you can enjoy it as intended.

Absolutely. The black exterior and the grey interior was a favourite of mine as it contrasts very well.

I can't wait to drive the car and not wear a coat. I've never driven a convertible with a T-Shirt - shows what the weather has been like...

[Medic-one]

Loving the updates, makes me want one even more now!

[geraintthomas]

Medic-one said:

Loving the updates, makes me want one even more now!

Thank you

Here's a screenshot of my to-do list. I'm very organised!



And here's my 'done' list:

[Polarbert]

Looks very tidy. Wish I could do something equally as cheap to make my Z4M Roadster sound a bit more muscular.

I've never been a fan of grey interiors, but on your car it does look very nice.

[Heaveho]

Hi Geraint, the car looks great with the new wheels on, Boxsters really suit that style.

I went a bit random after selling mine and bought a Mk1 MR2 T-bar on a whim. Cheap thrills.........

[jmcc42uk]

Absolutly beautiful Boxster S and the grey interior works perfectly.

Loving the to-do list as well !

Mine aren't quite as fancy...just and excel spreadsheet

[geraintthomas]

Polarbert said:

Looks very tidy. Wish I could do something equally as cheap to make my Z4M Roadster sound a bit more muscular.

I've never been a fan of grey interiors, but on your car it does look very nice.

Thanks! I was weary of it but when I saw it, I really loved the grey interior.

Heaveho said:

Hi Geraint, the car looks great with the new wheels on, Boxsters really suit that style.

I went a bit random after selling mine and bought a Mk1 MR2 T-bar on a whim. Cheap thrills.........

It does Hah I was contemplating one of those.

jmcc42uk said:

Absolutly beautiful Boxster S and the grey interior works perfectly.

Loving the to-do list as well !

Mine aren't quite as fancy...just and excel spreadsheet

Thanks I'm ridiculously picky when it comes to my to-do lists. I'd rather have a place for everything and everything in its place when it comes to things to do! Just so I don't forget about it and remember it the next time I'm in the car.

So a few things since the last update...

Roof

The roof has held up pretty well. The AutoGlym stuff has worked wonders.



£20 for the AutoGlym Soft Top Clean & Protect


Coolant issue

Also, the car decided to empty a lot of its coolant in a Tesco car park. I let the car cool down and drove it back home (2 mins away). Found out that it came from the overflow pipe, and that the car will 'throw up' its coolant if there's air in the system. Nice feature, leaving me stranded like that... Either way, I found that the coolant cap was an old design cap and that they're prone to fail and let air in and coolant out over the years. I bought the revised cap from Porsche for £18 and haven't had a problem since.


Headlights

The pre-facelift lights arrived all fine. I thought I could sand through the amber sections by hand - I was wrong! Definitely need a dremel. Not much to report on this.


Numberplate & side lights

One of my numberplate bulbs literally caught fire and blew up in my hand:



Must have been a dodgy bulb!

I also replaced my 5000k white LED sidelights with some warm white LED ones:



I don't know why but I suddenly realised how much the white sidelights cheapens the look of it. If I had DRL's (which I'm tempted), then white DRL's look fine, but white sidelights just look a bit naff on some cars. So these have warm white LED's to mimic halogens, but now have a brighter output, a slightly whiter colour (not so amber), and will last longer.


Failed (then passed) MOT

Then I had the MOT, and unfortunately it failed on brakes.

Rears were too thin, and the fronts were wrecked. They're a trustworthy garage that I've been to for years and he was gutted to tell me the news, but it had to be done.

Here's the inside of the back discs:



I'll take a photo of the inside of the fronts today. They're disgusting!

Anyway, they look like this now:





Did a re-test and it passed no advisories. So all good

The brake discs and pads all round would have cost almost £400, but EuroCarParts did a deal for me and took the VAT off, so the whole thing cost me £300 exactly. Good guys!

£50 for the MOT, £300 for parts, I did the labour myself, so £350 for brand new brakes all round and a fresh MOT isn't too bad at all for a Porsche.

Anyway that's about it! Car's in tip top shape now

[AH33]

I normally dont like this shape, but yours just looks right in that colour with those wheels.

[geraintthomas]

AH33 said:

I normally dont like this shape, but yours just looks right in that colour with those wheels.

Ditto thank you

[Paraicj]

Really lovely car, the colour combination really works. I think the new lights will set it off, great level of detail!

And the Autoglym soft-top kit is the best value piece of detailing kit for any convertible.

[geraintthomas]

Paraicj said:

Really lovely car, the colour combination really works. I think the new lights will set it off, great level of detail!

And the Autoglym soft-top kit is the best value piece of detailing kit for any convertible.

I'm glad someone shares my thoughts with the lights I really need a dremel though to get that orange indicator sanded down! Unfortunately I don't want to go spending much this month as the MOT's just cost a fair bit.

[grenpayne]

Lovely car and I love the attention to detail with the subtle mods and work you've done. I don't normally like black cars either but I've got to say I think it looks fabulous! Keep up the good work

[molineux1980]

That looks fantastic, never realised you could get such a great looking Boxster for that kind of money.

Added to the future toy list with an Elise, a Mk2 Escort, a turbo'd MX5 and a hot Mini !

[geraintthomas]

grenpayne said:

Lovely car and I love the attention to detail with the subtle mods and work you've done. I don't normally like black cars either but I've got to say I think it looks fabulous! Keep up the good work

Thank you, appreciate it

molineux1980 said:

That looks fantastic, never realised you could get such a great looking Boxster for that kind of money.

Added to the future toy list with an Elise, a Mk2 Escort, a turbo'd MX5 and a hot Mini !

I was shocked at the time. I could have had one with more toys on but I'd rather have one mechanically sound and add the toys myself.

[Heaveho]

AH33 said:

I normally dont like this shape, but yours just looks right in that colour with those wheels.

Yeah, I knew I should have charged him more for them.............just kidding, they went to a good home.

[geraintthomas]

Heaveho said:

Yeah, I knew I should have charged him more for them.............just kidding, they went to a good home.

Haha, at least you know they'll be well looked after

Thanks again for them, they've totally transformed the car.

[geraintthomas]

Having driven the car with the brakes bedded in, I struggle to explain how astonishing they are. The pedal is hard, brakes are progressive but solid, you can tell if you buried your foot onto the pedal you'd stop harder than if you hit a wall.

Very happy! £300 for all Pagid discs and pads was a very good deal indeed.

Off to Silverstone on Sunday to watch the Le Mans Series and will be taking the Porsche with my Dad. First long journey since buying the car in November, so it'll be a good test for long distance MPG.

[billzeebub]

An enjoyable read. The 986 Boxster is sensational value currently. It is my firm belief that the good cars will be much sought after in a few years, especially in light of the later cars move to electric steering and turbo charging etc. I love the analogue nature of it and am currently on my third 986.

[anonymous-user]

geraintthomas said:

Having driven the car with the brakes bedded in, I struggle to explain how astonishing they are. The pedal is hard, brakes are progressive but solid, you can tell if you buried your foot onto the pedal you'd stop harder than if you hit a wall.

Very happy! £300 for all Pagid discs and pads was a very good deal indeed.

Off to Silverstone on Sunday to watch the Le Mans Series and will be taking the Porsche with my Dad. First long journey since buying the car in November, so it'll be a good test for long distance MPG.

I tried Pagid discs on my SL and they worked well enough but made the brakes squeal after a few hundred miles, eventually forked out for OEM and no more squeal. Glad you are having success with them as they are definitely better priced than the OEM ones.

Car is lovely btw, a great purchase.