Porsche Boxster 986 - engine swap project
Discussion
That's really nice. The TTV flywheel is a good bit of kit.
This is how the old wastegate was fitted. It was originally mounted lower but I needed to modify the exhaust and that's where it ended up sitting. Not ideal, would rather it mounted lower as there will be more airflow and it should help keep it cool.
Since the Forge wastegate flange was slightly different I re-made the rear part of that section of the exhaust and improved the wastegate angle and the position of the gate.
Wastegate fitted. I'm not going to connect the water cooling. You can see i'm halfway through connecting the screamer pipe.
I wasn't happy with how the tail pipe for the main exhaust was sitting, after all the adjustments in other areas it's ended up sitting too far central so i'm in the process of sorting that out before I connect up the screamer pipe. I'm using a load of wood blocks to try and get it in position, I can see it being a pain in the arse.
This is how the old wastegate was fitted. It was originally mounted lower but I needed to modify the exhaust and that's where it ended up sitting. Not ideal, would rather it mounted lower as there will be more airflow and it should help keep it cool.
Since the Forge wastegate flange was slightly different I re-made the rear part of that section of the exhaust and improved the wastegate angle and the position of the gate.
Wastegate fitted. I'm not going to connect the water cooling. You can see i'm halfway through connecting the screamer pipe.
I wasn't happy with how the tail pipe for the main exhaust was sitting, after all the adjustments in other areas it's ended up sitting too far central so i'm in the process of sorting that out before I connect up the screamer pipe. I'm using a load of wood blocks to try and get it in position, I can see it being a pain in the arse.
Thanks, I'm pleased with how it's turned out.
I made the cradle out of 25x25 box section. Have you seen this Cayman V8 build? It looks like the project has stalled but it might be useful for ideas. http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-and-boxster-mod...
I made the cradle out of 25x25 box section. Have you seen this Cayman V8 build? It looks like the project has stalled but it might be useful for ideas. http://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-and-boxster-mod...
It's been slow progress considering there isn't that much to do. I feel like another summer is slipping away from me.
I replaced the oil return pump for the turbo. The old one was drawing more amps and sounded really rough.
I've been pressure testing the boost pipes and have found a few leaks. There was one on the clamp for the compressor outlet housing, Holset use a strange size v-band and it wasn't sealing so I ended up cutting it off and using a silicone hose instead.
I had a leak on the compressor housing where the big circlip holds it onto the turbo. I needed a mate to come over to help me get it back on, it was a nightmare and that circlip under tension is dangerous.
An EGT sensor fell apart on me, I think perhaps I over tightened it. I've been having problems with the nuts coming loose so this time I've added some JB weld to the threads, that should do it.
I now have no boost leaks up to 15psi but the tester was popping off the turbo inlet at that point so I couldn't test further. Anything after that is likely to be a hose popping off so I took it for a test drive and started winding up the boost, I got to 25psi and the hose on the throttle body kept coming off. There is a bit of a problem, the throttle body is off an RS4 but they have a metal pipe bolted on rather than a hose. There is no lip on the throttle body to stop a hose coming off. I watched a Youtube video of someone using hairspray to help stop boost pipes coming off so thought i'd give that a go, when you spray it on it acts like a lubricant and when it sets it's like a glue. I haven't tested it yet, hopefully it does the trick.
I replaced the oil return pump for the turbo. The old one was drawing more amps and sounded really rough.
I've been pressure testing the boost pipes and have found a few leaks. There was one on the clamp for the compressor outlet housing, Holset use a strange size v-band and it wasn't sealing so I ended up cutting it off and using a silicone hose instead.
I had a leak on the compressor housing where the big circlip holds it onto the turbo. I needed a mate to come over to help me get it back on, it was a nightmare and that circlip under tension is dangerous.
An EGT sensor fell apart on me, I think perhaps I over tightened it. I've been having problems with the nuts coming loose so this time I've added some JB weld to the threads, that should do it.
I now have no boost leaks up to 15psi but the tester was popping off the turbo inlet at that point so I couldn't test further. Anything after that is likely to be a hose popping off so I took it for a test drive and started winding up the boost, I got to 25psi and the hose on the throttle body kept coming off. There is a bit of a problem, the throttle body is off an RS4 but they have a metal pipe bolted on rather than a hose. There is no lip on the throttle body to stop a hose coming off. I watched a Youtube video of someone using hairspray to help stop boost pipes coming off so thought i'd give that a go, when you spray it on it acts like a lubricant and when it sets it's like a glue. I haven't tested it yet, hopefully it does the trick.
I've taken it for a test drive and the hairspray is holding the pipe on at 25psi now. If I trust it at the dyno is another matter.
I decided to add a pair of fire extinguishers. Wouldn't want it to go up in smoke because of something silly catching fire like the rear bumper. I wanted them inside the cabin and there isn't much space so I thought this was the best place. There is a recess in the floor so they fit in nicely. Held in with a velcro strap.
I decided to add a pair of fire extinguishers. Wouldn't want it to go up in smoke because of something silly catching fire like the rear bumper. I wanted them inside the cabin and there isn't much space so I thought this was the best place. There is a recess in the floor so they fit in nicely. Held in with a velcro strap.
Awesome car 
The pump is for the oil drain on the turbo. I remember from my days with 200SX's, a (temporary) cure for a turbo with leaking seals was a one way valve added to the PCV hose from the cam cover to the inlet pipe (post MAF sensor, pre turbo). This increased the vacuum in the crankcase. Perhaps something you could look into?
The pump is for the oil drain on the turbo. I remember from my days with 200SX's, a (temporary) cure for a turbo with leaking seals was a one way valve added to the PCV hose from the cam cover to the inlet pipe (post MAF sensor, pre turbo). This increased the vacuum in the crankcase. Perhaps something you could look into?
I've got some fancy hose clamps, made by Murray. They have dual beads inside which improve the seal and create a high pressure zone. The ribbed bit allows them to expand and contract with thermal cycling. I've seen they are used in top level motorsport like the WRC so I guess they are actually decent.
Edited by Escy on Wednesday 26th July 22:57
I bought some decent EGT sensors as the ones I was using previously were proving to be crap.
When I removed the old ones my arse dropped out. The tip was missing. It took me about 2 hours to get the courage to remove the exhaust to see if the turbo was damaged. Luckily it wasn't, no signs it had passed through. I removed the whole exhaust, couldn't find it (thought it may have come apart when I removed it) so put it all back together and hoped for the best. It was fine.
When I bought the Quaife the guy I got it off had some Pagid RS4-2 pads he'd taken off his Cayman as he found them noisy and they were annoying him. They had only done a couple thousand miles, hardly worn. They are £400 new and I paid £50, I know second hand brake pads is a bit of a scrooge move but I thought they are worth a try at that money. They are silent on my car and bite really hard once warmed up. Pleased with them.
While doing the brake pads I noticed there was signs of the tyre rubbing the arch liner so I raised the front coilovers slightly.
The car is running perfectly, everything is sorted and ready for another trip to the dyno, trying to get time off work to take it back.
This update brings it up to Saturday the 5th of August. The next update is a big one.
When I removed the old ones my arse dropped out. The tip was missing. It took me about 2 hours to get the courage to remove the exhaust to see if the turbo was damaged. Luckily it wasn't, no signs it had passed through. I removed the whole exhaust, couldn't find it (thought it may have come apart when I removed it) so put it all back together and hoped for the best. It was fine.
When I bought the Quaife the guy I got it off had some Pagid RS4-2 pads he'd taken off his Cayman as he found them noisy and they were annoying him. They had only done a couple thousand miles, hardly worn. They are £400 new and I paid £50, I know second hand brake pads is a bit of a scrooge move but I thought they are worth a try at that money. They are silent on my car and bite really hard once warmed up. Pleased with them.
While doing the brake pads I noticed there was signs of the tyre rubbing the arch liner so I raised the front coilovers slightly.
The car is running perfectly, everything is sorted and ready for another trip to the dyno, trying to get time off work to take it back.
This update brings it up to Saturday the 5th of August. The next update is a big one.
Edited by Escy on Tuesday 8th August 23:06
The last update was up to Saturday the 5th of August, this one will cover Sunday the 6th and it’s a day that’ll haunt me forever.
As the car was now running spot on I wanted to drive it as much as possible before I go back to the dyno as a lack of testing was my downfall last time. I log each drive on my laptop and use the autotune feature to adjust the fuel table, it makes lots of small adjustments but it’s getting better and better each time.
I took it out in the morning for a little run to the local tip, 10 minutes each way and I told my daughter, Sofia (4) I’d take her to my sister’s house in it when I got back. As soon as I got back she was excited and climbing over me while I was trying to put her seat in. She insisted on sitting in it even though I needed to go inside and have a shower. I was surprised how excited she was to go in it. That said, she’s put some graft in on the build so it's only fair.
I’d just gone in for a shower when Vivi, my wife calls me out. A bloke who works at a car sales place near my house is outside, he’s seen me driving past and he knew there was some turbo action going on with it so hunted me down to see if I wanted to sell it. I told him it’s not yet but I will need to sell it at some point next year as I’ll be buying a house. I showed him around the car and he was impressed. He asked what sort of money it’d be, I said around 20k. Rather than run for the hills he said let him know when I want to sell. What the value would be is up for debate but I was expecting it to make around 600bhp (I’d previously said a bit less so I didn’t look a mug if it came up short!) so I’d like to think around the 18k mark. Vivi was listening to the conversation as she was keeping an eye on Sofia who was still in the car, strapped in and refusing to get out. Vivi was really happy, it backs up what i'd been telling her regarding the potential value.
I’m on a high after that, a quick shower later and we set off to my sister’s house. I’m travelling down the A470 heading towards Cardiff, in 5th gear coasting around 55mph, have been driving for around 15 minutes, gently put my foot down a little (so the engine was under load) and suddenly hear a pppffttt noise and the engine starts to die, I drop into 3rd to try and keep it alive. Look in the mirror and see some blue smoke, put my foot down again and more blue smoke, my mind goes back to the missing piece of EGT sensor, perhaps it was lodged somewhere and has just gone through the turbo? I’m on a main road with no hard shoulder so don’t want to risk stopping if I don’t have to as it’s dangerous, especially with Sofia in the car. As I’m just letting it coast down the road with the hazard lights on. I hear beeping behind, it’s a bloke on a 125 bike, and I hear him shout FIRE.
I slam on the brakes, as I stop I see a flame lick up outside the driver’s window. I panic, lunge over to release Sofia’s seatbelt before removing mine and mine jams so I’ve got to lean back, release it, then do her belt. I open my door, grab her and lift her over me, go to put her outside but I had the presence of mind to check over my shoulder first so I didn’t put her in front of a lorry or something.
Thankfully all the traffic had seen what was happening and both lanes had stopped. I get out, lift her up and run around to the side of the road and put her over the fence (luckily there was a path there). She’s in shock, she doesn’t know what’s going on but I guess she can see I’m panicking. I tell her “stay there, I’ll be back now”, I run back to the car to get the fire extinguishers, I’ve left the door open. Instead I see her teddy in the middle of the seats so grab that, then notice my laptop on the floor so grab that also. I close the driver’s door this time without thinking and go give her the teddy and put the laptop on the floor. The bloke on the bike that had warned me has stopped and got his helmet off at that point and another car has also stopped and the people have got out. I ask someone to call 999 and I go back for my fire extinguishers. I think it was probably only 15 seconds from when I originally stopped to this point but it feels like a lifetime.
I open the driver’s door and kneel down to get the fire extinguisher that’s behind the seat, before I can realise I’ve just breathed in a lung full of thick fumes that are heading out of the now open door. I fumble about and grab it anyway. I lie down at the side of the car and spray towards the fire I can see. About 7 seconds later I realise those small fire extinguishers are no use as it’s already run out. I grab the other one anyway as I’m not going to watch my car burn down without doing all I can. Another 7 seconds later and that one’s spent also. I ask the people in the car that stopped if they have an extinguisher, they don’t. I look at the traffic that’s stopped about 100 yards behind, hoping there might be a saviour running down the road with a 20L extinguisher under each arm, obviously not. At this point I know I’m done, nothing I can do. It’s probably around 2 minutes since I first stopped the car.
I hop over the fence and pick up Sofia, she’s crying although not proper crying. The bike rider informs me the fire brigade are on their way. The car isn’t insured for fire (more on that later), as I’m stood there watching the car smouldering away it runs through my mind about popping the boot and bonnet, I could have the ECU out in 5 seconds and the headlights out in a minute (there is a release tool that just pops them out). Together they are worth around £1000. I didn’t think it was much of a risk (and it turned out not to be) but I thought better of it, I didn’t want to leave Sofia again as she was a bit distressed and seeing her dad run towards a car on fire wasn’t going to help that. Nobody had approached us so I’d be leaving her on her own and also there were loads of people out of their cars looking on so I’d look reckless going back. The other thought was opening the boot might accelerate the progress of the fire. If I was on my tod I’d have gone back and saved as much as possible.
At that point I just slowly watch it going up, recording and taking photos sporadically. Some cars suddenly decide its ok to drive past like nothing is happening. I know the value of all the parts on the car so I’m slowly adding up losses hoping the fire brigade will hurry up and I’ll be able to save something. The Police arrive after 10 minutes, the Fire Brigade after 15 minutes. I don’t want to be critical but I feel a bit let down by the time they took, the fire station is just over a mile away on the same road. They went the wrong way twice and the guy on the bike had to ring them again. If they’d turned up when the Police did they’d have had a better chance to put it out before the fuel tank went up. They did seem to get it under control but then they ran out of water which was frustrating to see. A second fire engine turned up but was apparently empty and left again. Strange. To be fair, a Boxster/Cayman engine fire must be one of the toughest to deal with, no easy way to get the engine cover off, no air vents at the rear of the like most mid-engine cars so all you’ve got is the side vents to spray through.
Anyway, about 40 minutes later the Policeman decides he may as well take us home which was nice of him, I’d already told him it wasn’t insured for fire so I guess he wanted to put me out of my misery since no firefighting was happening anymore. The petrol tank had caught fire by this point and there is probably no point even trying to put it out, I don’t know if the other fire engine returned and they did put it out or if they just let it burn itself out. The Policeman also gave me a bottle of water as I had a savage cough from the fumes I’d inhaled while getting the extinguishers. The ride in the Police car certainly cheered up Sofia and that’s what she was telling everyone about later on.
About the insurance, the reason it’s 3rd party only is because I have a trade policy with is basically worthless (low indemnity, high excess), I have no intention of ever making a claim on it which is ok as my other cars are cheap. I put the Porsche on it as it’s easy but my intention was to always get a proper policy with an agreed value but this year the project seems to have hit the buffers a bit, with things like the turbo needing a rebuild, taking off the gearbox to fix an oil leak, having to get a new wastegate and needing to re-jig the exhaust to suit the car has hardly seen the road. I seem to drive it a couple of miles and discover something that needs to be done and it’s back off the road for a couple of weeks. As it still wasn’t finished, coupled with the fact I’ve spanked my budget a while back means I’ve have had to start putting things on a credit card just to keep the project progressing which is why I hadn’t yet sorted out proper insurance.
I don’t need anyone to tell me how stupid that was, I’m beating myself up about it. I was fully immersed in the project for the best part of 2 years, it seemed to occupy my thoughts most of the time, at the start of a week I’d be buying things I needed for the jobs I’d be planning on the weekend. I’ve put a massive amount of hours in and never even got to see what it was like finished which is quite hard to take. It feels like someone close to me has died, I’ve hardly been able to eat since it happened and I’m struggling to sleep but I know the main thing is Sofia and I are both fine but I’m still devastated by it.
I feel really bad for Vivi, she’s put up with being a garage widow for the last 2 years and I’d sold the project to her as an investment, I’d be able to use it for a year and sell it for a profit which was going to be our deposit for a house. The figures were looking good, even with the set-backs like the Porsche engine having a cracked cylinder head and being worth half I’d expected, the turbo re-build, wasted time on the dyno, another wastegate, etc I was sitting at £11,500 which included the cost of the final mapping session. Not bad money for a (expected) 550-600bhp Porsche but It’s a lot of money to see go up in smoke. I was keeping the figures to myself as it’d obviously make selling it harder but feel I may as well share now.
As for the cause of the fire, I suspect it was the oil line for the turbo feed as the oil pressure had dropped. I'll update again with what happens with the salvage.
Here is a video of my nightmare. You can see what's left of it at the end of the video.
https://youtu.be/i7aKdVp-wCI
As the car was now running spot on I wanted to drive it as much as possible before I go back to the dyno as a lack of testing was my downfall last time. I log each drive on my laptop and use the autotune feature to adjust the fuel table, it makes lots of small adjustments but it’s getting better and better each time.
I took it out in the morning for a little run to the local tip, 10 minutes each way and I told my daughter, Sofia (4) I’d take her to my sister’s house in it when I got back. As soon as I got back she was excited and climbing over me while I was trying to put her seat in. She insisted on sitting in it even though I needed to go inside and have a shower. I was surprised how excited she was to go in it. That said, she’s put some graft in on the build so it's only fair.
I’d just gone in for a shower when Vivi, my wife calls me out. A bloke who works at a car sales place near my house is outside, he’s seen me driving past and he knew there was some turbo action going on with it so hunted me down to see if I wanted to sell it. I told him it’s not yet but I will need to sell it at some point next year as I’ll be buying a house. I showed him around the car and he was impressed. He asked what sort of money it’d be, I said around 20k. Rather than run for the hills he said let him know when I want to sell. What the value would be is up for debate but I was expecting it to make around 600bhp (I’d previously said a bit less so I didn’t look a mug if it came up short!) so I’d like to think around the 18k mark. Vivi was listening to the conversation as she was keeping an eye on Sofia who was still in the car, strapped in and refusing to get out. Vivi was really happy, it backs up what i'd been telling her regarding the potential value.
I’m on a high after that, a quick shower later and we set off to my sister’s house. I’m travelling down the A470 heading towards Cardiff, in 5th gear coasting around 55mph, have been driving for around 15 minutes, gently put my foot down a little (so the engine was under load) and suddenly hear a pppffttt noise and the engine starts to die, I drop into 3rd to try and keep it alive. Look in the mirror and see some blue smoke, put my foot down again and more blue smoke, my mind goes back to the missing piece of EGT sensor, perhaps it was lodged somewhere and has just gone through the turbo? I’m on a main road with no hard shoulder so don’t want to risk stopping if I don’t have to as it’s dangerous, especially with Sofia in the car. As I’m just letting it coast down the road with the hazard lights on. I hear beeping behind, it’s a bloke on a 125 bike, and I hear him shout FIRE.
I slam on the brakes, as I stop I see a flame lick up outside the driver’s window. I panic, lunge over to release Sofia’s seatbelt before removing mine and mine jams so I’ve got to lean back, release it, then do her belt. I open my door, grab her and lift her over me, go to put her outside but I had the presence of mind to check over my shoulder first so I didn’t put her in front of a lorry or something.
Thankfully all the traffic had seen what was happening and both lanes had stopped. I get out, lift her up and run around to the side of the road and put her over the fence (luckily there was a path there). She’s in shock, she doesn’t know what’s going on but I guess she can see I’m panicking. I tell her “stay there, I’ll be back now”, I run back to the car to get the fire extinguishers, I’ve left the door open. Instead I see her teddy in the middle of the seats so grab that, then notice my laptop on the floor so grab that also. I close the driver’s door this time without thinking and go give her the teddy and put the laptop on the floor. The bloke on the bike that had warned me has stopped and got his helmet off at that point and another car has also stopped and the people have got out. I ask someone to call 999 and I go back for my fire extinguishers. I think it was probably only 15 seconds from when I originally stopped to this point but it feels like a lifetime.
I open the driver’s door and kneel down to get the fire extinguisher that’s behind the seat, before I can realise I’ve just breathed in a lung full of thick fumes that are heading out of the now open door. I fumble about and grab it anyway. I lie down at the side of the car and spray towards the fire I can see. About 7 seconds later I realise those small fire extinguishers are no use as it’s already run out. I grab the other one anyway as I’m not going to watch my car burn down without doing all I can. Another 7 seconds later and that one’s spent also. I ask the people in the car that stopped if they have an extinguisher, they don’t. I look at the traffic that’s stopped about 100 yards behind, hoping there might be a saviour running down the road with a 20L extinguisher under each arm, obviously not. At this point I know I’m done, nothing I can do. It’s probably around 2 minutes since I first stopped the car.
I hop over the fence and pick up Sofia, she’s crying although not proper crying. The bike rider informs me the fire brigade are on their way. The car isn’t insured for fire (more on that later), as I’m stood there watching the car smouldering away it runs through my mind about popping the boot and bonnet, I could have the ECU out in 5 seconds and the headlights out in a minute (there is a release tool that just pops them out). Together they are worth around £1000. I didn’t think it was much of a risk (and it turned out not to be) but I thought better of it, I didn’t want to leave Sofia again as she was a bit distressed and seeing her dad run towards a car on fire wasn’t going to help that. Nobody had approached us so I’d be leaving her on her own and also there were loads of people out of their cars looking on so I’d look reckless going back. The other thought was opening the boot might accelerate the progress of the fire. If I was on my tod I’d have gone back and saved as much as possible.
At that point I just slowly watch it going up, recording and taking photos sporadically. Some cars suddenly decide its ok to drive past like nothing is happening. I know the value of all the parts on the car so I’m slowly adding up losses hoping the fire brigade will hurry up and I’ll be able to save something. The Police arrive after 10 minutes, the Fire Brigade after 15 minutes. I don’t want to be critical but I feel a bit let down by the time they took, the fire station is just over a mile away on the same road. They went the wrong way twice and the guy on the bike had to ring them again. If they’d turned up when the Police did they’d have had a better chance to put it out before the fuel tank went up. They did seem to get it under control but then they ran out of water which was frustrating to see. A second fire engine turned up but was apparently empty and left again. Strange. To be fair, a Boxster/Cayman engine fire must be one of the toughest to deal with, no easy way to get the engine cover off, no air vents at the rear of the like most mid-engine cars so all you’ve got is the side vents to spray through.
Anyway, about 40 minutes later the Policeman decides he may as well take us home which was nice of him, I’d already told him it wasn’t insured for fire so I guess he wanted to put me out of my misery since no firefighting was happening anymore. The petrol tank had caught fire by this point and there is probably no point even trying to put it out, I don’t know if the other fire engine returned and they did put it out or if they just let it burn itself out. The Policeman also gave me a bottle of water as I had a savage cough from the fumes I’d inhaled while getting the extinguishers. The ride in the Police car certainly cheered up Sofia and that’s what she was telling everyone about later on.
About the insurance, the reason it’s 3rd party only is because I have a trade policy with is basically worthless (low indemnity, high excess), I have no intention of ever making a claim on it which is ok as my other cars are cheap. I put the Porsche on it as it’s easy but my intention was to always get a proper policy with an agreed value but this year the project seems to have hit the buffers a bit, with things like the turbo needing a rebuild, taking off the gearbox to fix an oil leak, having to get a new wastegate and needing to re-jig the exhaust to suit the car has hardly seen the road. I seem to drive it a couple of miles and discover something that needs to be done and it’s back off the road for a couple of weeks. As it still wasn’t finished, coupled with the fact I’ve spanked my budget a while back means I’ve have had to start putting things on a credit card just to keep the project progressing which is why I hadn’t yet sorted out proper insurance.
I don’t need anyone to tell me how stupid that was, I’m beating myself up about it. I was fully immersed in the project for the best part of 2 years, it seemed to occupy my thoughts most of the time, at the start of a week I’d be buying things I needed for the jobs I’d be planning on the weekend. I’ve put a massive amount of hours in and never even got to see what it was like finished which is quite hard to take. It feels like someone close to me has died, I’ve hardly been able to eat since it happened and I’m struggling to sleep but I know the main thing is Sofia and I are both fine but I’m still devastated by it.
I feel really bad for Vivi, she’s put up with being a garage widow for the last 2 years and I’d sold the project to her as an investment, I’d be able to use it for a year and sell it for a profit which was going to be our deposit for a house. The figures were looking good, even with the set-backs like the Porsche engine having a cracked cylinder head and being worth half I’d expected, the turbo re-build, wasted time on the dyno, another wastegate, etc I was sitting at £11,500 which included the cost of the final mapping session. Not bad money for a (expected) 550-600bhp Porsche but It’s a lot of money to see go up in smoke. I was keeping the figures to myself as it’d obviously make selling it harder but feel I may as well share now.
As for the cause of the fire, I suspect it was the oil line for the turbo feed as the oil pressure had dropped. I'll update again with what happens with the salvage.
Here is a video of my nightmare. You can see what's left of it at the end of the video.
https://youtu.be/i7aKdVp-wCI
Thank you for all the replies and kind words, it means alot. I'm glad people enjoyed the project. I enjoyed building it even though it felt like an uphill struggle at times. I've learnt lots from doing it. A few people have said it's inspirational which is nice to read.
I think after watching back the video where 2 minutes after we got out, the cabin is full of smoke, perhaps at the time I didn't appreciate how lucky we actually were. Maybe if I hadn't been warned by the biker the cabin may have just suddenly filled with smoke as soon as I did eventually stop. After experiencing what a lung full of it was like, getting Sofia and myself out wouldn't have been so quick and easy.
Talk of some sort of crowd funding is very humbling. I wouldn't feel comfortable setting something up myself but if someone wanted to take it on, i'm not in a position to turn it down. I'm not sure how achievable "Buy Escy a new Boxster" is, they aren't that cheap.
The Salvage Opration
I went to the salvage yard first thing Monday morning to see what I was left with, it was a right mess. I had a good look and I decided there was enough salvageable parts to be worth getting it back. The recovery from the A470 after it burned out cost me £250. That was a nice kick in the b
ks.
Due to the state of it, getting it back was a problem, the salvage yard could take it on a hiab for me but their driver was ill so they couldn’t give me a day and they charge £20 a day storage so I didn’t fancy being left in limbo. They also wanted £120 to take it to my house which was only about 10 miles. Didn’t fancy giving them more money.
There is a local guy Jamie (Prestige Transport and Recovery) who I usually use whenever I need something moving, he's good. I sent him a picture on the off chance he’d fancy it, fully expecting him to tell me no way. As we are friends on Facebook he’s knew about my Porsche build so I think he wanted to try and help me out (against his better judgement). He said he’d have a crack at it.
We did it Wednesday. I got the day off work and wanted to get it moved and completely stripped in one day so the shell can be collected quickly. My mate, Adam also took a day off work to help me which was really nice of him – I’m really lucky to have a friend like that. As it turned out I had no chance of doing it without him.
The salvage yard were able to load the car with a forklift so that side was drama free.
Getting it off wasn't drama free. First I had to get under it to cut the handbrake cables and then we used my engine hoist to raise the front end so it cleared the truck bed and Jamie winched it down slowly, we were on a hill so it was pretty hairy. I think there were a few times where Jamie was wondering what he'd got himself into. As we were unloading, the guy from the car sales place near me who had seen it Sunday morning (and asked if I’d sell it) drove past. His eyes popped out of his head when he saw it. After telling him all about it I asked him if he’d give us a hand, he obliged and ended up staying over an hour which I’m very grateful for. I’ve also got a neighbour that’s been following the build, he’s building a house on his land so had a few guys working there, they all came around so there was 9 of us in total. I was really lucky to get so many people helping, as it was a nightmare. We dragged it up the hill and into the driveway with a combination of brute force, hoisting, jacking and winching. A wheel snapped on the engine hoist which made things more complicated, I abuse that hoist. I was very lucky to have the help I got.
Once it was on the drive Adam and I set about stripping it. That was pretty soul destroying. Two years to build and 6 hours to strip. We were wearing masks and gloves as its really unpleasant working on a fire damaged car, everything stinks. It was sketchy as hell getting the engine out, we were lifting the shell up with the wounded engine hoist and as we were on slope the engine wasn’t easy to manoeuvre, it was deciding which way it wanted to go. We got it all stripped in the end but it was a hard day both emotionally and physically. My eyes in the first picture tell the story.
Looking at what’s been recovered, it’s maybe not as bad as I initially thought. The parts I made for the conversion (exhaust, brackets, engine cradle) have all survived. There is oil in the sump still so I’m holding out hope the bottom end is ok. The engine looks a mess but the majority of the parts could be sourced from a naturally aspirated V6 for cheap (I think the 2.4 I bought at the start of the thread was £150 delivered). The flywheel, clutch and gearbox are ok. The driveshafts need new CV boots but are otherwise ok. I was holding out hope the ECU would have survived but it’s ruined. I was confident the turbo would be fine so was a bit gutted to find the compressor wheel is damaged (couple of blades have rounded tips). The K&N had a big hole in it and you can see the crap the turbo sucked up so my theory is perhaps the fire started earlier than when I first noticed a problem and the flames were being blown backwards by the wind which burnt the air filter, otherwise I’m not sure how the turbo would get damaged. I think the turbine wheel is ok so it shouldn’t be an expensive re-build. The charge cooler core, tank and pump are ok. The wastegate is untouched.
I’m not sure where I go from here but I’d like to think it’ll all be able to live in a Boxster again rather than split it all up.
I think this picture is quite cool, might try and keep the badge if I can get it off.
I think after watching back the video where 2 minutes after we got out, the cabin is full of smoke, perhaps at the time I didn't appreciate how lucky we actually were. Maybe if I hadn't been warned by the biker the cabin may have just suddenly filled with smoke as soon as I did eventually stop. After experiencing what a lung full of it was like, getting Sofia and myself out wouldn't have been so quick and easy.
Talk of some sort of crowd funding is very humbling. I wouldn't feel comfortable setting something up myself but if someone wanted to take it on, i'm not in a position to turn it down.
I'm not sure how achievable "Buy Escy a new Boxster" is, they aren't that cheap. The Salvage Opration
I went to the salvage yard first thing Monday morning to see what I was left with, it was a right mess. I had a good look and I decided there was enough salvageable parts to be worth getting it back. The recovery from the A470 after it burned out cost me £250. That was a nice kick in the b
ks.Due to the state of it, getting it back was a problem, the salvage yard could take it on a hiab for me but their driver was ill so they couldn’t give me a day and they charge £20 a day storage so I didn’t fancy being left in limbo. They also wanted £120 to take it to my house which was only about 10 miles. Didn’t fancy giving them more money.
There is a local guy Jamie (Prestige Transport and Recovery) who I usually use whenever I need something moving, he's good. I sent him a picture on the off chance he’d fancy it, fully expecting him to tell me no way. As we are friends on Facebook he’s knew about my Porsche build so I think he wanted to try and help me out (against his better judgement). He said he’d have a crack at it.
We did it Wednesday. I got the day off work and wanted to get it moved and completely stripped in one day so the shell can be collected quickly. My mate, Adam also took a day off work to help me which was really nice of him – I’m really lucky to have a friend like that. As it turned out I had no chance of doing it without him.
The salvage yard were able to load the car with a forklift so that side was drama free.
Getting it off wasn't drama free. First I had to get under it to cut the handbrake cables and then we used my engine hoist to raise the front end so it cleared the truck bed and Jamie winched it down slowly, we were on a hill so it was pretty hairy. I think there were a few times where Jamie was wondering what he'd got himself into. As we were unloading, the guy from the car sales place near me who had seen it Sunday morning (and asked if I’d sell it) drove past. His eyes popped out of his head when he saw it. After telling him all about it I asked him if he’d give us a hand, he obliged and ended up staying over an hour which I’m very grateful for. I’ve also got a neighbour that’s been following the build, he’s building a house on his land so had a few guys working there, they all came around so there was 9 of us in total. I was really lucky to get so many people helping, as it was a nightmare. We dragged it up the hill and into the driveway with a combination of brute force, hoisting, jacking and winching. A wheel snapped on the engine hoist which made things more complicated, I abuse that hoist. I was very lucky to have the help I got.
Once it was on the drive Adam and I set about stripping it. That was pretty soul destroying. Two years to build and 6 hours to strip. We were wearing masks and gloves as its really unpleasant working on a fire damaged car, everything stinks. It was sketchy as hell getting the engine out, we were lifting the shell up with the wounded engine hoist and as we were on slope the engine wasn’t easy to manoeuvre, it was deciding which way it wanted to go. We got it all stripped in the end but it was a hard day both emotionally and physically. My eyes in the first picture tell the story.
Looking at what’s been recovered, it’s maybe not as bad as I initially thought. The parts I made for the conversion (exhaust, brackets, engine cradle) have all survived. There is oil in the sump still so I’m holding out hope the bottom end is ok. The engine looks a mess but the majority of the parts could be sourced from a naturally aspirated V6 for cheap (I think the 2.4 I bought at the start of the thread was £150 delivered). The flywheel, clutch and gearbox are ok. The driveshafts need new CV boots but are otherwise ok. I was holding out hope the ECU would have survived but it’s ruined. I was confident the turbo would be fine so was a bit gutted to find the compressor wheel is damaged (couple of blades have rounded tips). The K&N had a big hole in it and you can see the crap the turbo sucked up so my theory is perhaps the fire started earlier than when I first noticed a problem and the flames were being blown backwards by the wind which burnt the air filter, otherwise I’m not sure how the turbo would get damaged. I think the turbine wheel is ok so it shouldn’t be an expensive re-build. The charge cooler core, tank and pump are ok. The wastegate is untouched.
I’m not sure where I go from here but I’d like to think it’ll all be able to live in a Boxster again rather than split it all up.
I think this picture is quite cool, might try and keep the badge if I can get it off.
Wow, this is so humbling. Thank you to everyone that's written me a message of support or contributed to the gofundme and a special thanks to those who've helped set it up or promote it, especially Rob for taking the time and writing such a moving campaign message, it brought a tear to my eye.
The contributions have been very generous, I really appreciate it. Thank you everyone. Today was the first day i've woken up with a smile on my face.
The contributions have been very generous, I really appreciate it. Thank you everyone. Today was the first day i've woken up with a smile on my face.
Thank you everyone, the donations have been so generous. It's lifted away the cloud i've been stuck under this week. It's such a great community.
If anyone would like to be detective and take a look at the log i'm happy to share the file. The EcuMaster software is free to download.
ooid said:
On a more technical and curious note, we have heard some porsche 718 boxsters (new flat 4 turbo engines) got caught fire and porsche did some recall (I think mainly in the usa?). Do you think the reason was the similar? was it something to do in the fuel or turbo related? I do know that you did worked on the cooling system quite carefully and considering your attention to detail, it would be interesting to see what actually caused this?
http://www.localmemphis.com/news/local-news/memphi...
I'm not sure of the cause. It's quite depressing trying to pick the bones out of it. About an hour before it happened i'd opened the engine cover to show the guy that asked to buy it the engine, I couldn't smell fuel, there was no evidence of an oil leak either (it was parked in a different position on my drive and sat there for about 20 minutes and there were no oil drops). Just no signs of the impending doom, it was running fine at the time it happened. The ecu log showed the oil pressure dropped when I heard the noise and first noticed smoke. I initially thought the oil line for the turbo had failed but after seeing there was a hole in the air filter and the turbo has ingested a load of crap I'm thinking maybe the fire started a bit before that. The fuel pressure was stable. EGT's were the same on both banks. Basically, I don't know. http://www.localmemphis.com/news/local-news/memphi...
If anyone would like to be detective and take a look at the log i'm happy to share the file. The EcuMaster software is free to download.
I'll be stripping it all down when I get a chance so will share the pictures then. Hopefully this weekend.
The damage on the turbo compressor isn't too bad, a few of the blades are slightly rounded on the tips which I guess was from sucking in the K&N. There was no obvious damage on the turbine side but I haven't removed the exhaust housing yet.
The damage on the turbo compressor isn't too bad, a few of the blades are slightly rounded on the tips which I guess was from sucking in the K&N. There was no obvious damage on the turbine side but I haven't removed the exhaust housing yet.
Thank you. You're right, looking back on it i'm starting to think we were lucky but it didn't feel very lucky as I slowly watched it burn away.
Jens1968 said:
Hope you don't mind still asking questions about your project. I can't go further with the exhaust so i'm looking at the plumbing. How dit you connect the two heater hoses to the Engine? One i could tap off from one off the radiator hoses, thats not behind the thermostat but where did you go with the other? The abz has normaly the heater hoses on the back of the engine (gearbox side)
Thnx, René
btw, can you mail me when you sent me the gear linkage?
One heater hose was connected similar to how it is as standard on the Boxster, tee'd off after the alloy pipe that comes from the expansion tank, the other was run from back of the engine, it has those plastic fittings that clip on. One of mine fittings was a 90 degree, I modified the clip slightly with a dremel so I could fit it 180 degrees, the hose just naturally snaked it's way over the bellhousing and under the exhaust manifold, almost like it was designed for the job. I just connected it up with a straight piece of hose and a couple of joiners. Hopefully this helps. I sent the parts on Friday. Thnx, René
btw, can you mail me when you sent me the gear linkage?
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