Knackered old Porsche with loads of miles - 996 content
Discussion
Fantastic thread, best in ages.
I sunk a lot of money into an e34 M5, possibly my first lottery car fully restored.
PPBB, did you consider any other cars for this treatment? I was very intrigued to read you describing how well engineered a 996 is. It's the first thing I've read that made me think I might like one, I always thought it was expediently engineered. Why this and not an older Porsche / newer Porsche / BMW M car / Audi / Ferrari 4 - seater?
I sunk a lot of money into an e34 M5, possibly my first lottery car fully restored.
PPBB, did you consider any other cars for this treatment? I was very intrigued to read you describing how well engineered a 996 is. It's the first thing I've read that made me think I might like one, I always thought it was expediently engineered. Why this and not an older Porsche / newer Porsche / BMW M car / Audi / Ferrari 4 - seater?
Baddie said:
Fantastic thread, best in ages.
I sunk a lot of money into an e34 M5, possibly my first lottery car fully restored.
PPBB, did you consider any other cars for this treatment? I was very intrigued to read you describing how well engineered a 996 is. It's the first thing I've read that made me think I might like one, I always thought it was expediently engineered. Why this and not an older Porsche / newer Porsche / BMW M car / Audi / Ferrari 4 - seater?
The M96 engine maybe isn't the pinnacle of engineering prowess but the rest of the car is very, very good with regards suspension design, packaging etc. etc. Even things like the sensor pack used by the PSM are "good kit" that is also available out of the Bosch Motorsport catalogue for race car use. I sunk a lot of money into an e34 M5, possibly my first lottery car fully restored.
PPBB, did you consider any other cars for this treatment? I was very intrigued to read you describing how well engineered a 996 is. It's the first thing I've read that made me think I might like one, I always thought it was expediently engineered. Why this and not an older Porsche / newer Porsche / BMW M car / Audi / Ferrari 4 - seater?
I've had Porsches before and have always had a soft spot for them since we raced them a while ago. I actually chose this one because I felt a bit sorry for it, it needed quite a few bits and had a very questionable history including some accident damage and blatant clocking. At the time it was about as low as the 996 market ever got so it was also very cheap and was a none sunroof car which are pretty rare. It also had the sweet spot of a mid-99 3.4 which had the dual row IMS bearing. As whatever I went for was going to have a lot of reprep to make it reliable and I'm not much of a fan of modern stuff this seemed to tick all the boxes. Lots of miles later I don't regret it and I think the car is pretty happy not to have ended up with some horrific wheels and a bad wrap like so many 996s at the bottom of the market do.
I still think today the 996 is an utter bargain for what it is and a good one, even 17 years later is still capable of keeping some modern stuff honest. They're not especially quick 0-100mph, no more so than a modern hot hatch, but the low drag and excellent chassis means they are capable of big speeds on not a lot of power and can "do" handling very well.
poppopbangbang said:
The M96 engine maybe isn't the pinnacle of engineering prowess but the rest of the car is very, very good with regards suspension design, packaging etc. etc. Even things like the sensor pack used by the PSM are "good kit" that is also available out of the Bosch Motorsport catalogue for race car use.
I've had Porsches before and have always had a soft spot for them since we raced them a while ago. I actually chose this one because I felt a bit sorry for it, it needed quite a few bits and had a very questionable history including some accident damage and blatant clocking. At the time it was about as low as the 996 market ever got so it was also very cheap and was a none sunroof car which are pretty rare. It also had the sweet spot of a mid-99 3.4 which had the dual row IMS bearing. As whatever I went for was going to have a lot of reprep to make it reliable and I'm not much of a fan of modern stuff this seemed to tick all the boxes. Lots of miles later I don't regret it and I think the car is pretty happy not to have ended up with some horrific wheels and a bad wrap like so many 996s at the bottom of the market do.
I still think today the 996 is an utter bargain for what it is and a good one, even 17 years later is still capable of keeping some modern stuff honest. They're not especially quick 0-100mph, no more so than a modern hot hatch, but the low drag and excellent chassis means they are capable of big speeds on not a lot of power and can "do" handling very well.
Thank you.I've had Porsches before and have always had a soft spot for them since we raced them a while ago. I actually chose this one because I felt a bit sorry for it, it needed quite a few bits and had a very questionable history including some accident damage and blatant clocking. At the time it was about as low as the 996 market ever got so it was also very cheap and was a none sunroof car which are pretty rare. It also had the sweet spot of a mid-99 3.4 which had the dual row IMS bearing. As whatever I went for was going to have a lot of reprep to make it reliable and I'm not much of a fan of modern stuff this seemed to tick all the boxes. Lots of miles later I don't regret it and I think the car is pretty happy not to have ended up with some horrific wheels and a bad wrap like so many 996s at the bottom of the market do.
I still think today the 996 is an utter bargain for what it is and a good one, even 17 years later is still capable of keeping some modern stuff honest. They're not especially quick 0-100mph, no more so than a modern hot hatch, but the low drag and excellent chassis means they are capable of big speeds on not a lot of power and can "do" handling very well.
I was always impressed by the performance from 3.4 litres, and from that efficiency the economy.
I currently drive a 2.5t Mondeo Mk4, which is an excellent car for what it is, but interestingly is not significantly better on fuel at high speed than my 3.8 litre M5.
It's nice to know Porsche engineered their cars well even when pennies were being pinched. A Land Rover friend has bad stories from the days when they lost market to the Japanese.
Epic piece of PHing, like one of the 'Boys Own' type stories I loved as a kid:
"Code name PPBB: an F1expert mechanic, with an ultra-high spec bespoke-modified Porsche 996. His job: driving through the night across Africa at high speed, delivering urgent packages faster than a plane. Occasionally it's dangerous, but then for those occasions, he's built a few extra counter-measures...."
Someone seriously needs to make a film. Anyway, thanks for making the unfairly overlooked 996 sound wildly glamorous. Made my day.
"Code name PPBB: an F1expert mechanic, with an ultra-high spec bespoke-modified Porsche 996. His job: driving through the night across Africa at high speed, delivering urgent packages faster than a plane. Occasionally it's dangerous, but then for those occasions, he's built a few extra counter-measures...."
Someone seriously needs to make a film. Anyway, thanks for making the unfairly overlooked 996 sound wildly glamorous. Made my day.
Edited by 67Dino on Saturday 18th June 03:35
LaurasOtherHalf said:
Might be a daft question, but how do you safely carry a gearbox in the cabin with you?! I'm not exactly a risk averse kind of bloke but I'm not sure even I would want to be doing those big speeds with something that heavy not extremely well secured 
No pas seat = big tie downs available 
Doofus said:
It occurred to me that if a piece of equipment misses the plane, it must be quicker to put it on the next plane, rather than have you drive half way across Europe, let alone all the way to Africa.
A lot of it can't be flown because of the materials it contains. Also quite often travel is via charter flights so chartering a whole additional plane to take a set of wishbones and a wing flap out is not really cost effective. poppopbangbang said:
The aircon condensers sit in front of the radiators which reduces flow through the rads and therefore cooling ability. Many people fit a third radiator but in doing so this increases drag quite considerably so I didn't want to do that.
Thanks! How about the radiators, waterpump and cooling fans? How many times have you changed them during your 300k lifetime so far? Sorry if you had already mentioned that, had a quick second browse but could not find it. I'm particularly interested in cooling system on both 996 and 986, especially the life-time of these essential components.ooid said:
Thanks! How about the radiators, waterpump and cooling fans? How many times have you changed them during your 300k lifetime so far? Sorry if you had already mentioned that, had a quick second browse but could not find it. I'm particularly interested in cooling system on both 996 and 986, especially the life-time of these essential components.
Water pump is changed yearly as it's a metal impellor item so needs changing before the bearing fails to avoid damaging anything else. It's on its third set of rads and original cooling fans. poppopbangbang said:
Water pump is changed yearly as it's a metal impellor item so needs changing before the bearing fails to avoid damaging anything else. It's on its third set of rads and original cooling fans.
Thank you so much again, it's a very important info I guess. So would it be okay to say, in order to keep these cars running, a super-maintained cooling system is a must! changing waterpump a year, and having clean radiators three times, which would also avoid needing fans running that often I assume? (considering that you also change the coolant earlier than necessary)I've said it before and I'll say it again; There will come a time, in the near future, when you won't be able to find ANY 911 for under £20k.
Grab your 996's while you can, but please drive the damn things, don't squirrel them away. These cars thrive on being driven.
Just got back from the gym...and as I was walking out through the car park a guy drove past slowly in a silver 996/1 C4, complete with GT3 rear wing! I think the universe is trying to tell me something!
Grab your 996's while you can, but please drive the damn things, don't squirrel them away. These cars thrive on being driven.
Just got back from the gym...and as I was walking out through the car park a guy drove past slowly in a silver 996/1 C4, complete with GT3 rear wing! I think the universe is trying to tell me something!
Edited by Hellbound on Saturday 18th June 20:36
poppopbangbang said:
A lot of it can't be flown because of the materials it contains. Also quite often travel is via charter flights so chartering a whole additional plane to take a set of wishbones and a wing flap out is not really cost effective.
Fair enough. The next time you do an overnight delivery dash and then realise you've left something behind, let me know. 
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