Red 3.4 Carrera
Discussion
rainmasterb said:
Still planning on fitting some stone guards?
Yes, I was looking at buying some magnetic sheet to make removeable ones, but I haven't done anything about it yet. I might just get a local graphics shop to make a batch of 10 instead. You have reminded me to get a quote!
DoubleTime said:
Passed a 996 on the motorway the other day and couldn’t remember the last time it happened but they are definitely aging well and look quite petit compared to modern stuff.
You are right about its size; you don't get perspective from photos. Modern cars have swollen so much that the 996 now looks pretty due to its compact dimensions. It is 23 years old, after all!I have been working with a local vinyl graphics company to produce some shark fins for the 996. John, the guy at designstuffonline came to my house with an old template that he had. We stuck it to the car, noted the areas that needed fine tuning and he re-did it. He came back with the new ones, stuck them on, and I am very happy with them!
They mimic the 996 CSR design, but these are a little smaller. Currently in a matt textured stoneguard vinyl, but I am also going to try a slightly darker shade of red to the body, in a similar style to the 997 carrera classic. The 997 style give the arch flare a bit more shading to accentuate its width, so I'd like to see if it does the 996 NB and favours.
You may have noticed that I removed the black part of the decklid in the photos above. That was a pain in the arse, until I found out that wd40 dissolves rubber paint, but doesn't harm the actual paint. So a couple of goes with WD40 and a jet wash made life much easier.
Although I've decided I want the black decklid look, I still took the decision to repaint it with the other type of temporary paint that is available in Halfords, I think it's called redo or renu or something. That stuff gives a much much nicer finish, it's more durable, and it comes with a removal spray.
Whilst I had the paint out, I made a mini-me, just because
Unfortunately, the car has only left the garage once for the first set of photos, so I will get some more now the weather has changed for the better.
I tackled a very annoying squeak whilst it's been parked up though. It appears to be caused by the leather on the door rubbing against the paint. I carefully removed the door card with trim tools and took a look around, but there were no obvious items that required attention. It was really nice to see that the door membrane as never been removed and all of the date stamps in the door are from 1997. I ran some felt tape along the door where the card contacts it (but remaining invisible to the eye) and reassemble it. Now pressing to door card in the known squeaky spot is cured.
The next thing to sort is my gear stick self centring issue. I thought this was a classic case of worn out or sticking shift cables. These can be successfully lubricated to improve their operation, so I got to work disconnecting the cables from the shifter.
Upon disconnecting the cables at the gearbox, I exercised the neutral arm on the gearbox, expecting it to return to centre after each operation. It didn't...
After some investigation, I found the offending item is a small spring that sits underneath a metal plug in the top of the gearbox. So I have ordered a new spring, sealing plug and circlip from Porsche for about £1.50 all in. Unfortunately I need to drop the gearbox to access this and the technical manual says the sealing plug must be drilled out with a 3.5mm drill, then a sheet metal screw is inserted and used to prise it out. So I have ordered myself a floor transmission jack and I will tackle this in the next few weeks - hopefully before the track day.
They mimic the 996 CSR design, but these are a little smaller. Currently in a matt textured stoneguard vinyl, but I am also going to try a slightly darker shade of red to the body, in a similar style to the 997 carrera classic. The 997 style give the arch flare a bit more shading to accentuate its width, so I'd like to see if it does the 996 NB and favours.
You may have noticed that I removed the black part of the decklid in the photos above. That was a pain in the arse, until I found out that wd40 dissolves rubber paint, but doesn't harm the actual paint. So a couple of goes with WD40 and a jet wash made life much easier.
Although I've decided I want the black decklid look, I still took the decision to repaint it with the other type of temporary paint that is available in Halfords, I think it's called redo or renu or something. That stuff gives a much much nicer finish, it's more durable, and it comes with a removal spray.
Whilst I had the paint out, I made a mini-me, just because
Unfortunately, the car has only left the garage once for the first set of photos, so I will get some more now the weather has changed for the better.
I tackled a very annoying squeak whilst it's been parked up though. It appears to be caused by the leather on the door rubbing against the paint. I carefully removed the door card with trim tools and took a look around, but there were no obvious items that required attention. It was really nice to see that the door membrane as never been removed and all of the date stamps in the door are from 1997. I ran some felt tape along the door where the card contacts it (but remaining invisible to the eye) and reassemble it. Now pressing to door card in the known squeaky spot is cured.
The next thing to sort is my gear stick self centring issue. I thought this was a classic case of worn out or sticking shift cables. These can be successfully lubricated to improve their operation, so I got to work disconnecting the cables from the shifter.
Upon disconnecting the cables at the gearbox, I exercised the neutral arm on the gearbox, expecting it to return to centre after each operation. It didn't...
After some investigation, I found the offending item is a small spring that sits underneath a metal plug in the top of the gearbox. So I have ordered a new spring, sealing plug and circlip from Porsche for about £1.50 all in. Unfortunately I need to drop the gearbox to access this and the technical manual says the sealing plug must be drilled out with a 3.5mm drill, then a sheet metal screw is inserted and used to prise it out. So I have ordered myself a floor transmission jack and I will tackle this in the next few weeks - hopefully before the track day.
Edited by Alfred Pina on Monday 29th March 14:52
That looks like a fun job, tiny part cost but muchos hassle, although i suspect the end result will result in a feeling worth the effort.
Its funny how 996's weren't regarded as much of a looker on release (i have always liked them, especially the non turbo shell) and are now coming into fashion.
I think this is a fabulous car, really useable in the uk.
.....off to the classifieds we go
Its funny how 996's weren't regarded as much of a looker on release (i have always liked them, especially the non turbo shell) and are now coming into fashion.
I think this is a fabulous car, really useable in the uk.
.....off to the classifieds we go
Nice work, the stone guards look great.
Have to say though, I’m not a fan of the amber lights now - I think they conflict with the overall red and black theme. Each to their own and all that, but for me two colours on a car exterior is plenty, and as you’ve got a lot of grey/black touches now (which all look great) I think the amber grates a bit.
Lovely car either way
Have to say though, I’m not a fan of the amber lights now - I think they conflict with the overall red and black theme. Each to their own and all that, but for me two colours on a car exterior is plenty, and as you’ve got a lot of grey/black touches now (which all look great) I think the amber grates a bit.
Lovely car either way
Volvolover said:
That looks like a fun job, tiny part cost but muchos hassle, although i suspect the end result will result in a feeling worth the effort.
Its funny how 996's weren't regarded as much of a looker on release (i have always liked them, especially the non turbo shell) and are now coming into fashion.
I think this is a fabulous car, really useable in the uk.
.....off to the classifieds we go
Always the case. I went out for a very spirited drive yesterday and the gear level does self centre once it's hot. So I am not too worried if I don't get chance to sort out the issue before the track day. I will just pay special attention to 2nd to 3rd gear changes. The parts aren't at Porsche yet.Its funny how 996's weren't regarded as much of a looker on release (i have always liked them, especially the non turbo shell) and are now coming into fashion.
I think this is a fabulous car, really useable in the uk.
.....off to the classifieds we go
rainmasterb said:
Nice work, the stone guards look great.
Have to say though, I’m not a fan of the amber lights now - I think they conflict with the overall red and black theme. Each to their own and all that, but for me two colours on a car exterior is plenty, and as you’ve got a lot of grey/black touches now (which all look great) I think the amber grates a bit.
Lovely car either way
I get what you mean, I will take off the ambers soon and we can have a comparison then. I like the changes so far though, but I'm not entirely settled - so maybe it's the ambers that are conflicting me too.Have to say though, I’m not a fan of the amber lights now - I think they conflict with the overall red and black theme. Each to their own and all that, but for me two colours on a car exterior is plenty, and as you’ve got a lot of grey/black touches now (which all look great) I think the amber grates a bit.
Lovely car either way
I have just bought another car to work on, so my time is getting focussed on that at the moment. A new car day is always a happy day, especially when you've bought it unseen from the other side of the country and had it delivered, and it turns out to be exactly as described
Track day at Cadwell was fantastic. It was my first time there and the week leading up to the day was forecasting 100% chance of rain. Luckily, this wasn't the case and the sun shone. I normally like a wet track day, but with this track being so narrow and all the run-off being grass, having no traction control and being the idiot could have ended up badly!
I went with 2 friends, one with an NA1 NSX and the other a TTRS.
The 996 performed really well all day. I always take care not to go crazy on left-hand corners, due to the M96 engines Achilles heel of oil starvation. But, Cadwell isn't anything like the 996 killer Oulton is...
The telemetry was enabled to run in the background on the last session. Out of 7 laps, I ran an average of 1:52 with my fastest @ 1:49.3 which seems pretty good for an essentially stock 996 that wasn't being wrung by the neck.
I went with 2 friends, one with an NA1 NSX and the other a TTRS.
The 996 performed really well all day. I always take care not to go crazy on left-hand corners, due to the M96 engines Achilles heel of oil starvation. But, Cadwell isn't anything like the 996 killer Oulton is...
The telemetry was enabled to run in the background on the last session. Out of 7 laps, I ran an average of 1:52 with my fastest @ 1:49.3 which seems pretty good for an essentially stock 996 that wasn't being wrung by the neck.
SarlechS said:
Lovely pics, what was the pace like compared with the NSX?
The NSX didn't get driven to it's potential, mainly due to the fact he didn't want any big bills. On the road though, there isn't much between the two in outright pace - but the 996 clearly has the edge.therealsamdailly said:
Fair play, that looks absolutely brilliant
Thanks. It was a really good day and I have been looking back at some videos fondly. It reminds me that I should book to do track days more often 
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