2002 Boxster S - up spec overhaul for Le Mans duty

[Julian Thompson]

shalmaneser said:

I'm not sure if it's the same on the 986 as the 996 but I found fitting H&R anti roll bars to my 996 has made the M030 kit really sharpen up. Might be worth looking in to, and if you don't get on with the setup then you'll be able to use the ARBs with coilovers as well!

Interesting point because on track it definitely rolls more than you’d want.

I think in the new year I’m going to sell the M030 kit and, as you say, look at some modern coil overs.

Annoyingly I damaged the dashboard over the winter with an Autoglym air conditioning sanitiser. I didn’t understand the instructions which called for the aerosol to be placed at 45 degrees in the cardboard box. I’ve used other similar products before which called for the gas to be expelled vertically into the cabin.

So I placed the product in the footwell, facing up, set it off and went inside for a cup of tea. When I returned this is the horror that awaited me:



The plume of gas had condensed in the air and run down the dash - I tried my hardest to fix it but it has knackered the airbag panel (the dash cleaned up ok) and also the horseshoe panel in the middle is spoiled.

This is how it looks now:



No matter what you do the airbag dries out and returns to that colour.

So now I’ll have to strip the airbag out, find a replacement on ebay and also remove and repaint the horseshoe as the chemical has literally burned through the lacquer on that.

So a bit of a warning - don’t cock up with the autoglym sanitiser because it’s seriously nasty.

Other than that the car is running well but it’s basically off the road now for winter except for an occasional run to warm it up on dry roads as at present it’s outside.

Given that 2021 looks to be a busy year for me on circuit I am hoping to refresh the car again and use it as a support vehicle in case my track car breaks and I need to save the day.

Still can’t believe how cheap these Boxster’s are!

[shalmaneser]

There was an option to have the horseshoe body coloured. Depending on how handy you are with the spray cans but it might be worth giving that a go instead of buying a replacement. A minor upgrade, too!

[SpeckledJim]

Silver might be a bit loud, but an anthracite might look good, imo.

[Julian Thompson]

Mm. I actually painted the interior panels in the shiny gloss black a couple of years back so I can fix it. Just would have preferred not to!

That’ll teach me not to read instructions properly.

At least the main dash is ok.

Wonder how heavy that passenger air bag is?

[Heaveho]

Might be worth speaking to one of those firms that do interior repairs before anything else. I would expect them to be able to fix the discolouration on the airbag cover relatively easily. I'd also be tempted to put a little heat on it, that can sometimes lift the colour back up. Does it seem like it's been bleached, or more that there's a residue on it that you can't shift?

[Mij91]

Heaveho said:

Might be worth speaking to one of those firms that do interior repairs before anything else. I would expect them to be able to fix the discolouration on the airbag cover relatively easily. I'd also be tempted to put a little heat on it, that can sometimes lift the colour back up. Does it seem like it's been bleached, or more that there's a residue on it that you can't shift?

Agree with this, its amazing what some of these companies can do, they spray it but you would never tell.

[Julian Thompson]

Seems like it has been bleached to me yes. It’s extremely strange!

[Julian Thompson]

You wouldn’t happen to know the name of a firm that does that would you? Having said that I can get a panel for £20 off eBay and it can’t be too hard to change it.

[UnderSteerD]

Have you tried GTechniq Permanent Trim Restorer? I've used this stuff a couple of times and it really is excellent. I can't speak highly enough of it.

It might be worth a try as a last option, before you replace the part.