Knackered old Porsche with loads of miles - 996 content
Discussion
Hi All. Having had a 997.2 C2 manual, and now a 981 S S-A, I’m keen to get back to a 911 and this thread is a huge inspiration to do so! I’m now looking out for a decent 996 C4. Does anyone know how I can get in touch with PPBB? I’d like some advice on the ti fixings PPBB has used, to help make the car I buy easier to maintain, given the age of these now. I’m hoping a 996 C4 will be more feel-some than the 981 that, whilst great, is perhaps too comfortable at legal speeds. Many thanks! James.
Yes afraid they're out of production these days chaps - having had a couple of the Stomski jigs go AWOL and more than one set of studs "definitely not delivered" and claimed for via Paypal (despite them all being delivered via RM Special Delivery and being signed for) it just wasn't worth bothering with something that was more of a favour to other 996 owners than a money making exercise..... it definitely wasn't the latter as it cost me a good 300 quid in the end 
poppopbangbang said:
Yes afraid they're out of production these days chaps - having had a couple of the Stomski jigs go AWOL and more than one set of studs "definitely not delivered" and claimed for via Paypal (despite them all being delivered via RM Special Delivery and being signed for) it just wasn't worth bothering with something that was more of a favour to other 996 owners than a money making exercise..... it definitely wasn't the latter as it cost me a good 300 quid in the end
It’s a shame you had some challenges. I’m grateful for your reply and keen to see and hear how the car is and what your next plans are, with the front axle motor testing? And anything else? It’s such an interesting and inspiring journey!vtecblack said:
Hi All. Having had a 997.2 C2 manual, and now a 981 S S-A, I’m keen to get back to a 911 and this thread is a huge inspiration to do so! I’m now looking out for a decent 996 C4. Does anyone know how I can get in touch with PPBB? I’d like some advice on the ti fixings PPBB has used, to help make the car I buy easier to maintain, given the age of these now. I’m hoping a 996 C4 will be more feel-some than the 981 that, whilst great, is perhaps too comfortable at legal speeds. Many thanks! James.
After advice from PPBB, I bought Ti studs from my local faster supplier and I got k-nuts from a specific motorsport supplier. I rented the jig from a guy in nottingham who I found on the 996 forumseltax91 said:
After advice from PPBB, I bought Ti studs from my local faster supplier and I got k-nuts from a specific motorsport supplier. I rented the jig from a guy in nottingham who I found on the 996 forums
Thanks for the info. I’m also interested in the topic of Motion Rate - do you have any info on this or good reference guides, please? Ta.
Given the seats from the 996 are now a permanent fixture in the workshop, something is clearly afoot:
Quite a few have asked if I still have the car and if it is still in use, I do and it is indeed but is starting to show its age a little in some areas - which one can't really blame it for as it's done 21 winters of use as well as being a van for a good chunk of its life!
Over the past year I've been collating and planning various parts for the car, including a full carbon front end, and the car is in the process of coming apart ready for a big refresh. The use case has changed somewhat since it was first built and the target this time around is to keep its long range ability, modernise the general feel of the car, add some creature comforts (like air con) but keep it lean and lightweight where possible with a focus on getting it ready for the next 23 years of use.
This will be a multi-month project with the target of getting it back on the road around Feb 23. I'll post the odd update during the process
Oh and don't worry, it's not going EV and will retain its 3.7L
Quite a few have asked if I still have the car and if it is still in use, I do and it is indeed but is starting to show its age a little in some areas - which one can't really blame it for as it's done 21 winters of use as well as being a van for a good chunk of its life!
Over the past year I've been collating and planning various parts for the car, including a full carbon front end, and the car is in the process of coming apart ready for a big refresh. The use case has changed somewhat since it was first built and the target this time around is to keep its long range ability, modernise the general feel of the car, add some creature comforts (like air con) but keep it lean and lightweight where possible with a focus on getting it ready for the next 23 years of use.
This will be a multi-month project with the target of getting it back on the road around Feb 23. I'll post the odd update during the process
Oh and don't worry, it's not going EV and will retain its 3.7L
Just re-read the full thread, it's great stuff!
@PPBB - A few pages back you said that the 3.7 was a great engine "for a road car". If you were going to be tracking the car more frequently and spending fewer miles on the road would you change anything about the engine spec or ancillaries like cooling & lubrication?
@PPBB - A few pages back you said that the 3.7 was a great engine "for a road car". If you were going to be tracking the car more frequently and spending fewer miles on the road would you change anything about the engine spec or ancillaries like cooling & lubrication?
WojaWabbit said:
Just re-read the full thread, it's great stuff!
@PPBB - A few pages back you said that the 3.7 was a great engine "for a road car". If you were going to be tracking the car more frequently and spending fewer miles on the road would you change anything about the engine spec or ancillaries like cooling & lubrication?
A good track car is very far from a good road car with very different goals in terms of driveability, operating regime and life. Really a lot of a good track car is just as much in the gearbox as it is in the engine so if I was going to turn it into a track car the first thing to do would be convert it to 2WD and fit a sequential gearbox, probably not a Cup car Hollinger as I don't like several things about them like the use of a standard casing that requires the barrel position sensor to be driven off a secondary shaft making accurate barrel position sensing less reliable, something that's essential for paddle shift. I'd probably start with seeing how far off a Sadev SL-90 was from fitting (and if it minded being upside down!) and go from there. @PPBB - A few pages back you said that the 3.7 was a great engine "for a road car". If you were going to be tracking the car more frequently and spending fewer miles on the road would you change anything about the engine spec or ancillaries like cooling & lubrication?
Then it's all about inertia in the motor really. So the flywheel, clutch etc. would need to get very skinny along with anything else that rotates. With regards oiling and cooling, the latter is good for 400bhp in 40 degrees C at 100mph so over'spec for what the engine makes. For oiling I'd want to run some more scavenge on the heads but the existing sump (which is baffled and trap doored) would likely be good enough for my driving skills, if not the only sensible option would be to modify the sump to run with an external pressure stage and tank.
The engine itself would just need a change in cam profile to move the torque up the rev range, probably aiming for peak power around 7000RPM rather than 6600'ish, room for cam lift and intake allowing. Maybe a bit of exhaust manifold tuning as well but it's probably got another 25bhp or so in it with this at the expense of torque lower in the rev range. Or you'd just fit a 997 Cup Car motor
If you'd done all that then to take advantage of it all the road car uprights don't carry a big enough bearings or support brake cooling, the pickup points are in the wrong place and you'd probably want to make a proper floor, then dampers, fuel cell etc. etc.
As it is it is perfectly capable of doing track days, but if you wanted a quick track car you'd buy an ex Cup car and benefit from all the development and durability work Porsche spent a lot of money doing.... in kind of the same way you could road legal a Cup car and do Cannes to Calais in it, but you'd be much better off just doing that in mine and probably do it quicker- horses for courses and all that
When I say the 3.7 is a great road engine it's because it makes excellent torque through most of the rev range, the vast majority of which it is north of 300ftlbs. This makes it fantastic for mile munching and genuinely nippy for a 23 year old road car. The low rpm limit, big oil capacity and standard valve train and ancils also makes it pretty reliable and cheap to run whilst making a good increase in power over a standard 3.4.
I'd love to do a proper 996 track car, starting with a Cup car and a load of modern motorsport technology - paddles and KERS would be perfection. I'm a huge fan of the old 997 GT3 R Hybrid with the WAE flywheel KERS:
So doing "that" but with battery KERS and a few other bits would be a fantastic project, possibly with the V1 setup of driver controlled deploy and harvest to keep things interesting..... maybe next year once I've finished rebuilding the 996
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