what is an 'early' 3.4 996?

[jonny996]

ATM said:

SteveStrange said:

I'd say that was an utter bargain.

Yeah I agree

if I seen that advertised for that price I would be asking myself, what's the catch. I think you are a good few thousand to light.

[SteveStrange]

jonny996 said:

ATM said:

SteveStrange said:

I'd say that was an utter bargain.

Yeah I agree

if I seen that advertised for that price I would be asking myself, what's the catch. I think you are a good few thousand to light.

I would have thought that was a £20k car all day long, with no haggling. Ducktail, seats, brakes done, new clutch, new (premium) tyres, comfortably sub 100k miles, coilovers, suspension arms, decent stereo, it's pretty much a complete package. That would be a near £30k car from FGP, IMO.

[shalmaneser]

Mikeeb said:

shalmaneser said:

It's hard to value these cars to some extent, looking at Autotrader would lead you to believe a '99 70k C2 manual would be £20k all day long but I don't think those cars actually sell.

Ebay more representative I reckon.

I'm tempted to sell mine now that I've discovered I can't fit little miss mini-Shalmaneser in the back for at least twelve months. Having naughty thoughts about a V10 BMW while I still can. But I would miss the small size and low weight of the 996, it's such a perfect sports car.... But that V10...

I had the V10 in a M6 for a couple of years. The engine is epic. The gearbox is great as long as you drive it as a manual. Don’t hope for slush box/dsg auto type driving.

But it is a big car and a chunk heavier especially the M5.

They also have their own list of engine foibles….. Lastly, fuel consumption, at a 70mph cruise I’d get a measured 22/23. Commuting type traffic 12mpg!!!!

Glad I did it but wouldn’t go back.

It would be the M6 as a) I love coupes b) they seem to offer better value to me, also lighter. it wouldn't be a daily anyway so fuel consumption not hugely important but 20mpg on the motorway would hurt a bit... Not too bothered about the gearbox, I don't want a auto anyway and would plan to manual swap it in the long run.

We shall see I went for a drive in the 996 the other day and it really is a wonderful machine.

[nunpuncher]

I appreciate all the comments of it being (too) well priced. I guess when I eventually get my finger out and do an actual ad we'll find out pretty quick if it's too cheap.

[Mikeeb]

shalmaneser said:

It would be the M6 as a) I love coupes b) they seem to offer better value to me, also lighter. it wouldn't be a daily anyway so fuel consumption not hugely important but 20mpg on the motorway would hurt a bit... Not too bothered about the gearbox, I don't want a auto anyway and would plan to manual swap it in the long run.

We shall see I went for a drive in the 996 the other day and it really is a wonderful machine.

For me a manual swap would take away from it. Part of the car is the way it bangs through the gears in M mode on the paddles making the tyres chirp.

I think with the 6 speed manual box you have to work harder to keep in it Rev sweet spot. And I’m a manual gearbox fan.

[ATM]

nunpuncher said:

I appreciate all the comments of it being (too) well priced. I guess when I eventually get my finger out and do an actual ad we'll find out pretty quick if it's too cheap.

Can we get first dibs on this forum please? No need for a full ad. Just let us know when the time is right and we'll form an orderly queue.

[Mikeeb]

ATM said:

Can we get first dibs on this forum please? No need for a full ad. Just let us know when the time is right and we'll form an orderly queue.

Sorry to interrupt the thread but ATM did you get the PM I sent you?

[jonny996]

ATM said:

nunpuncher said:

I appreciate all the comments of it being (too) well priced. I guess when I eventually get my finger out and do an actual ad we'll find out pretty quick if it's too cheap.

Can we get first dibs on this forum please? No need for a full ad. Just let us know when the time is right and we'll form an orderly queue.

Yes stick a 2 line on here & save yourself the hassle, good to go to good home

[MrC986]

Mikeeb said:

I have the lower back support issue. What seats did you fit?

Thanks

I’ve sent you a PM as well.

[Mikeeb]

MrC986 said:

I’ve sent you a PM as well.

They look great. Thanks for the pictures

[Slippydiff]

Mikeeb said:

I had the V10 in a M6 for a couple of years. The engine is epic. The gearbox is great as long as you drive it as a manual. Don’t hope for slush box/dsg auto type driving.

But it is a big car and a chunk heavier especially the M5.

They also have their own list of engine foibles….. Lastly, fuel consumption, at a 70mph cruise I’d get a measured 22/23. Commuting type traffic 12mpg!!!!

Glad I did it but wouldn’t go back.

Worth it for the noise, superlative chassis/balance and outright shove when you’re really on it though
Simply wonderful cars, often misunderstood, frequently worked on by technicians who aren’t familiar with them, but still bloody brilliant !!

Bork factor off the scale, fuel bills and trips to the local filling station likewise ...

[Mikeeb]

Slippydiff said:

Worth it for the noise, superlative chassis/balance and outright shove when you’re really on it though
Simply wonderful cars, often misunderstood, frequently worked on by technicians who aren’t familiar with them, but still bloody brilliant !!e biggest day to day annoyance

Bork factor off the scale, fuel bills and trips to the local filling station likewise ...

Yes it was a great car. I think the biggest day to day annoyance was the 60 litre fuel tank. It felt like I was turning in to a fuel station every 10 minutes. I had a CL55 Komoressor before the M6 similar fuel consumption (better in town) but with a 90 litre tank much fewer stops!

[ATM]

Mikeeb said:

Sorry to interrupt the thread but ATM did you get the PM I sent you?

Got it

[Slippydiff]

Mikeeb said:

Slippydiff said:

Worth it for the noise, superlative chassis/balance and outright shove when you’re really on it though
Simply wonderful cars, often misunderstood, frequently worked on by technicians who aren’t familiar with them, but still bloody brilliant !!e biggest day to day annoyance

Bork factor off the scale, fuel bills and trips to the local filling station likewise ...

Yes it was a great car. I think the biggest day to day annoyance was the 60 litre fuel tank. It felt like I was turning in to a fuel station every 10 minutes. I had a CL55 Komoressor before the M6 similar fuel consumption (better in town) but with a 90 litre tank much fewer stops!

My record was three fill ups in a day
Is that Silver Grey or Silverstone Blue ?

[Mikeeb]

Slippydiff said:

My record was three fill ups in a day
Is that Silver Grey or Silverstone Blue ?

Silverstone Blue with Silverstone interior.

[shalmaneser]

Slippydiff said:

Mikeeb said:

I had the V10 in a M6 for a couple of years. The engine is epic. The gearbox is great as long as you drive it as a manual. Don’t hope for slush box/dsg auto type driving.

But it is a big car and a chunk heavier especially the M5.

They also have their own list of engine foibles….. Lastly, fuel consumption, at a 70mph cruise I’d get a measured 22/23. Commuting type traffic 12mpg!!!!

Glad I did it but wouldn’t go back.

Worth it for the noise, superlative chassis/balance and outright shove when you’re really on it though
Simply wonderful cars, often misunderstood, frequently worked on by technicians who aren’t familiar with them, but still bloody brilliant !!

Bork factor off the scale, fuel bills and trips to the local filling station likewise ...

It's the engine (obviously) that would be the star attraction. I worry if I could ever actually use it though, it's hardly a track car and burying your foot on the public road would see you in pretty shady legal territory fairly quickly... 996 so good in that regard, you can still wring it's neck and not be in straight to prison territory.

I'd get the rod bearings swapped out as I bought it so I reckon the major engine issue would be safe. Gearbox problems look mainly to be either clutch (buy one with a recent replacement) or pump (not too bad to DIY a new motor from what I can see). Throttle actuators looks a pretty trivial job tbh. The rest is just E63 bits.

I don't daily my car anyway as I'm in the big smoke, so it would be weekends and holidays so fuelling not super important. Would the gearbox drive me mad making my way to the M25 though? Hmmmm.

[Mikeeb]

shalmaneser said:

It's the engine (obviously) that would be the star attraction. I worry if I could ever actually use it though, it's hardly a track car and burying your foot on the public road would see you in pretty shady legal territory fairly quickly... 996 so good in that regard, you can still wring it's neck and not be in straight to prison territory.

I'd get the rod bearings swapped out as I bought it so I reckon the major engine issue would be safe. Gearbox problems look mainly to be either clutch (buy one with a recent replacement) or pump (not too bad to DIY a new motor from what I can see). Throttle actuators looks a pretty trivial job tbh. The rest is just E63 bits.

I don't daily my car anyway as I'm in the big smoke, so it would be weekends and holidays so fuelling not super important. Would the gearbox drive me mad making my way to the M25 though? Hmmmm.

You’re right, use the engine and you’re doing silly speeds. I often felt I could drive the car hard because of it. It’s also a big car to throw around on the road.

I used to commute through Croydon in mine. I always drove in manual mode. The gearbox was never a problem.

I loved the car but much prefer my 996.

[WojaWabbit]

Thanks for the replies re: Sports seats. I made the onward journey without as much trouble as I had the night prior to posting, but still not great. A couple of hours seems to be right for taking a break, stretching the legs and then continuing on. I'll address that in due course.

So it made it to Germany, Destination Nurburgring Had a few decent runs over 130mph on derestricted parts of the Autobahn and the car felt great. Monday morning started off well enough, even considering the sodding wet conditions on track. Instruction from Laurin at https://johlen-coaching.de/ was invaluable, he had me cracking along on the wet line, regularly passing considerably more focused machinery with drivers who were using the dry line.





The car was performing brilliantly, the new Eagle F1 Asymmetric 6s were superb, as were the newly installed PFC pads.

Unfortunately, it only lasted until lunchtime, when I went to get fuel and noticed a loud ticking/tapping noise from the rear - bugger! The car was still pulling well on track up until that point, held good oil pressure, no warning lights or smoke or any symptoms other than the ticking noise. I wrote Monday off, rented a Fiesta ST from RSR for the following day and tried to figure out what to do with the old pork. The car was still driveable so I gently crept along to The Crown Performance and asked them to drop the oil and throw in some 10W-60 to see if that quietened things down enough for me to make it to the ferry in Amsterdam on Wednesday. What they found wasn't good...



The noise wasn't silenced by the heavier-weight oil. Luckily my instructor put me in touch with a guy who would be heading back to the UK with an empty trailer - Flacht Motorsport in Kent. So that's what's going to happen next week. Tuesday in the Fiesta was really good fun, I still had a great trip and it meant I could get the beers in on the way back without worrying about driving the next day as I was catching a lift home from my mate.

Going to speak to a couple of companies about diagnostics and rebuild options. I have an indie in Scotland that I used with my old 996, but he's super busy just now, so will need to see what the time frame is. I think he'd be good for diagnostics and rectification, and also the cheapest option, but I'm thinking that I may as well upgrade and future-proof it while the engine is out, which I don't think he'd do as he's more a maintenance workshop than a performance workshop. Hartech and Track-Powertrain are on the list at the moment. Happy to listen to other suggestions.

Currently keeping fingers and toes crossed that it's just a top-end rattle from a lifter, follower, spring or similar. Also hoping the debris hasn't scored the bores. It certainly doesn't sound like it's a bottom-end issue, but we'll find out soon enough. It was going to get rebuilt eventually, the schedule has just been brought forward a bit which means the chassis upgrades that were going to happen first will need to wait a bit longer.

[Mikeeb]

Fingers crossed the bores are good and a set of shells and top end rebuild gets her up and running.

[Fast Bug]

Man maths and a bullet proof 3.7 rebuild?