Phoenix from the flames - Porsche Boxster with an Audi 2.7T
Discussion
In a previous example of why I can't have anything nice, while polishing the lights, the mop caught one, knocked it out of my vice and sent it flying onto the floor and chipped it. The carbon trim was to hide the damage. I have got another headlight so I could fit that now and remove the carbon trim but I like it.
Porsche used black headlight surrounds on the 997 Sport Classic so it's not a totally off piste modification but I appreciate it might be marmite.
Porsche used black headlight surrounds on the 997 Sport Classic so it's not a totally off piste modification but I appreciate it might be marmite.
Love the last picture of it. It sits so well. I need some more advice if you don’t mind. I managed both front springs last weekend after a lot of swearing and bits of skin removal. I ended up buying a full set of used but better condition dampers because I couldn’t get the top mount off the fronts and they are badly corroded. I want to replace the rear dampers/top mounts and bump stops and it seems a lot harder to get the rear dampers out. Is there an easier way than taking the driveshafts out ?
That’s what greeted me when I got the damper out of the front
That’s what greeted me when I got the damper out of the front
I can get my shocks in and out without removing the driveshafts but I've got coilovers which are a shorter body. I'd remove the bolt that holds the wishbone to the bush on the coffin arm, slide that out of the way so the hub drops down, you'll probably need to undo the driveshaft bolt and knock it out the hub for a bit of extra movement but you shouldn't need to remove it from the gearbox end. Every time I've taken suspension off a Boxster, the rears are in far better condition than the front.
I bought some larger injectors. On a pull it's fine, it's not limited by the injectors for power which is why I thought I could get away with what I had but in real world driving, short sharp applications of the throttle adds extra fuel demands for the transient enrichment which is what's causing me the problems.
The new ones are Bosch EV14 730cc. The old ones were 550cc (ratings at 3 bar fuel pressure). The Audi engine uses a 4 bar regulator as standard so the old ones were more like 635cc. I've also bought a 3 bar regulator to go along with them. If I run them at 4 bar they'll be 840cc. That's more then I need and I like the idea being dropping the pressure, the benefits are probably negligible but in theory it will lower the temperature of the fuel in the tank (I was surprised how hot it gets), be easier to control by the ECU and I feel like less chance of springing a leak. On the other side, atomisation is probably better at 4 bar.
Aftermarket injectors designed for the engine are about £500-600 a set, I did some research and got these ones for £250 from a reputable place (they are lots of fakes), they are OEM fitment on some engines which is why they are available cheaper. They had the wrong plugs so aren't drop in, the old ones were the same but there was a plug in adaptor for them, they aren't available for these injectors, they use a Denso style plug so I need to cut the plugs and swap them over.
The brass bits are the compression fittings for the water/meth injection.
IMG_20230318_114131106_HDR
The injectors came with the blue O-rings, from research I knew these were a slightly smaller diameter, I tried them in, think they'd have been fine but I don't want to take any chances when it comes to fuel so I went down to TPS to get some genuine ones. I think they are made of gold as they cost me £45.
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The injectors installed with the new plugs.
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The push fit nozzles.
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The compression fitting, they definately won't leak.
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The steering column cover was looking scabby, the interior parts have a rubberised coating on them and things mark easily. These interiors don't hold up that well if the car has some miles on it from what I've seen.
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It is the little things like that that make the difference.
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I still need to take it for a run and probably do a bit of work on the tune for the new injectors but that should the two issues I had on the last outing ticked off.
The new ones are Bosch EV14 730cc. The old ones were 550cc (ratings at 3 bar fuel pressure). The Audi engine uses a 4 bar regulator as standard so the old ones were more like 635cc. I've also bought a 3 bar regulator to go along with them. If I run them at 4 bar they'll be 840cc. That's more then I need and I like the idea being dropping the pressure, the benefits are probably negligible but in theory it will lower the temperature of the fuel in the tank (I was surprised how hot it gets), be easier to control by the ECU and I feel like less chance of springing a leak. On the other side, atomisation is probably better at 4 bar.
Aftermarket injectors designed for the engine are about £500-600 a set, I did some research and got these ones for £250 from a reputable place (they are lots of fakes), they are OEM fitment on some engines which is why they are available cheaper. They had the wrong plugs so aren't drop in, the old ones were the same but there was a plug in adaptor for them, they aren't available for these injectors, they use a Denso style plug so I need to cut the plugs and swap them over.
The brass bits are the compression fittings for the water/meth injection.
IMG_20230318_114131106_HDRThe injectors came with the blue O-rings, from research I knew these were a slightly smaller diameter, I tried them in, think they'd have been fine but I don't want to take any chances when it comes to fuel so I went down to TPS to get some genuine ones. I think they are made of gold as they cost me £45.
IMG_20230318_134122251The injectors installed with the new plugs.
IMG_20230318_162448017_HDRThe push fit nozzles.
IMG_20230318_155332965The compression fitting, they definately won't leak.
IMG_20230318_160145091The steering column cover was looking scabby, the interior parts have a rubberised coating on them and things mark easily. These interiors don't hold up that well if the car has some miles on it from what I've seen.
IMG_20230318_164728641_HDRIt is the little things like that that make the difference.
IMG_20230318_165340739_HDRI still need to take it for a run and probably do a bit of work on the tune for the new injectors but that should the two issues I had on the last outing ticked off.
You may well have, I've been driving it when I get a chance.
I want to try and tidy it up a bit ready for the summer. The stone chip protection on the rear 1/4 was looking a bit manky. To remove it meant taking off the Porsche decal down the side which was looking a bit tired also. Whoever put it on didn't do the best job, you can see they put a bit of it over the plastic bit that's on the end of the sill (what's the name for it?). That bit also was not fitting great. There was also a dent on the sill you can see in this photo. All of this was like this when I bought the car and I've never got around to it until now.
IMG_20230423_180701116_HDR
I did worry removing all the decals would be a nightmare job, I had visions of paint being pulled off the rear 1/4's. Thankfully it all went fine. I've applied the new stone chip protection, you can barely see it so I'm happy with that. I replaced the plastic bit on the end of the sill with another one, my old man helped me with the dent on the sill, luckily there was a rubber grommet right behind it so access was good.
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A picture of how it looks without the decals vs one with. I'm used to seeing it with the decals so I think it looks a bit naked without them, also silver is a bit boring so it breaks it up a bit.
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P8211344
Looking on this website, there are a few options for decals. If I had a clever name for the car that hinted at the engine swap I could make a custom set. Nothing springs to mind and it might be really tacky? That said Porsche do use some fairly dubious decals from the factory like the ones on a GT3RS. I welcome opinions from others. PORSCHE in black again, something else or nothing?
https://www.designstuffonline.co.uk/vehicle_graphi...
I want to try and tidy it up a bit ready for the summer. The stone chip protection on the rear 1/4 was looking a bit manky. To remove it meant taking off the Porsche decal down the side which was looking a bit tired also. Whoever put it on didn't do the best job, you can see they put a bit of it over the plastic bit that's on the end of the sill (what's the name for it?). That bit also was not fitting great. There was also a dent on the sill you can see in this photo. All of this was like this when I bought the car and I've never got around to it until now.
IMG_20230423_180701116_HDRI did worry removing all the decals would be a nightmare job, I had visions of paint being pulled off the rear 1/4's. Thankfully it all went fine. I've applied the new stone chip protection, you can barely see it so I'm happy with that. I replaced the plastic bit on the end of the sill with another one, my old man helped me with the dent on the sill, luckily there was a rubber grommet right behind it so access was good.
IMG_20230424_212151235A picture of how it looks without the decals vs one with. I'm used to seeing it with the decals so I think it looks a bit naked without them, also silver is a bit boring so it breaks it up a bit.
IMG_20230424_192525607_HDRP8211344Looking on this website, there are a few options for decals. If I had a clever name for the car that hinted at the engine swap I could make a custom set. Nothing springs to mind and it might be really tacky? That said Porsche do use some fairly dubious decals from the factory like the ones on a GT3RS. I welcome opinions from others. PORSCHE in black again, something else or nothing?
https://www.designstuffonline.co.uk/vehicle_graphi...
These things are best left to your personal choice but for what it's worth, I really liked what you had before. As you say, there's a very chequered history in Porsche-land of god-awful side decals but I think yours were spot on.
Glad to see the car is running well and giving you a chance to really enjoy it.
Glad to see the car is running well and giving you a chance to really enjoy it.
Escy said:
If I had a clever name for the car that hinted at the engine swap I could make a custom set. Nothing springs to mind and it might be really tacky? That said Porsche do use some fairly dubious decals from the factory like the ones on a GT3RS. I welcome opinions from others. PORSCHE in black again, something else or nothing?
I suppose you remember the CanAm 917s with "Porsche+Audi" livery? It wouldn't be very easy to adapt (the original lettering had different thickness typefaces and different typefaces, and the marques are stacked on top of each other, instead of one after the other) but as a sort of in-joke, it would match what you have.
It's not the first Porsche & Audi mash up, might be kind of cool to replace the Porsche badges with something akin to the RS2 logo!
Anyway, back to the stripes. If you take the Audi here
And stick it on the end of the stripe. Kind of like this horrific mspaint lash up (only aligned and with a silver background and the "PORSCHE" further to the left).
Anyway, back to the stripes. If you take the Audi here
And stick it on the end of the stripe. Kind of like this horrific mspaint lash up (only aligned and with a silver background and the "PORSCHE" further to the left).
Do the stripes like the Can-Am car but omit the Audi bit?
Do the colours and stripes in the same width proportions as the Can Am car but omit the Audi bit?
It's been two fantastic engine transplants and real rollercoaster just following the threads, but I think going for the Porsche + Audi stripes like the Can Am car could over egg the pudding. Any subtlety to this conversion risks being lost?
Do the colours and stripes in the same width proportions as the Can Am car but omit the Audi bit?
It's been two fantastic engine transplants and real rollercoaster just following the threads, but I think going for the Porsche + Audi stripes like the Can Am car could over egg the pudding. Any subtlety to this conversion risks being lost?
Thanks for the ideas. I've asked a company to mock up a design based on the Porsche + Audi in the style of the decals that were on it before. Will see if It looks good.
I needed to sort out the rust on the edge of the wings, it's a common issue. This is how they were, the other side was worse than this. I used a sanding disc on a grinder to get back to bare metal, then treated it with POR15, then rattle can to colour match and I applied some paint protection film over it to hopefully stop it happening again. It's not going to win me any concours events but it's also not going to be seen once the wheel is on so I'm happy with the result. I also gave the air jack a nice dusting of silver.
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The red part on my centre caps had faded. I bought replacements for them, you might be able to tell in the photo, they are different sizes. I didn't notice until after I'd already removed one. OZ racing don't sell these rings separately (I bought the others from Mountune who don't have the size I need). OZ want £50 each for the centre caps.
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I'm not spending £200 on them and if OZ won't sell them separately it looks like I'm out of options so now I'm thinking about ditching the centre caps, I liked the look of them but being fake centre locks didn't sit all that well with me. I've got a random BBS cap in it, just to give the idea of how they'd look. This this is how I'll end up going.
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I bought some carbon fibre air ducts. The weave is a bit iffy in places, I was going to return them but decided it's probably not worth the hassle. I think they look better than the silver ones, help break it up a bit and tie in with the rear spoiler.
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I was driving it a week ago and noticed smoke out of the side duct whilst I was at traffic lights. When I got home I opened up the engine cover and there was loads of smoke/steam coming out of the oil cap. This is a fully warmed up engine, I had been driving it (slowly) for an hour.
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The oil cap is supposed to have a pressure relief mechanism in it which had failed and was just open. I replaced it with the older style cap which just seals it. That amount of steam/smoke coming out of the crank case isn't good news. I immediately did a compression test expecting to discover I'd hurt the engine. Every cylinder was with 5psi of each other. No concerns there.
I had a look at my catch can and it had collected some water which is fairly normal. It drains into the exhaust so doesn't fill up. The oil on the dipstick looks good, I've not got any water in my oil. The oil cap doesn't have any mayo on it which I guess you'd expect if it's all steam. Now it's got a normal oil cap on it, you can feel it suck the cap down when you place it over the hole so the crankcase has a vacuum and isn't being pressurised. Smoke/steam comes out of the breathers on either cylinder head. It's left me with a bit of a head scratcher. I think I'm going to ditch the OEM style pressure limiting valve I've got that goes from the breather into the air intake and see if it improves things. It might also just need driving more and driving harder.
IMG_20230427_202122701_HDR
I needed to sort out the rust on the edge of the wings, it's a common issue. This is how they were, the other side was worse than this. I used a sanding disc on a grinder to get back to bare metal, then treated it with POR15, then rattle can to colour match and I applied some paint protection film over it to hopefully stop it happening again. It's not going to win me any concours events but it's also not going to be seen once the wheel is on so I'm happy with the result. I also gave the air jack a nice dusting of silver.
IMG_20230425_192403404IMG_20230428_104557951The red part on my centre caps had faded. I bought replacements for them, you might be able to tell in the photo, they are different sizes. I didn't notice until after I'd already removed one. OZ racing don't sell these rings separately (I bought the others from Mountune who don't have the size I need). OZ want £50 each for the centre caps.
IMG_20230425_190405095I'm not spending £200 on them and if OZ won't sell them separately it looks like I'm out of options so now I'm thinking about ditching the centre caps, I liked the look of them but being fake centre locks didn't sit all that well with me. I've got a random BBS cap in it, just to give the idea of how they'd look. This this is how I'll end up going.
IMG_20230504_192233819I bought some carbon fibre air ducts. The weave is a bit iffy in places, I was going to return them but decided it's probably not worth the hassle. I think they look better than the silver ones, help break it up a bit and tie in with the rear spoiler.
IMG_20230427_233530301IMG_20230428_120617281I was driving it a week ago and noticed smoke out of the side duct whilst I was at traffic lights. When I got home I opened up the engine cover and there was loads of smoke/steam coming out of the oil cap. This is a fully warmed up engine, I had been driving it (slowly) for an hour.
IMG_20230420_185950348The oil cap is supposed to have a pressure relief mechanism in it which had failed and was just open. I replaced it with the older style cap which just seals it. That amount of steam/smoke coming out of the crank case isn't good news. I immediately did a compression test expecting to discover I'd hurt the engine. Every cylinder was with 5psi of each other. No concerns there.
I had a look at my catch can and it had collected some water which is fairly normal. It drains into the exhaust so doesn't fill up. The oil on the dipstick looks good, I've not got any water in my oil. The oil cap doesn't have any mayo on it which I guess you'd expect if it's all steam. Now it's got a normal oil cap on it, you can feel it suck the cap down when you place it over the hole so the crankcase has a vacuum and isn't being pressurised. Smoke/steam comes out of the breathers on either cylinder head. It's left me with a bit of a head scratcher. I think I'm going to ditch the OEM style pressure limiting valve I've got that goes from the breather into the air intake and see if it improves things. It might also just need driving more and driving harder.
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