Project Porsche 986 Boxster
Discussion

So it started by saying goodbye to the MPS - it was a great car and reliable too apart from a smokey turbo early on in the ownership. Since I owned the MPS my girlfriend started to drive and she now has the bigger family car, which meant I can get something a bit less practical..
Honestly it was a tough choice. My heart wanted a Porsche and I was torn between the Boxster 986/987 Cayman or a high mileage 911.
After a long time searching, I settled with this 986 Boxster

It's a 2000 reg 3.2 Boxster S that cost £6k (previous cat N)
The car has been modified from standard as it sits on 18" GT3 wheels in dark grey, has spacers, the sticker on the side, the hard top, bigger plenum, intake, full stainless system from the manifold back, black side scoops, LED rear lights and was ceramic coated by the previous owner.
History wise - it has had the IMS replaced around 2014 and some suspension and bushes work in 2020. There's also evidence of the brakes being done etc.
There are a few issues - it has no stereo and the remote central locking doesn't work.
After many hours on the train and many hours driving back as there's not many Boxsters for sale in my area I got it home!

With all the mechanical tuning done, it allows me to focus on the cosmetics as there's a few areas I want to look at.
But before that I needed to top the coolant up as it was looking a little low:

Funnels from Halfords really helped with this! It doesn't appear to be losing any coolant as I've done over 100 miles and it's still looking nice and full. The underneath of the car looks nice and dry. I'll also get an oil change done as it's not had one for a while but saying that it's not done many miles over the last few years.
Looking at the interior there's a few marks on the door bin covers and handles and the centre console does have some scratches. I don't really want to wrap everything in carbon fibre either so I might look at either buying a few new replacement parts or just wrapping a few bits instead but I'm undecided on this. Wrapping will be better than buying stuff pre-hydro dipped as hydro dipped stuff and scratch anyway and the wrap can be replaced over time.
A quick run through the interior uncovered a broken passenger sunvisor cover so I ordered some new ones from Ebay

Another thing I noticed with the sunvisor is that the passenger side one rubs on the plastic and squeeks when your driving. Easy fix - leave the sunvisor down the windscreen!

It appears one side has a plastic cap thing and the other one doesn't

Heated seats and lack of stereo - I may consider changing the seats to the 997 seats at a later date to sit lower down.


The stereo is one that comes with an amp so I will need to replace it with another Porsche one

It doesn't appear to be a Bose amp/system though so hopefully any Porsche stereo will work with it but I need to look into it further.
Some nice white dials

I've heard you can change the Boxster dials to 911 ones but I'm undecided on this. Maybe I'll have another look into it in a few years time or something.
The boot carpet could do with a clean

There's also a few marks in the hard roof fabric so I might attack it with some carpet cleaner at some point or re-dye it.
Moving to the outside, the front indicators appear to have been tinted


Admittedly I've never been a massive fan of the 986/996 lights but they have been growing on me in recent years. This brings me to the 1st modification - headlight covers!
Browsing the next, I came across these covers from Pelican parts that try and give the 986/996 lights more of a classic look and unlike the cheaper covers that seem to have a million holes in, these just have 2 holes - 1 for the main light and one for the indicator. They cost a fair bit but they are a cheaper option when compared against a 997 light conversion for example.
Delivery time was good too as I ordered them Thursday night and they arrived yesterday all the way from California.
Test fit:

Ignore the passenger side one - it was sliding down a bit due to the hill I'm parked on and I suspect these covers might upset a few people. The plan with these is to have a black inner ring similar to the old style Porsche's and have the rest of it colour coded to the paintwork.
Another mod I may do is replace the rear perspex between the seats with a mesh type shield. This is because I'm an idiot who managed to put a scratch in the plastic when cleaning it.

The rear lights may be changed at some point with the newer style black LED ones.

A couple more pics of the car

Scratched indicator

I do love the side view but it's a shame it doesn't have a wing on it

Edited by maxdb on Wednesday 13th April 13:21
SunsetZed said:
Plans sound good, am particularly interested to see how it looks with the headlight covers fitted.
Thanks - they should look similar to these but instead they will be in silver and black.

I suspect they will get a mixed reaction but if worse comes to worse, I can always take them off and revert to the original lights.
Sun visors:
The new covers have arrived and side by side there isn't much difference. The new ones even have a velvet backing for a soft open and closing.


After a bit of time as I didn't want to break anything, I replaced both sides. The lights behind also work - happy days!


I looked at the cap thing that stops them rubbing on the hard top and they just stick on. I'll see if I can get a matching pair then stick the loose plastic down on the passenger side.


Edited by maxdb on Wednesday 13th April 13:21
Before spending on cosmetics, I would recommend checking front radiators, as your coolant was low. It might be nothing, but it might be something. Radiators usually gain loads of crap and they get damaged easily. It would also be good to check your cooling fans resistors, as they tend to fail. You do not want to stay idle in traffic, and overheating the engine. Try to join boxanet if you have not, loads of experienced and generous owners there, good luck!
ooid said:
Before spending on cosmetics, I would recommend checking front radiators, as your coolant was low. It might be nothing, but it might be something. Radiators usually gain loads of crap and they get damaged easily. It would also be good to check your cooling fans resistors, as they tend to fail. You do not want to stay idle in traffic, and overheating the engine. Try to join boxanet if you have not, loads of experienced and generous owners there, good luck!
Agreed, get the front bumper off and have a poke around. Could also be a crack in the expansion bottle, is the carpet damp at all?I've never ever seen those headlight covers look any good, but as you say you can remove them if you don't like them. Problem is that they're (obviously) not flush with the surface of the light so at any angle other than straight on they're clearly dodgy additions.
I bet you'll learn to love the fried eggs in time, they're such great cars and looks like you got a good deal too.
Nice (apart from the headlight covers, just my opinion).
Another vote here for checking the gunk between the front rads and the air con condensers.
This happens if it gets left for too long. Also the seals in the large coolant pipes can degrade causing a slight weep before eventually failing, but you should be able to see that.

Another vote here for checking the gunk between the front rads and the air con condensers.
This happens if it gets left for too long. Also the seals in the large coolant pipes can degrade causing a slight weep before eventually failing, but you should be able to see that.

Today I swapped the illegally spaced number plates to some road legal ones and as the plates were off I had the chance to check out the radiators. Next weekend I'll get the bumper off so I can check all the pipes etc but I've been told the front right radiator has been replaced. Here's what they look like:
Left side:

Right side:

The middle radiator has seen better days though so I'll add a replacement to the list. Oddly there is no grill in the middle:

I have looked at the zunsport grills but I'm not very keen on them so I may leave the bumper as it is for now as this may be changed at a later date.
Underneath the car looks quite dry and the engine temp just sits above 80. Since topping up I haven't noticed it go down at all (touch wood!). The boot carpet it also dry so I wonder if the last owner just didn't put enough coolant in it when he changed the radiator but I guess time will tell.

I did spot a problem at the back I haven't noticed before though:

There was an MOT advisory on the following:
Rear Inner Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot severely deteriorated both (6.1.7 (g) (i))
Rear Outer Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot severely deteriorated both (6.1.7 (g) (i))
So I hope the above is that and I can look at getting that done when the oil is changed.
Another job on the list is to clean out the drainage holes and check the front struts. I do sometimes notice a knock at the front when braking and I also feel a slight thud at the rear going over bumps so I want to get these checked out before it gets too annoying. I only really notice it on my road though due to it's rubbish road service.
Couple of other bits done today was interior and number plate LEDs that look nice and clean but not too OTT for me:




I also removed the rear perspex so I don't have to see the annoying scratch! I do prefer the look without the windbreaker and it seems a bit pointless having it with the hard top on anyway,
Left side:

Right side:

The middle radiator has seen better days though so I'll add a replacement to the list. Oddly there is no grill in the middle:

I have looked at the zunsport grills but I'm not very keen on them so I may leave the bumper as it is for now as this may be changed at a later date.
Underneath the car looks quite dry and the engine temp just sits above 80. Since topping up I haven't noticed it go down at all (touch wood!). The boot carpet it also dry so I wonder if the last owner just didn't put enough coolant in it when he changed the radiator but I guess time will tell.

I did spot a problem at the back I haven't noticed before though:

There was an MOT advisory on the following:
Rear Inner Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot severely deteriorated both (6.1.7 (g) (i))
Rear Outer Drive shaft joint constant velocity boot severely deteriorated both (6.1.7 (g) (i))
So I hope the above is that and I can look at getting that done when the oil is changed.
Another job on the list is to clean out the drainage holes and check the front struts. I do sometimes notice a knock at the front when braking and I also feel a slight thud at the rear going over bumps so I want to get these checked out before it gets too annoying. I only really notice it on my road though due to it's rubbish road service.
Couple of other bits done today was interior and number plate LEDs that look nice and clean but not too OTT for me:




I also removed the rear perspex so I don't have to see the annoying scratch! I do prefer the look without the windbreaker and it seems a bit pointless having it with the hard top on anyway,
Medic-one said:
I love little projects like this, just wish I had the knowledge and experience to do them myself.
If you haven't yet I can recommend joining Boxa.net as well, very helpful Boxster community.
All signed up If you haven't yet I can recommend joining Boxa.net as well, very helpful Boxster community.

I gave the car it's first long outing this weekend which was to Wembley Stadium and back which is about 100 miles each way. The temp gauge ranged from just over 80 to normal traffic to just under 100 when stuck in traffic on the M25 for ages in 23c heat. When I got to the indoor car park I heard the fans kick in so all is well in that department..
However nearing home we come across our 1st mechanical issue..
The clutch pedal started feeling a bit different than usual and when I was parking up at home, I couldn't get the car into reverse. However when I turned the car off I was able to select reverse gear.
I did a few small tests and it appears to be driving in gear but it's really difficult to select some gears with the engine on and sometimes I can't select any gear at tall. At a guess it could be an issue with the new short shift cables as gear changes can be a bit hard sometimes anyway or it could be the master or slave clutch cylinders so I plan to take at the middle console and will check the front boot to see if there's low fluid (I'm sure the dash light would show up for this anyway) or any signs of anything odd. It could be that it decided to give up with all the stop start traffic I was in,
On a lighter note - I fitted some new led side repeaters this evening. I was dreading it but this was a really easy job to do. The led's just flash on and off and don't have any funny patterns, the black colour goes well with the other black bit's on the side of the car and they should compliment the rear led lights a bit.
Here's a few pics of the fitting:


I carefully rested the lights on the bodywork before the pics were taken.




That seems a bit harsh, I'm sure op knew that he wasn't buying top of the market so expected the odd job along the way! CV joints are easy jobs really, some suspension works to be expect with an older car. Clutch is an interesting one, but even that job is not too tricky for a home mechanic on a Boxster due to the location of the gearbox should it turn out to be ok it's way out! Could just be water in the fluid, a good bleed should be the first step.
Hi,
Thanks for the offer but I ordered a stereo last week and I'm just waiting for delivery.
It's a Blaupunkt Milano so hopefully it won't look too out of place within the 986 interior:

My son was ill today so we had to change our Easter plans so this did allow time to do some bits to the car. The 1st port of call was to open the front bonnet to expect an explosion of fluid but all seemed rather clean under the carpet. Whilst at it I cleaned up the front scuttle area, cleaned up the drainage areas at the front and bolted down the battery holder plate as that was not bolted down..
I also checked the front struts and they all look fine and I didn't notice any movement so that slight knock I might be hearing on occasion may be the coffin arms or something. I'm not majorly concerned with this as it doesn't appear to effect the driving or handling.
I did start the car up and it was letting me go through the gears with the engine running, excluding reverse but I can select reverse with the engine off so some more investigation is required.
Anyway enjoy a selection of todays pics








Thanks for the offer but I ordered a stereo last week and I'm just waiting for delivery.
It's a Blaupunkt Milano so hopefully it won't look too out of place within the 986 interior:

My son was ill today so we had to change our Easter plans so this did allow time to do some bits to the car. The 1st port of call was to open the front bonnet to expect an explosion of fluid but all seemed rather clean under the carpet. Whilst at it I cleaned up the front scuttle area, cleaned up the drainage areas at the front and bolted down the battery holder plate as that was not bolted down..
I also checked the front struts and they all look fine and I didn't notice any movement so that slight knock I might be hearing on occasion may be the coffin arms or something. I'm not majorly concerned with this as it doesn't appear to effect the driving or handling.
I did start the car up and it was letting me go through the gears with the engine running, excluding reverse but I can select reverse with the engine off so some more investigation is required.
Anyway enjoy a selection of todays pics








Another day at home today so I thought I would get the rads checked and cleaned out and checked the brake lines.
The first part was to get the lights off - strangely I have different coloured indicators.


The right rad wasn't too bad so I used a brush to get rid of the leaves etc

The left rad has a bit more of a collection


Front shot

There was a bit of surface rust/paint flake on the metal underneath the radiators so I treated them with a bit of black hammerite I had laying about so it should give them a few more years.


The middle radiator looked good from behind too as do the pipes:


The splash guard flaps (not sure of their proper name) have seen better days though.

Cleaned up the underneath and put it all back:

Cleaned up the front bumper edges whilst I'm at it:


There was a few dead leaves still inside the bumper so I got these cleaned out in case they work their way back into the radiator.
All put back excluding the headlights:

The headlights are back on but I forgot to take another picture
I ordered a Porsche shifter bridge lock so I can make sure the shifter cables are lined up properly. I have a hunch that they aren't so it will be good to check for peace of mind and it's a no brainer for the sake of £20 odd.
The first part was to get the lights off - strangely I have different coloured indicators.


The right rad wasn't too bad so I used a brush to get rid of the leaves etc

The left rad has a bit more of a collection


Front shot

There was a bit of surface rust/paint flake on the metal underneath the radiators so I treated them with a bit of black hammerite I had laying about so it should give them a few more years.


The middle radiator looked good from behind too as do the pipes:


The splash guard flaps (not sure of their proper name) have seen better days though.

Cleaned up the underneath and put it all back:

Cleaned up the front bumper edges whilst I'm at it:


There was a few dead leaves still inside the bumper so I got these cleaned out in case they work their way back into the radiator.
All put back excluding the headlights:

The headlights are back on but I forgot to take another picture

I ordered a Porsche shifter bridge lock so I can make sure the shifter cables are lined up properly. I have a hunch that they aren't so it will be good to check for peace of mind and it's a no brainer for the sake of £20 odd.
A bit of a rubbish update really as everything seems to be going wrong or breaking. I can only blame myself though..
Finished up the interior LEDs and they look nice.

Front sidelight LED's were fitted.

And that's where all the trouble started..
I got some LED indicator bulbs so I can have brighter and clear indicators but after fitting I was getting fast turn signals when the hazards were on so I replaced the fronts with normal bulbs and the speed pattern went to how it should.
I did come across a weird rusted out bulb at the back so I swapped these over and once the rear LED indicator bulbs were fitted the fried egg look at the rear went away.


Then I had to deal with a broken clip on the passenger side headlight:

After some time sorting out a workaround solution it all got put back together. All the lights were tested and working fine and checked the hazards as a part of the process and job done - or so I thought..
Later on this evening I thought I would go out and deliver a card using the Boxster and turned on the lights and it looks like the main bulb has gone on the passenger side. I head out of my road to indicate and I get fast indicators.
The gear changes appear to be fine but on the way back I put my foot down in 4th and got dreaded clutch slip so I guess I know what the issue was with the gear changes.
It looks like all that stop start traffic at the weekend helped kill off the clutch!
I'm going to pour myself a stiff drink and won't bother touching the car for a while..
Finished up the interior LEDs and they look nice.

Front sidelight LED's were fitted.

And that's where all the trouble started..
I got some LED indicator bulbs so I can have brighter and clear indicators but after fitting I was getting fast turn signals when the hazards were on so I replaced the fronts with normal bulbs and the speed pattern went to how it should.
I did come across a weird rusted out bulb at the back so I swapped these over and once the rear LED indicator bulbs were fitted the fried egg look at the rear went away.


Then I had to deal with a broken clip on the passenger side headlight:

After some time sorting out a workaround solution it all got put back together. All the lights were tested and working fine and checked the hazards as a part of the process and job done - or so I thought..
Later on this evening I thought I would go out and deliver a card using the Boxster and turned on the lights and it looks like the main bulb has gone on the passenger side. I head out of my road to indicate and I get fast indicators.
The gear changes appear to be fine but on the way back I put my foot down in 4th and got dreaded clutch slip so I guess I know what the issue was with the gear changes.
It looks like all that stop start traffic at the weekend helped kill off the clutch!
I'm going to pour myself a stiff drink and won't bother touching the car for a while..
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