Repeating Myself: 1999 911 early-build 996 Carrera with Factory Aero Kit

Anyone who knows me well, knows that my first Porsche was a 1985 turbo look cabriolet. Never should’ve sold the car. My second Porsche was a 1999 ocean blue 996 with factory aero kit. Loved that car and drove it for many, many miles over a number of years. I talked about it in my old blog post called “A Not-So Short History of My Car Obsession”, which is now a bit dated. But that car still calls to me. 

http://davecarguy.blogspot.com/2011/12/short-history-of-my-car-obsession.html?m=1

I’ve owned many cars since I sold it, and have driven all the newer stuff without feeling the need to own many of the more upscale Porsche offerings. I came really close last summer to buying something brand new from Porsche. But it didn’t excite me enough. Then I got an opportunity to re-invite what feels like an old friend back into my home. I found this (below) somewhat rare, early VIN 996 with Factory Aero Kit, 6-speed, factory Sport design wheels with just 17,000 miles on it (below). Not blue, but they’re hard to find. Old friends are the best friends, and this black 996 felt familiar, so I bought it from out of state, shipped it, and brought it into the garage in August, just as the 996-generation 911 car valuations started to rally. 

I couldn’t be happier. For those who know the 996 story, these early build cars were built alongside the 993s at the end of their production. It actually has a 993 VIN. The early cars had a better IMS bearing, different interior finishes, no drive-by-wire, etc. I bought it thinking I’d flip it on Bring-a-Trailer but you don’t do that to an old friend. It has a new clutch, upgraded IMS, new rear main seal, new brakes, and zero over-revs. Only 17,000 miles! One owner!! A true unicorn. 

My only plan is to lower it like my old one. I won’t drive it much, and I’ll probably someday sell it for far more than what I paid… some day. But for now, there’s finally a P car back in the garage after I sold three of them in the last couple of years. 

Welcome home, old friend !

The color is Black Pearl metallic. Cool color but not as dramatic as my old blue one. If I ever find a blue one, I'll buy it. But I haven't seen one for sale in years with Aero.

Here is the option code sticker (kind of the holy grail of options for many. the only thing missing to be even better would be 030: sports suspension 10MM lower or maybe the hollow-spoke wheels):

XAA: Factory Aero Kit
XRB: Sport Classic 2-piece wheels
220: Limited Slip Diff
222: Traction control ASR
424: CD compartment (woohoo! 1999!)
437 and 438: 8- way elec seat, left and right
513 and 586: Lumbar 4-way, both seats
537: seat memory
688: CD radio Becker Porsche
936: Leather rear seats
983: Leather front seats

Here is a summary of the differences of teh early 1999s vs teh updated 2000 911s, that one Porsche enthusiast posted in a 1999 911 BaT auction 

MY1999 vs MY2000+

*No eGas /legacy cable-throttle (C2 only).

*No PSM/nannies; legacy ABS (C2 only).

*No bothersome mandatory computer (“Visit Workshop!” etc., etc.)

*Manual cable operated frunk and engine lid releases (versus electric controls that die along with a with dead battery precluding [most ironically] battery access) [Note: some MY2000 retain manual operation].

*“Buffalo Hyde” dash material that is elegantly pebbled and matte, and far more attractive (and less distracting) than the gauche, “shiny” & highly reflective pleather (plastic) dash materials MY2000+.

*“Granite” interior accent material that is “color thru” and was shared with Rolls Royces of the same period. Again much more matte and eminently more durable than the ubiquitous “soft touch” rubberized plastics that followed MY2000+.

*Amber lensed head and tail lights from 11/97-08/98 build dates; these are a gorgeous aesthetic touch paired with almost any standard color offered at the time; especially the darker shades (C2 only).

*Less sound deadening and insulation materials that raises the glorious engine note, and lowers the chassis weight, versus MY2000+.

*Connolly Hyde wrapped 993 steering wheel was standard, which was an elegant, vintage touch (and lovingly familiar to the “Luftekhult”).

*Early amber lensed MY1999 examples (11/97-08/98) were manufactured by hand, in sequence with the MY98 993, on the legacy 993 assembly line. Whether perceived or real, many collectors believe this graced the original Early MY1999 with a tangibly increased build quality (C2 only).

*Robust MY1999 DUAL ROW IMS BEARING, versus multifarious MY2000+ M96/97 dismantler-bound iterations all tragically with less than half the bearing capacity as the 1999 original.

Gotta love the bronze in the metallic black.

I then had the car PPF wrapped on the front end and had the suspension updated and lowered a tad. The old shocks were a bit worn from age, but not mileage. I had the H&R coilover street kit added. I kept the old springs and bump stops of I ever want to go back to stock. But I can safely say I like this setup a ton. The car feels less floaty in fast corners. Better stance, too. Now I just need to decide if I want to push the tire profile out a bit with 7mm spacers. 

Also had the mufflers changed to a 996 stage one muffler. Just a tad more growl, but nothing crazy. Sweet sound at all rpm levels. 

I LOVE this car. For those looking for the most reasonable way to get into a 911, the 996 is a great option. 

DIY: Replacing the Rotor disc on Girodisc 2-piece brake rotor

I've helped a number of people replace their existing stock rotors with Girodisc 2-piece rotors. I've used them on three different cars of mine. Great for track and street, they last. long time and provide a bit of extra surface area for better brake performance. When. your Girodisc rotors later wear out, you can replace the rotor disc with a new one, keeping the rotor hat. That makes the brake rotor replacement a bit cheaper.  Here is a video showing how to do the rebuild / replacement, in. this case on my 2018 Mustang Shelby GT350R:

 

Datsun 510 Historic Race Car: a Dream Finally Realized

I've always said that cars are collectible when they hit 30 years old because that is when 46-year old can afford what he loved as a 16-year old. Well, that's not quite the case here, as this isn't overly collectable, and I'm 58 and the car is 51. But the point stands. We never quite get over our first car-love.

I fell in love with cars at a very young age. I was fully aware of certain race cars when John Morton started winning for Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Datsun Roadsters and Datsun 510s. My first car at age 16 was an orange Datsun 510 2-door that I modified to try to be like the racer guys. I dreamed of racing but went off to college instead. That turned out OK.

For those of you who are too young to remember: John Morton and the Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) team, under Peter Brock, pretty much shocked the world when their new/upstart race team beat everyone in the SCCA National Championships in Datsun Roadsters, 510s, and 240Zs, and knocked off the established BMW and Alfa Romeo teams with the 510 in the Trans Am under 2.5 Liter Championship. Datsun and BRE were so dominant, that the other teams gave up and left the race series. At the bottom of this post is a link to the YouTube of a documentary called "Datsun 510: Against All Odds", which chronicles the story with some very nice vintage race footage! Meanwhile, here's me at age 17 circa 1979 with my first car,  the 1972 Datsun 510 that started me as a "car guy":

Well, since the original BRE #46 John Morton car is in a museum and the original #35 Mike Downs / #85 Bobby Allison car is now in the hands of Adam Carolla, I had to buy the next best thing. 

This car has racing log books back to 1979 and has been raced by a number of amateurs in SCCA, CSRG, HMSA, HSR, and SVRA. It is a replica of BRE driver Mike Downs' #35 car (before the number change to #85 for "guest" driver Bobby Allison, which is the livery that remains on the original car with Adam C now). This car was sold to me by an older vintage racer named Dan Haney, who had two of these.

It has all the right stuff from the era, including the Nissan Motorsport Competition direct-drive 5-speed dogleg transmission (hard to find these days), which I just had rebuilt by Troy Ermish. It also has the 50MM Solex/Mikunis and competition BRE intake manifold on a race-built 2L engine. The car weighs about 2000 pounds and puts out about 200 HP on 110 octane race gas. Don't even try to drive it under 6000 RPM, the engine wants to rev around the 7000 RPM mark and the close-ratio gearbox makes sure you stay in that range.

My friend Rick heard that I bought the car, and he went to the seller and immediately bought the other one (red/white #46 replica of John Morton's Championship car).so we can go race in the historic races with CSRG at Sonoma, Laguna, and Thunderhill. I am also in the process of applying for acceptance into the Sonoma Speed Festival in September. Ultimately I would love to race in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca, but that is an event that doesn't always have a race group for cars of this era, and this car may not have the full provenance for that event. We shall see.

Anyway, it took me 40 years, but I'm finally getting around to racing that car I dreamed of when I was 16. Here she is at Thunderhill Raceway:

When someone tells you that their race is car is "fully sorted, ready to race...", just know that you might still have quite a few things to take care of. In my case, many things. The car had been checked out in advance by Troy Ermish, a well-known Datsun 510 racer, mechanic, and parts engineer/guru. He had given me the green light on this car after he tested it at Thunderhill a month or so prior to my purchase. but hey, race cars are finicky and high-strung. So once we got the car off the trailer and started prepping it for the race season, it needed much to be up to a proper competitive standard.

So into Troy's shop for a new Quartermaster double disc clutch, transmission overhaul (synchros, shift forks, dogs, sliders, seals and bearings, hub rework, new crossmember and mounts), new rear quarter windows, new fiberglass hood and fasteners, second set of Rota wheels, new set of Hoosier R7 tires, AIM Solo 2 DL lap timer with integrated Smarty Cam HD.  

I took it out for a shakedown at Thunderhill raceway and found that I need to fix a few more things. 

But I'm a dork, so we recreated a well-known photo of Pete Brock, John Morton, and Mike Downs, using Troy Ermish as the Pete Brock character. Poor Troy.

Race guys are great at fabricating stuff. Sometimes it's not what you want, though. The radiator starting leaking on the Thunderhill run because the prior owner had fabricated a semi-solid braided metal connection hose from the radiator to the thermostat housing. So it didn't provide any flexibility, and therefore the shake of the engine translated into creating a nice crack in the radiator. And.... the brakes were scary and pulling hard to the right when I hit them hard at over 100MPH. And, the steering box was so loose and sloppy that I felt like a kid steering a Model A on a frozen lake: the direction the car went bore no relation to my wheel input.

So, back to the shop for new Wilwood brake calipers, a suspension check, a new radiator, new alternator, new hoses and routing of water overflow, new (used) steering box and brackets, etc.

After a couple more weeks, the car was back at home with me and getting ready for my next shakedown test #2.  I am getting prepped for the April 9-11 David Love Historic Races at Sonoma Raceway, so that'll be the next test spot. Meanwhile, it was time to do some basic cleanup, and to set up the AIM Solo 2 lap timer and make sure the car looked as it should as a replica of Mike Downs' #35 BRE race car in 1970-1971. Also, I made sure I paid my license fee to the good people at Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) in order to legally use their look and feel BRE racing livery (not everybody does, I"m sure you're shocked). BRE supplied the proper stickers to replicate the look, and as every racer-boy will tell you, those stickers are good for at least 10 extra horsepower.

Here is Mike Downs' car in the BRE shop circa 1971:

And here is mine now, note the dashboard signatures from Bob Bondurant, John Morton, and Floyd Link (one of the original BRE engine builders):

And to make sure my neighbors would continue to shake their heads at me, I tested the new brakes around the block. See video link below for the sound of the angry 4-banger. Next step: on the trailer to Sonoma Raceway for shakedown cruise #2 this week.

For more history on the Datsun 510, Brock racing Enterprises, go to the BRE website. Peter Brock was truly a legend and shaped the destiny of the Japanese performance car market in the USA. See "Datsun 510: Against all Odds" below and also check out his presentation at the BlackHawk Auto Museum a few years ago.

CLICK FOR VIDEO OF WHOLE PRESENTATION:   https://vimeo.com/264447675

McLaren MP4-12C: DIY fix of the dreaded "cloudy headlight"

As a reminder, I've had my McLaren MP4-12C for about 6 years now. It's a 2012 that I bought in 2014. It has about 55,000 miles on it now. 

If you own one or have been around a few 12Cs, you have likely seen or heard about one issue that has come up in a number of cars: the sealed headlights had a tendency to develop a condensation-like cloudiness on the inside of the plastic headlight covers. It's actually a kind of mold or bacteria that is not easily removed, so the typical fix is to replace the headlight.  Go to the dealership and a pair of new headlights will cost you several thousand dollars. Alternatively, you can generally find used  headlights on EBAY for about $500 -$800 each. Plus installation. My local dealership quoted me about $2400 to remove the headlights, recondition then, re-seal them, and re-install them. So, I decided to do it myself, and followed the repair advice of a number of members on the car forum MclarenLife.com. As it turned out, I did the whole job in a matter of hours over a day or two and with less than $10 of materials. I thought I would share it here in case it is helpful for anyone else.  

The first step is to get the car up a bit, so it is easier to get underneath the exterior panels to remove the bumper. So before we get to the fix, just a word about using my QuickJack BL-5000SLX on the McLaren. I've used my 5000SLX primarily for simple and easy access on my Cayman S and my Shelby GT350R. In both cases, it's a perfect fit. For the McLaren, the lift points are spread farther apart (front-back distance). So I needed to get the extenders from QuickJack.

By adding the SLX Frame Extension from Quickjack (https://www.quickjack.com/slx-frame-extensions/), the overall length of the lift rails is six inches greater, allowing the proper reach to the factory lift points (just barely!). The lift points are indicated underneath the car by colored circles.

But no good deed goes unpunished, and no purchase goes perfectly, either. Now that the lift is long enough, the added height of the adapter makes it impossible to slide the jack underneath the car. Mostly for the front, as the rear still has enough clearance. This photo below shows the new height (and length) of the lift with the extensions. I knew it would be close, as the website and docmumentation for the QuickJack is spot-on for their measurements, but I was hopeful I could slide this under.  As it turns out, I CAN do so, but then I have no room to insert the rubber blocks that go between the lift and the car's lift points.

So, I resorted to the simplest solution... drive the car onto a couple of "ramps" up front.  OK, maybe that is a grandiose label for a couple of 1"x6" blocks of wood, cut with a small angle on the leading edge.  In any case, by driving the car's front wheels up onto these block, the front end is now high enough to slide the jack underneath.  Add a couple of right-sized rubber lifting blocks that come with the Quickjack, and the car is up safely in minutes.

OK, so now that it was up, on to the somewhat laborious and intimidating job of tearing apart the headlights. There is no small about of trepidation associated with removing body parts off an exotic car, but in the end, it really isn't that much different than the old days when I was 17 and tearing apart my 1972 Datsun 510. Of course, back then, if it didn't go back together, who really cared?

Removing the front bumper consists of removing the fender liners and the plastic covers underneath the front splitter/skid plate. I found a number of helpful websites and YouTube videos, but in the end, there's a bit of hunting around for the next bolt to remove. Wish I had more photos for you, but my hands were kinda full and I was busy swearing at inanimate objects ;-). About 45 minutes later, I had the bumper off and laying peacefully on a tire.

There are a couple of headlight bolts that are hard to get to if you haven't pulled the fender liners off, but you can get to them. I hope you don't have chubby hands.

Headlights are off. Here is what they looked like. Note the milky condensation looking stuff that clouds the top third of the headlight. Yes, it would be great if you could just shove a Q-tip like swab in there to wipe it out, but it isn't just moisture. That stuff takes a lot of work to get off the plastic.

So here was the  weird part... it is now time to bake these babies at 200 degrees for about 10 minutes. In the oven. In your kitchen. Don't let your spouse or chef/foodie roommate catch you doing this. 

After time baking in the oven, the seal and rubber around the plastic becomes softer and pliable and you can then use a series of screwdrivers to (carefully!) work around the latch-tabs and the rubber to separate the headlight cover. This takes time, and time isn't your friend because the darn rubber sealant is hardening as it cools. I used a few more choice words at about this point, and questioned my own sanity.

But hey, it all came apart. Here are a few more close-ups of that mold.

At this point, I used a couple bottles of Meguiar's PlastX Plastic cleaner and polish and a pointed wheel polishing attachment on my high-speed drill.  I couldn't use my larger car buffer vert week because of the small areas being buffed. You have to get in those crevices, and this takes an hour or more for each headlight. After the first few passes with PlastX, I used a polishing compound to complete the refurbishment. When I was done, I baked it again to soften the rubber and reassembled the headlights, using black silicone sealant to augment the existing sealant material, which had taken a beating from my work.

Back together and looking pretty much as good as new!!

Of course, whenever you reassemble, there is ALWAYS that one extra part. Luckily, I knew exactly where it came from and it was only about a 10-minute detour to take the fnder liner back off and gee this little guy back where he belonged.

I managed to complete this all in maybe 4-5 hours total, not including couple trips to the store and a long explanation to my lovely wife as to why I was cooking car parts in the kitchen.

Back in business and rear for a little track day fun at Sonoma Raceway, but that's another story!