996 GT3 MK1

[ditchvisitor]

I know there are a fair few car lovers on here so I thought I would start a thread a thread about my new car journey. I picked it up a few weeks ago and have been out in a few times now, below is what I wrote the day I collected it....

I picked up the GT3 on a stunning, sunny, autumn afternoon, what can I say about this car.... it's an assault on the senses, from the rattly Mezger at tick over, to the epic noise as you go past 7k, it's like nothing else. The feedback through the steering wheel is sensational and you can just feel that given some time to get used to it and the right road it will be amazing. Everything about the car is so analogue, the steering is light but direct, the clutch is quite heavy and the gear change is firm but positive, the diff grumbles in load speed turns and it does feel like an 18 year old car in some respects, but this one drives like a new car!

I'm sure the newer GT3's would run rings round it but that's not the point, I finally get why people hold the 996 GT3's in such high regard, it's the end of an era in terms of driver interaction and and I genuinely feel privileged to be able to own one.

[ditchvisitor]

So this weekend I'm giving the car a good clean before it probably doesn't get used for a while with all the salt arriving on the roads. I've taken the Recaro bucket seat pads out and given them a good clean with Gliptone cleaner and then conditioner, it's made a massive difference already and I'm planning on giving them a couple more goes with the conditioner. I've also done the same to the seats in the car and the few other leather bits.



My GT3 came from the factory with the CD holder at the front of the transmission tunnel under the dash. It was possible to order it without this, as it cleans the interior up a bit and importantly gives a bit more leg room, I've ordered the relevant parts and will collect them and fit them soon, watch this space.
After a recommendation I have ordered some gyeon q2 rim sealant and will be taking the wheels off for a thorough clean and seal.

[ditchvisitor]

A few jobs and some interior detailing done today, have polished and waxed one seat back and cleaned and conditioned all the leather.
Also done the same on the doors, the pic shows it a bit shiny as it the meg interior detail and glipton conditioner had only just been applied, it has dried to a much nicer finish.

[bobdog]

Brilliant, looking forward to reading about your journey, just had my black car fully detailed and ceramic coated, really makes black PoP, well worth considering if yours hasn’t been done.

[bobar]

Looks in very good condition.

Did you buy it at Virgin911 near Uxbridge?

[paneristi372]

Excellent motor, enjoy it!

[ditchvisitor]

Looks in very good condition.

Did you buy it at Virgin911 near Uxbridge?

It really is in very very good condition, especially as it is 18 years old, yes I did buy it from 911Virgin, they were an absolute pleasure to deal with, highly recommended.

Brilliant, looking forward to reading about your journey, just had my black car fully detailed and ceramic coated, really makes black PoP, well worth considering if yours hasn’t been done.

Already on it! My friend has a detailing company and he is coming over early Spring to do it.

[Tony]

Brilliant, looking forward to reading about your journey, just had my black car fully detailed and ceramic coated, really makes black PoP, well worth considering if yours hasn’t been done.

I had my black 997 ceramic coated in the summer. Well worth the cost.

[Loupe]

What a car, looks very clean given the age. Can’t wait to see the finished result.

[Damo]

Lovely car, I'll keep keep my eye on this thread :)

[andyb28]

Looks awesome, be careful, they aren't forgiving!

[Rory]

I remember when these first came out they were only about £5k more than a standard Carrera ‘GT3 look’ - incredible!

[pastrana72]

That looks fantastic, strange it is 18 years old seems like yesterday these were now.

I was looking at a advert for a 996 C4S, thinking I wanted one back in the day, I could get this and run it for a bit and how much would it cost me.

For now the idea is ported.

I remember looking at a 288 GTO for 240,000 grand in 2008 I thought that was mad, same car now 2.4 million.

So this C4S maybe not so stupid idea.

Enjoy the GT3, it is proper ace, love it.

[Mikey-r]

Congratulations, that is a beautiful car and a fantastic choice!

I fully understand and appreciate your comments re: an 18 year old car and the analogue feel. I run a 14 year old M3 as a daily. The whole experience is so much more enjoyable and tactile than modern cars. When it's cold the gearbox is cluncky, the engine a tad hesitant, the diff grumbles and the car generally feels old and heavy.

Then it starts to warm up and the whole car comes alive. The engine becomes smooth and eager, the gearbox slick and the car seems to grow around you.

There is something missing on modern sports cars. The electric steering numbs the senses, the double clutch paddle boxes, whilst faster and more efficient, take away your control and the satisfaction of mastering gear changes and heel 'n' toe down shifts. The way the market is leaning towards smaller dual turbo charged engines leave me cold. I love the normal aspirated engine and, as you say, the change in engine note as the 5k becomes 6, then 7 then, maybe, a little bit more :-)

Please keep us updated with your ownership and thoughts. I've never owned a Porsche but they're on my list as my next purchase.

[ditchvisitor]

Thanks for all the positive comments guys, I remember almost buying a 964 RS for £33k 11 years ago and they are £200k+ now!
I genuinely feel that these are massively undervalued at the moment, only 106 RHD Uk models imported, with only 89 left in the UK, of those more than half have been tracked heavily and modified. It is the last Porsche GT car with no driver aids and being built in the same factory as the GT race cars is essentially as close to a road going race car as you can get. The modern GT's are further and further from the race car variants with each iteration, and with the 996 RS versions being well over £200k I don't think it's a bad place to have my money, more importantly it's incredible to drive. I was specifically looking for an unmodified, completely original and as good condition as possible car, the last 2 owners combined owned it for 14 years and were best friends, it's been very well looked after.

[Tony]

Congratulations, that is a beautiful car and a fantastic choice!

I fully understand and appreciate your comments re: an 18 year old car and the analogue feel. I run a 14 year old M3 as a daily. The whole experience is so much more enjoyable and tactile than modern cars. When it's cold the gearbox is cluncky, the engine a tad hesitant, the diff grumbles and the car generally feels old and heavy.

Agreed, but it's a bit embarrassing at roundabouts on cold mornings when I can't get my 997 in first gear in order to set off.

[Pretzel]

Can I ask where the stainless fixings are from?

[Coronet king]

Wow that's one factory fresh interior, doesn't look like the passenger seat has ever been used.

Well if that's how you look after your cars Mike I wish I wasn't buying another house & had bought you SD

David

[adrianw]

I had one of those with BBS wheels and the factory aero kit, alpine silver with box tee red interior, good car, some people moan about the poverty spec interior but I liked it.

[PipPip]

An absolute pleasure to see the love and attention being lavished on this wonderful car. Great job.

[ditchvisitor]

An absolute pleasure to see the love and attention being lavished on this wonderful car. Great job.

Really looking good, amazing what a bit of elbow grease can do.

Thanks guys! Appreciate all the positive comments! Need to work out how to jack it up to get the wheels off as it's so bloody low!!

[mowflow]

Buy a low profile trolley jack.

[cyrusir]

i am insanely jealous

i had an e46 m3 in my 20s that i lavished the same care and attention on, the only issue then was that i was very precious about where i would drive it!

buying a house has halted me for now but one day ill buy a hobby car like that again

fair play

[Mouse]

Lovely car, but I don't like the OSB rear window. I feel that Porsche have skimped a bit there ;-)

[Alex L]

Buy a low profile trolley jack.

Get one of these, nothing else was low enough to get under my 2-Eleven.

Lovely GT3 by the way

Untitled by Alex L, on Flickr

[TomGW]

Very nice. I'm going through a similar deep clean process on my 49k '03 Boxster and fitting the lower console delete kit too. Also have been wondering if it's possible to dismantle the seats and swap the leather, driver to passenger side, to even out the, so far minimal, wear on the bolsters.

[OliverD]

Lovely. I'm feeling guilty about how dirty my car is now!

[ditchvisitor]

So just a quick peek at what I'm currently doing.... I've got slightly carried away, ie bumper, heat shields exhaust, arch liners, rear lights etc etc have all come off, I've snow foamed and de greased under the arches and cleaned out the wheel arch lip etc. I've ordered all new nuts/bolts/screws etc etc, one heat shield as the original is knackered and a few other sundries. There are a few very very small patches of surface corrosion I am going to sort, however for what is a 20 year old car with very minimal underseal etc it's rather good!







I've also got on order stainless steel bolts for all the exhaust brackets/mountings, mines very recently had the silencers and mounting bracket replaced so they are as new, however the bolts and nuts are not stainless!

I will take more pics of both sides as I am working my way through and as I clean all the parts and refit them all. The wife is less than happy with the rear bumper residing in the living room!!!

[Chris_in_the_UK]

Loving the work!.

[ditchvisitor]

It has been a quiet few weeks on the car front, I've been manic at work and it's been bloody cold! I'm off to collect all the bits I ordered this morning and will start getting it back together next week. I should get the stainless steel bolts for the exhaust on Monday too.

I decided to get some new wheel centres as one of them is odd and doesn't match as well as some titanium wheel bolts from the US to stop the issue of repeated rusty steel OEM bolts!!

Overall all the bits I'm doing are preventative maintenance and tidying up, I enjoy doing work on my cars myself and have a list of jobs to carry out over the next year or so. It's very recently had all 3 front radiators replaced as well as the condensors so I'm planning on fitting some protective grills to keep them from getting damaged.

I've also got the car booked to get detailed and ceramic coated very soon, it's going to be on display at the Henley Cargatta in May so needs to be looking its best!

[peter2704]

keep this thread going ,i love it!! You should be proud of the work you are doing to a great car.

[Chicken Pox]

It has been a quiet few weeks on the car front, I've been manic at work and it's been bloody cold! I'm off to collect all the bits I ordered this morning and will start getting it back together next week. I should get the stainless steel bolts for the exhaust on Monday too.

I decided to get some new wheel centres as one of them is odd and doesn't match as well as some titanium wheel bolts from the US to stop the issue of repeated rusty steel OEM bolts!!

Overall all the bits I'm doing are preventative maintenance and tidying up, I enjoy doing work on my cars myself and have a list of jobs to carry out over the next year or so. It's very recently had all 3 front radiators replaced as well as the condensors so I'm planning on fitting some protective grills to keep them from getting damaged.

I've also got the car booked to get detailed and ceramic coated very soon, it's going to be on display at the Henley Cargatta in May so needs to be looking its best!

http://www.henleycargatta.co.uk/ looks a good event, I presume pay on the day for non-display cars (don't think anyone would want to see my lease R)?

[Boss13]

Stunning, stunning car. All time classic. Great pics. Following this thread...

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[Rory]

Amazing stuff, I have massive admiration for you, I barely have the skills to maintain a push bike!

Cheers
Rory


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[prexelor]

I like these updates from DV. The skill, knowledge and dedication is admirable. I’ve reached my peak at a wash/wax and hoover where anything requiring a screwdriver, hammer, spanner or pliers and it’s goodnight Vienna.

[ditchvisitor]

I like these updates from DV. The skill, knowledge and dedication is admirable. I’ve reached my peak at a wash/wax and hoover where anything requiring a screwdriver, hammer, spanner or pliers and it’s goodnight Vienna.

Apologies for the late response!! I’m lucky that my Dad used to race cars and did all his own spannering so I grew up around them, we built a Westfield together when I was at college/on my year out that I paid half of. Was a great experience learning how to build an engine etc and I’ve always tended to work on my own cars, even though it’s a GT3 it’s still only a car and relatively straight forward and simple to work on, loads of forums/blogs/videos to help these days!

[wileeeeeey]

Only just discovered this thread and what a read. I bet half the people reading this are hoping it pops up on SC at some point! I wouldn't have the knowledge or confidence to take tools to any car but I struggle to think of the cost of having all this done by a garage.

Keep the updates coming, it's a great thread and very much appreciated.

[TomGW]

An inspiration to anyone with a classic of this era to maintain. Particularly interesting for me, with an '03 Boxster, which has many common issues to address.

[pete-r]

Car is looking great.

There are definitely advantages to buying the 986/996 cars in general, they are much cheaper because of the supposed engine fragility, but also the rest of the car is DIY fixable.

The horn failed on my 987 Cayman under warranty, and the invoice totalled almost £3k!!! It was all control units and PCBs. The modern cars need too much specialist kit to repair so the tactic is to replace with new parts etc.

Had it been out of warranty I'd have wired a button to the steering column...

[wileeeeeey]

The horn failed on my 987 Cayman under warranty, and the invoice totalled almost £3k!!! It was all control units and PCBs.

That is absolutely mental.

[pete-r]

Was the final straw to selling the car tbh.

They were charging something like £150p/h so coupled with parts at hundred each, it soon starts to mount up.

Made me wonder what the cost would be if something serious broke!

[ditchvisitor]

Only just discovered this thread and what a read. I bet half the people reading this are hoping it pops up on SC at some point! I wouldn't have the knowledge or confidence to take tools to any car but I struggle to think of the cost of having all this done by a garage.

Keep the updates coming, it's a great thread and very much appreciated.

Thanks for all the nice comments, she is a labour of love and gives me great joy popping out to the garage to do some work.

[TomGW]

From your photos it would appear that you should be able to route your trickle charger wire through the bulkhead along with the wiring loom and into the 'frunk'. I've been wondering about that but didn't want to start stripping stuff out if in fact there was no opportunity, so your photos are a help. My trickle charger has a rubber terminal with a flip over cap for when it's not being used. Normally I leave it in the battery compartment, but I would prefer to have it terminate on the 'dry side' of the rubber seal that runs around the opening. I'm also on the lookout for a switched version of the frunk light, so that I can switch it off when the lid is being left open for longer periods. I know a simple in-line switch would do the job but I would prefer to leave the wiring all standard.

[Cat7]

Would like to hear that soundtrack when it’s finished. Looks awesome, are you almost finished or do you have other things planned?

[ditchvisitor]

Would like to hear that soundtrack when it’s finished. Looks awesome, are you almost finished or do you have other things planned?

Will try and get a clip up once it’s all done. I’m planning a remap at some point, I would also like to get the calipers refurbed and also the wheels although that will probably be next year.

[Mj2k]

Or next week if you are an optimist!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Rob s]

Amazing car, great thread and looking forward to the updates. I had a lovely Gen 1 Cayman S for a few years and loved it (not in the same league as the GT3 obviously). Life meant it had to go for a bigger car but hope to move to a 911 at some point.

[ditchvisitor]

Thanks again for the comments, I’ve been considering an exhaust system for the car for a while, ideally I wanted an M&M system from Germany, they were the suppliers for Manthey who offered the K400 upgrade for the car, however at around £4500 I wasn’t that keen!

An advert appeared on 911UK with a full system comprising of ceramic coated stainless steel Fabspeed headers, GMG Motorsport silencers and cross over pipes with HJS 200 cell cats. The previous owner had them fitted to a MK2 GT3 and with a remap made significant gains. Again this system was around £5500, I picked it up for £1400.

Once it arrives I will fit the silencers, cross over pipes and cats myself, it will then go up to Matt at Fearnsport to have the headers fitted, the current bolts are rather corroded and if they snap off I have no way to remove them and he has done them plenty of times before! Once the full system is on I will get a remap carried out by Wayne Schofield.

[964boy]

Your insane :)

But what a stunner

[ditchvisitor]

Today’s job involved fitting the rather lovely new RSS engine mounts and once again stripping the back of the car off!! This is helped by the fact I’ve done it a few times before and all the fixtures are brand new!

Old engine mounts removed, I think there will be rather a noticeable difference as these are the original factory ones from 21 years and 48k miles ago!!!!



New lovely RSS mounts:



Fitted in the car:



And now with all the exhaust off waiting for the new one!!