Project 996 Road Rallye: Part 1

 We kicked off a partial restoration and build of a 2000 Porsche 911.  We have secured this car for a client who is keen to have us build a car that will work on the rough CA canyons and ocassional dirt road use.  Read more about our thinking: HERE  

I am really excited about this build as I fell in love with Ariel Nomads after putting a few thousand miles on them.  This 996RR will be a worthy alternative.  I blogged about the Nomads: HERE  

These 996.1 cars are a bit of a 'red-headed stepchild' in the Porsche community.  The stigma of being the first water-cooled car coupled with the 'fried egg' headlights make it a real point of contention for many Porschiles.  But in reality, the car drives really well and is a true 911.

We placed the car on the lift and began inspecting it.  Overall the mechanical condition was good.  We've found a few things that will need to be addressed but for a car with 120k miles, she was in good shape.  

Cosmetically, she is a mess!  The paint is bad and so is the interior.  We will need to replace at least one panel (driver front fender) and repaint at least one panel.  Ultimately we will install a cool livery on the car with the help of our colleagues at BrandXTR.

We decided to work with Elephant Racing to sort out the suspension.  These guys are well loved in the Porsche world with their Safari kits (and more).  We talked at length with them about this build and making adjustments to suit our specific needs.  This car is a C2 (rear wheel drive) so is lighter and more in line with what we want for tarmac use.  

Of course we had to put her onto scales = 3219lbs

I drove the car and it drives very well.  I am amazed at how tight she remains even after 120k miles.  Porsche's are built to be endurance race cars so longevity is engineered in.  The steering was good and the shift action not bad - though we discovered one of the shift cables was ready to let loose!  Brakes are solid feeling and the handling good - though I did not really push it beyond 6/10s.

The magic of AI renders...

We are getting the car cleaned up, first by Lee with an exterior/interior detail.  Then it will go to Rolando for an underbody dry ice cleaning process.  Then we will start the disassembly and build process.  I am hoping we can deliver a car that is as light, if not lighter, than the stock car - 3219lbs.

Ultimately, we will leverage the relationships we have built with so many of our excellent suppliers including: Girodisc, Scarbo Performance, G-loc, Expert Upholstery, Xclusive Tuning, Champion Motorsport, ReVerie, Nitron and more.  Plus we are developing new partnerships with Porsche specialist companies like Elephant and Slakker.