Last year we introduced you to our newest project car, called simply “Project Boxster Clubsport”. In that first installment we found the right car, we purchased it for a song, and since then we’ve been slowly removing weight from it and installing a few upgrades. So far, we’re really happy with what the Boxster has become, but things came to a halt recently and sent us back to the drawing board. It’s an excellent Porsche, and we aim to make it just a little bit more excellent with each improvement.
Part 2 – GT3-Style Center Console Delete
Part 3 – LED license plate lights
Part 6 – Emblem Delete and Paint Correction
Part 8 – Short Shift Kit Installation
Part 10 – Big Brakes, Spacers, and Wheel Studs
Part 11 – Wheels and Michelins
Before we get started we would need to thank Michelin. As many of you know, Michelin is a long-time sponsor of FLATSIXES.com. Recently, they have generously offered to sponsor Project Boxster Clubsport as part of their involvement with our site. Please consider checking out what Michelin has to offer by clicking their banners on this page. Without Michelin’s support, and others like them, this site really wouldn’t be possible.
Part 12 –
At the end of a long day at the office, the last thing I wanted to see when I went out to the parking lot was my beloved Porsche sitting damaged. Unfortunately, that’s the sight I was treated to a while ago. The rare Porsche Aerokit 1 bumper was cracked, torn from its purchase on the front of my car, laying haphazard on the bare pavement. It was a sad sight, to be sure.
How Did It Happen?
To make matters worse, it was by complete fluke that I’d parked in that space in the first place. Normally, being a responsible Porsche owner, I park as far out in the parking lot as possible so as to avoid door dings and damage from other motorists parking next to me. On this particular day, however, the maintenance crew was doing some leaf blowing when I arrived, and I opted to park in the middle of the lot to avoid them spraying rocks at my car with the leaf blower, or coating my interior with leaves and sand. While parked in the middle of the lot, the bright red sports car apparently became invisible, as it was swiped clean in the nose by a large pickup truck. At the very least, it was good of them to have left their insurance information and an apology. Regardless, this bumper is difficult to find, and a number of the underlying brackets and mounts have been shattered beyond recognition. Furthermore, the driver’s side fender is dented, and the headlight assembly has also been damaged, at least cosmetically.
What Now?
So, where before our Boxster project aimed to keep the bodywork relatively stock and looking close to factory, we’re now going to take this project in a slightly different direction. The trajectory for this project is now aimed square at the stars, and making things a bit more exciting, from an appearance standpoint. Being that we’ll need to replace at least one headlamp, and at least one fender, in addition to the front bumper, we’re allowed a few options when finalizing repairs. For the purposes of this project, we’ve settled on a pair of 996 Turbo front fenders, and a 996 GT3-style front bumper, which gives us the ability to update to the late 996 headlamps, which we find much more attractive than the original ‘fried egg’ style headlamp assembly. This is pretty involved work, but we’ll set about tackling that job in future updates. The insurance payout from the damage will cover some of the costs involved, but certainly not all of them. We’ve managed to source the bumper and headlight assemblies, but haven’t yet found a pair of fenders or headlight brackets at a reasonable cost.
So what do you think? Where would you like to see this project go from here? Once everything is installed, we’ll need to get the car painted or vinyl wrapped. Put your color preferences in the comments section below.
View Comments (10)
Sad to see your project like this. I'd opt for white with a contrasting colored 'club sport' script on the sides and colorcoded wheels to match. Blue perhaps?
Best of luck
I had seriously considered something like this. Something similar to the European 996 GT3 RS livery? Yeah, that would look great.
Right now I'm leaning toward something a little bit louder. Viper Green, perhaps.
Something like this:
http://s49.photobucket.com/user/Yoranv/media/porschemotion/dsp_groen.jpg.html
Possible, but i'd stick with the white mentioned earlier.
Best regards,
Nick
What a shame and IMHO another shame would be to put on those 996 parts. I've seen Boxsters decked out that way and they look too nose heavy and too big in front. The Boxster, again IMHO, has a sleek look that is unique to it, so I'd stay stock and keep the original color. If you're determined to wrap it one of my favorite Boxster colors, besides Arctic Silver, is Speed Yellow.
It's all a matter of personal preference, but I've always hated Boxster headlights, so I'll be happy to move to the later 911 headlights.
As for the color, I can't stand Guards Red on anything, I do not like red cars. Speed Yellow wouldn't be my choice, and I refuse to own a silver German car aside from a Zermatt Silver Metallic 944, which I would own again in a heartbeat.
It would seem, Ronald, that we have very different tastes in cars. Which is fine. You like what you like, and I like what I like. Isn't life beautiful that way?
Yes Bradley and you are the one who asked for opinions so when they are given it doesn't mean you have to defend yours or negate theirs. Just recognize them gracefully.
You say; "The trajectory for this project is now aimed square at the stars, and making things a bit more exciting, from an appearance standpoint." In my opinion, making a Boxster 986 front end into a later 996 is hardly aiming for the stars... The so called "fried egg lights" are actually the 986 cars most unique visual feature (with some hints/links to the 993 front) and a design that will probably never be used on any car in the future. The exterior visual design of the 986 has many faults and most are around the rear...lack of curves over the wheel arches and doesn't look wide enough. I have a Speed Yellow 986 but one in Riviera Blue looks fantastic especially in the sun...or Black. Good luck on your project
As in the old Rolling Stones tune....."I see a red (car) and I want it painted black".
I did this to my 986 when I had a front end collision (back in 2006). Google "986 to 996 conversion" -my link on the 986forum should be the first result. I chose the standard 911 bumper as opposed to the Turbo or GT3 style. Those two are too aggressive for the svelt lines of the Boxster in my opinion.
Will you go with halogens or xenon? That will affect your costs considerably. And there are plenty of other bits you'll need to acquire. My conversion required a wiring harness from a Cayanne for the headlights (they were xenon, don't know if that's required for halogens). More about the process can be found on the post mentioned above. (http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/9114-official-986-996-front-end-conversion-thread.html)
I like the red car and I would just replace the fender, headlight and bumper cover.
I wouldn't dump extra money to convert the front end if it's going to cost you more.
The cost of the car was so low originally. I'd stay on that path for the repair.
If you don't like red or the fried egg headlights...fix repair your present booster and then sell it for the car you do like.
Enjoy your podcast cammed andtubbed.com