Rob's '99 Carrera 4 Cabriolet

[ConradBuff]

Hi all. Have owned many cars over the years, mostly VW's but have never started a 'build' thread. This being my first Porsche I thought I'd make the effort to document everything through my ownership.

I bought the car at the end of September last year so I have some catching up to do! Apologies if its a bit of dump to start with, I'll try and use this space to document the changes and upgrades I make going forward.

Anyway, lets get on with it. Most importantly, this is the car or how it was when I went to view it -

The car is a '99 Carrera 4 Cabriolet in Rainforest Green Metallic over Savannah Beige. I've always been a huge fan of 'Green over Tan' so when this one appeared on Auto Trader I had to go and look at it. It was actually the second time it got listed, not selling the first time round and so was relisted a few £k cheaper. In the end I was lucky to seal the deal as the seller had plenty of interest offering all sorts without even viewing the car! Some more pics from my 2nd visit with a friend of mine who owns a few Porsche's so came to have a look over -

Anyway, a deal was done based on a PPI, which I (& the seller!) patiently waited 2 1/2 weeks for! The car was put in to Brookspeed as they were the local specialist to the seller -

The list of things found on the PPI was short -

- Nail in n/s rear tyre
- No locking wheel nuts
- N/S/R shock leaking
- Exhaust bolts corroded (literally all of them!)
- Rear coffin arm bushes worn
- Coil packs cracked

They advised they had the Beru coil packs on the shelf which are thicker than the ones that were on there so I confirmed the deal with the seller and asked Brookspeed to include the coilpacks in the major service I'd asked them to undertake, as well as Gearbox & Brake fluid changes. The car was finally mine! I picked this lanyard up at the Nurburgring 4-5 years ago, I must have known...

 

[ConradBuff]

First thing I did when I got it home was give it a wash!

Its clear this car has had some questionable paintwork in the past but I was aware of that from when I first viewed it and plan to have it resolve at some point, its certainly passable for now.

On a dry day I stripped out the interior to give it a good clean, it was clear it hadn't seen some love in a while -

Annoyingly, I didnt seem to take any after photos! Anyway, it cleaned up great with an interior cleaner, hoover and plenty of elbow grease and looks a lot better than it did, despite still having age related marks etc.

When I bought the car it was quite muddy underneath, on the undertrays and arches with marks on the passenger side sill suggesting it had driven through quite a muddy area at some point or as I more suspected (and later potentially confirmed) the car had come off the road at some point. When I stripped out the frunk I also found one of the floor plugs had been pushed out and a lot of mud had ingressed which I cleaned & hoovered out. The plug was still under the carpet so put it back in place -

Going round the car found further areas that I'll need to get addressed at some point -

Under the rain trays didnt look much better -

All the leaves were hoovered out, the area cleaned and the battery tray removed, wire brushed and repainted. You'll have to believe me because again I didnt take any pictures again!

Whilst I'm here, any ideas what this might be? The wires run to the battery and under the dash by the looks of it. Have left in the car for now but want to eventually remove if redundant -

One of the other suspects in making me think the car has been in trouble in the past is the passenger sill/arch spat. I took the opportunity to replace both sides -

 

[ConradBuff]

First modification time! Its small one & cheap too but makes a really nice difference when you put your foot down. The induction noise sounds great and becomes very addictive. You can also see the replacement boot strut I fitted, common problem and easy to change -

The handbrake had a lot of travel in it so I did a bit of research online, watched a few videos and decided to take on the adjustment myself, which thankfully turned out pretty straightforward. Took the opportunity to give the inner arches a bit of a clean whilst I was under there -

Took the trunk plastics out to clean up too and actually took some pictures of the cleaner tray this time -

The car hunts on idle. It was worse but is not completely fixed so suspect vacuum leak somewhere. At some point I will replace the whole vacuum system but I started with cleaning the throttle body & replacing the gasket and thought I'd replace the belt whilst I was at it -

Whilst I was there I did some poking around with the torch and think I found one of the culprits in the hunting idle -

I missed an update! My first private plate for my first Porsche -

Then took it to my first meet, Porsche Club GB Region 29 at Redhill Aerodrome -

 

[ConradBuff]

Always been a fan of the US look side markers. Obviously they came on the full amber cars over here anyway so was able to source a pair from a Boxster, cleaned them up and fitted them. I think they look great against the green -

Decided to tackle the vacuum valve to see if that would help the idle. First step was to remove the alternator, what a ladies intimate part that job is! Managed to get to the valve and swap it out somehow, not much room for activities in there!

Nephew approved!

Car suffers from the common starting issue when hot so checked out one of the earth cables which seemed fine so suspect the Y-cable will need to be replaced -

Felt the rear wheels looked a little lost so opted for some 15mm spacers after reading advice on here -

Swapped out the standard wipers for Aero Wipers. I think it looks cleaner and find them more efficient. Also took care of the wiper placement whilst I was at it -

Took a drive to Goodwood one Sunday morning for some breakfast with a couple of mates -

I decided I wanted to get the Gundo hack done after hearing the difference it made. However, after a friend inspected the back boxes he advised they were in a poor state and ideally needed replacing, so I took him up on his offer he didnt realise he made! Fortunately it was around Black Friday so managed to get a deal on the Miltek system. Plenty of fun was had fitting them! (Note self tappers in bumper and damaged support bar suggesting this was definitely hiding a previous bump). At the same time managed to pick up a set of RS engine mounts from this forum so fitted them up at the same time -

Replaced the bonnet badge gasket as the old one was perished -

Purchased a SSK after driving a friends 997 with one fitted. Whilst fitting that I also tackled the hinge replacement of the rear cubby hole that was broken as the centre console came out. Few more ancient coins found!

What a difference it makes! So happy with how it feels, the driving experience is even better for it. A very cheap mod with a huge impact.

The foot rest randomly snapped in half one day so decided to replace that and the pedal covers whilst I was there as they had worn through -

I think I'll opt to replace the accelerator pedal at some point. Its worn and there is play in it and I dont like the suggested 'fixes' but it doesnt bother me for now.

I noticed one of the undertrays was broken so ordered up a replacement. Annoyingly whilst under there noticed the other undertray was also broken so will have to replace that at some point. Removing the old one certainly added to the story previously thought -

Got bought an amazing Christmas present from a friend -

Not many pictures of the install as it was a bit of a pain due to the lack of space but retrofitted the Comfort Turn Signal kit from VW. I had this exact same kit fitted to a Mk4 Polo back in the day, works a treat!

There is a constant 'whining' noise from the car. I've found videos online showing the same whine as mine and the general consensus was 'its normal'. Im still not convinced thats the case but am trying not to worry about it too much. Despite the noise being there when the belt was removed I decided to replace the bearings in the tensioner & idler pulleys for peace of mind -

The next big job on the list is suspension. I plan on replacing all the arms and fitting coilovers but whilst thriftily burying money away I stumbled across THE set of wheels I want for this car, a set of Gemballa Le Mans. I first saw the set on a 993 last year and knew they would be perfect for me and this car, huge impact without the maintenance of split rims -

Long story short, bought them from the seller in Germany, DHL collected them and from that minute they vanished. DHL have confirmed they are missing so all I can hope for now is a refund, which thanks to Putin will not doubt be less than I sent initially due to the Euro dropping! It is a sad chapter and I'm a little frustrated but what can you do, it obviously wasn't meant to be as a friend told me.

So the last and most recent update, I decided to replace the manifold to cat gaskets. I saw a post on this forum from someone recommending these replacements and knowing mine were blowing and seeing the state of the joints when replcing the exhaust I ordered up a set and set to work -

I had to get the studs removed as I just didnt have the tools for the job. I bought new stainless hardware and refitted with the new gaskets.

Since fitting the new exhaust the back box to cat clamps have been leaking. The clamps appear to have crimped allowing a large hole to appear that even a boat load of exhaust paste cant contain. I was hoping to resolve this in the refitting of the cats but no such luck, even with loosening off the whole system. I'm going to buy some new genuine clamps prior to its next service and ask the garage to sort as Im limited to what I can achieve -

The fitment was a nightmare to be honest, took far too long, new clamps broke when fitting, I was glad to see the finish line -

I managed to secure a pair of the Tequipment EP4110 tips on eBay so fitted them up at the same time -

The came the real kicker. As if the whole exhaust experience wasnt enough the car had one last surprise waiting for me. if you've read the rest of this thread you'll notice I've reference possible previous damage and various signs suggesting its been repaired (badly) at some point. Well the terrible paint on the rear bumper was nothing to the next surprise waiting for me -

That whole section is cracked! Completely broken. When refitting the bumper the flex required has obviously caused the previous repair to fail, no surprise considering it looks like filler which isnt known for its flexibility. So 2 steps forward...I now need a new rear bumper and it painting! Its on the to do list but it isnt getting moved above the suspension so will be dealt with at a later date. At least the tips look better -

So that brings it up to date for now. Hopefully going forward I'll be able to add to the thread as and when changes happen and continue to use the knowledge found here to help me along - cheers!

Rob

 

[martin t]

What a good read.

I love the resulting cleanliness and the colour combination.

Great post well done.

Re the rear bumper: Jus repair the bumper properly and paint it. All you need to do is bond the crack first. I have seen it done at the body shop i use and it works a treat.

keep updating.

 

[Alex]

The missing items upfront that the manky sockets should be plugged in to are your alarm siren and tilt sensor.

 

[ConradBuff]

What a good read.

I love the resulting cleanliness and the colour combination.

Great post well done.

Re the rear bumper: Jus repair the bumper properly and paint it. All you need to do is bond the crack first. I have seen it done at the body shop i use and it works a treat.

keep updating.

Thanks Martin, appreciate it!

Good to know about the bumper, will save some hassle and cost so will speak to a bodyshop recommended by a friend about that soon.

 

[ConradBuff]

The missing items upfront that the manky sockets should be plugged in to are your alarm siren and tilt sensor.

Thanks Alex. Which could explain why I've never heard the alarm? And also that there could be a problem I guess if its been unplugged. Or are you saying the siren & sensor are not now fitted by looking at it?

 

[Alex]

They've been removed and are now not there. I'm guessing tje sockets (looking at the state of them) got moisture in and started draining the battery, so instead of resolving the problem they just removed the siren and tilt sensor.

You need these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-...-sensor-99661823704-99663741901-/265340277087

 

[Alex]

They live at the side of the battery like so:

 

[sp1ke]

great to see another one getting some TLC, & a lovely colour combo

 

[coullstar]

Some nice wee touches and work so far. Love the wheels, where did you find them?

 

[Space Cadet]

Great write up, thanks. Lovely colour combo! Did you have any luck with the wheels in the end? If not shame as they look great!

Would definitely try repairing the bumper first, you can reinforce the crack from the inside face with fibreglass sheets (DIY kit from Halfords) then hopefully just a localised spray job from a mobile guy.

 

[Gunscrossed]

Great thread, well done 👍

 

[Alex]

When you did your induction pipe, did you remove the Helmholtz box inside your airbox? Doing so creates more air flow through the filter as the box covers part of it.

With:

Without:

And then fill the hole with an Aluminium insert like so:

with one of these (on the left):