As some of you will know Mrs Ursa is 6 months pregnant and finding it more and more tricky climbing down into my other love, Poppy the Porsche so i thought i would make life a little more comfortable for her, and update the look a little along the way by removing the dated telephone handset and offering some extra leg room.
I ordered a few items from Porsche Tonbridge last week and received a call on friday saying they were ready for collection, i headed to Tonbridge on Saturday and got chatting to a 993 cab owner from Canterbury who expressed an interest in my car so took his number in case i ever sell.
Sunday morning, Fathers Day. Ducked out the house to install my goodies.
Now one of the few gripes i have with this car is lack of space for dumping stuff, coins phone etc so the CD tray had to go
Before Pic.
The removal of the CD tray was a 30 second job, simply eject all the trays and grip. Give a firm tug and the whole housing pops out. The cubby is simply a plug and play item. Insert cubby, firm push and it locks into place all lined up nicely.
After step 1.
Next the outdated handset had to go, another simple task to remove completely. Lift the handset and pop out the circular plug come screw cover to reveal a torx screw. Unscrew this and the handset cradle slides upwards and out then unplug the phone cord from the unit to leave the oversized leather/leatherette panel in full view. Remove the panel by gripping the rear and firmly pulling forward, this panel pops out as held in place by plastic moulding. Underneath the panel are a couple of pieces of plastic mounting and frame work which again unscrew using 3 x Torx screws. Tucking the cable behind the carpet i then placed the new panel and pushed firmly to secure.
After step 2
3rd and final step. I'm a non smoker but my cigar lighter was scratched and the image was worn which has always bugged me since buying the car (a bit OCD i know).
Before.
A cheap item to replace at around £11.50 it would be a case of remove the lighter itself and plug the new in the hole, or so i thought. Now this item is a 996/997 item which upon inspection must have been revised as the new lighter didn't sit well in the old socket and the new socket frame had a newer looking black ring finish. To replace the whole unit meant removing the horseshoe surround so i carefully prised this off using a credit card with insulating tape to shield any sharp edges and protect my dashboard from scratches. Sitting in the passenger seat i started at the top of the horseshoe moving the credit card to the right it came away from the dash enough to get my fingers under and then pull towards the passenger door The horse shoe came off with a few clicks, unplugging the power supply to the lighter i got to work. This took a good hour and i was hot and sweaty by the end. The problem was removing the socket shaft from the horseshoe, without wrecking the clear plastic ring that illuminates when the dash lights up. Firstly pop off the green moulded plastic, this has two tail like connectors which conduct power from cigar housing to clear ring and lights up (pic courtesy of Renntech)
Once this piece has been put aside insert small flat screw driver into cigar housing and prise two metal tabs upwards and rotate the house 90degrees. This is fiddly, frustrating and scratches the daylights out your hands, to manipulate this firmly but without force for fear of breaking the clear plastic ring or horseshoe itself made me swear once or twice but hey presto the housing slides forward from the horseshoe and the new just pushes and clicks right into place. Refit the green light/bulb and re-seat your horseshoe to the dash. - Job done.
Finished look
End result a more updated look to the console and a clean crisp image of a cigar on the dashboard. Also a happy Mrs Ursa who can sit a little more comfortably in the car with that extra leg room. Easy to do little mods but the lighter i wouldn't be in a rush to do again, thankfully i don't smoke so it should last a lifetime. Total costs less that £90 including VAT.
Next step will be to replace/repair the climate control display as it has a serious bleed either side, repair parts can be ordered from eBay seller in Germany claiming to have the exact graphic or vent icons as the original. I may also replace the horseshoe as there are a few scuffs which are visible in the final photo's, these were here prior to starting any work and whilst slight still niggle me.
Damn i forgot to buy that extra cup holder so this will have to do for now.
I ordered a few items from Porsche Tonbridge last week and received a call on friday saying they were ready for collection, i headed to Tonbridge on Saturday and got chatting to a 993 cab owner from Canterbury who expressed an interest in my car so took his number in case i ever sell.
Sunday morning, Fathers Day. Ducked out the house to install my goodies.
Now one of the few gripes i have with this car is lack of space for dumping stuff, coins phone etc so the CD tray had to go
Before Pic.
The removal of the CD tray was a 30 second job, simply eject all the trays and grip. Give a firm tug and the whole housing pops out. The cubby is simply a plug and play item. Insert cubby, firm push and it locks into place all lined up nicely.
After step 1.
Next the outdated handset had to go, another simple task to remove completely. Lift the handset and pop out the circular plug come screw cover to reveal a torx screw. Unscrew this and the handset cradle slides upwards and out then unplug the phone cord from the unit to leave the oversized leather/leatherette panel in full view. Remove the panel by gripping the rear and firmly pulling forward, this panel pops out as held in place by plastic moulding. Underneath the panel are a couple of pieces of plastic mounting and frame work which again unscrew using 3 x Torx screws. Tucking the cable behind the carpet i then placed the new panel and pushed firmly to secure.
After step 2
3rd and final step. I'm a non smoker but my cigar lighter was scratched and the image was worn which has always bugged me since buying the car (a bit OCD i know).
Before.
A cheap item to replace at around £11.50 it would be a case of remove the lighter itself and plug the new in the hole, or so i thought. Now this item is a 996/997 item which upon inspection must have been revised as the new lighter didn't sit well in the old socket and the new socket frame had a newer looking black ring finish. To replace the whole unit meant removing the horseshoe surround so i carefully prised this off using a credit card with insulating tape to shield any sharp edges and protect my dashboard from scratches. Sitting in the passenger seat i started at the top of the horseshoe moving the credit card to the right it came away from the dash enough to get my fingers under and then pull towards the passenger door The horse shoe came off with a few clicks, unplugging the power supply to the lighter i got to work. This took a good hour and i was hot and sweaty by the end. The problem was removing the socket shaft from the horseshoe, without wrecking the clear plastic ring that illuminates when the dash lights up. Firstly pop off the green moulded plastic, this has two tail like connectors which conduct power from cigar housing to clear ring and lights up (pic courtesy of Renntech)
Once this piece has been put aside insert small flat screw driver into cigar housing and prise two metal tabs upwards and rotate the house 90degrees. This is fiddly, frustrating and scratches the daylights out your hands, to manipulate this firmly but without force for fear of breaking the clear plastic ring or horseshoe itself made me swear once or twice but hey presto the housing slides forward from the horseshoe and the new just pushes and clicks right into place. Refit the green light/bulb and re-seat your horseshoe to the dash. - Job done.
Finished look
End result a more updated look to the console and a clean crisp image of a cigar on the dashboard. Also a happy Mrs Ursa who can sit a little more comfortably in the car with that extra leg room. Easy to do little mods but the lighter i wouldn't be in a rush to do again, thankfully i don't smoke so it should last a lifetime. Total costs less that £90 including VAT.
Next step will be to replace/repair the climate control display as it has a serious bleed either side, repair parts can be ordered from eBay seller in Germany claiming to have the exact graphic or vent icons as the original. I may also replace the horseshoe as there are a few scuffs which are visible in the final photo's, these were here prior to starting any work and whilst slight still niggle me.
Damn i forgot to buy that extra cup holder so this will have to do for now.