My Boxster Idea

[OBRUT]

For a bit of context- those 2.5 times look pretty similar to a 911sc. 

[Al]

Wow 986 turbo kits! Just keeps getting better.

http://www.tpcracing.com/tpc-racing-986-boxster-stage-1-turbo-kit.html

[D2000]

Alright people stop posting about that $12k Boxster will you... I'm going to have a look at it next week (if it's not sold by then)  

how Was it? It's still on carsales so assume you haven't bought it. 

Also so a bit of inspiration: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oS_yKQRcln0

[TrevMcRev]

It's gone now!

did you grab it?

[JWM]

Not me. 

[D2000]

Second chance: 2.7L silver/black 114,000km $12,500 https://carsales.mobi/cars/details/Porsche-Boxster-2001/SSE-AD-3383374

Edit: just noticed the line that said engine removed because of a ticking noise!

[OBRUT]

I wonder why Boxsters have not caught on as a hot rod platform?  They are cheap, plentiful, look ok (subjective), have similar straight line performance to many air cooled 911's (and - lets face it - superior cornering) and there are lots of engine, suspension and braking upgrades available.

Possible reasons:

  No competition history?

  No real history per se?

  Perceived lack of performance?

  Low coolness factor (insert perm and a blow wave jokes here)?

  No coupe option or backseat?

  No investment or resale love?

The 924/944/928/968 models seem to be gaining in popularity - why not the Box?

[Mike737]

I wonder why Boxsters have not caught on as a hot rod platform?  They are cheap, plentiful, look ok (subjective), have similar straight line performance to many air cooled 911's (and - lets face it - superior cornering) and there are lots of engine, suspension and braking upgrades available.

Here's my theory

1. P car tax on parts
2. Gearbox needs to be upgraded to handle more power, can't handle too much more than what it's got I've been told
3. P car insurance prices
4. Can't chuck them on club plates yet - nor will P car clubs probably allow it when they become eligible making them only good for track when on a trailer or rally (which can be driven on the roads under special circumstances)
5. Probably doesn't appeal to the typical hot rod crowd which love their V8's

Compare them to other cars which are available and you get the reason why nobody really has touched them yet

• Convertible - MX-5 - bargain to setup; Lotus Elise - similar price bracket with Toyota reliability with a good sports car rep
• Mid Engine - Cayman - if you're going a P car, why not; MR-2 - dirt cheap these days

[OBRUT]

Good points. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of a Porsche hot rod base.  A Box could be built into something pretty fast and fun for less than the asking price of a clapped out, converted SC (no disrespect intended to clapped out SC drivers...) yet they seem to be overlooked by most (myself included). 

Maybe it will take a few pioneers to build some up before they catch on?

[K911]

I imagine something like this but road registered. Light, low & loud.

[sandy468]

First up I'm just gonna say - mostly the only (few) great looking Coxster hotrods I've seen (except some racecars) have pumped out guards or flared guards and modified bumpers etc - this means some paint too so add $2 or $3 grand plus your labour or add $7 or $8 grand minimum if a shop does it, and it wont ever be stock again so there goes another $5 or $10 grand down the drain (on top of all the below) if it comes to resale time.....

Talking of early manual boxsters say $15k which are priced attractive to hot up. If its just used wheels new tyres and suspension and used exhaust there's 6k plus your labour and it just looks a bit better, handles and sounds better, but looks try hard and still worth $15k. Same equation using new parts and a shop doing it for you = 12k and kiss that goodbye.

If also doing seats and steering wheel and air intake, full exhaust properly, (and all used parts doing own labour) some graphics and some extras (coz there always is) there's another 3k. and doing that in new parts and a shop for labour that's 6k.

So now we are up to 10k used parts and your labour, kiss goodbye 7K coz its still just an outlaw early boxster .....or 18k new parts and shop doing the work kiss goodbye 14k. AND IT STILL HAS STOCK MOTOR 2.5 or 2.7 Ltr AND STOCK BRAKES and is underpowered even taking say 80 kilos of weight outta it.

And if you do it half hearted like scenario 1 to a manual 07S with a 3.4Ltr say $35 to purchase it's a "real try hard" coz it's not old enough and really proves you cant afford a 911 or Cayman and you'll lose 10k or 12k coz it's not old enough.

And if you do it nicely like scenario 2 to a manual 07S with a 3.4Ltr it will look the goods like a real hottie, take out 100 kilos of weight,  and go like a rocket and stop and handle, will do everything good  and it'll still be worth $35k - so you've dumped 10k or 18k and it's still a Boxster but a damn hot looking one! So for this best scenario budget about $50k all up - ---

Just buy a Cayman S say at $45k and expose engine and put wheels exhaust and lower it and a few graphics and engine pretty parts and it'll be the apple of everyone's eye at about $8 or $9 extra outlaid... and you may just get it back! Plus your comb-over will stay in place!

Need to go another 7 or 8 years down the track when 986.2 S are worth about $12 or $13 grand and look properly ol skool to our ever updating eyes and do scenario 2 using used parts and your labour and it'll most probably be a real OTLW! and cost effective! And you'll be bald by then so no combover and a Kojak head is back in fashion

[LeeM]

  Getting way off track with the original plans here I reckon

[OBRUT]

Good points Sandy, but if it was only about resale/cost recovery then I suspect none of us would be playing with cars.  

Hotting up an air cooled car (purchased today) would consume far more capital and would also not be recoverable. 

Im not advocating for them, just trying to understand why they're not a popular hotrod platform. 

[sandy468]

Good points Sandy, but if it was only about resale/cost recovery then I suspect none of us would be playing with cars.  

Hotting up an air cooled car (purchased today) would consume far more capital and would also not be recoverable. 

Im not advocating for them, just trying to understand why they're not a popular hotrod platform. 

Yes people have always thrown money away for the absolute joy and passion of having a personalised 911 coupe and in the 70's /80's also 911 cabs and over the years 356 coupes and 912's also ...but the word is passion with a background of provenance with aircooled Porsches and an incomparable passion is there for air cooled coupes and has been for 40 years and there's also a passion developing for hotrodding up watercooled 911 coupes to an extent. Early Boxsters were/are? near on the most maligned Porsche model ever and haven't reached a cool status yet with most who hot cars up. as I said in 7 or 8 years it'll most probably be different, maybe 5 years. Don't get me wrong I reckon boxsters especially 03/04 S's and most especially 987 3.4 S's are a good thing, I drive one and love it, and a properly hotted up boxster of any model provided it had the right amount of $$$ thrown at it to make it a peachy hotrod, well I'm all for it and reckon it'd be cool but I'd rather throw money for the above mods I mentioned at a hotrodded Cayman or LHD SC import coupe (and can keep the motor near on standard and they still perform). 

A similar reason to the boxster, I suspect is why over the years we don't see many street outlawed 924/944/928s ... but I reckon we are about to see a handful of watercooled get the OTLW blowtorch applied to them.

[K911]

Found a very interesting video of a spec boxster build. Although its a race car, it seems a lot of weight can can come out these things. The wiring looks slightly daunting though.

It obvious quite a lot of us have been thinking about some form of a Boxster build and how to approach it. For me its about weight reduction. Targeting subtraction only, trying to avoid replacement or addition where possible. Its not about looks, winning awards or impressing people. Just a raw, street legal flat 6 tin can to thrash about from time to time. I currently own a nice Carrera and plan to hang on to it. If for some unforeseen reason I had to let it go, I reckon I would go down this tin can route.

 

[TrevMcRev]

A similar reason to the boxster, I suspect is why over the years we don't see many street outlawed 924/944/928s ... but I reckon we are about to see a handful of watercooled get the OTLW blowtorch applied to them.

 

[TrevMcRev]

Still, I think there is something in the Boxster idea, and I'll likely go for it when the right car is found.

It's not about trying to build a performance car with more power, big brakes etc.

It's all about minimal. Strip all the mod cons weight out. All unnecessary sound deadener, carpet, trim, roof etc. 

Make it light, loud and raw.  Bare essentials. Like a modern retro 550 or 718 RSK would be. Would make a great weekend road/SMT type car.  

[OBRUT]

Thanks for that.  Sub 1100 kgs with a fuel, full cage, hard top, big extinguisher, cool suit setup etc is very light/impressive.  Even if you left most of the wiring in place (and even the A/C) you could still get one nice and light.

 

[K911]

 

Agreed re A/C and wiring. Hell of a job.

[sandy468]

Still, I think there is something in the Boxster idea, and I'll likely go for it when the right car is found.

It's not about trying to build a performance car with more power, big brakes etc.

It's all about minimal. Strip all the mod cons weight out. All unnecessary sound deadener, carpet, trim, roof etc. 

Make it light, loud and raw.  Bare essentials. Like a modern retro 550 or 718 RSK would be. Would make a great weekend road/SMT type car.  

Don't get me wrong Trev I was replying in type to Obrut and Mike above my posts about why boxsters haven't been hotrodded. I'm all for the tincan approach which if done right is almost mild ratrod .....and if it's to be street legal the side airbags and heater aircond has to stay in place and exhaust moderate, although of course bending the rules is half the fun so yeah I'd pull out side airbags and have my doors just like in the video, and pull out all heater and air and leave some basic controls on a made up dash from the original. And you can forget about ever getting a roadworthy cert, just don't get pulled up. Taking the absolute tincan approach I assume there would be no roof whatsoever (and that'd be the way I'd go) and to keep cost at a minimum. 

The original idea on the post was a cheap slammed boxster with steelies (problems applying any of those types of wheels to a boxster, but it can be overcome with $$$) and also slammed is not low cost but not prohibitive either. I reckon the cheapest you could get out of it if you don't have a garage of boxster bits n pieces (and you have to be handy) is about $1200 tyres fitted and balanced, $2000 suspension (cant just heat the coils like we musclecar idiots used to do, or wind down the front of the Valiant), $1500 min auto elec, $300 paint for wheels etc, $1000 cheap used rims maybe, $1000 two sports seats maybe, $200 used steering wheel or modify a 3 spoke 996, $500 exhaust mod if you cant weld, $500 assorted aluminium sheet /mesh and nuts n bolts etc, $200 for some graphics/stickers and another $500 coz there always is. And $3000 for IMS bearing (and more $$$ for a clutch while you're there?) or we just don't go there and risk a lot of the money and effort the door?

That's about $12500 tops with IMS and clutch. Or $8500 tops without. Or about $6500 bare min if you can weld and fabricate and are an auto electrician. I reckon we'll see some tincans over the coming years. Oh and don't forget the mandatory OTLWjnr plates or TNCN (another $500)

""why'd you do that to a freakin girl's Coxster mate - coz I can and if you have to ask you just don't get it""

[Mike737]

Number plate "LTE-COX" for @sandy468 if you ever set it up and strip it out

[Joshstix]

I think the confusion here is about the definition of hotrod.  As someone coming into the Porsche community from other modified cars I was really confused about people calling a Porsche a hotrod when it had very few of the attributes I associated with a hotrod.  Really though from what I've seen anything thats modified for performance not just appearance seems to get labelled a hotrod in the Porsche world.

[Mike737]

I think the confusion here is about the definition of hotrod.  As someone coming into the Porsche community from other modified cars I was really confused about people calling a Porsche a hotrod when it had very few of the attributes I associated with a hotrod.  Really though from what I've seen anything thats modified for performance not just appearance seems to get labelled a hotrod in the Porsche world.

True about hotrod as well as outlaw. People genrally mean a tuned car when they throw both of them both together. 

These seem to be roughly what they are in the Porsche world

Outlaw = modified in looks, engine really hasn't been played with other than cleaned up (singer style)

Hot rod = dropping new engines in or upgraded significantly (old school ruf style - once would have been called tuned)

Tuned = cross over between outlaw and hot rod (rwb / sharkwerks)

[LeeM]

 

Tuned = cross over between outlaw and hot rod (rwb / sharkwerks)

Aka, should buy a Jap car 

[TrevMcRev]

Number plate "LTE-COX" for @sandy468 if you ever set it up and strip it out