Recently some friends of ours bought a 986 Boxster 2.7 to add to the collection.
Incredibly, this Boxster has done enough miles to have circumnavigated the globe just over 7 times.
As far as we know it has done this on the original engine, gearbox, body panels and with many original mechanical components such as the exhaust manifolds.
We helped out friends out with this Boxster, doing some general refurbishment work for it. Below is an extract of my report for the car's maintenance file - hence the slightly formal writing style!
I hope you enjoy reading along with this project - I've certainly had a lot of fun doing it.
When the Boxster arrived in December 2020, it was clear that while the car was in generally very good condition, it was slightly tired in some areas and would benefit from a general overhaul to bring any weak areas back up to excellent running condition.
The car arrived on 19” Carrera S ‘Lobster Claw’ alloys from a 997 generation 911.
These were removed as they were incorrect for the car and were to the detriment of the general ride and handling on road. They were replaced by a set of 17” 987 Boxster alloys, which are to be the cars winter set of alloys. A set of 18” Porsche alloys were also purchased for the car to form a summer set, the same size as that the car was fitted with from factory.
The car was then thoroughly washed, and the paintwork decontaminated. The paint was found to be in generally good condition with only slight swirling. The nose wears stone chips consistent with the mileage.
A decision was made not to machine polish the car at this stage, and so two coats of Ceramic Wax were applied to protect the paint for the next 12 months.
The Porsche Litronic headlights were then removed from the car, and the dipped beam bulbs replaced with new OEM items.
The headlights were then wet sanded with 1500 grit, 2000 grit, and 3000grit with discs on the DA machine, before being machine polished with fine cut polish compound to remove slight clouding of the plastic outer cover typical of Boxster’s of this age.
The left headlight was stuck in the fully depressed position and did not raise and lower with the automatic levelling system. The left headlight was partially disassembled, and the issue was found to be that the ball and socket joint in the levelling system had become detached by an incorrect adjustment in the past. The ball joint was reconnected, the headlight beam alignment adjusted correctly, and the headlight bench tested to ensure correct functioning of the levelling system.
The gas struts for the front lid were replaced with new OEM items, as they failed to support the weight of the front lid.
The gas struts on the rear lid were in good condition and did not need replaced. The cabin air (Pollen) filter was also replaced with a MANN item, the item removed appeared dirty.
The headlight removal tool (5mm box spanner with integrated handle) was replaced with a Porsche supplied OE item, as it had become rounded.
Next, the hood was placed in the service position. The hood tension cables that join to the body of the car were found to be snapped. Porsche OE replacements were ordered and fitted later. The engine cover was removed to gain access to change the engine air filter. The engine was found to need thorough cleaning on the top end and inlet tract, which was covered in greasy dirt.
The engine bay was thoroughly cleaned with a strong dilution of Citrus Wash as a degreaser and worked in with a plastic bristled brush before carefully hosing off.
The engine air filter was replaced with a K&N aftermarket replacement, K&N supplied grease was used to ensure a perfect seal as directed.
A new gasket for the front Porsche Crest was sourced from Porsche and fitted. The drain holes for the convertible hood were cleaned out to ensure proper drainage in future.
For the underbody mechanical work, the car was raised on a lift to give access.
The rear (Original to the car from factory) anti roll bar was discovered to be snapped, at the stress point around the mounting bush.
The bushes appeared in good condition and had clearly been replaced. The drop links were tired, and their ball joints had loosened, although did not have play. These were very difficult to remove, due to the nature of the design where they fit through the hub knuckle. A new, uprated hollow anti roll bar from Eibach was fitted, using matching polyurethane bushes that were greased with the supplied application specific grease. New TRW OEM drop links were refitted, with anti-seize grease on the spigot, to aid future removal. The anti-roll bar was adjustable with two possible mounting holes for the drop links. The drop links were connected to the softer of the two positions.
Next, the front lower control arms (coffin arms) were removed. The knuckle ball joint in the offside unit had been reported as slightly worn during a recent MOT test. These items appeared to have been on the car for some time and were consequently difficult to remove.
The level sensor for the Porsche Litronic headlight system connected to the nearside lower control arm, as such was disconnected, and the bracket swapped over to the replacement unit. OEM Meyle replacement lower control arms were fitted to both sides, using ant-seize grease to aid future removal. The rest of the suspension arms, springs, dampers and top mounts were checked and found to be in good working order.
The engine oil was drained, and the oil filter removed and checked. A visual inspection did not show any obvious metal deposits caught in the pleats of the used filter. A new Mahle filter was fitted, and a new magnetic sump plug, and new crush washer fitted. The manufacturer recommended Mobil 1 0W-40 was used for the new engine oil.
The vehicle was fitted with an aftermarket back box labelled as a ‘Toyosport’ item. This exhaust produced a loud sports sound but resonated uncomfortably at cruising RPM’s and had some baffle rattle. This aftermarket exhaust was removed from the car. The factory U-pipes were carefully removed after using an air cut off tool to gently open the old exhaust and ease out the required factory pipes.
A new Dansk ‘OE sound’ stainless steel exhaust was fitted to the vehicle. It was discovered upon fitment that the standard exhaust hanging assembly was missing from the vehicle. New brackets were sourced from Porsche.
It was discovered that the Dansk exhaust used the hanging arrangement from the Boxster S, so ‘S’ hanging brackets were sourced – these interface with the car in the same way as the ‘non S’ brackets so are fully compatible with no modifications required but are of a stronger design. These were fitted to the vehicle along with the new exhaust. The rear bumper was removed to gain the required access to fit the new exhaust (the smaller Toyosport was easily removed with the bumper in place, but the OE style Dansk item is larger). The condition of the car behind the bumper was found to be very good – the crash bar was undamaged, and all of the heat shielding was in place and in good condition. As with all other mechanical work, anti-seize grease was used on all relevant fasteners to aid future work. The new exhaust produced a much more appropriate sound for the vehicle.
Next the vehicle was booked into local German car specialists, for some additional work. New Khumo Wintercraft WP71 winter tyres were fitted in correct factory sizes 205/55/R17 front and 235/50/R17 rear. New coloured crest centre caps from Porsche were fitted at the same time. A full 4-wheel geometry alignment was performed, bringing the car back to factory settings. The gearbox oil was also replaced with manufacturer recommended oil (we did not have the correct tool to remove drain plugs).
Upon the final test drive, the car presented with the symptoms of Air Oil Separator failure. Temporarily blocking off the AOS removed the symptoms so a new AOS was ordered with hoses and clamps. Clearly, someone had attempted to remove this before as one of the bolts holding the AOS to the car was completely rounded - the car is being sent away to a specialist to rectify this.
Upon the completion of the work, the Boxster is now in very good overall condition, especially considering the age and mileage of the vehicle.
Before handing it back, it was cleaned again and taken for a local test drive to enjoy it one last time!
The finishing touch was a set of stickers, PCGB and R2 [
]
We've really enjoyed having this as a project. It took about 50 - 60 man hours to complete, as you can imagine when you do jobs for the first time it can take ages to work out the correct technique, and there were some bits of work, swapping wheels, treating door seals, checking the brakes etc.. which eat up the time which is not described.
It's been a great way to spend lockdown. We've grown to appreciate the joy that a Boxster can bring, roof down on a sunny day, singing through the gears.
At now just over 176,000 miles, there are no excuses for the garage queens out there!
The 19" lobster claws have not been wasted, and now are brightening up our Cayman []
They will be repainted, but I think we will keep them gold!
Incredibly, this Boxster has done enough miles to have circumnavigated the globe just over 7 times.
As far as we know it has done this on the original engine, gearbox, body panels and with many original mechanical components such as the exhaust manifolds.
We helped out friends out with this Boxster, doing some general refurbishment work for it. Below is an extract of my report for the car's maintenance file - hence the slightly formal writing style!
I hope you enjoy reading along with this project - I've certainly had a lot of fun doing it.
When the Boxster arrived in December 2020, it was clear that while the car was in generally very good condition, it was slightly tired in some areas and would benefit from a general overhaul to bring any weak areas back up to excellent running condition.
The car arrived on 19” Carrera S ‘Lobster Claw’ alloys from a 997 generation 911.
These were removed as they were incorrect for the car and were to the detriment of the general ride and handling on road. They were replaced by a set of 17” 987 Boxster alloys, which are to be the cars winter set of alloys. A set of 18” Porsche alloys were also purchased for the car to form a summer set, the same size as that the car was fitted with from factory.
The car was then thoroughly washed, and the paintwork decontaminated. The paint was found to be in generally good condition with only slight swirling. The nose wears stone chips consistent with the mileage.
A decision was made not to machine polish the car at this stage, and so two coats of Ceramic Wax were applied to protect the paint for the next 12 months.
The Porsche Litronic headlights were then removed from the car, and the dipped beam bulbs replaced with new OEM items.
The headlights were then wet sanded with 1500 grit, 2000 grit, and 3000grit with discs on the DA machine, before being machine polished with fine cut polish compound to remove slight clouding of the plastic outer cover typical of Boxster’s of this age.
The left headlight was stuck in the fully depressed position and did not raise and lower with the automatic levelling system. The left headlight was partially disassembled, and the issue was found to be that the ball and socket joint in the levelling system had become detached by an incorrect adjustment in the past. The ball joint was reconnected, the headlight beam alignment adjusted correctly, and the headlight bench tested to ensure correct functioning of the levelling system.
The gas struts for the front lid were replaced with new OEM items, as they failed to support the weight of the front lid.
The gas struts on the rear lid were in good condition and did not need replaced. The cabin air (Pollen) filter was also replaced with a MANN item, the item removed appeared dirty.
The headlight removal tool (5mm box spanner with integrated handle) was replaced with a Porsche supplied OE item, as it had become rounded.
Next, the hood was placed in the service position. The hood tension cables that join to the body of the car were found to be snapped. Porsche OE replacements were ordered and fitted later. The engine cover was removed to gain access to change the engine air filter. The engine was found to need thorough cleaning on the top end and inlet tract, which was covered in greasy dirt.
The engine bay was thoroughly cleaned with a strong dilution of Citrus Wash as a degreaser and worked in with a plastic bristled brush before carefully hosing off.
The engine air filter was replaced with a K&N aftermarket replacement, K&N supplied grease was used to ensure a perfect seal as directed.
A new gasket for the front Porsche Crest was sourced from Porsche and fitted. The drain holes for the convertible hood were cleaned out to ensure proper drainage in future.
For the underbody mechanical work, the car was raised on a lift to give access.
The rear (Original to the car from factory) anti roll bar was discovered to be snapped, at the stress point around the mounting bush.
The bushes appeared in good condition and had clearly been replaced. The drop links were tired, and their ball joints had loosened, although did not have play. These were very difficult to remove, due to the nature of the design where they fit through the hub knuckle. A new, uprated hollow anti roll bar from Eibach was fitted, using matching polyurethane bushes that were greased with the supplied application specific grease. New TRW OEM drop links were refitted, with anti-seize grease on the spigot, to aid future removal. The anti-roll bar was adjustable with two possible mounting holes for the drop links. The drop links were connected to the softer of the two positions.
Next, the front lower control arms (coffin arms) were removed. The knuckle ball joint in the offside unit had been reported as slightly worn during a recent MOT test. These items appeared to have been on the car for some time and were consequently difficult to remove.
The level sensor for the Porsche Litronic headlight system connected to the nearside lower control arm, as such was disconnected, and the bracket swapped over to the replacement unit. OEM Meyle replacement lower control arms were fitted to both sides, using ant-seize grease to aid future removal. The rest of the suspension arms, springs, dampers and top mounts were checked and found to be in good working order.
The engine oil was drained, and the oil filter removed and checked. A visual inspection did not show any obvious metal deposits caught in the pleats of the used filter. A new Mahle filter was fitted, and a new magnetic sump plug, and new crush washer fitted. The manufacturer recommended Mobil 1 0W-40 was used for the new engine oil.
The vehicle was fitted with an aftermarket back box labelled as a ‘Toyosport’ item. This exhaust produced a loud sports sound but resonated uncomfortably at cruising RPM’s and had some baffle rattle. This aftermarket exhaust was removed from the car. The factory U-pipes were carefully removed after using an air cut off tool to gently open the old exhaust and ease out the required factory pipes.
A new Dansk ‘OE sound’ stainless steel exhaust was fitted to the vehicle. It was discovered upon fitment that the standard exhaust hanging assembly was missing from the vehicle. New brackets were sourced from Porsche.
It was discovered that the Dansk exhaust used the hanging arrangement from the Boxster S, so ‘S’ hanging brackets were sourced – these interface with the car in the same way as the ‘non S’ brackets so are fully compatible with no modifications required but are of a stronger design. These were fitted to the vehicle along with the new exhaust. The rear bumper was removed to gain the required access to fit the new exhaust (the smaller Toyosport was easily removed with the bumper in place, but the OE style Dansk item is larger). The condition of the car behind the bumper was found to be very good – the crash bar was undamaged, and all of the heat shielding was in place and in good condition. As with all other mechanical work, anti-seize grease was used on all relevant fasteners to aid future work. The new exhaust produced a much more appropriate sound for the vehicle.
Next the vehicle was booked into local German car specialists, for some additional work. New Khumo Wintercraft WP71 winter tyres were fitted in correct factory sizes 205/55/R17 front and 235/50/R17 rear. New coloured crest centre caps from Porsche were fitted at the same time. A full 4-wheel geometry alignment was performed, bringing the car back to factory settings. The gearbox oil was also replaced with manufacturer recommended oil (we did not have the correct tool to remove drain plugs).
Upon the final test drive, the car presented with the symptoms of Air Oil Separator failure. Temporarily blocking off the AOS removed the symptoms so a new AOS was ordered with hoses and clamps. Clearly, someone had attempted to remove this before as one of the bolts holding the AOS to the car was completely rounded - the car is being sent away to a specialist to rectify this.
Upon the completion of the work, the Boxster is now in very good overall condition, especially considering the age and mileage of the vehicle.
Before handing it back, it was cleaned again and taken for a local test drive to enjoy it one last time!
The finishing touch was a set of stickers, PCGB and R2 [
]
We've really enjoyed having this as a project. It took about 50 - 60 man hours to complete, as you can imagine when you do jobs for the first time it can take ages to work out the correct technique, and there were some bits of work, swapping wheels, treating door seals, checking the brakes etc.. which eat up the time which is not described.
It's been a great way to spend lockdown. We've grown to appreciate the joy that a Boxster can bring, roof down on a sunny day, singing through the gears.
At now just over 176,000 miles, there are no excuses for the garage queens out there!
The 19" lobster claws have not been wasted, and now are brightening up our Cayman [
]They will be repainted, but I think we will keep them gold!
