Working on cars can be fun. In a world of complex problems with multiple solutions that are rarely zero-sum, there’s a certain healing in doing a simple task absolutely right. Torque specs followed, good parts installed, satisfaction in a job well done. It can also be a huge time-suck. Between work, family, a social life, and extracurriculars, taking on a big job can seem daunting, until you start eating the elephant bit-by-bit.
If it’s not your daily driver, there’s no use stumbling into a morning meeting bleary-eyed from a late-night fight with a spring compressor if you don’t have to. Likewise, getting bogged down and overwhelmed only pushes that completion target further and further down the road. Instead, I like to take a relatively unambitious approach: Half-an-hour at a time. So, when my reasonably priced Porsche Boxster desired some labor-intensive work, I just broke the off-season down into chunks. Here’s how I’ve got on so far.
The big project was a sort of major suspension refresh. A few properly crumbly bump stops were a good enough excuse to swap in some Koni Special Active dampers, and I figured I might as well replace any arms with noticeably cracked bushings since the easiest way of changing rear dampers on a 986 Boxster without removing the hub nut involves unbolting the CV axles and removing a few control arms. While I was in there, I noticed that the rear brake pads looked to be, well, disintegrating. Some were cracking around the holes for the wear sensors, some were crumbling at the edges. I wouldn’t be surprised if the pads were original, so a fresh set of Pagid discs and pads were in order. Call it cheap peace of mind.
Next came addressing what 26 summers can do to dash-mounted speakers. Unsurprisingly, once I pulled the speakers from the dashboard, I noticed that some of the surround foam on the four-inch drivers was simply missing. That would explain the earbud hiss I was hearing when trying to crank the stereo up. After considering the modest power of the factory Haes 4x40w amplifier, I settled on a pair of Hertz Cento CX100 speakers mounted in, um, massaged adapter rings. Plug-and-play jumper harnesses made the speaker swap a cinch, and now I have vastly improved sound for far less than what a new OEM pair from Porsche would cost.
Finally, I’ve already thrown a few other sundries at the Boxster. A new cabin air filter because the cowl plastics needed to come off anyway to access the strut towers; a new interior door light bulb to replace one that had burned out; giving the carpets a proper clean; and ensuring that the convertible top drain holes remained clear of debris.
So what’s still on the to-do list? Let’s start with the big one, because it is a little intimidating. I noticed that one of the foam drip trays under the tonneau cover was beginning to dry rot, and that’s something I’ll want to tackle sooner rather than later because holes in that could let water into the cabin, potentially frying the immobilizer module. Although a new tray feels rather exorbitant at around $232, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to a new immobilizer module. Mind you, I will need a helper for this because it requires removing the convertible roof mechanism. Old car things, am I right?
Secondly, there are a few minor maintenance items I’d like to attend to. A new engine air filter is a given, although it’s also a game of patience. Soft plastic windows and sub-zero temperatures don’t usually make kind bedfellows, so I’m just waiting for the mercury to rise on that one. What I can do is flush the brake fluid. It’s been two years since that was last done, and a power bleeder ought to make the process far easier.
While I’m in there, I might as well add a new toy, right? The beauty of having a head unit that supports a CD changer is that clever people have made things that plug in where a CD changer would normally go. I scored the Bluetooth module above for less than $30 Canadian, and while the audio quality of Bluetooth pales in comparison to a hardwired connection, a convertible sports car is about as ideal a reference environment as the cargo hold on a C-130. My only real expectation is that it solves the issue of the existing wired connection dropping out from time to time, and if it does that, it’ll be mission accomplished.
Once all that’s done, I’ll be taking it to a shop for an alignment before swinging by a few trusted body shops for quotes on some cosmetic rectification. You know how it is on a 26-year-old car: A few chips, a few dings, just little upkeep here and there. Oh, and that’s before I get into the big goal project.
See, last weekend, I filled up the 335i and phoned up a recently unemployed friend for a buddy day trip to Montreal. The goal? Some excellent creole food on L’Île Perot, along with picking up a reasonably priced OEM-plus upgrade: A set of M413-spec Turbo-look 18-inch wheels measuring 18×7.5 inches up front and 18×9 inches out back. Those with a keen eye will spot that two wheels are silver while two are PVD chrome, but at the price I paid, that doesn’t matter. Besides, I have plans for these wheels that are likely to be a bit controversial. Porsche nerds will know that code XD9 signifies color-matched alloy wheels, and while my car was never equipped with that option, who says you can’t have a little bit of fun with aftermarket solutions?
Okay, it’s been a big list so far, but apart from the drip tray, which will require a second person, just about everything else on this list can be broken down into 30-minute sessions. Get the back end up in the air? Good enough for tonight. Change a disc and one caliper’s pads? Good enough for tonight. Remove one strut, ensuring everything’s supported? Good enough for tonight. Getting the speakers to fit in the brackets? Good enough for tonight. Already, it’s been enough to crunch nearly 20 hours of billable labor into easy bite-sized sections.
Considering the going independent labor rate around me is somewhere around $175 Canadian or around $128 U.S. per hour, going half an hour at a time has effectively saved me more than $3,300 Canadian or $2,400 U.S. over getting someone else to do everything, and that’s a number I can get behind. Plus, it hasn’t consumed my entire life for weekends at a time. So, if you’re tackling a big thing on your project car and can afford the time to have it laid up, just go section by section. It’ll still fit into your busy life, and things will come together faster than you’d expect.
Top graphic images: Thomas Hundal; DepositPhotos.com
It’s a good approach to get something done. I remember Peter Egan saying it was important to do anything, even a minor thing like sand blast some parts, to keep a project going…
It takes me a half hour just to get suited up in my grease monkey outfit and cars moved to work on something in my shop. So I tend to line up several projects at a time and make a day of it.
It’s a reasonable approach. That’s how I did the basic work on my R107, though it always took 60-90 minutes at a time, because I’m slow. It does feel good to have, e.g. new speakers one day, a derusted and waterproofed spare tire well the next, etc.
The best part was replacing the windshield wiper jets. Or more specifically, adjusting them so they spray in the correct direction. That was wet day.
What’s a social life?
You could have just replaced the foam surrounds yourself in about an hour for less than $10.
You should call your abbreviated wrenching sessions Boxster Shorts, and remember, we all get a laugh out of seeing yours.
Looks like Thomas is the anti-Tracy.
Facing a lot of surface grinding and wire brushing, I set my limit to the capacity of the smallest capacity battery I had for use in my angle grinder. When it gives out, I stop. I know that I tend to do too much, so I found a way to limit myself. Now that the inside of the floor pans are done, I face the unpleasant task of doing the same on the underside. Ugh. At least the squareback is safely far enough off the ground that I can easily slide under. Just waiting for major remodeling to be completed. Well, and for the snow to go away which it will do in a couple of weeks.
Plus your hands are probably vibrating from the grinder anyway.
Is that stopwatch from Temu?
+1 on working regularly at short intervals, been putting Koni yellows (the fronts are inserts so a little time consuming) and JDM springs on my legacy gt wagon an hour or two a day as I have them, starting last weekend. Since I’m WFH these days it’s been a pleasant project without any real stress to get my car back on the road ASAP which goes a long way towards actually making it feel fun.
Figuring my spend for parts is about $1500 and the shop I go to wanted $2K to install some no-name strut assemblies (one of the springs was broken and all the dampers were leaking), so I’m upgrading the car to where I wanted it to be anyways and theoretically saving some money.
I’ve tried to do this, but the completionist in me won’t stand for it. Also, as nice as my garage setup is now, leaving a car in an undrivable state for an extended period of time is still awkward.
The best I’ve been able to do is force myself to take breaks while doing big projects. When I try to do marathon wrenching sessions, I inevitably end up tired, cranky, and less mentally sharp, which leads to more mistakes, which exacerbates all of the previous problems.
I have a few bite-sized projects ahead for my Boxster. I will be picking it up from the body shop tomorrow morning, following a repaint (clear coat was fried.) I partially de-trimmed the car to save some bucks on the paint work, so now I need to put all of that stuff back! It was a solid morning’s work to disassemble, but I will need to be extra careful going back together and maybe replace some pieces that are horribly sun-abused.
Re: Wheels. My car had those 18” turbo-style wheels from the factory, but I wanted the 18” Carrera Lightweights from a 2003-04 car, so I found a set and swapped them over about 15 years ago.