CC Build: Porsche 996 to LS1 Conversion

[aczlan]

Slight derail:
Ran up in this today just west of the narrows bridge….

You must have sold it????
Or… you’re a Dodge guy now????

Dodge, with a bowtie on the tailgate?

Aaron Z

 

[gtxracer2]

Still working on the AC. I haven’t driven the car since July due to work and vacation. Fortunately I made notes and picked up where I left off. I’ll be finishing the AC wiring in the next couple weeks when I have some spare time.

In the meantime, I’ve been slowly finding parts for a set of 3 piece wheels. A buddy of mine had some lips and centers for Fikse FM10s. These are some of my favorite wheels and USA made, so I just need to clean them up and find the right barrels. I believe I have all the parts needed and I’m waiting for a machine shop to finish the barrels and a finishing shop to clean up the centers and powder coat them black. After a ton of research, I spec’ed out a set of 18x9s for the front and 18x12s for the back. The offset will be aggressive but I’ll be able to fit a 335/40 out back.

The big update is the exhaust. I’ve had a small drone at 1400-1800 rpm from the early design of the Dr Gas mufflers. He said this was a small design change and the new mufflers don’t have this issue. After looking at my options, I decided to design a set of Helmholtz resonators that would tuck behind the bumper covers. I wish my exhaust weighed less, but maybe I’ll make a shorty exhaust just for the track later on. After a quick test drive, the resonator works as intended for each bank and I no longer have a loud droning exhaust at low rpm.

Lastly…in order to hit the track, all items in the car must be secured. My amp was just floating in the frunk, that’s where the previous owner left it…and that’s where I left it, knowing I wanted to fix it. Well, now is the time because I don’t wanna ditch my subwoofers just to hit the track. Sure, extra weight, but I’m lazy and I just wanna drive the car and enjoy it without much change.

Amazon had a deal on an infinity 6001 amplifier for cheap-ish, it’s much smaller, and looks good. Problem is, it’s not quite small enough to stash behind the spare tire and there’s a tab raised off the shelf behind the tire. So, I designed a bracket that holds the amp at 45 degrees and points the wires to the cavity behind/under the spare. It’s a much cleaner mount and hides the wires. I had this laser cut and CNC formed in brushed stainless to match all the other brackets. I’d like to blacken all the brackets to match the interior soon. More on that later.

Like I said, I’m lazy, and I’ve now incorporated this laziness into my designs. Since this bracket is 45 degrees and I want the hardware to be hidden, plus there’s a small sheet metal shelf on the shelf for the OEM CD changer mount, I want the bottom of the bracket to rest on the shelf and the bracket will mount with two nutserts to the back wall of the frunk. I access the two nutserts before the amp is mounted through the large cutout in the center of the bracket, then the amp itself hides them. More nutserts mount the amp to the bracket and foam strips will isolate the amp for cushioning. Super easy to mount the bracket, super easy to mount the amplifier = ultimate lazy.

 

[gtxracer2]

I just realized I never posted updated pictures of the subwoofer mounts all finished up. The bracket sandwhiches the seat stud and new 3D printed puck to maintain the OEM stud standoff distance while giving the bracket a solid surface to mount. Keeps the box from sliding into me on hard braking or worse. I'll be using Caswell blackener to darken the SS brackets.

Big updates coming soon. If shops would stop dropping my parts while they're drying, I'd already have them.

 

[gtxracer2]

Updates are much slower than I wanted, so I'm going to post what I have since the angst to share is now driving me nuts.

I removed all the early 2000s era window tint....what a job. Cross off "window tint installer" off my list of possible future careers. I had to lay inverted, Top Gun style, across the back seats with a heat gun and a razor blade to scrape off the rear window. It's all off, and I'm unsure if I'll put more in. This car does get kinda hot in the summer, but I want to be able to see my surroundings during night drives, so I'll need to weigh the options. At least I have AC (mostly) now.

So...why remove the tint? Well, I'm returning the car to the original rainforest metallic green color! I found a pair of mirrors that are very close to the original green and bought them. The original mirrors were trashed and this is much easier. My plan is to use a vinyl wrap for most of the car and only paint the very difficult body panels/pieces, if I must. I already ordered the wrap and it's arrived, and started preparing the body.

The other cool piece to this...the wrap is an EXACT match to the original color! I still had an issue with the colors of the replacement panels that the previous owner(s) installed. The car had clearly been in a small front end collision: the front bumper cover is yellow, passenger fender is silver, and the passenger side of the hood lip that follows the hood is raised 1/4" and the body line doesn't match. I found a green hood and fender to match the original color, and a black front bumper and they should arrive this week. This is important to me, as I don't want other colors besides black when viewing behind seams or opening doors/trunks/lids. So when I pop the hood, I'll see green underneath the hood. When I pop the fuel door, I'll see green underneath. These details matter to me and I want to feel like the car is one color, so this will accomplish that.

Inside of the door revealed brand new paint to compare with the wrap...I love the color!

At the same time, I replaced ALL of the little snap fit plastic pieces in the door panels, replaced the driver's side window regulator motor, and all the little hardware, including seals and grommets. 2nd photo is a hidden plastic screw and grommet that most people don't install but I wanted this to match OEM as much as possible. I find those details fun to track down sometimes. Now I have much better fitment of the door panel and it doesn't wobble and flap anymore! I think this will help quiet the car a bit too.

Next update will be the wheels...I have quite the update here and it's awesome. It deserves its own post so I'll slap that together soon.

 

[WaterH]

If you want the benefits of window tint without a tint, there is a clear ceramic tint. It blocks all the UV from cracking your dash. It is effective on some of the heat also. I’m not going to say it is zero tint, but dam near. (I have it on my Delorean)

 

[gtxracer2]

If you want the benefits of window tint without a tint, there is a clear ceramic tint. It blocks all the UV from cracking your dash. It is effective on some of the heat also. I’m not going to say it is zero tint, but dam near. (I have it on my Delorean)

You had me at Delorean. Thanks! I'll look into this.


Onto the wheels...

I have a buddy that owns a local P car maintenance and upgrade shop. Upon sorting through his stash of old racing parts for Porsches, I found a few Fikse FM10s centers that had been part of a PNW race team and has some heritage through the 996. Fikse is USA made, although now is owned by a Canadian company, it started near Seattle, then moved to CA, then eventually Canada. All of the parts I have are USA made and are originals from the 2000s era, which is an extra cool factor for me. This car is nostalgic to that 2000s theme, and although BBS e88s are the rage right now, these wheels hit the mark for me in a different way. The only issues were....these centers looked like someone dropped them out the back of a truck on the highway and let them skid to stop. Oh, and there weren't any barrels, and only 2 lips that would work for my 996.

I started calling around to find shops that had the barrels and lips. I got 3 or 4 shops that would all recommend the next place, call that new place, and recommend another shop. Finally I got VR wheels on the phone and Phil helped me sort out what I needed. I chose an aggressive offset, because I like that look and plan to run 2.5+ degrees of camber anyway. Due to the torque of the LS1, I also need some FAT meat out back, and everybody loves a girl with thicc hips, so I'll roll the fenders as much as I can to fit some decent rubber in the fenders. All the parrotting on Rennlist forums claimed you can't fit a +50 ET on a 996, but it's been done many times and this shouldn't be an issue. Wheel specs below.

Front: 18x9 +50 (1" lip / 8" barrel)
Rear: 18x12 +50 (2.5" lip / 9.5" barrel)

I sent one of the centers to Phil, they programmed their CNCs, and machined my barrels and lips. All in all, it took about 3-4 weeks with shipping and everything which is pretty fast IMO. It was all through email and everything is working as intended so far. Price was fair, and quality is quite good. I'd definitely do business with VR again.

Mocked up the rear, just to see what I'm up against. You can see the aggressive offsets, but the camber was essentially at 0 in these pics and the suspension starts tucking the wheels upon uptravel. You can make out the marks and damage to the centers, but considering these were on a racecar, I can live with it. I still think its too cool that these wheels are getting a 2nd life on my weekend GT3ish LS1 996.

Don't mind my shop crocs, just trying to be as flashy as possible in case some hot dudes roll by and catch a glimpse

Side profile....yes, I'm diggin it

Onto the condition of the centers...these needed some help. A local wheel repair shop helped me sort out the centers and cleaned them up nicely. I love gold centers, but for this car, I wanted to differentiate from the e88 crowd with their gold centers. I chose a semi gloss black which matches the new Fikse center caps and valve stems. I'm very happy with the wheels and I still need to finish building them, but I couldn't wait, the excitement was too much. Anyway, here's a sneak peek!

The wife didn't mind me assembling the first few in the living room...I picked a good one

One of the rears assembled. These cleaned up nicely!

Next to the OE Turbo Twists...which will be getting a refresh as well.

Can't wait to get these mounted to some new rubber and set the camber. It'll probably take me over a month to get all that done, because I'll be busy wrapping the car and swapping the gauge cluster. This'll have to suffice for now, but at least I can see all that work finally coming to a close. These wheels took a LOT of coordination to get done, and because I wanted to meet the needs of my car with all this torque, I had to make my own set. All of the sets I found for $1500 weren't going to give me enough tire in the rear, so this was my only option. I have access to spare parts, which is great, because I don't want wheels that are too rare to go racing. I might swap a set of Apex just for abusive track days, we'll see.

The turbo twists will likely be refreshed in gray, with a polished ring out the outer lip. If you look back in this thread, there's a white 996 C2 with black turbo twists with a polished lip, and I really like that look. I'll run those wheels for daily driving and winter, with these Fikse as my track and show wheels.

Mmmmm.....get a load of those hot crocs + socks in the reflection. Usually you have to subscribe to my Onlyfans for that sweet sweet action. You lucky little perverts get a preview to my full frontal full fetish fornication feature that'll be on sale for $2.99 Christmas Eve to pay for these wheels. Don't wait, subscribe now! Only 700 spots left!

 

[XtremeJ]

Great update, great project

Are you sealing the wheels at all. I have 3 piece wheels on my Stohr and if I don't use sealant between the two halves they just plain wont hold air.

Gasket sealer works if needed although silicone (industrial grade for metal roofing) works best. Don't use weatherstrip adhesive the damn wheels are a bitch to pull apart then

 

[gtxracer2]

Great update, great project

Are you sealing the wheels at all. I have 3 piece wheels on my Stohr and if I don't use sealant between the two halves they just plain wont hold air.

Gasket sealer works if needed although silicone (industrial grade for metal roofing) works best. Don't use weatherstrip adhesive the damn wheels are a bitch to pull apart then

Thank you!

Yup, I have the DOW 832 as recommended by Fikse. I cleaned the edges with isopropyl alcohol before assembling and will clean again before sealing.

Wheel Reseal Repair - Fikse Wheels

Learn how Fikse Wheels reseal and repair wheels when they have been damaged. This procedure includes the steps we take on all custom wheel repair projects.

www.fikse.com

 

[XtremeJ]

Thank you!

Yup, I have the DOW 832 as recommended by Fikse. I cleaned the edges with isopropyl alcohol before assembling and will clean again before sealing.

Wheel Reseal Repair - Fikse Wheels

Learn how Fikse Wheels reseal and repair wheels when they have been damaged. This procedure includes the steps we take on all custom wheel repair projects.

www.fikse.com

Good instructions

I would only add that IF you have a problem with leaks to consider a thin layer of sealant between the halves as you assemble them. I have had to resort to that on some of mine. Race car though, not street driven. Well dust collector if I am honest

 

[LeadfootCJ7]

86% Global ceramic window tint is basically clear and helps cut the heat. It's what I have on my windshield and it's a great product.

 

[Roc Doc]

Good instructions

I would only add that IF you have a problem with leaks to consider a thin layer of sealant between the halves as you assemble them. I have had to resort to that on some of mine. Race car though, not street driven. Well dust collector if I am honest

3-piece wheels have always had that issue, going all the way back to the Compomotive and SSR days. I would never run them on the street just for the PITA factor.

 

[arse_sidewards]

3-piece wheels have always had that issue, going all the way back to the Compomotive and SSR days. I would never run them on the street just for the PITA factor.

One of the German car guys around here spent like 80hr of labor meticulously cleaning up a set a few years ago. I wonder how that's going for him long term.

 

[rugger]

Good instructions

I would only add that IF you have a problem with leaks to consider a thin layer of sealant between the halves as you assemble them. I have had to resort to that on some of mine. Race car though, not street driven. Well dust collector if I am honest

No marine 5200?
Quick hijack - any plans for the Stohr? Or is it like my goalie pads that I still have for some reason? 😂

 

[gtxracer2]

Good instructions

I would only add that IF you have a problem with leaks to consider a thin layer of sealant between the halves as you assemble them. I have had to resort to that on some of mine. Race car though, not street driven. Well dust collector if I am honest

I considered that when I was assembling the first two, because the two used lips had sealant down in the crevices but not at the bolt holes. If I have issues I’ll report back. It’s my first set of 3 piece wheels, so I’m learning a lot and like them, but can see it being a pain in the ass. Luckily I have a few buddies with tire machines if I need to pop off tires.

The new hood, fender, and front bumper arrived from Specialized German Recycling in CA and….they’re trashed. Not only did it take an extra week to deliver them, SGR didn’t pack the box on the pallet very well. The bumper was just shoved in the box, creased on the two sides, and the fender placed on the inside of the bumper. The fender poked a few holes in the bumper and punctured a few spots. The bumper was a nice piece and it’s basically garbage now. The fender isn’t the right color and the clear coat is peeling. I was specific when I asked about condition and this is not the condition I was told these parts were in.

Finally, the hood. Ah, the hood. This hood was the last green hood on car-part.com that matched my car. The hood on my car, although green underneath the black, is warped near the fender line due to the previous owners collision. So I was solving two problems in one. 100% paint match and the hood line would be fixed. Nope. Not anymore, they just shoved the hood in the box. The hood pierced the box and was curled back from being bashed against the wall of the truck. This hood wasn’t perfect but it was good enough and now it’s garbage too.

Pics below. I’m being fully refunded but it’s a huge setback. I’ll just have to wrap my old body parts and keeping looking for new ones. Since this didn’t work out, and I’m getting my money back but don’t have a backup source for parts, I’ve decided to spend that coin on the suspension for the car. More on that later…I’m pretty excited about it though.

 

[Clemson13]

Fuckin mouth breathers

 

[bdkw1]

No marine 5200?

Fuck that shit! It's as bad as anti-sieze.

 

[Gots_a_sol]

Jesus Christ, they didn't even fucking try

 

[junkytj]

Christ all mighty on a pogo stick. Did they even get the parts in the truck or just tie them to the bumper and drag them?

Curious to see the suspension trade off.

 

[Arps]

Never underestimate LTL company's dock workers.

 

[gtxracer2]

Fuckin mouth breathers

Jesus Christ, they didn't even fucking try

Christ all mighty on a pogo stick. Did they even get the parts in the truck or just tie them to the bumper and drag them?

Curious to see the suspension trade off.

Never underestimate LTL company's dock workers.

Thanks guys. Yeah...definitely felt like this was packed the day before christmas break starts. Kind of similar to the feeling I get that my 6.2L in my Raptor was built at 4:45 on a Friday...lost #6 compression back in Feb and it took Ford until October to fix it...at only 130k miles.

Oh well...move onto new and better things. Since I can't contain myself at the moment, here's what's coming:

Porsche Coilovers | Öhlins USA Suspension - POZ Mi00S1

The Road & Track program demonstrates Öhlins' ability to engineer the ultimate suspension system for the spirited driving enthusiast. Öhlins’ Dual Flow Valve technology (DFV) allows for transformed chassis control while maintaining a refined ride quality unsurpassed from the factory or

www.ohlinsusa.com

Ohlins Road and Track coilovers

 

[Gtrplyr78]

Ohlins Road and Track coilovers

Great outlook on your part

Ohlins should transform the car once properly dialed in. Not up to speed on 911s, do you have adjustable sway bar endlinks? Planning on stiffer bars?

When I swapped in coilovers (Flyin Miata Vmaxx), I also went with 1.25 front swaybar and kept the stock swaybar in the rear. Added 949racing adjustable links too.

Once it was aligned with me in the car, my NB became a different car to say the least. Due to the anemic 4cyl I can pretty much flat foot it through the corners without slowing down :), fugger grips and hardly any lean.

 

[rugger]

Curious to see the suspension trade off.

Same. It is

Great outlook on your part

Ohlins should transform the car once properly dialed in. Not up to speed on 911s, do you have adjustable sway bar endlinks? Planning on stiffer bars?

When I swapped in coilovers (Flyin Miata Vmaxx), I also went with 1.25 front swaybar and kept the stock swaybar in the rear. Added 949racing adjustable links too.

Once it was aligned with me in the car, my NB became a different car to say the least. Due to the anemic 4cyl I can pretty much flat foot it through the corners without slowing down :), fugger grips and hardly any lean.

Went with Vmaxx Extreme with 1.125 front anti-sway and left the rear loose on my v8 car. It totally transformed the car. It was insane.

 

[XtremeJ]

Fuck that shit! It's as bad as anti-sieze.

Ran a yacht that had teak decks. That black shit used to bed and seal between the planks was the devil. Like a 5200 that eventually skimmed on the surface.

 

[XtremeJ]

No marine 5200?
Quick hijack - any plans for the Stohr? Or is it like my goalie pads that I still have for some reason? 😂

To be optimistic
It has moved at least twice since I ran it at COTA. Both times when I changed storage units. Down at SCR with the Krawler and a couple of the Ducati’s until the shop gets built.

 

[rugger]

Ran a yacht that had teak decks. That black shit used to bed and seal between the planks was the devil. Like a 5200 that eventually skimmed on the surface.

I bet it was Sikaflex. I'd hate the job of rebedding a teak deck. I love the look. We are currently shopping for something in the 34 ft plus range and large area teak decking is a disqualifier.

 

[Arps]

I bet it was Sikaflex.

that shit is incredible as long as you dont want it to ever come apart

 

[gtxracer2]

Great outlook on your part

Ohlins should transform the car once properly dialed in. Not up to speed on 911s, do you have adjustable sway bar endlinks? Planning on stiffer bars?

When I swapped in coilovers (Flyin Miata Vmaxx), I also went with 1.25 front swaybar and kept the stock swaybar in the rear. Added 949racing adjustable links too.

Once it was aligned with me in the car, my NB became a different car to say the least. Due to the anemic 4cyl I can pretty much flat foot it through the corners without slowing down :), fugger grips and hardly any lean.

Thanks! I try not to dwell on setbacks. Just let it roll off and keep moving.

I don’t have adjustable sway bar end links, but after seeing the available options, I might make my own. Tarrett makes good stuff, but if I can save a few bucks and make something myself that’s pretty cool and relatively safe for me to DIY, why not! I plan to add GT3 sway bars if stock isn’t enough. The rear GT3 bar is adjustable.

I’ll be aligning this car with me in it and setting up the rear with adjustable toe and upper links too. All the camber and caster adjustments. Hopefully I can drive this car well enough that I don’t regret not starting with a Miata

Same. It is

Went with Vmaxx Extreme with 1.125 front anti-sway and left the rear loose on my v8 car. It totally transformed the car. It was insane.

V8 miata? Guy I sold my ls2 block to had one in his NB. It was fast as hell until it spit the crank out the bottom of the car one day.


Ohlins are here!

Started sanding and prepping paint. Hood is in worse shape than I thought. I’ll probably resist the urge to dump a lot of time into prepping the front panels as they’ll likely be replaced. I’m very tempted to break out my new Einstar 3D scanner and scan the entire car so I could have a plotter cut the wrap panels directly from CAD and DXFs. Anyone ever done that? Any other tips for quick body work? I might bondo a couple areas with dimples. I have one area on the drivers rocker that needs pulled out. I’m not a huge fan of body work so far…

 

[LeadfootCJ7]

There are programs that can precut ppf and wrap. Since it stretches as it's wrapped it doesn't need to be perfect. Usually they cut it a little big and wrap around the edges. Then they trim the excess. You could do that, but you would be reinventing the wheel which may not be necessary anyway.

 

[Dejeeper]

Well it wont be as fast as an nb with a ls-6. I have driven one and its bananas. Your car will be good on the ohlins, u may eventually need the gt3 sways but it will take a bunch of track time to get better then that car.

 

[gtxracer2]

There are programs that can precut ppf and wrap. Since it stretches as it's wrapped it doesn't need to be perfect. Usually they cut it a little big and wrap around the edges. Then they trim the excess. You could do that, but you would be reinventing the wheel which may not be necessary anyway.

That’s what I was thinking, that I’m not saving much time at all and probably spending more time scanning the car and setting up the plotter. I wrapped my TJ and it wasn’t too bad, so I’ll just continue with my YouTube certification on wraps and paint prep then get to it. Thanks for your insight!

Well it wont be as fast as an nb with a ls-6. I have driven one and its bananas. Your car will be good on the ohlins, u may eventually need the gt3 sways but it will take a bunch of track time to get better then that car.

Got it! This helps me prioritize the rest of the suspension upgrades. Thanks! I’ll wait for sway bars and such. I might need the sway bar end links now, we’ll see. Do you recall how much camber we can achieve in these cars with stock control arms? I was considering getting the locking plates to make alignments easier and it’ll hold the alignment settings better. I don’t want to go overboard with upgrades right now, but if there’s anything you’d recommend, I’m all ears.