2004 911 40th Anniversary
Discussion
Having enjoyed so many Reader's Cars threads it felt like time to start my own. The car in question was bought back in 2010 by a good friend of mine. Shortly after purchase the car suffered a catastrophic IMS failure resulting in a new engine being fitted by Porsche Cambridge at 67k miles. After a couple of years my friend then bought a GT3 and offered me the 40th Anniversary. I wasn't in a position to purchase at the time so I recommended the car to another friend who has always wanted a 911 and he bought the car. Sadly the 2nd friend had an accident at home suffering spinal cord damage so the car then languished in his garage unused for several years. Unfortunately his injuries have not progressed so in summer 2022 he asked if I would be interested in purchasing the car and I jumped at the chance!
Following a long day to collect a borrowed trailer that I only just managed to squeeze down the lane the car was extracted from my friends garage and I set off on a careful drive home. Having never towed before it was in at the deep end for my first attempt but the trusty L322 made light work of it and the car and trailer made it back in one piece.
Following a long day to collect a borrowed trailer that I only just managed to squeeze down the lane the car was extracted from my friends garage and I set off on a careful drive home. Having never towed before it was in at the deep end for my first attempt but the trusty L322 made light work of it and the car and trailer made it back in one piece.
Life got in the way of doing anything with the car but I finally got the garage cleared out and a scissor lift ordered so I could get started on bringing the car back to life.
The battery was completely dead but a new Bosch unit went in. I gave the engine a few turns with a socket on the crank pulley to check it turned freely having not run for 3 years and then with the fuel pump fuse removed I cranked the car and was pleased to see oil pressure after only a short period. With the fuel pump reconnected the car started on the first attempt. The tappets were noisy for a few seconds but they quickly quitened down and the car settled to a steady idle. The engine in the car has only done about 13,000 miles but it was still a relief that it was up and running and showing signs of good health.
The car failed it's MOT back in 2019 due to brake pipe corrosion but upon turning the car around at the end of our cul-de-sac a gentle press on the brakes caused both pipes under the N/S sill to burst. Fortunately I was only travelling at 2mph so the handbrake stopped the car in time but this made the decision easy to get on with replacing all the steel pipes.
With the car up on the lift the sill pipes were clearly badly rusted but some of the other pipes that are normally hidden behind arch liners were also all in a terrible state, a good reminder that the MOT only checks what is visible and well worth getting your pipes checked throughout if you own a similar aged 911.
Originally the plan was to replace the pipes and get the car back on the road asap to get some miles on it and see what it really needed but having found some surface rust in a few places I've now decided to strip the car further and address the rust sooner rather than later. An oil leak on the engine near the bellhousing/engine interface also points towards a new RMS seal being needed.
The battery was completely dead but a new Bosch unit went in. I gave the engine a few turns with a socket on the crank pulley to check it turned freely having not run for 3 years and then with the fuel pump fuse removed I cranked the car and was pleased to see oil pressure after only a short period. With the fuel pump reconnected the car started on the first attempt. The tappets were noisy for a few seconds but they quickly quitened down and the car settled to a steady idle. The engine in the car has only done about 13,000 miles but it was still a relief that it was up and running and showing signs of good health.
The car failed it's MOT back in 2019 due to brake pipe corrosion but upon turning the car around at the end of our cul-de-sac a gentle press on the brakes caused both pipes under the N/S sill to burst. Fortunately I was only travelling at 2mph so the handbrake stopped the car in time but this made the decision easy to get on with replacing all the steel pipes.
With the car up on the lift the sill pipes were clearly badly rusted but some of the other pipes that are normally hidden behind arch liners were also all in a terrible state, a good reminder that the MOT only checks what is visible and well worth getting your pipes checked throughout if you own a similar aged 911.
Originally the plan was to replace the pipes and get the car back on the road asap to get some miles on it and see what it really needed but having found some surface rust in a few places I've now decided to strip the car further and address the rust sooner rather than later. An oil leak on the engine near the bellhousing/engine interface also points towards a new RMS seal being needed.
Northbrook said:
Good to see a car getting some love.
How's the 40th edition different from the regular cars?
It's mostly getting some love but there's still the odd seized bolt causing some hate too!How's the 40th edition different from the regular cars?
The 40th edition was essentially a 2wd Carrera with the options ticked so it gets the X51 engine pack, LSD, MO30 suspension and then some cosmetic tweaks too.
InformationSuperHighway said:
Worth tracking down the series from Seen Through Glass (Youtube) who had one of these a year or so ago. He spent a fortune on his 
.
Lovely though, I think these are an excellent mix of the 996 shapes.
Thanks, I have seen the STG vids on his car. I'm hoping not to spend as much as Sam did on the resto but the costs are quickly adding up. The car's nearly 20 years old now so there's a growing list of parts that whilst not completely shot it would make sense to change while it's all apart.. Lovely though, I think these are an excellent mix of the 996 shapes.
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