Restore or Part out

[rufrob]

Hello.
I am being offered 1998 Boxster 136,000km Tiptronic, red on black. But the alarm unit is flooded and shorted out, the rear window is split, clear coat peeling...
Just to get the alarm unit will cost $1000, rear window another $1000. I am being offered the car for $2k.
I planned to restore and sell ASAP, or is it better to just part it out?


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[husker boxster]

Unless you have a place to store it for several yrs, parting it out will be a slow, drawn out process. Plus you'll need some heavy equipment like a lift to get the engine & trans out and access to a fork lift to get those heavy items to a shipper. There's a lot to parting out a car. Maybe you have all of these things at your disposal, but if not, you'll need them. And you'll be constantly making trips to your local shipper to send small to large items.

You can probably expect another $1K in surprises if you want to get it running and flip it, but even with a $5K investment, you should be able to make some $$$ on it. Plus it will be gone in a much quicker time frame than parting it out.

Keep in mind this advice is coming from a hobbyist Wheeler Dealer, so obviously I'd lean towards fixing & flipping. I just bought an 87 928 S4 that doesn't run and the owner sold as a fixer or parts car. When I told him I'd try to get it running and then sell it on, he was pulling for me to buy it as it was too nice to part out.

[rufrob]

Good point. Here they start at $5k. Not much of a margin. I too just finished a 928 restore and sell. Made good money. Here space is a limiting factor. Guess I should check the engine oil.


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[rufrob]

It’s a 2000!



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[rufrob]

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[rufrob]

Got into it today. Cleaned the interior, removed the seats, drilled a hole in the floor to drain the water.
Noticed the coolant tank leaks, the engine is the dual ims bearing,


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[rufrob]

Good news. Dirty oil but no metal or plastic or hard bits. Just some hair and soft bits of tree. I guess the air filter has not been changes in a while. So here we go down the restore route


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[rufrob]

I’m knee deep now. I ordered a glass window used roof and new alarm computer. I finished the oil change and took a look at the engine last night
The belt looks good but the water looks original. There appears to be some oil leak from some hose on top of the engine. I clean it up and go from there. I wish Japan has daylight saving.


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[rufrob]

Totally worth it.


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[husker boxster]

Looks good. Congrats on resurrecting a deserving Boxster.

[rufrob]

Turns out the stealership won’t code the car because it’s unplated. The one independent that was big enough and had the equipment went bankrupt earlier this year. I may have to use Specialized ECU.


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[rufrob]

Removed the carpet this morning. That was not! I repeat NOT! A fun job. It’s cold and wet and slippery and smelly. It’s amazing how much water the sponge/foam holds. I wonder how long it will take to dry.


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[rufrob]

She’s alive!!
Had to slap the fuel pump relay around a little but she eventually stalled. The gas gauge indicates it has half tank and I could inflame hear the pump, so I pulled the tank unit to find it was out of gas. Put some gas in and she fired up and idled fine.
Now to get that %#! Tank gasket back in.
Next the coolant tank.
Should I do the water pump?


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[rufrob]

Dear me that coolant tank was difficult to remove. Took me about 2 hours just to get the middle small hose off. And to think the PO went through all that trouble to try to epoxy the tank. Engine access is somewhat hampered by the glass but still it reasonable. The new part should arrive Saturday morning then I can put it in. I think I should do the water pump too.


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[husker boxster]

Water pump - if there aren't any drips around it now, you have options. If it's convenient to change it now while you're doing your other work, then go ahead and change it. If it's a bad time of year (winter here) or you need to recharge your wallet, then wait for a better time. If you wait, keep an eye out for drips in front of the right rear tire and for whiffs of antifreeze. When they go, the can go quickly but they'll give you a few hints before they give up the ghost.

[rufrob]

Got the engine cleaned. Wow. Spunky little car. Spins tires easily. Now I’m working on peeling clearcoat and other paint issues.
IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191224/b50b3bb6168a4b280eead8b03d6b28ef.jpg[/IMG]


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[rufrob]

Trying to sort the horn out.
I put flat rubber washers on the airbag mounting plate. Push hard and the horn sounds. When I snug down the airbag the horn stay on. Loosen the 2 airbag screws the horn stops but if I jolt the steering wheel the horn sounds. Something must be grounding but where?


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[rufrob]

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[Brian in Tucson]

Originally Posted by rufrob

Removed the carpet this morning. That was not! I repeat NOT! A fun job. It’s cold and wet and slippery and smelly. It’s amazing how much water the sponge/foam holds. I wonder how long it will take to dry.


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I replaced mine--original was worn out at 75,000 miles! Not easy to get out, and the newer one was equally awful to get in. Probably finish it one of these years. Lots of things needed replacing, I think the p.o. parked it out in the Tucson sun with the top down a lot. Seats were totaled, looked like old farm truck seats, shreded, foam crumbling, and rusty frames.

I'm the best illustration for the saying "There IS no such thing as a cheap Porsche!" I'm currently way burned out on it.

[rufrob]

Happy New Year. It’s easy to get burnt out and money out working on these damn cars. But year after year I do the same damn thing. I rationalize it by saying I don’t drink, smoke, womanize or gamble. So this is my vice.


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