HMC- Return of the Cheeky 500

[timolloyd]

As someone said above, sounds like you have a good combo: good mechanicals with ‘patina’

[HMC]

7 hours ago, HMC said:

Wierdly Esure wanted no more money to switch  from the yaris verso. That must be a definition of getting OLD.

It’s esure flex IIRC. I took the policy out on the Murano (about £150) changed to the yaris (got £42 back) and then changed it to the Boxster (was advised no admin fee and no cost to change) WTF

[lesapandre]

2 hours ago, HMC said:

I think there’s a few, but there’s are nice. Mine has been bought from the gutter.

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

Oscar Wilde (though I don't think he was a Porsche owner...)

[brownnova]

Boxsters are really starting to look appealing now! 

[grogee]

22 hours ago, HMC said:

 a curry restaurant on New Year’s Eve.

Tharik's?

[2316cc]

These early Boxsters are starting to look really good now, especially in silver with the orange indicators that everyone hated. Very well boughted!

[Wack]

On 12/9/2022 at 6:42 PM, Jenson Velcro said:

Yes, there’s a lot to be said for running a carefree ‘an car’ that you’re not worried about.

That's exactly how I feel about my Range rover, it might have been 70k of supercharged luxury 15 years ago but now it's 3k worth of park it anywhere car, people give way and tend to stay in their lane when they spot it too which is a bonus 

[HMC]

Lots of rain over west Dartmoor this week….

Bad news for a rough round the edges 25 year old Boxster….

 

thats last weeks Sunday newspaper absorbing all the rain that got in.

I traced it to a blocked drain under the rear part of the soft top mechanism on the passenger side which now runs clear. I recon nothing short of pulling the seats and carpet out is going to properly dry it out, but at least I can no longer hear sloshing noises when I turn corners in this German bathtub.

[wesacosa]

47 minutes ago, HMC said:

Lots of rain over west Dartmoor this week….

Bad news for a rough round the edges 25 year old Boxster….

 

thats last weeks Sunday newspaper absorbing all the rain that got in.

I traced it to a blocked drain under the rear part of the soft top mechanism on the passenger side which now runs clear. I recon nothing short of pulling the seats and carpet out is going to properly dry it out, but at least I can no longer hear sloshing noises when I turn corners in this German bathtub.

do these ones have the body control ECU under the passenger seat?  Bloody silly idea on a soft top which ended up costing my Mrs £1500 on her 997 Boxster

[grogee]

55 minutes ago, HMC said:

Lots of rain over west Dartmoor this week….

Bad news for a rough round the edges 25 year old Boxster….

 

thats last weeks Sunday newspaper absorbing all the rain that got in.

I traced it to a blocked drain under the rear part of the soft top mechanism on the passenger side which now runs clear. I recon nothing short of pulling the seats and carpet out is going to properly dry it out, but at least I can no longer hear sloshing noises when I turn corners in this German bathtub.

That is five-spanner level fixing.

I am shit at tracing leaks. Can I ask how you did it?

[HMC]

1 hour ago, grogee said:

That is five-spanner level fixing.

I am shit at tracing leaks. Can I ask how you did it?

Actually it was simple in this instance, I just watched a you tube video that showed me where the drain tubes are and once I’d half raised the hood I could see one side was clear and the other was all pooled up it was satisfying to see it all gurgle away once I’d used a bit of washing line to rod the drain tube.  

[Rustybullethole]

I imagine sitting inside it at this time of year anywhere near Dartmoor would also work quite well.

[HMC]

1 hour ago, wesacosa said:

do these ones have the body control ECU under the passenger seat?  Bloody silly idea on a soft top which ended up costing my Mrs £1500 on her 997 Boxster

I think they do, I had similar with a Passat b5 that used to flood the area under the passenger seat with similar bork potential. After sealing the pollen filter housing properly I also resorted to cable tieing a plastic bag around the ecus as I went a bit OOT in my war against the leaks.

[HMC]

Ps fleet news- the white Cedric is being picked up tomorrow ,  in the end the green maxima sale didn’t go through,  which is handy as I’m now using it as my daily transport when there more than 2 seats are needed. I also slapped a plate I had on it which looks a bit political but I just liked the look of it.

[Bradders59]

Ive had the same with mine when I first got it. The best thing for clearing drains is a Trombone cleaner. Plenty on ebay / Amazon etc.

I did take the seats and carpets out, as its the only way to dry them properly. The carpaets can seem dry on top, but theres half a gallon of water sitting in the foam underneath which comes back through to the top.

The ECU for the alarm / central locking lives under the passenger seat, and if its got wet it will probably be fucked.

Mine was intermittent when I got the car, but seems fucked now. Used *replacements are usually £500ish. Not worth it to me.

Im pretty sure its the later cars (987 ?)that have the body control ECU under the seat, with the alarm / central locking ECU relocated somewhere else. 

Wont do any harm to unplug the ecu, remove it and take the cover off. Then dry it out with a hairdryer. Might not help, but wont hurt it.

* Need ECU plus key with chip and the transmitter thing that sits around the ignition switch to recognise the chip.

Trombone Snake Brush - Double Ended Wire Brush | eBay

[83C]

Slower way to dry it out will be to chuck a dehumidifier in there. Will take a while but should work.

[horriblemercedes]

On 1/3/2023 at 9:25 AM, brownnova said:

Boxsters are really starting to look appealing now! 

They're ace! A bit more expensive than they were a few years ago, but still cheap for what they are, particularly the S. I really think the extra for an S is a bargain. They cost no more to run, but they are quicker and better. 

 

They do seem to need bits and pieces all the time, but those bits are not as expensive as you'd think, unless you have a rare option (mine has cruise control) and sourcing parts from anywhere other than Porsche is hard

 

Parts from Porsche are cheaper now than a couple of years ago 

 

I like Pirelli P Zero Rosso on them - more expensive than Michelin Pilot Sport 4 or 5, but the handling:grip ratio is slightly in the favour of less grip, and much more fun

 

I think this one is a top buy and a great part of the thread history 

[Bradders59]

Mine came with new Jinyus on it and they are staying there until they wear out. 🤣

It has the 18" sport design wheels so the price of a pair of rear 265/45/18 Pirellis doesnt bear thinking about. So I wont think about it until I have to.

Grip / handling on dry roads is leagues above most other cars Ive driven, but really do need to be careful in the wet. 

I buy most parts from ebay / online breakers.

[captain_cal]

Hey! I like this. Two randoms please, for the inevitable roffle next week.

[HMC]

EML just flashed up when I was doing some low speed/ low rev pottering. No limp mode as such- still  revved and pulled just as eagerly as ever.

I disconnected the battery for a bit and the eml hasn’t returned. I’m none the wiser. Not a new feeling in life for me. This all adds to the excitement* of a  ropey Boxster. 

[Jessicus]

Check engine lights come on in Boxsters for such a wide range of reasons - a one-time cylinder misfire, coil pack slowly going, fuel line causing engine cough etc. that it's not worth bothering with unless there are secondary symptoms.

One time many years ago I got a check engine light because I hadn't tightened the fuel filler cap enough!

[New POD]

Get a generic blue tooth OBD 2 adaptor, and erase All codes from.your smart phone whilst you are doing 100 mph in the fast lane.  Wcpgw ? 

[horriblemercedes]

23 hours ago, Bradders59 said:

Mine came with new Jinyus on it and they are staying there until they wear out. 🤣

It has the 18" sport design wheels so the price of a pair of rear 265/45/18 Pirellis doesnt bear thinking about. So I wont think about it until I have to.

Grip / handling on dry roads is leagues above most other cars Ive driven, but really do need to be careful in the wet. 

I buy most parts from ebay / online breakers.

Mine came (in 2020) with two recent Pirelli on the front and two ancient, almost bald Pirelli on the back. One had a 2009 date code and the other 2011. The skids it did were hilarious and the tyres were MOTable - I wanted to keep them

 

I only swapped them because my ex was terrified after it went sideways on a roundabout 

[egg]

Jonny Smith keeps threatening to do a 'Ghetto Boxster' make him buy it 😄

[Bradders59]

If you join Boxa.net there is a thread which gives locations of all members with diagnostics, which is very useful.

I bought a Porsche icarsoft from ebay for about £80, which does most of what you will need to do

[S2000]

Please Roffle this when you want to move it on, I’ve had a number of 911’s but never a Boxster and would love a shot at an early one…

[HMC]

Life with the ropey Boxster has been good so far. When 2 or less seats are needed, I’m using it as my main car. It’s a fantastic steer with a great soundtrack on the cheap (so far) and a brill heater. Add in a small cockpit and it’s a brilliant winter hack. The tyres are cheap brands (obv) and I’ve not really pushed through B road curves much as I don’t trust them, and I usually crash most roadsters I’ve owned so I’ve got form.  Although the tyres are 255 section at the back so quite meaty for the modest power. I would image it would be utterly useless on snow.

Some of these are very cosseted. This one never had been although it’s not covered many miles lately. I’m a big believer in using cars. I have previously commuted in 1937 Austin 7 (although it was just a few miles and no hills etc!) No doubt I looked like a right twat.

Anyway I was hoping it might improve with use, particularly the idle from cold which used to drop off and then the car would cut out, until it was warm. I read about idle Control valves and mafs and decided just to use it and give a few longer, hard runs. Basically just to use it as it was designed to be. I thought maybe short runs and being shunted about and covered in a blanket lately had gummed up the idle valve or something like that. Wishful? Maybe. But it actually sorted the issue. Phew!
 

It’s also been pissing water into the cabin which is not great down here in famously wet Tavistock, in a street parked old car. First I thought I’d sorted it as a drain  Was blocked; but also the drain pans under the roof mechanism were not properly connected to the drainage tubes- it sounds like maybe a link piece had come off or gone astray.
 

In the end I decided to try to fix it by taking some Evian bottles apart and using the inner nozzle part of the cap to seal the edge, bridge the gap and act as a mesh to prevent crap falling into and blocking the drain tubes.
 

Bit of a cobble up but then it’s basically a banger Boxster in the hierarchy of Porsche boxsters. 

I used the inner nozzle that I dissected out of the cap (the bit that’s not pictured) Has it worked? I’ll let you know!

A dash light also came on the other day in my peripheral vision, I braced myself before I looked down to find out what was amiss. ……. Low washer fluid level!

 

[grogee]

2 hours ago, HMC said:

Life with the ropey Boxster has been good so far. When 2 or less seats are needed, I’m using it as my main car. It’s a fantastic steer with a great soundtrack on the cheap (so far) and a brill heater. Add in a small cockpit and it’s a brilliant winter hack. The tyres are cheap brands (obv) and I’ve not really pushed through B road curves much as I don’t trust them, and I usually crash most roadsters I’ve owned so I’ve got form.  Although the tyres are 255 section at the back so quite meaty for the modest power. I would image it would be utterly useless on snow.

Some of these are very cosseted. This one never had been although it’s not covered many miles lately. I’m a big believer in using cars. I have previously commuted in 1937 Austin 7 (although it was just a few miles and no hills etc!) No doubt I looked like a right twat.

Anyway I was hoping it might improve with use, particularly the idle from cold which used to drop off and then the car would cut out, until it was warm. I read about idle Control valves and mafs and decided just to use it and give a few longer, hard runs. Basically just to use it as it was designed to be. I thought maybe short runs and being shunted about and covered in a blanket lately had gummed up the idle valve or something like that. Wishful? Maybe. But it actually sorted the issue. Phew!
 

It’s also been pissing water into the cabin which is not great down here in famously wet Tavistock, in a street parked old car. First I thought I’d sorted it as a drain  Was blocked; but also the drain pans under the roof mechanism were not properly connected to the drainage tubes- it sounds like maybe a link piece had come off or gone astray.
 

In the end I decided to try to fix it by taking some Evian bottles apart and using the inner nozzle part of the cap to seal the edge, bridge the gap and act as a mesh to prevent crap falling into and blocking the drain tubes.
 

Bit of a cobble up but then it’s basically a banger Boxster in the hierarchy of Porsche boxsters. 

I used the inner nozzle that I dissected out of the cap (the bit that’s not pictured) Has it worked? I’ll let you know!

A dash light also came on the other day in my peripheral vision, I braced myself before I looked down to find out what was amiss. ……. Low washer fluid level!

 

Even though I'm 250 miles away, I can hear the knicker elastic snapping from all those Tavi maids desperate to get inside your codpiece Boxster. Give it some pasty!

[HMC]

Well I sold the maxima and with a bit of a clash of styles, I immediately bought an Abarth 595 (aka a tuned up fiat 500)

I was a bit reluctant to post it on the main forum as it’s not that old, but decided as the basic model was launched 16 years ago, that it was ok.

 

It’s flawed, fun and not serious. I like it!

[gadgetgricey]

Fantastic exhaust note, but the tow bar is odd.