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Working towards a 'fast road spec' Cayman 987.1


Despicable

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Good evening guys,

 

New to the forum, there are a surpising amount of forums dedicated to the 987 ilk, I've put my eggs in this basket as already I've found some really useful info on bits I've been working on with the car - so thank you those that made some of the how to's!

 

Do you guys have club meets or run outs at all? (UK side)- be good to attend some if there are?

 

I've recently bought myself a 987.1 Cayman S, low miles and SFSH. I looked for one some years ago but decided on an Audi S5 at the time. Prices are creeping up but haven't rocketed to the same degree as some other models or Marques. My intention is to convert it to a fast road spec, nothing too outlandish but it's not a daily so I don't mind it being a little raucous.

The 987.1 is a small car. I love it, compared to my daily and work cars it's diddy and very go kart like. It's certainly a small package to fit a 3.4 litre in. I tend to drive with my lights on in daytime as well, kind of like rolling with DRL's as you really fall into other driver's blind spots being so low down.

 

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It doesn't have a great deal of additions- so no sport seats here or Bose sound system. It does have the PCM2.1 with archaic sat nav functionality though which is perfect for the bin. It looks to have the Xenon's, are these standard? The last owner restores classic vehicles as a business so he reprayed the front end to tidy up the stonechips and might have removed the spray jets from the bumper.

 

It's nicely modified already, to my tastes atleast. Sitting on staggered Bola CSR 19" wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport's, although I also have some OEM 997 Lobster Claw's too.

It's lowered 35mm on Vogland's I believe with OEM dampers. It sits beautifully and doesn't seem crashy, not too low for speedbumps either luckily as the GT3 esque  front splitter is not overly flexible.
It also has a stainless sports exhaust, brand unknown until I get underneath it but it's quite loud, I tend to choose the daily to go to work at 0500 hrs...

 

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The first thing I put in was an extinguisher on a quick release mount- I have them in all my cars. It might not do much against an inferno but could still save a life.

 

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The leather seats are in good condition but I used some Auto Glym conditioner to bring them back to their best. I'm no detailer, very amateur but I enjoy seeing results from some grafting. I might swap them out for some nice Gt3 style seats at some stage but no rush there.

 

Leather-conditioning-987.jpg

 

I learnt this from the forum actually - the front air ducts do not provide any protection for the radiators and worse still is leaf collection that over time blocks and can cause rot. The radiators are new so I thought I'd best protect them. I see that you can buy special grilles made for the job, but I thought I would make some. I also decided to tint the foglights, I am unsure about them at the moment though. If you have an opinion, let me know!

 

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Has someone been chewing on those old switches!!! 

Car looks lovely, think the wheels really suite it and it sits nicely on them too. 

I had a 'cheap' Android headunit in my car for a while, but just didn't get on with it so went back to the stock system and use an Alexa Auto now instead. 

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Cheers Andy, I know... minging!

The wheels look just right, offset it perfect without needing spacers too. I actually bought some genuine Lobster Claw's thinking I wanted OEM look but now I'll probably just sell them and keep the Bola's.

Where did you get the AutoAlexa from? Not seen this before. I'll see how I get along with this and if its not great I'll just put it in a drawer somewhere.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Over the last few days I've been getting the 987 ready for a road trip next week to Germany. I was going back and forth over which car to take, but decided on the most uncomfortable sports car I own, complete with the loud exhaust and no cruise control, heated seats, decent stereo etc... Might regret it or it might be the perfect tool for the job. I've not done drives in it over 1 hour yet as anything long distance has always been done in my F11.

 

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in preperation for the journey, a full overhaul was in order, replacing worn bushes, lubricating where necessary, doing fluids, underbody protection and generally going through the car, sorting advisories from the last MOT and getting to know it well on a mechanical level, so I will be able to trust it on a very long drive.
 

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Whilst I have the car in the open air, I didn't like the two tone silver around the exhausts so have now used some plastidip to go matt black around the tips. Much better imo and very durable. Ties in with the black exhaust tips a lot better now.

 

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Hi @Despicable, great intro and it’s reminded me that I really should do something similar having purchased my 987.1S in Feb this year. 


Really like the look of yours and have a couple of questions:

 

1) what did you use for the mesh in the intakes? I’m looking to do mine this weekend and if you have a link for the mesh you used it would be greatly appreciated.

 

2) any insight or tips for fitting the mesh in place?

 

3) I really like the ducktail! Do you know who the manufacturer is?

 

4) where abouts are you based? I saw you were asking about meet ups/drive outs? I found a great place in Sussex that hosts an exclusively Porsche event, unfortunately they’re just looking to relocate but I’m sure it’ll be even better once they’ve found a new venue… it’s called B Road Hunting Club.

 

Hope you’re enjoying the road trip!

 

James 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 31/03/2022 at 10:51, James Mitchinson said:

Hi @Despicable, great intro and it’s reminded me that I really should do something similar having purchased my 987.1S in Feb this year. 


Really like the look of yours and have a couple of questions:

 

 Thanks mate

On 31/03/2022 at 10:51, James Mitchinson said:

 

1) what did you use for the mesh in the intakes? I’m looking to do mine this weekend and if you have a link for the mesh you used it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ebay link

 

On 31/03/2022 at 10:51, James Mitchinson said:

 

2) any insight or tips for fitting the mesh in place?

 

I did it without needing to remove the inserts or bumper, using the above mesh I just measured the dimensions, made a quick cardboard template (old school pencil shaded outline) and then cut it to size using a stanley knife. Cut too big and then reduce in areas to get the perfect fit. Once happy with it being over layed, fild the mesh up a bit and push it through the slats, let it return to shape on the otherside of the slats and then use mini black zipties to hold the mesh in place. Voila!

 

On 31/03/2022 at 10:51, James Mitchinson said:

 

3) I really like the ducktail! Do you know who the manufacturer is?

Not too sure to be honest, I think an imported US one.

 

On 31/03/2022 at 10:51, James Mitchinson said:

 

4) where abouts are you based? I saw you were asking about meet ups/drive outs? I found a great place in Sussex that hosts an exclusively Porsche event, unfortunately they’re just looking to relocate but I’m sure it’ll be even better once they’ve found a new venue… it’s called B Road Hunting Club.

 

South Coast so not a million miles from Sussex. Easy drive, thanks I'll take a look.

 

On 31/03/2022 at 10:51, James Mitchinson said:

 

Hope you’re enjoying the road trip!

 

James 

 

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