timbobalobox

Collected!  I need a bigger garage  

The door skins/valances/brackets are buried underneath the clams.  

I doubt I'll be able to get properly started until the beginning of June as we're away for half term, but plan on getting cracking as soon as we're back!

Small update...  van booked to collect the kit on Thursday next week  

Means by Thursday afternoon I'll have a car in pieces and wondering what I've done 🤣🤣

I also started refreshing the interior with new climate switches;

Before

After

Huge difference and a really straight forward job to do.

Roll on Thursday!!  👍 

On 4/27/2022 at 5:58 AM, Del_tl1000r said:

I think these look great. Saw a review from Jayemm on it. He mentioned that the screen ends up with a section at the bottom you can't see through. Other than that for me I think it's brilliant. I would go for the look in the pics apart from the hideous interior and hump colour. Silver, black interior and black humps. I really like that style of wheel also. Good luck. Can't wait to see how it turns out

That's where I first saw it - at the time I was looking at a Chesil (356 replica based on an original Beetle), but I preferred the modern driving characteristics of a Boxster!

Going out for a test drive I didn't think the screen was too much of a problem, comparable to the Boxster it isn't as good, but better than my old Cerbera which was a proper letter box

At the moment I'm leaning towards a petrol blue/original aquamarine blue with body colour humps, this is likely to change at least four times before I have to make the decision however!! 

The split rim wheels have unfortunately gone up over double in price!  Iconic are looking at a single billeted wheel now which will look much the same but have the added benefit of being a lot lighter.

Kit should be ready w/c 9th May 👍👍

18 hours ago, Paul P said:

 

These ^^

Likewise - good to meet you all, and will keep the thread updated as the project evolves 👍

Not a massive update... I spoke to Iconic today - looks like end of April/beginning of May for everything to be done  

They're really busy, but the body is pretty much complete, just need the bracketry fabricating then I can collect!

Still need to sort the garage out  

2 hours ago, Wish said:

Oh my … that really is a beautiful thing. Look forward to the build. 
can I ask how much the kit costs ? 
 

As for the wheel I like the low profile tyres and the modern twist wheels. It’s individual not a replica of old. 
 

 

They look lovely in the flesh too!  The kit is £12k for the shell, then accessories on top 

I'm leaning towards the split rims in the original photos, but with the domed caps - this can all change though!

Had these delivered yesterday;

The dollies should make moving the car around the garage a bit easier whilst I'm working on it 👍

Really need to clear some space in the garage this weekend... 3 weeks or so for the shell/brackets will come round fast!

21 hours ago, Paul P said:

IMHO - some "how not to's...." on this... the "386" badging and the horse brass seats.... but each to their own..... oh and the "someone else's steering wheel"

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373951940096?hash=item571145c600:g:w5YAAOSwoDViIxma

I think this is one of their early ones - Iconic no longer produce the kit for the 986 any more.  I plan on keeping the interior pretty much the same (other than replacing the worn/sticky buttons etc).  Still completely undecided on colour scheme! 

18 minutes ago, McDonald said:

This is likely to be the most popular thread over coming months. Your project is fascinating, I'll be following every instalment.

Thank you - I'll do my best to keep it up to date (it's also nice to keep it as a build diary).  I'm afraid I can't promise it'll be super-quick progress on the project however as I'll be shoe-horning this into everyday life with work/family etc!

26 minutes ago, Topbox said:

Thanks. I think the pinterest folder is a good idea. Lots of 356 images on Instagram too for inspiration. Ask friends and family too. Who is the snappy dresser? I'm not a fan of black on sports cars inside or out I should confess. However that's just me. The great thing with black inside it really does give unrestricted choice for your exterior. I would certainly look at the colours for the period of 356 production. I'm loving the blue from @Daboy3000 white wall tyres could enhance the retro look. Were any 356s produced with two tone paint schemes I wonder?

I'll have to revert to my better half for the colour options! 

I can't find any original two tone, but this one from Outlaw looks quite good;

I think this is one of the original colour charts;

46 minutes ago, skoosh1970 said:

....like everyone else... really looking forward to being updated on this build... always admired these speedsters... interesting car review of these on youtube somewhere.

 

Love the rims...!!!

 

How about Audi Volcano Red..?

That certainly looks the part 😎 

11 minutes ago, Daboy3000 said:

Great project, I look forward to the updates.

I am not a fan of the size of the wheels in your picture, i think they need more rubber.

This colour would work well with a black interior

That colour looks great, especially with the chrome trim.  Agree on the wheels - they are quite low profile and the roads around here aren't the best!

20 minutes ago, ½cwt said:

Looks like a great project.

As you are in Banbury why not drop into Gaydon on 24th April to meet a load of Boxster owners (about 50) and maybe bring some info on the project?  I'm sure there will be a lot of interest.

 

Just replied - I'll be there 👍

Can't see me having started the build by that point, so will be in the 987 rather than the Volvo!

19 minutes ago, Paul P said:

Don’t know where you are located but might be worth having a look at the members map and see if someone with a Durametric of piwis is nearby.  
 

you may need to tell the car to stop moaning about spoiler that isn’t there or roof that’s “different” 

 

guessing but I would imagine there are some parts that may be easier to code out rather than fake 

I'm not far from Banbury, so fairly central - but that's helpful know about the software, thank you.

The spolier and roof remain fully functional and pretty much untouched - the tonneau cover is original and the spoiler has a replacement 'top' that blends in with the new body.  Beneath the vents on the rear are the high level brake lights

5 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

Enjoy.  My first car was a kit, not built by me - a Dutton Phaeton, based on a Mk1/2 Escort.  It, and my crazy engineering neighbour friend, taught me a lot about car mechanics.  Now superseded as everything needs a laptop... then Dad was bored at home and looked though my old kit car mags, and decided to turn his rotting Mk4 Cortina into a Cobra replica (Pilgrim Sumo).

What I learned - people who build their first kit car usually know a lot about mechanics and stuff all about electrics.  The latter can then be a dogs dinner requiring constant fault finding.

What he learned - yes the company can produce a fantastic build manual, but don't believe it. When he pointed out to the company that their build manual had (for example) recommended installing the propshaft, and then a couple of pages later installing the brake lines along the prop tunnel, a job which would be a lot easier without the propshaft in the way, the guy said "Oh, we don't use that manual, that was done by Marketing"...

Good luck with it  

Appreciate the advice, thank you.  As this a rebody more than anything, the extent of mechanics/electrics should be confined to replacing the lights/spoiler mechanism as a lot is bonded in situ - that's what I'm hoping anyway!  

The factory built ones are stunning in the flesh - really hoping my efforts don't turn it into into a mess 🤣🤣

27 minutes ago, Topbox said:

I would certainly like to see the build. With a black interior you can have  any colour exterior I would say. A good trick will be to give the black interior nice colour accents that reflect the exterior. Seat belts, a gear knob, instrument dial faces, a little colour on the dash perhaps. 😁 Have fun.

Good shout with the interior accents - I'm rubbish with colour schemes!  I really want to get it right as it'll make all the difference.  I even have a pinterest folder for it 🤣

Ideas so far...

Thank you all for the nice comments - it's appreciated!  I'm quite looking forward to the challenge. 

I'd love it to be done for the Gaydon meet, but this a bit too ambitious unfortunately 🤣  maybe 2023...!

33 minutes ago, Patt said:

yes.  host on flickr or any other site and link the images into your post.

Thank you - have created a profile and will use this in future 👍

24 minutes ago, Codfanglers said:

Looks fantastic and would like to think the car retains most of its structural rigidity once the panels have been chopped off and replaced with GRP?

Have you driven one any distance? Having owned a GRP car (TVR350i - space frame chassis, GRP body), as a driving machine to throw about or to have an accident in, I wouldn't consider anything not made of metal.  

You will get more admiring looks in one of those compared to a Boxster, but don't underestimate what it will cost to build and finish to a professional standard, and what you could have bought for that money. 

I know what you mean - I've had TVRs in the past (a couple of Chimaeras and a Cerbera) and despite assurances that GRP is actually quite strong, I certainly wouldn't want to have too much of a shunt in one!  Last week I had a good chat with the owner of Iconic about this - I didn't want to compromise safety in anyway.  All of the main body panels are removed (except for the cills) and retain the airbags and main crash structure.  There are bespoke brackets supplied that are mounted on the key body structure to support the GRP clams.  I've found the below online of a guy in the States who was stripping a boxster for a similar project;

There's no denying the GRP panels weigh more than the metal ones being removed, so I expect the performance to be affected slightly - having gone out for a test drive in the 2.7 it certainly still danced around the corners!  Mine is the S too so I'm hoping the effects are mitigated a bit

The price has certainly been a key consideration and looking at a comparison to what else is out there  I love the look of the 356 but didn't really want to go down the Beetle-based Chesil route and these completed are now £40k+ from the factory or £26k ish for a used/abused one.  If I can come in between those I'll be happy! (including the price of the Boxster).  It's going to be a fun project/hobby with no real time frame

Another image from the side that shows the humps a bit better.  I'll have the domed hubs on the split rims I think.

As I'm keeping the black interior I need inspiration what colour paintwork to go with... any ideas welcome!

One question - I seem to be restricted to very low image sizes via the upload function, should I be using another hosting function?

Cheers

Hi all

In my introductory post at the beginning of the year I mentioned I planned to convert a 987 Boxster into a 356 homage with a kit from Iconic Autobody - I've now placed a deposit!

It should be ready in 3-6 weeks... Time to clear some space in the garage    

If folk are interested I'll keep this as a bit of a build log as I go - feel free to flame  🔥 my controversial choice 🤣

The kit comes in several pieces - front and rear clams (inc bonnets), door skins, windscreen and speedster humps (which store in the frunk when the hood is up). 

De-snorkeled it - literally a 10 minute job!  I can't massively notice the difference roof down, but roof up it's 😁

Discovered it has a small coolant leak however (drops on the garage floor) - add that to the to-do list!