Idle Hands are the Devil’s Workshop- Proverbs 16:27-29

30 days into the COVID lockdown I was going CRAZY, I am so used to an exhausting travel schedule and always being on the move. A few weeks off felt nice, but then the walls started to close in… I was scheming on how to get my 1999 996 that was stuck in Maryland home to Washington when I tripped across a 2001 996 Carrera 4 in Omaha, NE. It literally looked NEW and had just over 11k miles. My curiosity was piqued and I had to inquire… Turns out the car was a fully documented, 100% original, well optioned 2001 with 11k miles. I had to have it, BUT if you recall everything was on a complete hard lock down and information and direction was changing by the hour.

A plan was hatched…..Could I travel from Seattle, WA to Omaha, NE and back without interacting with a single person? No restaurants, no hotels, nothing…. I loaded up my trusty travel van, packed the cooler full of 4 days worth of food and set off. The answer is of course, yes! 3,389 miles over 4 days and I only interacted with two people: the seller and the guy who rented me the Uhaul trailer to pull it home. I covered some AMAZING roads (which were literally empty), listened to at least 5 complete audio books, stopped and ran gorgeous trails (my other passion)in Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana. What a trip!

Now once I got this 996 home, I pored over the car and just marveled at what a car it really was. Here are the details:

The car was sold new at Woodhouse Porsche in Omaha, NE on April 18th 2001 and was loaded with over $14k in options including:

• Basalt Black Metallic- $805
• Graphite Grey Leather
• 030 Chassis Specially Tuned-$690
• 413 18″ Light Alloy Wheels- $1,190
• 443 Wheel Caps w/ colored crests- $170
• Graphite Grey Floor Mats-$110
• P01 Comfort Package-full power seats L&R, lumbar support, drivers seat memory- $2,090
• P04 Advanced Technic Package- Headlight washers, hi-fi sound system, Litronic headlights, on-board computer and CD-radio – $3,125
• P11 Self Dimming Mirrors and Rain Sensor-$690
• P14 Heated Seats Package- $400
• P42 Design Package-X54-Stainless Steel Tailpipes, X70- Carrera 4 Metal Door Sills, X71-Aluminum Instrument Dials, X97-Aluminum Shift Lever, X98-Aluminum Brake Lever, XJB-Center Console Painted Arctic Silver- $3,385
• XX2 Footwell Lighting- $715

Total Original MSRP $86,900

The original owner had the car until 2011 when he had accumulate just 2,010 miles! He traded it back in the selling dealer and the car was sold as a Certified Pre-owned Porsche and the 2nd owner added just over 9,000 miles over the next 9 years. I have a complete service history from new, with all but one item being done at the selling Porsche dealer. The 2nd owner had a LN Engineering IMS bearing update completed in 2012 at 5,271 miles, most people would have called it good, but again its me…

Having 25 hours of driving meant I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do with my new “project”. Here is what I did:

In 2012 the LN engineering bearing was the leading choice for replacement, however the knowledge and technology has gotten better so I decided to go ALL IN and replace it with the LN “IMS Solution” which is a lifetime fix and replaces the ball bearing with a pressure fed oil lubricated plain bearing, just liked Porsche used in the air-cooled era. In order to install the Solution the car is subjected to an exhaustive pre-qualification process to insure a new bearing isn’t being installed in a car that has either already suffered damage or one with an impending issue. I did the following before installing the solution:

• DME interrogation showing zero over-revs and camshaft deviations within spec, no errant fuel trims, this car was perfect!
• Replaced the Air Oil Seperator with a new OEM (not the junk aftermarket part!)
• Drain oil, inspect drain plug, cut open filter to inspect for debris. None found.
• Removed engine sump plate- looked like new!
• Bore Scope analysis- no bore scoring!
• Oil sent out for analysis, no issues
• Checked for IMS sag and inspect removed bearing for wear- none found on either the LN replacement bearing or the original bearing (I have both)

The car passed with flying colors so we then:

• Installed IMS Solution
• New OEM clutch and flywheel
• Installed new water pump and low temp thermostat and new coolant
• New oil filler tube
• Full major service-oil and filter, brake fluid flush, new drive belt, new spark plugs, new fuel filter
• New battery

Now that we had all the mechanicals better than new, I wanted the car to be able to pass muster at any national level event, so….

• All trim, bumper covers front and rear, lighting, etc were removed for deep cleaning in every recess! Its as clean in every nook and cranny as it is on the top.
• Complete chassis dry ice cleaning
• Paint correction to remove any surface imperfections
• one minor dimple was removed via Paintless Ding Repair
• Full installation of STEK paint protection film: Full hood, bumper, fenders, mirrors, door edges, behind the wheels, etc.
• Refinished one wheel for a small 15mm mark on the lip, I was obsessed. 

The car comes complete with:

• All original books and manuals
• 2 original keys + valet key
• Full service history
• Complete documentation of the above
• Factory tool kit and all delivered accessories

Other important notes:

• Clean Carfax, never been damaged in any fashion and 100% original paint as verified by a paint meter.
• No car is truly perfect (yes even new cars!) so a few things I would note: it has a couple minor type chips that were present before I installed the film, VERY minor but I didn’t film it when it had 9 miles, so…. The tires are Michelin Pilots that have almost zero miles but are older so they could be replaced just due to age but show no sign of age/UV. Thats about all I could tell you. 

So now I essentially have as “new” of a 996.1 that is likely extant and it was a great use of my time during COVID, but I am bursting at the seams in my personal garage and I am not sure what else to do to it, so I guess it needs a new home! This project CLEARLY will not be the profit center highlight of my year BUT will likely be one of my best memories. I shudder to think what it would cost to have all of the above done if a consumer just dropped the car off at one of our excellent Porsche independents. Sure you could buy a 996 for less, but you couldn’t duplicate this car for this!