2002 Porsche 911 C4 Cabriolet
This car fell directly into the category of vehicles that I really decided I needed to have in my life, so wasted zero time in acquiring. I was curious about these, so I drove a truly terrible example of one that was for sale at a local dealership. Even that godawful car convinced me that I needed to own one.
So, I did some shopping, and a few weeks later bought a cheap one out of Miami! I flew down and road-tripped it back over the course of two days, spending the night in Atlanta and driving some of the fun roads in that area on the morning of day #2.
List of projects…
The projects on this car have mainly related to simply keeping it running. It’s not that there’s anything mechanically difficult or terrifying about this car. Rather, it’s that in the early 2000s, OEMs didn’t seem to have a strong grasp of what it took to manufacture plastics that would last 20 years. And since this generation of 911 was Porche’s first “truly mass production” vehicle, there’s a lot of plastic on it. This old plastic loves to disintegrate every time you touch it. That all being said, here’s the list!
Re-building of the instrument cluster to fix a broken analogue speedometer needle and replace the mat (the actual printed sheet that sits flat against the back of the cluster housing so they can use different fonts on different models while using the same housing and electronics). This was the first project where I encountered sad old disintegrating plastic connectors.
Re-building of the rear driver’s side window regulator. One of the pulleys shattered so the cable that runs the window up and down was free-floating.
Replacement of the rear passenger-side harness that bolts to the rear thing and has the wheel speed sensor and brake wear sensor plugged into it. Simple splice-and-solder, but with a semi-clever approach to put the soldered wiring inside the car without having to remove the interior of the car, saving a huge amount of time. This had to be replaced because, as a part that is exposed to the elements, it shattered and dissolved while driving, which on this car disables cruise-control and ABS and turns on a check-engine light.
Replacement of all spark plugs and coil packs. Normally, people remove the entire exhaust to do this job. I didn’t do that. You can do this job with the exhaust installed if you’re patient and careful with available space.
All standard maintenance (oil changes, air filters, brake pads, etc.)
Replacement of the hood latch, involving cutting into the front bumper cover because the hood latch was completely seized. This will lead to some body work…
Pain. Sadness. German engineering.
I do adore this car. It drives absolutely beautifully. It’s wonderful in the winter snow (Porsche AWD + good winter tires are A++). It’s a joy on a warm summer day with the top down. But, it’s easy to fall out of love with a car when it starts presenting problem after problem. I’m working to rekindle that love here as I go on a streak of completing projects on it. Here’s to hoping!