Porsche £500 bangernomics

Following on from my £500 Bangernomics XC90

Following on from my £400 bangernomics – £500 Volvo

I’ve got my myself distracted by a £500 Porsche 955 Cayenne!
It belongs to a work colleague who has used it as a snow commuting car (he’s a year round biker). It’s a 55plate 3.2petrol (VW V6 engine) with 155k miles, ‘auto box, coil suspension and diff locks. It’s failed it’s MOT on the exhaust flexi joints which is a v.expensive replacement. He knows I’m going to fettle it rather than break it / scrap it which was his alternative.

The plan is to convert this into overlander spec (suspension lift, underbody protection, on board air and water, slide out stove & fridge, all terrain tyre’s etc) as these are very capable off-road/touring cars.
We have a Scandic roadtrip planned that we were going to use the Volvo for but I’m hoping to now use this instead.

Pics, updates and financial ruin to follow…

Excellent. In for the ride.

That looks awesome.   

Caveat, I do feel guilty/dirty, I know these types of cars are dinosaurs in an era of EV and the antithesis of a cyclist. I think my justification for them is that they will have limited useage, the Volvo was never intended to be a daily driver, the Porsche will certainly never be. It’s actually been replaced by a Tesla with its previous owner.

I just cannot refuse a bargain and have the scope to rebuild & maintain cars myself. MrsRNP is a philanthropist and brings little money into the household which keeps campervans (the purpose of this car) and EV’s out of reach.
We also like Overland travel having previously built an overlanding Defender and a LWB van.

This is the only forum I’m present on hence this discussion not being on Pistonheads where it might have more of an audience.

Anyway….pics to follow.

Tick

Definitely following this one, even after I realised it won’t have an on-board waterslide

You’re proposing to use the thing for exactly what it should be used for. Plus it sounds like it’ll be awesome. I’m in!

Looks mega  🙂

Caveat, I do feel guilty/dirty, I know these types of cars are dinosaurs in an era of EV and the antithesis of a cyclist.

It seems as though these cars would be headed for the scrapyard if you didn’t restore them, and fixing up an old car has got to be more sustainable than dropping £££ on something new.

Will be following this thread with interest.

Also following with interest 

Exactly that. Keeping stuff going is the ultimate in sustainability. Anyway, I came across these guys at the Essen Motor Show, where they had a Taiga green 956 on 18″ Cookie Cutters:

https://www.blackrhinowheels.com/porsche-cayenne-off-road-wheels

Don’t forget that G-Wagens have the same PCD as well, so loads of proper offroad wheels available.

Excellent, will be watching ,and waiting for Kryton to make an offer on the final build 👍 😆

It seems as though these cars would be headed for the scrapyard if you didn’t restore them, and fixing up an old car has got to be more sustainable than dropping £££ on something new.

Our daily drivers are both immaculate well maintained nearly 20 year old 54plate petrol Volvo V70 with 210k miles for MrsRNP and for me either my Trek ebike commuter or my 54 plate Peugeot Partner.

Both the XC90 and the Cayenne had both reached ‘beyond economic value’ with their previous owners which as an engineer isn’t a theory I subscribe to. It does feel a little though guilty extending their lifespans.

Why not a modded MX5?

Also following with much interest!

Parts that have to come from Porsche as they are not available pattern are eyewateringly expensive.
Having said that though, aren’t they a vw Toureg Ina pretty dress?

I’m in!

A lot of the parts are VAG group parts so also check out Audi for part numbers. Go for it, it is better than scrapping it and electric vehicles are not yet suitable for what you propose using this for. Go drive with a clean conscience.

Does it have a turbo? If it has a turbo you could dual fuel it with ethanol and make it a bit cheaper to run. Sweden has a decent amount of E85 at the pumps, so it should give you a bit more flexibiity if you are here.

Also, shout if you are going up the east coast and need coffee. STW always welcome (as long I am now away skydiving, in which case come by Västerås instead)

Having said that though, aren’t they a vw Toureg Ina pretty dress?

Some parts are shared but overall, not really.

In my experience Cayennes are built better from better parts and last way longer.

This will be a great project!

Looking forward to this.

My neighbour has a similar aged Cayenne Turbo that he got to replace a late production Defender. Like you he has the workshop to do his own jobs. It is a lovely car and he pocketed over £20k changing from defender to Porsche. His was lovely to start with however. He also has a 996 911 and a Macan so he is used to the ways of maintaining a Porsche. He has roped me in to a few jobs on the 911, they are not easy DIY cars.

Porsche nuts and bolts can be undone after 25 years in a way I have yet to see on other cars. I have done various things on my 911 which involved removing all the underbody panels which were held in place with Torx screws. Not one snapped. I removed and replaced the water pump. All bolts released cleanly and could be re-used. I had to lower the engine from the chassis a little and gain all bolts loosened and tightens like new. Weird and I wish my other cars were like this.

…..and the reason for rebuilding worn, tired out cars for a proposed Scandic overlanding trip?
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Love
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Specifically this guy pictured below

He’s featured on STW quite a bit. He’s called Bert and is a Karjalankarhukoira / Karelian Bear Dog (KBD).
He’s native to Finland but came to us via Manchester dogs home just over 5years ago.
Nobody knew his breed, his past or where he came from, there was confusion at the dogs home and he’d never been chipped. Later DNA testing uncovered his pure breed pedigree.

So the reason for the roadtrip is that Labradors, Collies, German Shepherds etc etc all get to meet their brethren/opposite sex in the local park.
Bert is one of 4 KBD’s that I’ve found in the UK (all male).

The most heartbreaking thing was hearing him howl when we played him YouTube footage of KBD pups once.
So the idea is that I’m on the Finland KBD group and will make contact with the guardian of a female KBD and agree to meet up in Finland. We’ll open the car door and Bert will go bounding over in a loving embrace having finally met up with his long lost friend/relatives.

Or he’ll run over, they’ll bark at each other, have a fight at which point we drag him by the scruff, chuck him back in the car and drive home again wondering why we’d bothered!

Following this! Great idea for a road trip.

Why is the exhaust flexi such an expensive repair on these?

This needs a full documentary series!

Great thread, My mates who are DEEP into cars swear by the VW equivalent of the 955.

Porsche nuts and bolts can be undone after 25 years in a way I have yet to see on other cars.

Only other model of car I’ve worked on that’s done this is the E30 BMW. Every bolt was engineered.

I only fear for your wallet

But keeping a car going for this sort of trip is not an enviromental crime

Why is the exhaust flexi such an expensive repair on these?

it’s a V6 so it’s two cats/downpipes, one of which has a small flexible. They then both join straight into a larger flexible.
The genuine part is ~£800, after market are cheaper.
But, I’m am engineer/designer/fabricator by trade – I have a nice Lincoln AC TIG set at work so I’ll cut the flexibles off and weld in some new stainless ones.
The flexibles are available from Autodoc for less than £50 for both.

The labour is expensive to get the exhaust off as access isn’t great.

The back box is cracked and blowing also, but again I’ll weld/repair it….or fabricate a custom 3″ side exit!

What are the brakes on this as on the top model they didn’t allow for an offroad wheel to be used – these truly were Chelsea tractors.

electric vehicles are not yet suitable for what you propose using this for. 

Ironically when you get to Norway you will see more electric cars than you will see anywhere else in the world

The flexibles are available from Autodoc for less than £50 for both.

On a similar note my Mondeo has the same issue, flexy is gone and it’s attached to the cat so a new OEM solution is about £800odd, what brand are you looking at on Autodoc? I’ve seen the ones that just get welded on for about 30 quid.

Can’t remember what brand and I haven’t ordered any yet as there’s a few different diameters available but they are all stainless so for me it’s a cut and weld job.

Loads of pictures of the car build…but really not wanting to see anything of the dogging session to allow Bert to breed…

WorldClassAccident
Free Member
Porsche nuts and bolts can be undone after 25 years in a way I have yet to see on other cars. I have done various things on my 911 which involved removing all the underbody panels which were held in place with Torx screws. Not one snapped. I removed and replaced the water pump. All bolts released cleanly and could be re-used. I had to lower the engine from the chassis a little and gain all bolts loosened and tightens like new. Weird and I wish my other cars were like this.

Yep, the same at 35 years old too. Rarely have to resort to extractors or heat to undo bolts.
On mine, at least most of the exhaust system is original equipment too.

I’d love to do something like this. Need to get my garage cleared to get the space to do the work. Just wish I had room for a 2 post lift 🤔

On a similar note my Mondeo has the same issue, flexy is gone and it’s attached to the cat so a new OEM solution is about £800odd, what brand are you looking at on Autodoc? I’ve seen the ones that just get welded on for about 30 quid.

At that point it’s probably cost effective to get an exhaust fabricators to look at it. Doesn’t need to be loud. I’ve been quoted £600 for a full system before, no cat but including wastegate tie in and installation.

Does it have a turbo? If it has a turbo you could dual fuel it with ethanol and make it a bit cheaper to run. Sweden has a decent amount of E85 at the pumps, so it should give you a bit more flexibiity if you are here.

*Cough” you can also tune for quite a lot more power on E85.

If they ever distribute it to the UK it’ll make the “I only run my car on premium dead dinosaurs” gnash their teeth.

At that point it’s probably cost effective to get an exhaust fabricators to look at it. Doesn’t need to be loud. I’ve been quoted £600 for a full system before, no cat but including wastegate tie in and installation.

Not really, it’s on the original cat and dpf and I’d like it to stay that way. The rest is fine, it just needs the flex removed and a 30 quid replacement welding on. A full system seems rather daft when it’s not needed.

The genuine part is ~£800, after market are cheaper.
But, I’m am engineer/designer/fabricator by trade – I have a nice Lincoln AC TIG set at work so I’ll cut the flexibles off and weld in some new stainless ones.
The flexibles are available from Autodoc for less than £50 for both.

Would you believe that our Ibiza has similar Flexi and cat all one. The VAG part is £1k.
Our garage has a welder and a ‘can do’ attitude. Flexi has been welded / replaced once and it’s going to need it again this year I think. Cost is an hour’s labour and £20 generic Flexi pipe for some old VAG model.

We’ll open the car door and Bert will go bounding over in a loving embrace having finally met up with his long lost friend/relatives.