Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/470908
March / April 2015 16 TECHNICAL EDITOR By Karl Wilen I t has been a busy month for me, so once again I am behind on my article. Stan threatened me by decreasing my pay, and of course that scared me straight. Last week I was fortunate to spend the week in Atlanta rebuilding M96/M97 motors with Jake Raby and Tony Callas, which was an amazing experience. I wanted to write a bit about some of the insider tidbits I learned, but then realize it would just scare anyone out of ever purchasing a watercooled Porsche again, so I will refrain ;) Maybe I will do an engine rebuild article this summer when I can build a motor at home in the evenings (after it warms up!). Instead, I thought you guys might like to see a little project I am working on, a 2006 Cayman (60k miles) track car build. Instead of a multi part series, I'll try to condense it into one article, maybe two articles, as much of it is the same as the SPEC Boxster build from previous issues. The Cayman is a phenomenal car right out of the box, and a lot of fun on the track…. but we have the saying, go big or go home, so we went a little over the top to start off this project. Who knows where it will go in the future, but we will start with a really solid base. Since we had such good luck with the SPEC Boxster suspension, I chose to do the same on this car. Bilstein PSS9 coilovers with stiffer Swift springs, Tarett Engineering larger sway bars and drop links, along with adjustable GT3 lower control arms for increased negative camber adjustment. We finished that off with a wheel stud conversion kit to make swapping wheels easier, and a set of OZ race wheels. With the suspension where I wanted it, one of the complaints on the track with the Caymans is a soft brake pedal. Of course we upgraded the lines to stainless steel lines, but also upgraded to the larger GT3 master cylinder for improved pedal feel. Photos by Karl Wilen 987 Cayman THE BUILDING OF A TRACK WEAPON