Backstory (abbreviated):
Daily-drove and lightly-tracked 996TT -> wife got pregnant (by me) -> got rid of 996TT and bought E46 ///M3 b/c bigger backseat for bulky rear-facing infant car seat yet also track-capable -> baby recently turned 2 years old and can now face forward therefore no longer need big backseat -> shopped for months for the perfect 997S both locally and online -> found it on Autotrader at McKenna Porsche in LA on 4/17-> wired the cash, sight-unseen, after reasonable over-rev report on 4/22 -> delivered TODAY 4/30!!!!

The New (to me) Car:
2005 911S Coupe, Black/Black, 6MT, pretty much loaded with all the good stuff (minus PSE) along with Farnbacher Loles kit including entire X51 upgrade, Bilstein Damptronics, etc

Factory Options:
Full leather
Adaptive Sport Seats
19" Sport Design Wheels
PCCB
Sport Chrono Plus
Navigation
Bose
Sport Shifter

Farnbacher Loles Upgrades (installed 10/2007):
-New 3.8L X51 factory crate engine (including OEM CF airbox, TB, plenum, headers, etc...so it truly is a complete X51)
-Farnbacher Loles ECU flash
-Fabspeed Exhaust (although I think this has since been removed b/c it sounds fairly tame/OEM...definitely not the typical Fabspeed sound)
-B&M Short Shifter
-Bilstein Damptronics
-Powder coat OEM wheels
-SpeedArt Indy rear wing
-SpeedArt Indy front splitter
-Custom steering wheel (also may have been removed b/c it looks fairly OEM)
-Custom shifter boot

Impressions:
It's clean as hell. Looks amazing and aggressive, all blacked-out and lowered. Paint/body is 9.9/10. Interior/leather is 9.9/10 (aside from a few sticky buttons). Not much can compare to the torque of my old 996TT, but it pulls hard throughout the rev range, noticeably stronger than non-X51 997.1S...doesn't seem to flatten out at 5k, nor does it taper off near redline like non-X51 997.1S. Sounds great - mild growl at idle and howls with WOT. Handles super flat and tight and sport mode is even tighter yet not teeth-rattling. Brakes seem good although I didn't really get to push them to their full potential. Overall the condition is fantastic and it'll serve me perfectly as a DD/track car.

Potential/Future Mod list (in more-or-less order):
Have IMS and other mechanicals checked out by my local P-car shop
LED tail lights (leaning toward Depo/Dectane)
Studs and spacers
Remove ceramics and replace with 2-piece rotors (Girodisk vs PFC?)
Stainless brake lines, PFC 08's, Castrol SRF
Consider Gundo Hack (+/- 200 cell cats)
Headunit (Apple CarPlay?) with backup camera/Bluetooth/etc
GT3 grille/smile/moustache
TPC DSC plus 3rd axis accelerometer
Clear bra
Harness bar

So that's it. Pretty dope, huh? I'm so excited I'm about to crawl out of my skin.

So...thoughts/comments? Anything I'm missing? Anything to worry about? Anything you'd add or subtract from mod list? Unfortunately FBL is out of business so the only info I can get about their kits is from old forum posts which are few and far between. What do you guys think about the FBL ECU flash? Should I assume it's optimal or possibly consider changing to Softronic, etc? That's pretty much the only unknown/untested variable at this point so I don't know how it'll do with future upgrades (i.e., is it smart enough to remap with cats/exhaust/etc).

Unloading from the truck...the first time I actually laid eyes on it:

Sitting in it for the first time (this one is fairly cheesy but accurately captures how I've felt since the day I got rid of my 996TT):

Btw, Adrian at McKenna Porsche is/was absolutely fantastic. Their customer service is top notch. He was very easy to deal with throughout this process and made everything run smooth as silk.

 

very nice ride, congrats. Curious to know why the engine was replace after 2 yrs? IMS related?

 

Congrats!!!

 

Thanks!
It's the only logical explanation...but wouldn't the factory warranty have covered it? The over-rev report didn't look bad enough (to me) to void the warranty, and I can't come up with any other reason they wouldn't honor an IMS failure.

The only remaining explanation is the illogical one which involves a dude with WAAAAY too much money. Which Is actually consistent with his decision (albeit on a much smaller scale) to replace the OEM short shifter with the B&M.

 

a freaking BEAUTY! congrats man! this video just made me want to go for a ride in mine, literally after this post i'm going for a ride lol

 

If it truly has the x-51 package, you would have the sport exhaust. There would be no need for the gundo hack. Just an FYI

 

His X51 was added by Farnbacher with a Fabspeed exhaust. I don't believe PSE was part of the factory X51 option.

 

Here are the items in the x-51 kit.

Kit consists of:

Cylinder heads with flow-optimized intake and exhaust ports
Intake Manifold & Throttle Body - Increases inlet size from 76 mm to 82 mm
X51 Headers - larger cross-section and optimized flow behavior
Carbon Fiber Airbox with two intake channels
Modified maps for the DME control unit
Sport Exhaust with Chrome Tips & Dash Switch
Third Radiator Kit (for manual transmission cars)
Increased Engine Speed

My old 4s had it.

To the OP. There is a set of 200 cell cats for sale in the parts section.

 

Thanks for the clarification - I wasn't aware that it was part of the factory X51 package...but looks like OP's X51 package didn't include this since the Fabspeed exhaust was installed hence his desire to do a "gundo" hack.

 

Now that is a proper unboxing video! Congratulations.

 

Thanks for the detailed list!! Since my X51 was added aftermarketly (is that a word?), I'm not 100% sure about the entire build. However, the build sheet says "factory crate engine" so I'm confident it has all the internals. I can also verify that it has the CF airbox and aluminum plenum so it presumably also has the TB, and it definitely has the X51 headers. FBL added their own flash went with a Fabspeed exhaust which I believe has since been reverted back to OEM b/c it's not crazy loud/aggressive like the Fabspeed we had on another 996TT. Nor does it seem to have the PSE or at least not based on the tips compared to the PSE tips I've seen online. I can't see a 3rd radiator up front so I'm assuming it doesn't have that; I'll watch engine temps closely on track days and pull the trigger on that if needed.

So, all-in-all, the build looks legit and I'm satisfied with it's completeness including...

Full X51 kit (per your list above) except:
-No PSE (I can Gundo hack this in)
-No third radiator (easily added if needed)
-FBL flash (presumably good but also easily upgraded if not)

I haven't gotten it into the revs high enough to test the redline, but I can report that it pulls like crazy and my butt-dyno says it's WAY faster than a standard 997.1S or at least the three or four I drove over the last several months/years(?) while shopping for this one. I'll be dyno'ing it soon and will be sure to report back.

So what about the FBL flash? That's still an unknown variable. Do you guys think it's legit enough or are there better one's out there for this setup?

Thanks for the tip on the cats. I'm going to drive it for a bit and possibly do the Gundo Hack prior to cats. I suspect the hack will make it aggressive enough and I'm afraid the cats may push me over the edge for a DD. My wife would kill me if I woke up my son every morning as I pulled out of the garage before dawn!

 

You for sure have all the right options. In regards to your flash, I don't have any experience with FBL, but I know the tuner at Softronic has a really good X-51 tune for the 997.1 cars. In regards to the exhaust, the link below is similar to the setup I had on my car. IMO, the best sounding system for the gen 1 cars.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...haust-vid.html

My exhaust setup was the fabspeed 200 cell cat xpipe, fabspeed long tube headers (x-51 are very similar and not worth changing), and PSE (gundo hack will give you the same sound, but won't allow quiet and awesome mode). I had mine for several years, so let me know if you have any questions as you get to know your car.

Also (as an FYI), Suncoast has the third radiator on sale:

http://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKU9971TRK.html

 

The full X-51 kit from Suncoast has the PSE as an option for $1000. My car has a replacement X51 and was fitted with a Tubi exhaust.

 

Wish mine has X-51 package. So your car HP output is 381?

 

Congrats!!! I know I loved mine!