If you’re at all familiar with the current car channels on YouTube, you might have noticed a new trend in the past couple of years. Creators like Samcrac, Hoovies Garage, Tavarish, Rich Rebuilds, and B is for Build have been buying salvage title cars at auctions with the intention of rebuilding them. Sometimes the goal is to bring the cars back to their former self, other times it's to make them look like they're straight out of Mad Max. Recently, Sam bought a totaled 2001 Porsche 911 Carrera that needed some help - more help than it initially appeared to need.
Last week, we wrote about Sam's budget 911 build. This week, we're writing about it again, but in a different context—Sam ended up breaking a bolt in the steering knuckle which almost completely derailed the project. Apparently, this is a common issue, so it couldn't really be avoided. The plan at this point in the rebuild was to get this repaired and the new brakes installed. However, once getting into it, repairs went south, and that's where we pick up this week's article. Sam planned to drill out the bolt, tap the new hole, and install a helicoil to repair the threads. That didn't end up working. The helicoil was installed incorrectly, and required complete replacement of the steering knuckle. The deeper Sam dove, the more the broken bolt appeared to be the least of his worries.
Editor's Note: We do not recommend using a Heli-Coil on critical safety components, such as the brake caliper mounting point.
We've mentioned this before, but we partnered with Samcrac on this particular build and because of that, we proactively shipped him an entire kit to rebuild his front suspension. Because of the high miles on the 996, and because the suspension is still original to the car, we knew it was long overdue. We decided to send him the parts out early so the project could progress uninterrupted. Unfortunately, Sam's now waiting on a new steering knuckle to replace the one he attempted to install the helicoil in. The good part about him having to wait is that we were able to send a complete Sachs Performance coilover kit out to get the 911 auto-x ready. 
Because some of these bigger, aforementioned projects are awaiting parts, essentially putting the project at a standstill, Sam decided to fit his new rear brakes and refinish his brake calipers. These bring the look of the car to another level, and with the body repaired it should look amazing.
Coming up in a later video is the repair of the new bumper cover that was damaged in shipping. Sam picked up a plastic welder and a new turbine sprayer to try and tackle this fairly extensive job at home. We'll be watching keenly as this has the potential to save thousands in repairs. 
The totaled 996 continues to be an extremely interesting project to follow. The low purchase cost, reasonable price of replacement parts, and classic Porsche styling all lend well to this budget rehab. So far, with just a little money and time, this Porsche is coming together nicely with one exception: the frame damage has yet to be addressed. We'll see how Samcrac tackles that one.
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