‘Spotlight’ is a new monthly series where we highlight the Porsches of different customers, getting to know the story behind the purchase.

This month we talked to Sam Caterer about his show stopping daily driver, a black second generation 996 Carrera 2.

You can find Sam on Instagram, here.

Sam: My name’s Sam and this is my Porsche 911 996, Carrera 2. I bought the car from Elmstone Classics from Daniel two years ago, and she was fantastic, as soon as I saw her, I was in love.

The balance of the drive, the way she handles, the weight distribution and the way she looked was amazing.

After three months of owning the car, I was driving through Primrose Hill and there was a horrible noise came from the back and immediately you think it’s the IMS bearing, oh, my God, it’s going to cost me thousands and I don’t know what I’m doing kind of thing.

But I took it to a friend of mine and he identified that it was just an issue with one of the gaskets on the exhaust, not the manifold, but slightly further forward, just before the cat.

And with that I phoned Daniel, I said, look, I’ve got a problem. He said to speak to Design 911 – specifically, Tony. He said, they’re mustard, they’ll help you out. No problem at all.

So I ordered two Dansk back boxes, which I had fitted. I didn’t want to bite it off myself because it could lead to all sorts of issues.

About a month later, the alternator got wet and it got cold and it started to make some noise. So I’ve got a new alternator timing belt and then plugs, coils and an air filter – not the induction, just the normal one that completely changed the engine to more what it should have always been. So I did the air in, the air out.

Just after Christmas, I did the engine oil change with filter and the gearbox oil change with filter, and that completely transformed the car.

Again, all the parts bought from Design911 really, really knowledgeable and helpful for what I needed to do.

I then did the brakes calipers, and once that was done, I thought, well, mechanically, absolutely sound, but there’s a few things on the bodywork I wanted to change.

It started with this cowling here. Anyone who got 996 will know that this thing fades in the sunlight like nobody’s business. So had to track down one of these. Got that installed myself, did that myself, and I also did the pollen fields at the same time.

There’s a couple of things that I would advise anyone buying a 996 to do, which would be to change the IMS, just a precautionary measure, which I am going to do later on, probably early next year, along with the air oil filter and also the rear main seal.

Because once the engine is out doing the IMS, you might as well do those two as well. It’s easier to do.

Regarding any parts, from light bulbs to spindles, little clock spindles that snap off all the little intricate parts that you need for your car or the 911 996, there’s no point going anywhere else. You might as well come to Design911.

So the parts I’ve done on the car, starting with the exhaust, is a Dansk exhaust twin-box with the flexi pipes.

I’ve done the Brembo brakes and calipers. I’ve done a Bosch Alternator, a Continental timing belt, sparks and coils, they’re OEM. I do have plans to upgrade the lights as well – so watch this space?

Obviously, owning a car of this age can be a financial nightmare, however, thanks to Design911, they’ve made it really pleasurable and easy for me to do work on the car and maintain the car to a level that feels brand new. It’s fantastic.

So thank you very much, Design911.

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Special thanks to Sam for allowing this interview to happen.