996 --> 997 Front End Conversion Process and Pictures

**NOTE: Pictures are in no particular order. Finished pictures are on PAGE 3 A few members have asked me questions about my 996 --> 997 front end conversion, so I thought I'd post some pictures and info for anyone on here who might search for it. I'm not going to go into the prices etc, nor my reasons for doing the conversion, as it's a matter of personal choice etc. and most people are more concerned with the technical aspects of the project. The car is a 2002 C2 6MT. I grew quite attached to it over time. Bought the car in my 20's, now in my 30's and still love it. Did the clutch, IMS bearing, AOS, plugs, belt, motor mounts, all fluids, replaced all the worn interior parts, installed coilovers, 19" wheels, headers, cat bypasses, stainless exhaust, etc. This is fun for me. This is my entertainment. I like projects, and I like to work on things piece by piece, over time. My car was originally sold in Japan. It was brought here (legally I hope) and sold on the grey market. It still has all of the Japanese stickers and paperwork. The original color was white, but the original owner bought a full AERO II kit (OEM!) and had it sprayed by a low quality paint shop, the result being that it didn't match the original paint, and began to chip prematurely. When I bought the car, I knew that I'd have to get it re-sprayed at some point. It had scratches here and there, and the low quality paint on the front/sides/rear started to bother me more over time. conv_6_zps256c606f.jpg conv_4_zpsf1699491.jpg Anyhow, knowing that a full re-spray was going to happen, and had in fact been budgeted in when I bought the car, I decided to take a chance with a 997 conversion on the front, because personally I've always liked the more round style headlights. When you see 997 conversion kits for sale on the internet, the price is often misleading. There are a variety of other parts that you'll need to buy, and it's up to you to decide if you're going to save money by searching for all of the parts individually, or if you want to just simplify everything and buy it all from one supplier. The conversion kit that I got is more thorough than most, and included: -Front Bumper (GT3 997 MKI Style) Fiberglass -Front Lip (ABS Plastic) -Front top vent (ABS) -997 OEM style Hood (Fiberglass) -997 OEM hood hinges -Conversion Fenders (100% Fiberglass) -OEM 997 fuel door -Fiberglass fuel door mounting bar -OEM Fuel door bump stop and hinge parts -Fiberglass rocker panel extension pieces Parts that were NOT included, but I ended up getting from the same supplier to save both time and money: -OEM 997 projector lights (I'm using a Philips HID kit) -OEM 997 MK1 Turn signals -OEM 997 headlight mounting trays -997 style mirror conversion kit (I'd broken one of my 996 mirrors just prior to this, so figured what the heck) Installation: The particular kit that I got is made of fiberglass. Fiberglass WILL NEVER FIT PERFECTLY. Some parts COME CLOSE to fitting perfectly (like the ducktail I got), but most WON'T. This should be assumed before buying a fiberglass conversion kit. Even if the producer pulls it from the mold and it is flawless, a whole variety of factors can cause the parts to warp/bend. For example, if the producer stores them in a hot warehouse, the parts may warp slightly. If the producer stacks a bunch of fiberglass parts on top of each other, the parts may eventually warp. If the mold is perfect but the resin is mixed too hot, the parts may warp. If one part of the piece has more resin/cloth than another part, it may warp, etc. You'll have to work on it to make it fit nicely. Just look at my photos to see how many areas of the kit required attention to get them even with the body. The finish of the fiberglass parts I got was not very nice. I'll admit to being slightly disappointed with this fact. The front bumper also didn't have pre-drilled holes. It was rough around the edges, the corners of the fenders were chipped or rounded off, and there were tiny nicks, air bubbles, etc here and there. I expected this, and they were an easy fix for the most part. When you receive parts like this, you have two options; you can stomp your feet on the ground like a little princess, call the producer and demand a replacement/refund -or- you can simply accept things as they are, get your hands dirty, and fix it yourself. I strongly believe that men shouldn't whine, and should instead use the two hands you were born with to take ugly things and make them pretty again. I mean, this is one of the reasons that people have project cars, right? The whole spirit of modifying cars and hot-rodding revolves around the idea of taking something that doesn't fit, and making it work. Not to sound critical, but if you are going to whine about fiberglass parts not fitting flawlessly out of the box, I'd highly recommend finding another hobby. As you can see from the final paint photos at the bottom, the fender tips were fixed, as were the edges and gaps. The strong point of this particular kit is that the parts are THICK. Very thick. I could set the bumper on the ground, and then sit on top of it without breaking it. I opted for this material because for a highly skilled body shop, fiberglass is very easy to work with. You can add to it, remove from it, build it up, re-enforce it, etc. However, for a shop that isn't well versed in the use of fiberglass, it could be a veritable nightmare, and they'll probably call you up complaining and whining about how they can't work with it. My only advice with regards to this is to take the entire kit to a shop that has built fiberglass parts from scratch before. Lots of hotrod parts, racecar parts, speedboat parts etc are made of the same type of fiberglass. Find a shop that has worked on these types of projects before. While you can reasonably expect something like a fiberglass hood or wing to fit REASONABLY well out of the box, it's an entirely different story when you have an entire front end composed of several different pieces of fiberglass, which all have to fit together. My biggest fitment worry was the fenders. They come from a 2 or 3 piece mold, and depending on how they dry or how they are left to sit in a shop, could fit very well, or could require major work. Mine required some work. They needed to be bulked up in the area around the headlights where they meet the hood (see pics), and needed some attention where they meet the door area as well. Again, for an experienced body shop, this is no problem. They do things like this every day. The inexperienced or discount body shop is probably going to call you whining about how it doesn't line up 100%. The quality of a fiberglass project depends more on the shop than on the material. A good shop can make anything fit. They'll cut it, extend it, re-glass it, build it up or sand it down until everything lines up perfectly. Fiberglass is an excellent material to work with. Trust me, I used to fix fiberglass speedboats that were filled with bullet holes The pictures below show VERY VERY rough, early stages of fitment. All of the gaps and jagged edges seen below were later smoothed out and measured with a gauge so that the clearance between door and fender was uniform from top to bottom. conv_1_zpsd40dba48.jpg conv_2_zpsbda83483.jpg conv_3_zps08f85dba.jpg conv_7_zps845749c7.jpg conv_8_zps01b43c4c.jpg conv_9_zpsa56c6666.jpg Here are some of the same areas after a bit more attention: conv_11_zps6bdc5c6c.jpg conv_12_zps7f42cddb.jpg conv_10_zpsa0b9e73f.jpg The front bumper itself fit very well, no cutting or extra work required aside from drilling the holes and cutting bits out of the areas where the turn signals mounted. The filler you see was applied to smooth out some scratches and fill a few air bubbles while bringing the lines of the front bumper flush with where they meet the fenders. Most of it was later sanded away. The bottom parts where the front lip attaches also needed some work, but 10 minutes with a dye grinder would be enough to sort it. The hood was another concern. Being something that opens and closes fairly often, I didn't want much body filler used on the hood for fear of it cracking. Luckily the hood was a 100% bolt on affair with no re-glassing or body filler needed, just used some polyester putty in certain areas to smooth out scratches and make sure everything was flush. Just a bit of sanding and it was ok. New holes had to be drilled for the 997 hinges, and they mount to the body of the car a little further back than the 996 hinges did. I used the original 996 latch for the front. conv_16_zpsf384fce4.jpg My fenders bolt on to the 996 frame, but for the most part, have the shape of 997 fenders. The fenders on my particular kit came with a slight flare, just like the OEM 997 fenders do. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons that other 997 conversion kits don't "look right". The overall front end of the 997 is more rounded, and follows a certain line. I opted for a kit with the slight flare built in because it blends well with the overall 997 front end. The downside however, is that at the bottom of the fender, where it meets the rocker panel, you're going to have the fender sticking out about 1.5 inches because you're obviously still using a 996 frame and rocker panels, which are not flared out to meet with the newer 997 fenders. In my case, we simply cut a piece from the rocker extension parts included with the kit, and molded them onto the fronts of my AERO Kit II side skirts, so that they'd match up perfectly with the front fenders (hard to imagine, but see pictures for details of how this was done. It wasn't hard at all). The biggest fitment areas are at the front where the fenders intersect with the hood and front bumper. This area required some building up to make it perfectly even. Another area where some might have issues is where the fenders align with the fronts of the doors. In some cases, the fenders may stick out farther than the doors. There are a multitude of ways you can address this type of problem, and in the end, it's not difficult for an experienced body shop. conv_13_zps5c2d663e.jpg conv_14_zpsfe624f99.jpg conv_17_zps6dd2a630.jpg I should also note that my particular fenders came in two pieces; the main fender, and the flat trays that are used to hold the lights. I assume that the producer did this both to make the production process easier, and because it allows you to make fine adjustments to the position of the lights etc prior to install. I'm guessing it was more of a time-saving measure on their part. My kit also came with an OEM fuel door, and a piece of fiberglass bar material on which you are supposed to mount the hinge. The "cup" area of the fuel door (area surrounding the fuel cap and tube) also needs to be fiberglassed into place on the inside of the fender. I recommend doing this after test fitting the fender and lining it up perfectly from the outside. I also opted for a ducktail to replace the OEM AERO II wing that was on the car. In case anyone was curious, I got about $3840 for my used headlights, wing, and front bumper. That did in fact help lessen the blow on the cost of the conversion kit. I chose Guards Red for the color, because it was going to cost me the same to get it re-sprayed in white, and of all the cars I've owned, I've never had a red one. I wanted to stick with an OEM Porsche color. White primer was used in order to make the color more vibrant. Using a darker color primer can make bright colors like red, seem more dull. Using a white primer really makes the final color brighter. As you can see from the pictures, the car wasn't stripped to the frame for the paint work. It's not a classic, and I'm not restoring it as an investment (obviously), so piece by piece, they're removing the parts and spraying as much as they can so that when fully re-assembled, none of the old color will be visible, unless of course you lift up the carpeting under the bonnet, or check under the engine lid. This doesn't bother me, because as I said before, it's not a tear-down-to-the-frame restoration. conv_19_zpseaf36354.jpg conv_20_zpsdafe3dd2.jpg conv_21_zps5c857454.jpg conv_22_zps6a967e88.jpg conv_24_zpsca2689dc.jpg conv_25_zps09aca4b4.jpg conv_26_zps2138174a.jpg conv_27_zpscb58af86.jpg Wiring the headlights and turn signals is a challenge, but since people have done it before, you can google it and find the wiring instructions for the conversion. I opted for an aftermarket HID kit because it saved me money over buying the OEM Xenon 997 headlights. If anyone has questions about the kit or install in general, that haven't already been answered here, feel free to ask. For those curious about how I dealt with the rear brake light (the ducktail comes with one, and the height of the ducktail essentially blocks the light in the OEM location), we simply filled in the place where the OEM brake light was, smoothing it over as if it never existed. As you can see below, I left the water-sock thing over my K&N filter, as I knew the car would probably sit outside in the rain/snow, possibly without an engine lid, not to mention the filter getting covered in all sorts of dust/over-spray. conv_18_zpsce8b40f3.jpg

Looks great, I had no idea of the work involved with fiberglass add-ons. If the producers put the same explanations and disclaimers on their products like your explanations, they'd probably have less people complaining. But probably sell less kits too I guess. Thanks for sharing!

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+1 I would expect the parts to fit. It is not impossible for companies to sell fiberglass parts that fit well. Just my opinion of course.

Looks fantastic, keep up the good work. I love the duckbill spoiler.

How many times when watching a classic car auction on TV, a car comes through with a high end restoration and the door is a different color than the body! Obviously painted a different day or time with a slightly different paint mix...glad to see yours in the booth at the same time!

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I'm thinking the same thing. I've bought FRP parts from well respected brands in the past that have had minimal prep only(call me lucky?), including my OEM GT3 rear wing. I could understand if the parts were cheap to begin with, you sort of expect more prep and fabrication time. However at over $1500 for just the fenders, I would be concerned at any additional costs in labor(beyond basic prep) to fix any issues. Thanks for the detailed post. It is definitely an eye opener for some people looking to take this on in the future.

Looks. Great. What about the old parts are they for sale. Pm me I would be interested thanks Tim.

Excellent job, the red and black looks great.

Having worked with, produced, and constructed molds for fiberglass parts, Id' have to say that it's relative to the price, as well as the size of the part. For example, a small, rigid thing like an engine lid SHOULD fit pretty well. It's solid, with no room to flex as it dries. Furthermore, being small, you can construct a jig for it, and pre-drill the holes for customers and even test fit it before selling it to a customer. I have no doubt that my ducktail wing was constructed in this fashion, and tested on a jig prior to being sold. For large parts like bumpers and fenders, the construction of a jig is going to be more difficult, especially since it needs to be more three dimensional. When you have an entire front end of very heavy fiberglass parts, and you imagine trying to build a jig that will hold all of the parts simultaneously, it's a nightmare. Therefor, for a kit that HASN'T been test fit, I think it's reasonable to pay the current market price (what you see on ebay etc). But for a kit that has been tested for fitment, with all holes pre-drilled, I'd personally expect to pay several thousand dollars more for it. Remember, you're paying for the time, effort, as well as a little of the material, all mixed in with the subjective value of the goods placed by the seller. If the seller has to go through all the trouble of building jigs and test fitting all of these large and heavy parts, then the prices are going to soar to much higher than what you see now. For example, if you look at authentic Gemballa parts, or really high quality parts that are made in Japan, these are ALL test fit on a jig prior to sale, and are mostly free of scratches and pinholes, etc. The downside is that for a single fiberglass 996 front bumper for example, you're going to pay about $4400-$5000 USD, which is more than my entire kit cost, even after shipping. You have to pay for quality. Look at the price of an all metal front end conversion with an OEM Porsche front bumper. Guaranteed to fit perfectly, at double, triple the cost of a fiberglass front end.

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Fair enough, I guess it all comes down to cost. Your car is looking good we need more pics!

awesome project! I can't wait to see more pictures of it all put back together. Good call on the Guards Red too, it looks fantastic!

Best DYI post to date.

Fascinating project.

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This. I don't see a front end conversion cost justified in the eyes of most 996 owners as the cost could rival that of 997 territory. Btw, good to great fitting frp parts don't always have to be expensive, it's just that the cheaper ones are sort of like playing Russian Roulette.

offshoreMM, Holy S^%&! You did this work yourself or just the body mods? Your shop is amazing. Great job.

Can't wait to see the completed project...thoroughly enjoyed the post. Thanks for sharing

I like what you're doing too but what surprises me the most is the lack of posts here screaming that it's blasphemous to put a 997 front end on a 996. If I could mimic the 997.1 GT3 look on my car I would be pretty darn happy!

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Seems like the guy is having a body shop do it although his posts seems a bit confusing like he's doing it or have done it. Also seems like t his is the guy that was in Korea. I dunno if I smell a CarlylesPics wannabe here.... Here was the original post: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...acelift-2.html

Who cares about the fitment? Its fiberglass. Even if it's an inch short, you can MAKE it fit. It's like play-dough. You cut, you add, you sand, you remove. What you guys should REALLY be concerned about is the THICKNESS and DURABILITY of the parts. But anyway, if the fitment is an issue for anyone, I'd suggest spending your money elsewhere and just leaving your car how it is. If you are already getting nervous about fitment before you even start on the conversion process, I can predict that you are going to go insane with any of the other countless issues that will arise during the project. As a basic financial rule, no aftermarket cosmetic part you buy for your car can be justified, ever. It's a foolish way to spend money, financially speaking. Total loss. Money flushed down the toilet. I'm not even a big fan of conversions really, because most of them are sloppy. You can see gaps in the fender wells, wavy parts that should have been sanded flat, panels that don't line up, etc. Not to mention the fact that a lot of conversions are designed to pass the vehicle off as something that it isn't. If I were trying to "build" a 997, I'd have done the rear tail lights too, and the seats, and the interior, and the airbox and all of the other junk. Really, I just like the headlights. Could care less for the rest of the 997. Engine isn't any better than mine. If I had a 997, I'd probably just use it for spare parts. People here (where I live) don't even know the difference because BOTH the 996 and 997 are so exceedingly rare that you can go months in a city of 10 million without ever seeing one. I'm not trying to turn my car into a 997, I'm simply updating one aspect of it, similar to performing a little bit of cosmetic surgery. I loved my car from every angle but the front, and now I've fixed it to my liking. Blasphemous? Who cares. No, I did not do all of the work myself. The car is in a shop now. It's too labor intensive for one person. But yes, I have installed this same kit before, and have also installed kits similar on a variety of vehicles. No longer as my profession, but as a hobby.

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As long as you're happy then that's all that matters and based upon the pics, it's looking like it's gonna turn out great. The point isn't really about fitment and being able to make it fit as it is more of the cost for most. Logically for most 996 owners, if the conversion just for the front is gonna cost close to $10k when it's all said and done and if they could sell their car for mid 20's at least, it might make more sense for them to sell their car and invest the $10k into getting a real 997 as you can find quite a bit of low mileage version around mid 30's these days. You being in Korea might be more advantageous when it comes to shop labor rates over there(dunno). But I can definitely tell you the man hours needed to pull that off in terms of labor for correcting all those issues here at a high end shop is going to cost and arm and leg. Please keep us updated as not too many have tackled this option and posted their experiences before.

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What? I've read both this thread and the one on 6speedonline and I don't ready into anything remotely fishy or 'calyclespics' about it. You really need to find a different hobby than picking apart people's post. and WTF does him being in Korea have to do with anything? I for one really appreciate and thank this guy for documenting his hobby - and it does appear he's really obsessive about quality of fit/finish. Offshore - congrats on the excellent progress. I for one like to keep my 996 looking like a 996, but kudos to you for taking on such an ambitious project.

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I think you misunderstood my thinking in that he is simply using a different screen name from one forum to another, that's all. Nothing wrong with it and people do it all the time. I was just using it as a very loose analogy. Lol take a chill pill. Being in Korea has a lot of things to do with this. One being that labor costs can be different over there. Second, it is very expensive to import foreign cars or be able to obtain imports over there for a reasonable cost making the conversion to 997 more logically sane than having to spend quite a bit more to just buy a 997 over there. Over here might be a different story as we have more options and don't have to deal with steep import taxation rates. For the people thinking this guy could've just bought a 997 have to take this aspect into consideration. Here is the US, I'm sure most would think of just upgrading to 997 but it's not as easy over there.

Those of you guys living in the USA are basically living in the land where exotics and other cars go to die. Porsche values are rock bottom in the USA. It's sad really. I can't even bare to look at the Autotrader online to see what they go for. Ever seen what a 996 costs in Thailand, Japan, Switzerland, Hong Kong, or China? Still up in the $40k to $60k range for a narrow body. Sometimes more. 996 turbo? You'd need $80k in your pocket just to get a test drive. Any Australian members want to chime in and let us know how much you paid for your car? I suppose living in the USA is a blessing and a curse when it comes to Porsche ownership. You can buy it cheaply, but you're also going to sell it cheaply, and they are EVERYWHERE, which brings the value down further. Yes, labor in this country is cheap, but HIGH END, skilled, specialist labor is not cheap. There's a difference between banging out a fender and making an entire front end fit flawlessly. The people with the skills charge accordingly, no matter where you are in the world. I'm American, and I lived in America for 24 years. Truly the only place on earth where a used Porsche 911 costs less than a new Honda Civic.

Well actually he never claimed it was a DIY but its still a great project and turned out nice. Congrats!

someone from one of the aftermarket wheel companies did this a few year ago for a Mobil 1 advertisement. The work was excellent. The only thing that tipped you off in the ad that the car was originally a 996 were the door handles. The car was green.

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I remember that. But for that amount of money spent, it would've been probably more financially logical to start with a 997 considering they also reshaped the rear quarter panels to fit the 997 taillights as well. http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...onversion.html

upgrading cars is never financially logical. But the thing I like about that car is that it doesn't come with a 997 interior. I might be in the minority, but in quality materials like CF, the old interior has a minimalist style that is absent in all the newer Carreras. I prefer something that reminds me of a classic 911 instead of the interior of a Cayenne. p.s. it may have been expensive but that bodywork was first rate. Excllent color.

No pictures??

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In Portugal, a 2004 911 996 Carrera 4S Cabriolet with 70.000 miles like mine, price starts at 60.000 USD at the current EUR to USD rate. Lower mileage of this model still goes for +70.000 USD. Turbo's are even harder to find and of course a lot more expensive to buy. Cheapest 911 996 on sale in Portugal right now is a 1998 C2 with 170.000 miles on the clock, being sold for 26.650 USD (20.000�). So if a replacement engine is needed, it's still reasonable to do it for 20.000 USD at the OPC, as the car's value is at least 3x the cost of the engine. CS.

im not seeing any pictures either

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Seems like op took them down from both threads. Seems a bit strange and wondering the reason. PM me if you like to see pics as I think I have them stored somewhere.

I'll post pictures of the car shortly, it's raining here. My photobucket account expired without me realizing it, so pic links are dead. Will create a new account and upload when I have some time. Final outcome is quite nice, and it looks much better in person than in photos. Here is a preview for you art critics to rip away at: 996997_zps8d0f8821.jpg At first, I thought for sure that I would go back to the OEM tail lights. It currently has dectane tail lights, which shortly after buying, I started to dislike. However, out in the sun, and with the ducktail, suspension, AERO parts etc, the dectane taillights actually look quite nice and modern, so I'll probably keep them. The whole effect of the new front, nice new paint, more subtle and rounded ducktail wing is really just a more modern and "smoothed out" feeling. Pictures don't really do it justice. With the ducktail, I think that eliminating the OEM rear brake light is a must, otherwise it just looks strange having two. You could also opt to eliminate the light on the ducktail itself I suppose. In my very humble personal opinion , the ducktail really only looks good when the car is quite low to the ground with very minimal fender gaps. However, most 996 owners aren't going to lower their car to the point where mine currently is, in consideration of the ride quality, etc. The car sat out in the snow and mud while they worked on other cars, which I'm not very pleased about. When I went to check it out at the shop, it was caked in mud and water was dripping down into the engine bay. As many of you know, it's a certain kind of hell having your Porsche in the hands of other people who care about it a lot less than you do, especially when you garage it religiously. Final hurdle to jump was the splash guards. I stuck with the 996 splash guards because the 997 guards don't bolt up to the car itself in the exact same spots. The 996 splash guards don't mount to the fender or bumper, but to the car itself. With this in mind, the 996 splash guards were modified (extended etc) to meet the slightly wider inner areas of the new 997 style fenders.

From this angle, the gaps look quite nice. I know this has taken awhile and I'm sure you'll be glad to get it back.

Here's another picture of when everything was being put back together for the initial test fit: 9969972_zpsbf0781ea.jpg I'm satisfied with the fitment. Any issues left over can be tweaked here and there. And yes ,the OEM vent will go onto the front bumper.

congratulations! I go to Seoul once every couple years. 911's are indeed rare. seems the country is in love with Mercedes S class and BMW 7'ers. I applaud you for this amazing effort by having said that I will tell you that even the 996 looks amazing in Seoul...

Looks great in the photos!

Polishing the car in the garage: conv_28_zps74bca5dc.jpg

A few shots from the beach today. Snow gone, but still freezing outside. Still not sure how I feel about the non-OEM tail lights. May change them back to original. Looks better in real life though, pictures don't really do it justice: conv_29_zps69e969fb.jpg conv_30_zps55f5c3d3.jpg conv_31_zps159dfe04.jpg conv_32_zps5e07f1ca.jpg conv_34_zps773adf25.jpg

Amazing work that was done to transform your Porsche from one model to the next. You must be pleased with the final product looks great.

Yup! Pleased with how it came out. With new clutch, motor mounts, IMSB, oil, filters, plugs, AOS etc etc etc, it basically runs like a brand new car. Will drive it as it's meant to be driven.

wow - crazy nice job

Turned out great. Driving that thing in Korea has to be pretty exclusive. Make sure you got some security detail or peek over your shoulders so you don't get kidnapped by the K-town mafia.

Looks sharp! Ducktail and rear LED tails are tasteful also. If there was only a way to remove the front license plate, ugh. Can you bribe the local PD?

I've heard that I can remove the front plate, as active road policing is almost non-existent here. If I were caught at a checkpoint without the front plate, it might be a problem though. A friend of mine was fined $2,000 for modifying his plate (to defeat speed cameras). My garage at home and at work opens automatically after scanning my front plate. Removing it would mean that I'd have to deal with multiple gate and garage remotes haha!

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Pfft! Looks pretty nice in these pics. Congrats!

Fascinating on many levels. Thanks for the detail. First ever argument favoring a front license plate... Automatic garage door sensor!

Wow the first shot with the bumper missing the grille, I thought it looks off. But the finished thing is freaking great!

How easy is it to plug the ligts? Do you need new wiring? or just old wiring? same with brackets, do you just get new brackets for the lights and it works without any modification? I was just thinking if it would be possible to just change the lights, and then fabricate "something" to fill the gap where the signal lights are, and buy 997 signal lights and attach to the spoiler. So the parts list would be 2 headlight 2 headlight brackets, 2 signal lights and thats it. the rest would be fibracated.

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I had this idea too but I don't think it will be as easy as that. At the minimum, you might need to fabricate custom headlight trays. Possibly modify the headlight opening on the fender slightly. You'll definitely need to rewire for the headlights. I'll try to take some pics this weekend. I had a rough mockup using a 997 headlight.

It turned out very nice. Good job!

Wiring the lights wasn't "easy", but it's not a huge mystery either, provided you have a bulb tester light, and lots of patience. Wiring diagrams online helped quite a bit. As for trying to use a 997 headlight in a 996 fender with a modified tray; I think it might be difficult. Quite a bit of body work required, and some fabrication. More so than just modifying a 997 fender to fit the 996,

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This sounds interesting, I need to find a 997 and park beside it and compare few things if this would even be possible.

Had a chance to snap some pics and confirmed that the 996 fender headlight opening would have to be trimmed and modified to accommodate the 997 headlights in addition to fabricating custom headlight trays.

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This looks almost perfect i think a good metal fabricator would have no problem filling up that gap and making the light fit, while looking factory. why not use the 997 headlight trays?

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No it's actually not. The inner part of the headlight overlaps the 996 headlight opening. So you would need to cut the hole larger on that side and shape it accordingly in addition to all the other things. If you were doing the bodywork DIY, it might be feasible financially. But labor wise, you're probably looking at 40-50 hours to get it perfect. At $85-$110/hr for labor(around here), it doesn't make too much sense.

I love the whole job. I would keep the tail lights as is and the duck tail is iceing on the cake.

holy **** !! utterly fantastic work!! now you've got me thinking about getting a 996, doing the rms/ims/ac pump and then attempting a similar conversion.... looks like a lot of work but the result..... wow. I did something similar to yours in 2012; a 968 to 993 fender/Xenon headlamp conversion. https://rennlist.com/forums/968-foru...-968-a-12.html love your car!!

beautiful work. I can't even begin to think through that process. That's art....

Looks great!

It really looks great!

Great Conversion.... What brand and spec are your wheels - I like them alot! My 1998 Carrera is also converted to 997 front (but not aero spec) -see my album.... I would advise all to retain the original parts, as long term it'll be worth more in original form. With my paint colour kept original - the reverse swap should be easier. Mind you the resale value of the old parts make it tempting to sell. Biggest temptation for me is to fit widebody rear arches.... I always feel the side profile of a converted 996 is lacking.

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Retaining parts is only possible if doing a quasi 997 FRP conversion like you did(FRP modified front bumper using 996 hood). If you do a true all metal OEM conversion, it would be harder to return to original. Glad your FRP fenders fit. I know some have had nightmares using them.

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Alpine003 - the nightmares are true.... Very difficult to get a 100% fit with FRP fenders - especially at the point where they meet the A frame pillar and doors. (IMO mine is probably only a 90% fit)

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Thanks for the feedback. I have yet run into one person that's used FRP conversion fenders that didn't need quite a bit of fitment and prep work to make them look decent.

Does anyone know if this can be done with OEM 997 fenders instead of fiberglass?

The car looks really good. Nice work!

That was a serious project, nice...

Can you please let us know what size are those tires/rims? Thanks

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Ehm.. So anyone who puts up a fake plate on his car ( your plate) could drive into your garage and gate at work? Or does it also weigh the car?

Nice work!! The DIY information is really appreciated.

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I don't care what any of those negative guys say, your pictures and updates look great. In addition, I think your writing style is quite humorous and better than most of the car magazines out there. Good luck and look forward to seeing more pictures. Patrick

Wow looks great!

love it! Well done