Front end, Frunk-Tub repair

No I didn't wreck my Cayman . As some might know, my 987.2 Base has a salvage title due to front end damage from the original owner. I am the third owner. Car was repaired, a bit on the cheap, between owner 1 and owner 2. Overall they did a good job with all exterior panels lining up well. They pulled and hammered the front of the tub into shape, with as far as I can tell all mounting points correct, however given what you can see in the Frunk the repair is obvious. They did not replace the Frunk plastic pieces, but I was able to buy a like new set from a person building a race car. I use the car as my daily driver for now, but will be retiring soon, and at that point I am interested in having it repaired "properly". With that goal in mind, I am shopping for a front end frame piece to make the repair. These was no damage beyond the rear of the headlights , but every video I can find shows the repair to the firewall. So my questions are: 1) Am I crazy? 2) Are there good cut/splice points in front of the shock towers for a shop to use a bucket cut at through the shock towers? 3) If I need to carry over the shock towers from the replacement front end, how far back towards the firewall do I need. ( Sounds like I can't get the firewall as that is part of the full car frame) 4) What do I need to know that this write-up makes it obvious that I don't know. So, asking the brain-trust

Wow Jay - no answers. I think you asked tough questions.. but I have a suggestion... Your questions, answered sorta: 1. We're all crazy. We could own nice sensible cars like a Toyota Corolla. But we're crazy and we like it this way. 2. No idea - but a suggestion below.. 3. Got me.. see below 4. I'm not sure what you're asking. My answer - very few Porsche dealers do bodywork. The investment in equipment, space for prep work, tech training, and spray booths just don't make it worthwhile. So they tend to farm out body repairs to Porsche Approved shops. Chances are - if you have 1 or more Porsche dealers in your area, there is one body shop that is approved by Porsche to work on the cars. That approval isn't simple to get - the body guys have to go to school, and fairly frequently (which costs the dealer $$) to learn about new things like glued-together Porsches (rather than welds..) Most of the aluminum bodywork on a modern Porsche is glued in place. The shop will also have a measurement fixture (very VERY costly item) that is setup according to specifications from Porsche , and the probes on the fixture must all contact the correct spots on the repaired vehicle or it can't be considered repaired. If it can't be done - then the vehicle is declared a total loss. That's who you want to talk to about this sort of job. I'm sure Porsche has specifications for where cuts can be made to replace panels and metal body parts - and Porsche provides new parts meant to fit to those cuts with no loss of strength. There is one of these shops in my area - the work they turn out is fantastic - it looks as good as new - even where you can't see. You want to talk to them. Ask them what repair sequence they'd use. Maybe consider having them do the precision welding work, and you can finish up the rest of the project. That's what I'd do... HTH,

Thanks for the answers. Local Porsche dealer is a pai n with a very overpriced body shop. Was trying to find a restoration shop I could work with, but still looking. Did not act fast enough on the front end I was looking at. Have to wait for another at a good price.

If you’re in the Northeast, you can also speak to Gary at The Atelier HOME | the Atelier - a color studio, A European Auto Restoration shop, Porsche, BMW, Volkswagen, 11 Warfield St, Milford CT Gary is a straight shooter and a friendly professional guy who comes from multiple generations in the automotive industry. They're formerly an advanced collision repair shop that has recently transitioned to restorations only. Due to their years of collision repair, they have the advanced knowledge and experience and all of the state of the art equipment required to rebuild vehicles from the ground up. They’ve done exterior cosmetic restoration on 2 of my cars recently. This one is in the final stages…

Thanks, may be one tier higher than I was looking for, but certainly worth talking to. Guessing this will be a 2027 project, but that means I have to start collecting parts ahead.

I'm impressed with their work. They refinished the headlights? Put new clear coat on them? Let them cure for 6 months then think about putting PPF on them to protect the clear - they'll stay looking new about forever. I notice a dark frame around the inside of your windshield and rear window.. can't recall seeing that on other Cayman's but perhaps I wasn't paying attention. It that OE?

Window frame looks the same as mine. Just shows up so much more on a clean car.