I know that it is your car and you can do whatever you please, but you did ask for opinions and some may be more direct than others. There is a difference between "upgrading" and "replicating". I agree that 7GT3 is great looking, so set you sights on a 997 with an OEM aero kit. I can tell you that the fit and finish of the kit in question is not going to be anywhere near as good as the factory parts that you already have. I think that most (not all) people here will say that they had to wait a while before they were able to fit a Porsche into their lifestyle. I really don't think that you value your car enough, would you consider doing this to a Lamborghini or Ferrari?

 

But oultons911 only asked what others thought about one body kit versus some other body kit - quality, fit and finish, etc. I don't think he asked whether he should do it or not since that decision was something he has already considered.

I am not even going to respond to the Ferrari or Lambo question because it is a tangential to the discussion at hand. No disrespect intended.

oultons911, I really do hope you find the answers to your specific questions. I, for one, am interested in certain responses as well. G/L.

 

oultons911,

I can see that you are determined to move forward with this project, so here is the right way to do it: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...onversion.html

 

wow....dude.....I don't value my car enough.....what is that about.......I'm just a guy who does very much value his Porsche who asked the advice of anyone who had perhaps had experience with the kit i am considering........not to be judged!
I love my 996.....I have been lucky enough to own most kick *** cars and the 996 is a great everyday car......I just think the front end looks a bit dated now.
and for the record....I've owned a couple of Ferraris....one of which was a 348 and I was considering putting 355 bumpers on it.....ironically i ended up trading it for a 965 turbo :-)

Thanks my996 for the support and thank you jmla....I will have a read now!

 

wow that was a crazy conversion.........the guy who done it owned his own body shop so i guess he had the consierable skill to get oem parts to fit by fabricating custom parts.......if i was to pay a skilled bodyshop to carry out similar work the cost would be crazy........so I need to find an off the shelf type of kit that hopefully will just bolt on.......well at least that is what the company i am thinking of going with tell me.

I actually prefer the narrow body 997 gt3 over the wide body.

He used the misha fenders......i wonder if they were fibre glass?
I've sent him a pm to ask about this and how they fit?

 

Hello folks,

Here is a link found from renntech forum of a 996 cab conversion to 997, all OEM parts. Unfortunately is in Spanish... in a nutshell the guy who did it was the president of Porsche club Spain and he did it just to show that it could be done. Reading through forum he states that the conversion, in the mechanics he used, was not particulary hard. Whatever that means as price was not mentioned as it was more a showcase to proof a point.

Photos of the finished car in page 6. Enjoy

http://www.soloporsche.com/showthrea...t=facelift+996

 

Here is a quick translation of owner, in why he did it and cost etc.:

"Indeed all the pieces are original and from 997 MkII purchased from dealer of course, and by the way, there are two forum members who converted their cars to 997 using kits. They told me that they had a lot of problems with the conversion kits, bought from Jaquemond and Design911. After thinking about this I said to myself: I want to check whether there are differences or not, and WHY insisting in using aftermarket kits, if they only give trouble to everybody, and at the end they end up costing cost the same as in the OEM and they are made of fiber. So, my wires crossed, and out of boredom, after selling a 997 in a brutal sport chasis, I decided to try the conversion myself. I did not care about having mixed front and back, I just wanted to answer the simple question whether IS IS THE ORIGINAL, OR IS IT NOT? After having done it, I can say to whoever wants to do this conversion, they can do it with OEM bumper and panels, and with a good body shop, and only minimal changes were made to the car, are just a matter of 5 hours of work counted, not complicated, you know those who want to change the front of your car because you think that or not have the money to buy a 997 and want to have another look, I will tell you that the the car changes a lot, but I don't see it as a 997 but rather as a 996 and a half. "

More or less the translation. It does not account for the rear. Notice that in his experience, it took a couple of good guys/body shopt around 5 hours to adapt the pieces. Not bad at all!

 

Wow. That looks excellent.

I think getting OEM fenders is the key. Once you have those, you can get any number of front bumpers that use the old hood and save a little that way and still look excellent. I'd want to know how to modify the 997 fenders to fit the 996. I wonder if you can do that yourself and have someone paint it afterwards. Could make it more affordable. I do know mounting the other stuff is straight forward and getting the parts painted only and then mounting them yourself is very do able. I'll do some checking as well.

 

BTW, check this thread out: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...kit-997-a.html

 

I was told that 997 oem wings wouldn't fit!

OK this is definately the way to go and a lot cheaper as well.
just done some searching and the oem parts are cheaper than the fibre glass parts.
these prices are in £ for new oem porsche parts!:
wings: £180 +vat 15%
bonnet/hood: £275 +VAT
GT3 front bumper inc lip etc: £700 +VAT
head lights(non zenon): £190+VAT each
side repeaters: £10+VAT
Indicators: £115+VAT.........total including vat = £2,259 plus cables for lights.

now that's new parts from a Porsche breakers and scouring ebay:

pair of wings: £200
Bonnet/hood: £100
GT3 front bumper: £500
Light kit and cables: £500
fibre glass rear gt3 bumper to fit round two exhausts: £400
total just £1700.......ok so now bodyshop labour is going to go way up.......but a couple of my friends are mechanics who can weald.........could take the time to get the panels close by adapting the brackets etc ourselves and then have a body shop tweak it to pperfection and then paint.

This is definately the way forward

ooooh.....just seen a 997 bonnet on ebay.....time to buy my first part :-)

 

sorry the top prices are new oem prices from porsche....the lower prices are from a porsche breakers and ebay.......getting too excited and typing fast like a big kid on xmas morning :-)

 

oh and i forgot you will need a fuel cap cover......hood hinges etc

 

well it's all go now......just found the largest Porsche breakers in the UK who luckily are based just an hours drive from me :-)....who think they have all I need in stock including a genuine GT3 front bumper!!!!!

just waiting for them to check and give me a price at which point I will tell them......sold.......I'm on my way to give you some pound notes!!!!

 

Happy days......just ordered a load of bits from a breakers:
perfect condition wing 2nd hand: £100
one new wing: £180
perfect condition bonnet/hood 2nd hand with all hinges etc: £200
perfect condition GT3 bumper 2nd hand with all trimmings etc: £450
they have side repeaters and indicators but no head lights which they will throw in for free!!!
total: £930!!!!!!!!!!!!!
just have to buy the head lights and rear GT3 bumper!!!!

will keep you all posted :-)

 

what about the OEM 997 fenders? Let me know what happens with the 997 OEM fenders and what kind of modifications you do to make it fit. That is the only thing holding me back from taking the plunge too.