Hello all:

So i have just completed a 996 to 997 steel conversion at Denver Auto Body & Paint in Denver, CO. I used all OEM steel 997 parts.

I wanted to pass on the wiring diagram for the headlamps with the details from Precision Porsche.

My diagram is all 996. You just need to wire up # 11 yellow and black wire and # 12 ground (brown wire) this is the low bean
for the hi beam they show the same # 12 for ground and the white with black strip is the power. this is all i would hook up for the left side. this will operate the head light. you will need to run wires to hook up the front bumper lights. send me pictures of the bumper light also. so i know which bumper lights you are hooking up and i can help you.
for the right side
# 11 solid yellow and # 12 thick brown wire low bean
# 4 ls solid white wire and #12 think brown.
from the look of the wiring harness you sent me, you will only have to hook up the thick brown wire #12 and that should work both hi and low beam.

 

Here is the 996 and 997 wiring diagram from the Porsche technical guide.

 

Thank you for that. Any pics?

Also did you custom fab top mounting plates where OEM fenders attach to ?

 

Yes fabrication for the fenders to fit. And the fenders are a mix of 997 and 996.

 

Sweet. So you grafted on lower OEM 997 rear turbo bumper to top half of 996 bumper?

Also can you tell me which parts of the 996 fenders you cut to merge with 997? I've seen it done three different ways and curious what route you took?

 

No no grafting. Its a 997 GT2 bumper and it just needed to be refit. My rear bumper is an after market 997 GT2 rear bumper.

So the back 50% of the fender, to the door, is 996. We had to use it as the 997 fender does not fit the 996 door. The front 50% of the fender is 997. All are OEM steel. I got all parts from LA dismantler. It was way better then getting them from the dealer. Well i did get the front bonnet from the dealer. It was easier to drop it on then have to work any imperfections out.

 

Here is the 996 I purchased next to the 997 it has become.

 

Turned out nice and you probably saved some dough in the process.

I figured it was a 50/50 as far as the fenders based on the bondo pics but didn't want to assume.

Is it safe to assume you kept your 996 fuel filler door/neck assembly? Seems like the cut is just in front of it from the pics.

 

Well we debated running a 997 fuel door, but it would have been more work... for a fuel door.
We were going to leave the shut lines in the IC intakes, but decided to mold them for better air flow. We used a smoke gun and a fan. It was pretty cool to see the air flow over the car after what we did.

If you just do the front end and none of the other over the top stuff that i did you can do the whole conversion, non full paint, for $8-9K. Just source all parts from LA Dismantler at a negotiated price, reuse your OEM fenders and you are pretty set. Just fabricate the fender to frame mounts and those two fender pieces and you are set.
Just know non xenon headlamps are a LOT easier.
Wicked Motors was a decent price, but a good shop can do the work.
Where I had mine done, they can do the fenders for you and ship them out. Then you just need to get a front bumper cover, bonnet, headlamps, hinges, and pretty set.

 

Here is the parts list, minus front bumper cover, if you buy NEW, with part numbers.

Steel OEM left and right fenders with fuel door.
LEFT 996-503-031-03-GRV-M100 = $800
RIGHT 996-503-032-05-GRV-M100 = $800

Steel OEM Bonnet
996-511-011-02-GRV-M100 = $1400

OEM Bonnet hinges
Left 996-511-151-01-M100 = $90
Right 996-511-152-01-M100 = $90

Bonnet sturts
$100

OEM headlamps
Left 996-631-059-20-M100 $1300
Right 996-631-060-20 $1300

OEM headlamp fixtures
Left 996-631-173-00-M100 = $180
Right 996-631-174-00-M100 = $180

 

Thanks for the info. I have had all the parts for awhile now. I just haven't pulled the trigger on doing it yet.

As for bonnet, I believe all the 997 hoods were aluminum if I'm not mistaken. Mine certainly was aluminum.

 

This is awesome, but out of curiosity, why aren't you guys considering a simpler solution by purchasing a prior design kit? I bought an OEM conversion as well, but sold those parts and decided to use the prior design pd3 Kit instead. Saved me loads of time and money, plus I installed it myself and did all the wiring

 

Hello Gurukid:

This is why i never looked at Prior.
This product is made from quality Fiberglass-Duraflex mix."
FITS ALL 911 996 MODELS ONLY IN COMBINATION WITH PD3 FRONT BUMPER
FITS ALL 911 996 MODELS EXCEPT TURBO"

So I have a turbo. As you can see this kit is non turbo.
Also I never had a good experience with Duraflex. The shop i use hates that stuff because it takes a lot of hours to correct the imperfections.
The prior kit is also missing a lot of parts.

I wanted everything as OEM as possible and i can take my front bumper off and put an OEM 997 turbo front bumper on. No issues.

I hope that answers your questions.

 

Gurukid,

The Prior is nice but as Mighty mentioned, it uses a special bumper that isn't compatible with OEM bumpers. This is because the Prior kit reuses the 996 hood which doesn't look quite right IMO with 997 front due to the convex nature. Also the lines not being staggered between the fender and the hood lining up with the bumper bothers me too.

Obviously these are only noticeable to hardcore enthusiast. Nice ride regardless.

 

Yeah, the hood thing bothers me. I got my 996 for a sweet deal and am actually in the market for a 997.1, so I'm satisfied with my 996 as it is. One thing I would add is that it is not duraflex, unless they changed the formula, the kit I receive was of much higher quality. It is FRP, which is what duraflex is, but when ordering fiberglass components, its all about the company.. Obviously duraflex sells lower quality (in regards to fitment, and material) than almost every other company. My 240 track car has duraflex bumpers, it's stiffer (less plastic more fiberglass), but it actually fit properly - which is rare. It's all about the mold and mixture. I would buy from PD any day of the week, in fact, I'm considering it for my 997 if I don't go the 997.2 facelift route.

Alpine, I've been following you for years, START THE CONVERSION PROJECT hahah and good luck, can't wait to see the results.