When I started my search for a 911 I knew I wanted a 997.

Here she is brand new and stock. The car came from the factory with some unique options such as the Factory Aero-Kit, PSE, and lots of red accents.











I knew from the beginning that my Porsche was going to be modified. One of the reasons I opted for the 997S over the GT3 was due to the fact that I enjoy modifying my rides.

Initially my plans called for a mild suspension tweak and a mild exhaust modification. I was originally thinking Damptronics, AWE Cats, and AWE headers. I should have stuck to my original mod plan. However, it was not long until I found GMG.

Phase-1 consisted of a complete GT3 rear conversion with GMG WC 997 center exit exhaust, ceramic coated and 200 cell cats. I switched out the painted front lip for the stock poly version. Much easier to take care of and not worry about. Finally, OE 17mm spacers were added at the rear and a GMG 15mm wicker was added to the rear spoiler.







Here is pic with members Mobonic and Gomez when we all first met. Hard to believe this was almost two years ago!




At this point the car was in some ways heavily modified... the rear end conversion was massively expensive and massively loud. Yet the rest of the car was mostly stock and looked it. Time for Phase-2

Phase-2 consisted of the install of Damptronics and BBS E88 wheels specced by GMG. I have to say that I should have left the car in this state. My 997 at this stage/phase was absolutely gorgeous! I loved it and the mods were mostly transparent during normal driving. Meaning, the damptronics did not sacrifice ride quality.









I am not sure why I ever felt the car needed more. Here some more pics I will I ponder how to word my next few statements. Notice the addition of the cup lip! This is probably my favorite of the cheaper mods. Truly unique on an Aero Kit bumper.








The Damptronics, Cup lip, and BBS E88s were truly elegant modifications. I say elegant because they looked perfectly at home on my 997. They gave my Porsche an aggressive look without making it look "over done" or like an "outlaw". In a way, it was really modified at the OEM+ level.... had it not been for the rear end conversion. I think in the end I was not super happy with the GT3 rear conversion. Not that it was not well done, it was, but it was not elegant. Aftermarket parts, especially virtually "one off" - "made to order parts" like my WC exhaust can sometimes be crude. I think after my initial enjoyment of having a 997S that sounded like a Cup car, I realized that I still wanted the everyday usability of the PSE with AWE cats, and X51 headers. I think that a feeling of dissatisfaction crept in. I should have localized it to the exhaust and wanting a PSE or a "PSE like" system but I did not go that route. Thus Phase 3......

Phase 3 to follow.

 

Phase 3- This phase consisted of a lot of meaningless spending and modifications for who knows what reason. The only mod in this phase that I am glad I did is the GMG WC roll bar. Not that the other mods were not good. They were great, but I did not really need them and I think in the end, I did not want them. Mods in this phase-

Moton Single Adjustable Coilovers
GMG WC GT3 spec wheels
GMG WC Sway Bars
GMG WC Dog Bones
GMG/Porsche Cup Adj Toe Steer
GMG WC Roll Bar
Porsche OEM RS steering wheel
Porsche OEM RS shift ****













So, although the car was now a beast. I was still not satisfied. If I had things to do over, I probably would have done the E88's, the Damptronics, but then kept the standard 997S rear. I think I would have been satisfied. Instead, this dissatisfaction has led me to deciding I need a GT3/RS. Well thats not entirely true. Thats part of the truth. The other half is that by Phase 3 I had spent so much money on my 997 that I could have had a GT3... including mods, to begin with!

And now I bring you Phase 4... the cars ultimate return to mostly stock and hopefully, eventual sale.

More to come

Jason

 

Nice review and well said.

 

Nice review. Makes me wonder though, towards the end, did GMG convince you into buying a bunch of their parts you really didn't need, like the full suspension overload with the Motons, or was that phase entirely your decision alone?

 

Phase 4- In this stage the car will be back to "mostly" stock. I say mostly because I am taking this car back to stock but not completely. You see, even though I am doing this in order to hopefully sell the car. I am also living with the realization that I might not sell the car for the price I want. In that case the car will remain mine. So, as the car goes back to stock it will be done the right way with all OEM parts, most of them new. I will also tweak those OE parts in a way that satisfies me. Simply put, I am trying to build the best 997S possible using OE parts.

I am doing everything myself. You do not realize how much money goes into labor alone during the modification process. I could not stomach spending thousands more taking the car back to stock. And even though, I trust most aftermarket tuners. I knew that if I did it, that everything would be done right.

To start the process, the interior needed to come out. This facilitated removing the roll bar as well as the center console that needed a repaint due to it being scratched at GMG during Phase 3. For this I used Mikymu's write up on 6speed.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...onversion.html



The roll bar, seats, OE RS steering and shifter all came out. As did the scratched center console.

Jason

 

I think the darker wheels really make that car. Looks great, nice write-up. Emotional buying: beware!

 

With the interior out I started to focus on the suspension and exhaust which would comprise the majority of the work. Both required me to get the car up on jacks. This in itself was a chore considering that Porsche does not keep the DIYer in mind. In the end this is what you need to do.

Jack up both rears first. This will allow you to get jack stands under the front jack points. In the rear you need a very slim low profile jack and then jack from the center of the rear subframe just forward of the rear sway bar.



With the rear off of the ground I started on removing the rear bumper. This is actually really easy. Remove the rear tail lights. And then just remove all the little screws holding the bumper on. No tricks here. After that remove all the heat shields in the same manner.

Now you can see all the good stuff.



Jason

 

Thanks! Lots more to come

Oh GMG did some suggesting, their shop is like a candy store..... my decision in the end.

Thanks!

Jason

 

JEllis,

Your 997S is a real beauty. I really admired it when you were at phase 2. I would say it was an absolute beauty at that phase, IMO. I also share the same thought process as V35 towards the end of your build.

 

Very nice write up. Thanks for sharing the story.

 

Getting the exhaust off was probably the easiest part of the process. I find it amazing that I spent so much money paying other people to do this for me. I followed the guides on Renntech for most of the dismantling process.

The next pic shows the exhaust removed and suspension dismantling process started.



Jason

 

V35,

I just realized what your Avatar is. I saw your going to be in the next Total 911! Congrats!

Thanks!

Thanks!

 

Thanks man!

 

Here is the exhaust removed.



The suspension is by far the hardest part. Porsche puts a lot of redundancy into their designs. For example, you cannot just remove the top and bottom bolts and remove the struts/shocks like you could do on most vehicles. Both the front and rear struts and shocks are secured in place through several different means that go beyond bolts as you will see.

Here are the front strut housings. The front struts actually sit inside front wheel hubs. With any weight on the shock at all it would be impossible for the shock to come free even if none of the top nuts or bottom bolts were attached. In order to remove the front shocks you need to undo the top nuts, then the front sway bar attachment which is also used to secure the bottom of the shock. After that I removed the front control arm where it secures to the front subframe. Finally remove the front steering control arms and the hub will be free. Keep in mind the brake lines are still attached so you dont have a lot of play in the hub. But you do have enough to tilt the hub out and pull the shock through.





Jason

 

Here is the hub with the front shock removed and the sway bar links removed. You can see how little play you have with the brake lines. You can remove them but then you need to bleed the brakes afterwards. No thanks!

Jason