Would a 951 front end conversion tutorial help anyone?
05-05-2004, 10:11 AM
#32
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Thanks for all of the kind words! Some responses to everyone:
volv4life - No, no turbo. The long-term plan is to do a 3.0ltr swap in the next 1-2 years. It's hard to think about that when my motor has such low miles and is tight as a drum.
The reason for my nose-job is not to impersonate an S2 or a Turbo. I think that if Porsche continued to offer the 8V car after 89, they would have went to the same nose. Just look at the 964 and 928 cars of that era. The front of the 8V 944 was beginning to look very dated even then. So to those people who would call me a "951-wannabe" like I have heard bantered about here before by a few certain listers, I say think about it for a bit before you are quick to comment. There is no "turbo" badge on my car, nor do I claim it to be. What I'm trying to create is something akin to a "clubsport" 944 that may have been offered at that time, taking styling and performance cues from the 968 ClubSport and 911 ClubSport.
Porsche-O-Phile - The reason for the tow eye is that I was just playing around and wanted to see what it looked like. That, and 2 weeks ago some unknown individual bumped the front of my car (when the old bumper was on it) in my parking lot here at work. I'm hoping that if they do it again soon, there will be an identifying hole in their bumper from the tow eye.
martijn 944 - The fenders were a little bit of work. I made a template of the bumper cover's shape (where it connects to the fenders) out of thin single-ply cardboard. Then traced that outline on the 944 fender to indicate the profile change. I then took a dremel and cut away the little tabs in the corners where the front of the N/A spoiler bolts (you'll see what I mean when you have it apart). Then I took a pair of pliers and two 1/4" thick flat pieces of hardened steel stock and sandwiched the part that I needed to remove, and bent it up and out of the way to match the profile. This way there is a lip there and it looks "factory". The only downside is the fact that the red paint was brittle and cracked away at the bend. So I had to touch it up. Eventually the whole car will be painted anyway, so it's no bid deal to me. Take those instructions on how to modify the fenders with caution. I don't want anyone screwing up their fenders and being upset with me. If this kind of stuff is scary, you may want to consider to have a body shop do this step of the project.
For everyone else, I hope to do some work on the tutorial over the weekend. PM me if you have any Q's or post them here. Thanks!
Jeremy
volv4life - No, no turbo. The long-term plan is to do a 3.0ltr swap in the next 1-2 years. It's hard to think about that when my motor has such low miles and is tight as a drum.
The reason for my nose-job is not to impersonate an S2 or a Turbo. I think that if Porsche continued to offer the 8V car after 89, they would have went to the same nose. Just look at the 964 and 928 cars of that era. The front of the 8V 944 was beginning to look very dated even then. So to those people who would call me a "951-wannabe" like I have heard bantered about here before by a few certain listers, I say think about it for a bit before you are quick to comment. There is no "turbo" badge on my car, nor do I claim it to be. What I'm trying to create is something akin to a "clubsport" 944 that may have been offered at that time, taking styling and performance cues from the 968 ClubSport and 911 ClubSport.
Porsche-O-Phile - The reason for the tow eye is that I was just playing around and wanted to see what it looked like. That, and 2 weeks ago some unknown individual bumped the front of my car (when the old bumper was on it) in my parking lot here at work. I'm hoping that if they do it again soon, there will be an identifying hole in their bumper from the tow eye.
martijn 944 - The fenders were a little bit of work. I made a template of the bumper cover's shape (where it connects to the fenders) out of thin single-ply cardboard. Then traced that outline on the 944 fender to indicate the profile change. I then took a dremel and cut away the little tabs in the corners where the front of the N/A spoiler bolts (you'll see what I mean when you have it apart). Then I took a pair of pliers and two 1/4" thick flat pieces of hardened steel stock and sandwiched the part that I needed to remove, and bent it up and out of the way to match the profile. This way there is a lip there and it looks "factory". The only downside is the fact that the red paint was brittle and cracked away at the bend. So I had to touch it up. Eventually the whole car will be painted anyway, so it's no bid deal to me. Take those instructions on how to modify the fenders with caution. I don't want anyone screwing up their fenders and being upset with me. If this kind of stuff is scary, you may want to consider to have a body shop do this step of the project.
For everyone else, I hope to do some work on the tutorial over the weekend. PM me if you have any Q's or post them here. Thanks!
Jeremy
05-05-2004, 12:11 PM
#33
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I wonder if you could get a large pointy metal spike with a threaded rod in the back - that would do pretty nicely too, dontcha think? Like a big stinger.
Or a giant saw blade.
I suppose they make race cars leave them on, and it really doesn't look THAT bad - just a little odd.
Overall on your year that looks pretty nice though.
Or a giant saw blade.
I suppose they make race cars leave them on, and it really doesn't look THAT bad - just a little odd.
Overall on your year that looks pretty nice though.
05-05-2004, 01:51 PM
#34
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[i]So to those people who would call me a "951-wannabe" like I have heard bantered about here before by a few certain listers, I say think about it for a bit before you are quick to comment[/B]
05-05-2004, 02:19 PM
#35
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One ride in that car and no one would ever call it a 951 wannabe. From the 400# coilovers to the 928S4 brakes to the KLA rear coilovers it is one serious car. The NA motor is not as powerful as a 951 motor but this car can use ALL of the NA motor without getting squirrely. Once it gets it's 3.0L transplant it will be hard to touch it on a track.
05-17-2004, 12:37 PM
#37
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I haven't had much time to work on the write up, I need to sit down and complete that!
Although, I didn't take photos of the fender bending process that I described in detail above.
Jeremy
Although, I didn't take photos of the fender bending process that I described in detail above.
Jeremy
05-17-2004, 01:32 PM
#38
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Did you use all your current N/A parts I.E. Header and head light covers, or did you switch them with their turbo counter parts? I had a turbo cover already on it with all the light hook ups before I got in the crash friday, do you think it would be hard for a body shop to line up a real turbo front on an NA to replace the cracked cover?
05-17-2004, 01:47 PM
#39
Race Director
Thread Starter
99% of the conversion is factory 951/S2 parts:
Header Panel
Headlight Covers
Turnsignals
Bumper Cover
Bumper Shocks
Bumper Support Bracket
The fenders were modified to work, so that the ends look like the proper 951/S2 fenders (not a great deal of difference there, a simple bend).
The standard 944 header panel and headlight covers do not work properly with a proper 951/S2 bumper cover.
Unless your bumper cover is totally tweaked, you should be able to repair it. If you had a factory cover, you should have had all of the other parts already on there. Was it a copy designed to fit the standard 944?
Header Panel
Headlight Covers
Turnsignals
Bumper Cover
Bumper Shocks
Bumper Support Bracket
The fenders were modified to work, so that the ends look like the proper 951/S2 fenders (not a great deal of difference there, a simple bend).
The standard 944 header panel and headlight covers do not work properly with a proper 951/S2 bumper cover.
Unless your bumper cover is totally tweaked, you should be able to repair it. If you had a factory cover, you should have had all of the other parts already on there. Was it a copy designed to fit the standard 944?
05-17-2004, 07:11 PM
#40
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It was a copy but they used the real brackets, how off would the header panel and head light covers be if I were to replace it with a real turbo bumper since I already have 75% of the other parts?
05-17-2004, 07:18 PM
#41
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Thread Starter
Robby,
Way off. The 951/S2 header panel is about 1" longer in the front than the standard 944. It will look bad. I would suggest that you get the factory bumper cover, header panel, and headlight covers. Then modify your fenders.
Or, conversely, there is a repro 951 nose on ebay right now with no minimum bid. Complete with lights, and it appears to be the euro version with no side marker holes.
Way off. The 951/S2 header panel is about 1" longer in the front than the standard 944. It will look bad. I would suggest that you get the factory bumper cover, header panel, and headlight covers. Then modify your fenders.
Or, conversely, there is a repro 951 nose on ebay right now with no minimum bid. Complete with lights, and it appears to be the euro version with no side marker holes.
05-17-2004, 07:20 PM
#42
Jeremy - is there an issue with the fitment of the header panel at the fenders? It appears a little off to me.
Lastly, write it up in Word and post it that way. I have found that through the years things get lost, a good Word doc would be easier to hold on to.
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Lastly, write it up in Word and post it that way. I have found that through the years things get lost, a good Word doc would be easier to hold on to.
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05-17-2004, 07:26 PM
#43
Race Director
Thread Starter
Matt,
On my car, I still need to finish tweaking the final fit of the header panel and headlight covers. It needs to be adjusted on the drivers side, and the headlights need to be tweaked so they sit up a little more in the front when closed (due to the difference of n/a verses 951/S2 header panel lengths) I've been busy with a lot of other crap on the weekends lately. It will all line up properly when I get a chance to get to it.
I plan on typing it up on word and then hosting it online somewhere..........
On my car, I still need to finish tweaking the final fit of the header panel and headlight covers. It needs to be adjusted on the drivers side, and the headlights need to be tweaked so they sit up a little more in the front when closed (due to the difference of n/a verses 951/S2 header panel lengths) I've been busy with a lot of other crap on the weekends lately. It will all line up properly when I get a chance to get to it.
I plan on typing it up on word and then hosting it online somewhere..........
05-17-2004, 07:34 PM
#44
Ok, thanks for the update. It looks great. Wish my NA had looked that good. For that matter, I wish my 951 looked that good.
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