Bradford

I am going to buy a C2S decklid and want to know about removing the split grill.
I have heard the horror stories about how difficult it is to remove a normal grill without breaking it. Has anyone removed an original split grill and if so how difficult is it? TIA

Jastx

If you're buying the whole decklid, why not just unbolt and change the spoilers? That way you'll leave both your original and split grill intact.

24FPS

hey bradford ->
you're adding a splitgrill & removing the old one piece right? did some research on this & i know there is alot of glue holding the orig. grill on... it ends up coming off in pieces. some worse than others. which makes me wonder if you might have better luck in warm conditions.

bol... please post some pics when ya do the deed? btw: will you be painting the new piece "g.r." to match?

Bradford

I was hoping that I would only have to paint the grill. The decklid is silver and I will be painting it Guards Red and really don't want to paint the spoiler. Bottom line is I am going to buy a complete decklid for the split grill only and then sell the decklid.

Jastx

Scott, I think you'd be better off buying the pieces new from Gert and having them painted. You car is so nice, do it first class. You could also try removing them by slicing through the glue with a blade -- I suppose you could learn on your existing grill, doesn't matter if it gets damaged -- but then you have 2X as much removal work and risk.

Bradford

John,

I have considered buying Gerts. In my opinion this is the best way to do it if I can successfully remove the split grill without damaging it.

Monique

I tried and gave up. I could not come up with a plan which would not damage the grille. The glue is so strong that the grille will not budge whatsoever.

There is an historical reason behind this; all German cars are tested by the TüV and this org is not allowing parts to fly off Porsches on German Autobahns.

IMO, get the complete thing and sell your old one. Good luck.

JM993

I've done this conversion. My 95 is adventurine green and I, too, bought a silver C2s decklid. I used the whole thing as I wanted to get rid of my basket handle, but still had to remove the parts for painting.

The trick I used is to apply force slowly and evenly. If you need to pry, do so gently. The nice this is, you don't have to worry about marring the paint. The spoilers are pretty tough. Really wasn't that difficult.

Joe

95 Porsche 993
88 BMW E30 M3 2.5 (240HP)
88 BMW 325is (sale pending to be replaced with a Boxster)

CAHRERA

Is it possible to use heavy Fishing line and try to slice the grill pieces from the wing? Kind of like Flossing your teeth. Does anyone know if the glue that's on there is rock solid or is it still kind of plyable. Just curious.

mike cap

Scott,

The OEM "glue" is really a two part semi-flexible epoxy. It is very tough stuff and has a high bond strength. I was not able to remove my single piece grill (to repaint AR) and elected to buy a new one instead. I doubt it would be worth the effort to even try.

I found it easier to use a sheet-metal tin snips and carefully cut-out the center section of the old grill. Then (again very carefully) pull the edges of the mutilated grill away from the spoiler perimeter. The black epoxy filler will stay behind, attached to the frame and, in my case, was in perfect shape.

After the new grill was painted, I used lacquer thinner to clean the original black epoxy surface and then used a Dow Corning (black) silicone glue and layed a thin bead along the top of the old epoxy. I pressed the new grill in place, worked it in and then secured it using the ten "speed nuts" from underneath.

Five hundred miles later and the grill is solid as a rock and will never go anywhere. It was nice not having to screw with the whole (very expensive - more than the price of the grill) Porsche epoxy kit.

The single piece grill is a p/n 993-512-587-00-01C ($86) and the speed nuts are a p/n 993-591-390-02 ($.54 each)

Rick Lee

I had no problem removing my original grill. Sure, it's stuck on there pretty snugly, but all you have to do is get one tiny section to break free. Then you can use a razor blade to slice through the adhesive bead. As it turns out, I didn't use enough adhesive when I put the split grill in and the left side slides around now. But those speed nuts have a death grip on there. I'll redo it one of these days, when I can remember to order new speed nuts.

Bradford

Herein lies the problem, some say it is removable and some say it isn't. Oh well I'll just have to figure it out for myself. Thanks

CAHRERA

DAMN!.....Thanks Mike, I guess I'm better off just buying a new grill if I ever do my next MOD.

Jeff96-993

I removed mine without destroying it, so it is possible. I used a single edge razor blade where I could to cut through as much of the epoxy as possible, and a large flat head screwdriver as a wedge/lever to peel it free.

It was off within a half hour.

SCMomentum

I just picked up my car from the shop. Original grill removed & Gert's Split Grille installed and paint match perfect. The best aesthetic mod I've done..........by far. I couldn't be happier.