aircooled0801

A buddy of mine just picked up a wrecked 997.1 with front and rear bumper damage, lid damage and light driver's door damage. Instead of going back stock, we're contemplating trying the facelift route.

Has anyone on here successfully completed the 997.1 to 997.2 body upgrade with LED's front and rear? I've seen a couple of partial posts on other sites talking about flasher error codes, etc... but just curious how much of a PITA this is and lessons learned.

Also, with the 997.2 aerokits available, are any of you looking to sell your old bodywork or standard lid? He's not looking to do anything extreme but make this look more like the Gen 2 997.

Thanks!

Edgy01

Are you really certain you want the LED taillights? (I know people will say that it's a newer look). However, the jury's not back yet on the life on those things. LEDs are not perfect. And they ARE very expensive to fix. Note the rear light unit costs--LED $550 and non-LED $336.

aircooled0801

I hear ya, and I don't disagree...but not my money FORTUNATELY.

With the money he saved on getting this car, which was damaged on the track and not insured by the previous owner, I think he's looking to possibly upgrade given same. Otherwise, he's going to have to replace most of the lights regardless if I remember correctly.

ADias

The issue is that it's not an upgrade. It's a travesti. Each generation has its own character. Taking a 997.1 and plastering 997.2 body parts is just poor taste. It will lower the value of the car.

Nugget

The car's been wrecked on the track and it sounds like he bought it for a song. I doubt resale value is high on his list of priorities.

911SLOW

+1

Unless its a safety issue or at least a functional upgrade, I am always against.

John

aircooled0801

Nugget's correct. I'd estimate probably $5 or $6K worth of damage at most, and he picked the car up for $18K. This is a base model '05 997 with 30K+ miles where all the track goodies such as the springs, track rims/tires (which one was damaged anyway so he got the stock 18's), roll bar, AWE's, etc... were removed, and all the stock stuff was either installed or given to him with the car. To drive it right now as it sits, he needs a taillight, front bumper, a headlight and a good alignment since the springs were put back to stock. It would be a little ugly with the door and rear bumper damage, but for the price, one can't complain. He and I have both been all under the car, and there's absolutely no undercarriage damage, but obviously still a lot of grass and mud.

He's in no hurry since he will have to register the car and pay a boat load of taxes in South Carolina, but it is what it is. I doubt he'd ever put this car back on the track during his ownership, and this is his first P-Car, so call it beginner's luck!

ADias

The car should be checked carefully with a PCNA-approved alignment jig. If I was in your friend's shoes, and if the car is straight, I would bring it back the car to stock, including its 997.1 cosmetic bits and enjoy it. Mutilating it with 997.2 parts is just wrong.

Lysoleverywhere

If I found one so cheap...I would

Strip it down and sell all the interior
Have Kevin at UMW put together a motor and trans
put the new 997.2 GT2 or Gt3 body all around
Paint it your favorite color
Install a color matched roll cage
GT3 or Recaro seats

But that's me.

aircooled0801

I knew this would stir up some debate. I'm going to have to introduce him to the forum next time I talk to him so he can fight his own battle. Pic's of the car should be on here anyway.

Personally, I too am somewhat of a purist when it comes to bodywork, at least generation matching, etc... HOWEVER, knowing him, he loves to go extreme, so I'm certainly willing to play if it's on his car, and not mine.

I can tell you that he will do what he can afford which won't be much more than what he has at the moment. In fact, I'll probably spring for the light bits just so he can drive it legally.

RonCT

I've had both the 997.1 and 997.2 C2S and I don't find the .2 any nicer looking with respect to the front or rear. If I had my druthers, I'd turn those darned front LED lights off and the back - who cares what they are, I'm driving the car, not following it.

The car is what it is - a 997.1 C2. Fix and enjoy it and spend your time / money on things to make it unique and perform better, like forged wheels, 2-piece floating rotors (if available), exhaust / header / software (ie: Softronic) upgrades, etc.

LlBr

Do it. Enjoy the car.

Violating the sanctity of the factory-birth look serves Porsche right in a kind of reverse way.

They made those cosmetic changes ONLY to create a buzz.

What's more? They did the absolutely cheapest possible and most visible changes. Ones that involved the lowest cost via effecting fewest parts and body panels. Oh, the LEDs? They're new for the sake of Porsche staying "innovative" LOL.

Get even: "upgrade" your car. Actually "upgrade" is totally incorrect word, maybe there's a word somewhere that means "change-for-the-sake-of-changing."

Whatever, I'm basically joking, no big deal what your friend does do, the car's been messed with anyway via the fender bender.

Keep in mind there are some car-savy chicks looking for rich guys; the difference between an old 997.1 and new 997.2 has been known to kill dating deals.

NYC_Z06

+1. Its not a 63 split window vette. And +1 on the savvy chick issue. Have had more than a few balk on my non-LED 997.1.

NYC_Z06

also, FWIW, a friend of mine did the change - pricey but it came out very nice.
http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...-new-york.html

Kuhan

Tell him to do what he likes! It's his car and for the price, it doesn't really matter.

Doing a swap to the new LED lights will require some more parts so that's just going to make it more expensive. If I was him, I would go .1 as it would probably end up being $3k vs $6k for the .2 parts. But that's just me. He should make up his own mind!