Gen 2 front bumper and lights onto Gen 1 996. Can it be done?

[Clouder]

Hi Newbie here,

This question may have been asked many times before but I can't find the thread. I want to put a 2003 front bumper and lights onto my gen 1 996. I have a bumper cover and beam and a friend has a set of lights and one wing assembly. I want to do it over the winter when I do a motor rebuild and re bush the suspension. Has anyone done this conversion? I imagine there are a lot of small details that would need swapping?

Thanks

[Richard Hamilton]

It should be fairly straightforward if you are fitting new wings, PU, lights and headlight trays.  There are some wiring changes needed to the headlight connectors, as they are wired differently.  There are a couple of threads to get you started:

 

http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/19618-996-facelift/?p=100573

http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic/17676-2002-996-headlight-connectors-for-1999-996/?p=89410

 

Personally, I would think twice about doing it.  I think it would devalue the car, and potential buyers would always suspect it has been damaged/repaired cheaply.  Just my tuppence worth.  I like the GT1 headlights of the original 996 & Boxster anyway!

[Clouder]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the leads. I am going to do this to a cat D insurance right-off, so the value for re- sale is not so much of an issue here.

[Dennis C]

I think you'll need to replace or modify the front fenders too. I haven't done this personally, but I've read a few posts about it. I think you should research it a bit more before you pull the trigger on the parts.