need smile replacement help

[poorshe911]

I'm replacing the smile, chin spoiler and valence (changing to a Carrera style) on my 911 SC. Does anyone have instructions for getting the bumper & smile off. I had an article on it but lost it. Thanks for any help.

[kwc98]

The bumper is pretty easy to remove. I have been taking mine on and off as I do some painting and repairs.

Remove the 2 small nuts that hold on the bellows, for easy access turn the wheels in to allow access on that side that you are removing. (7 or 8 mm nuts)

Remove the 2 screws that hold on the front rubber strip on the bumper. This will reveal the 2 bolts per side that hold the bumper to the car. If the front rubber strip decides to peel away from the channel that holds, just take it off, clean and re-install.

That is all there is to it, a little wiggling and you are set. The washer plumbing may need to be freed in order to lower the bumper to the ground and then you can undo the plumbing and wiring as needed. (my car does not have fog lights, I am not sure if that wiring will complicate matters)

The smile is simply screwed in under the fenders, you will be able to feel the holes once the bumper is removed. Be careful not the scratch the fenders with the bellows studs when replacing bumper.

Good Luck.

[ramonesfreak]

hey poorsche911 - i grew up in Webster. small world !!

replacing the smile was the first thing i had to do when i got my car as it was all rusted and broken

KWC98 is correct. If you have a Bently book, you might want to look at that too.

I had some trouble reaching the small nuts to remove bellows on the passenger side and had to get an extension for the socket wrench

I did not have to remove the bumper 100% off the car, did NOT have to remove/disconnect the directional lights either but it took some time.

several hours at least. i did not enjoy this job working alone.

the screws of my old smile were so badly rusted that i had to saw them off

i ended up scratching my valance pretty bad with the bellows studs as i didnt know what to expect.. be very careful

good luck

[ramonesfreak]

oh..if i remember right, i had to get the wheel off on the passenger side to get the nuts because with the oil cooler in there, the angle was bad

[poorshe911]

Thanks kwc98 & srandallf. Is the front rubber strip pressed into the bumper or glued in place? Does it require prying off?

srandallf, how long have you been out of webster? with all the stores that have come in, it's starting to resemble henrieta.

Thanks very much for your help.

[poorshe911]

great pictures!!!!!!!

[ramonesfreak]

The front rubber strip just pulls off. However,(not at home right now) but i recall there is a screw at each end that must come out first. once out, it pulls right off. I seem to recall there are some plastic nubby pieces that help to retain the strip to the bumper that you must be careful not to break...but i could be wrong about that

i have not lived there since 1990. my parents still do so i go there alot. i live downtown now. if you see a chiffon white SC, its me. i drive all over the place, all the time

what color is your car? i see almost no SC's around here but a ton of 3.2's and a few mid-year cars, particularly a great sounding chocolate brown mid-year with chrome trim

[kwc98]

The rubber strip has a channel that has a plastic strip inserted into it. This strip has nylon studs like a door panel. All of the pieces are easily disassembled and reattached. I removed the plastic channel, gave everything a good cleaning, reinstalled.

[Chris'85]

I just replaced my bumper smile about a month ago. At the same time I replaced the front belows. Anyway

Jack the front end way up.

Remove both front tires

Remove the four screws (on each side) that connect fender extension to the fender and the valence. (This allows you to get to the two of the bolts hold the valence on.)

Remove the two bolts from each side of the valence, from step above, and the three screws that are inside the trunk. (You may want to disconnect you current fog lights if you have them)
Your valence is now off.

To remove the bumper, lift up on the rubber bumper piece on each end to expose about three to four inches, just enough to access the bumper mounting bolts.

Remove the four bolts and the bumper comes off.

The bumper smile is attached by screws from underneath. The only catch here is if they are rusted.

Good luck!

[poorshe911]

Thanks very much for all the help. I think I'm ready to take it apart.

Michael
'00 528
'83 SC

[poorshe911]

Thanks again for your help.

My SC is an '83 blk/blk coupe.. Spoilers front & back. Stock 7 & 8 fuch's. I had a silver '77 911S for years that you probably saw around webster. I sold it and bought the SC about 7 years ago. It was owned by a guy that treated it as a show piece so I was very fortunate to buy a super clean SC. It's a great car.

Michael Volpe
Webster, NY

[ramonesfreak]

i may have seen you around. i know ive seen a black one but i thought it was 930

your last name is familiar. im 36. my memory aint what it used to be but i seem to remember going to junior high school with a Volpe?

see ya on the road

btw, not sure if the rain will kill it, but there is a VW show at webster junior high on ridge road today. i went last year. there were some sweet old porsches, dune buggies, beatles, an old Alfa etc....

[poorshe911]

Thanks everyone for your help. The bumper is off and a new smile & chin spoiler is on the way.

Michael
'00 528
'83SC

[ShakinJoe]

I just removed the smile form my 87 carrera. Do you need one?

[911nut]

The valence does not need to be removed.

Disconnect the bellows from the valence and the fenders. Pull the rubber strip from the bumper and take the bumper off as described in other threads. Set the bumper on something that will allow you to not have to unhook the turn signals as they are a pain to hook back up (a second pair of hands will help you not scratch anything up here. A female adult can help as the bumper is very light).

If you don't have any, buy some needle nose vice grips. You will need them to hold the speed nuts that hold the smile screws.

With the underside of the smile exposed, spray the fasteners with PB Blaster or Kroil. Take the needle nose vice grips and hold the speed nut while turning the screw. Be aware that all the hardware is very rusty and some special tools may be required (I ended up using an impact screw driver and a Dremel with a cut-off wheel).

Buy new hardware if it didn't come with the new smile and install. Some alignment is required.

Re-install the bumper and bellows.

This job took me two hours.

[poorshe911]

ShakinJoe, Thanks very much but I ordered a new smile & chin spoiler from Vertec yesterday.


911nut, I removed the valence because I'm replacing it with a Carrera type. Now it's a matter of waiting for the chin spoiler so I can drill the mounting holes in the valence before I bring it to the paint shop. The smile screws came off without any issues so I guess I got lucky.
You're right, the turn signals were a pain. I wish there was a accessible harness connector so you can just unplug everything and remove the lights from the bumper on a bench and not hang it off the car.
What type of new hardware did you use, plated or stainless screws?

Thanks!

[911nut]

I used plated hardware, which wasn't a big deal since I never drove the car in the rain.
The weakest area of any Porsche is the electrical connectors the Germans spec'd. I'm still running into unbelievably bad connector designs on my 965. The SAE connectors on my everyday drivers are light years better.

[therotman]

anyone have pictures of a SC with a carrera "smile"?

don't think i've seen it before

[poorshe911]

The smiles are the same. It's a Carrera valence I'm putting on an SC. The driving lights are recessed into the valence. Looks a lot neater.