Cost of Turbo front end conversion? Where to buy?

URIN 2ND · 04-08-2004, 04:46 PM

Hey guys,

Just wondering what all is required to convert to the good looking bumper, instead of the standard N/A bumper.

Could anyone tell me exactly what parts are required, where I can buy them, and how difficult/expensive it is to do? Thanks in advance!

Macfreak007 · 04-08-2004, 05:01 PM

Okay you have a couple of options, one is buying an aftermarket fiberglass one, which sells for like $400 from performance products, and then lighting for like $900, or you could get the real stuff but i think you need to get new fenders and a center panel, and headlight covers if i remember correctly, this is costly, I would go with the fiberglass, besides it is lightweight.... I cant wait to bolt mine up off my new parts car!

TCMdocs944 · 04-08-2004, 05:01 PM

Hey!!! Don't knock the na spoiler!!

Actually, they did kind of mess it up a bit compared to the euro as it was intended. Seems the lines changed a bit too much.

www.gt-racing.com/catalog/gtr944.htm

Performance products

The conversion will run you a bit over $1000. Spoiler, lights, shipping, paint...

I think Bluequest (jack) is just finishing up his conversion. He would be the guy to ask specifics....

JACK............JACK......... Where are you?........

Macfreak007 · 04-08-2004, 05:09 PM

Yeah I have kinda grown to hate my na front end. It sticks out so much, its just not as flush and good looking as the turbo front end is.

TCMdocs944 · 04-08-2004, 05:17 PM

I kinda like mine, only I think the foglights are a bit 'misplaced' or something.

They also tend to look better on darker color cars.IMO

Taz's Master · 04-08-2004, 06:04 PM

You will not be happy with a poorly done conversion. Certainly my fenders are NA, probably my headlight covers too. I am no fan of bras, but my front end looks so much better with one than it does naked.

I would suggest finding a turbo shell, maybe one that suffered a fire, or going fiberglass. The lighting is expensive.

URIN 2ND · 04-08-2004, 10:34 PM

Hmmmm...yeah, the fiberglass route sounds the most cost-effective.

I'm wondering...aren't there any DIY guys who have found *aftermarket* lighting to install, instead of the OEM fog lamps? I would think there's a similar-sized Rallye/Hella/etc lamp that would work with a small amount of creativity. $900 bucks sounds a little high for bumper lights!

The VW guys I know seem to be more resourceful, only because since it's not a Porsche, they dont' care as much about it matching exactly to OEM. Heh.

And is it true the fenders and headlight covers are different on the Turbos?!

Ross T · 04-09-2004, 01:24 AM

Yes the 944Turbo parts that are different are as follows
fenders
Header panel
Headlight assembly ( covers and black plastic headlight surround)
Bumper
Bumper support is different as well. I believe the bumper shocks are all the same.
I recently wrecked my 87 na/968 conversion.
I am changing to the turbo look as well.

s928s · 04-09-2004, 03:33 AM

The hood shocks for the turbo and the na are different but i believe you can modify them to fit. Here is an inexpensive way to give your N/A an more snubbed look in the front using the oem parts on the car.
Drill out the bumper shocks, remove the front bumper pads, grind and fill all the old the holes. cut a small piece of aluminum and fill in the openings for the turn signal and mold with small amount of filler, paint to match.

I do have an extra bumper available that I can modify if anyone is interested. I can do them on an exchange basis for a small fee. definately alot less then the whole turbo nose.

bader4 · bader4's Garage

I too would like to do the turbo front. I have heard that some chevrolet lenses will fit and you use the oem turn lights. I think the fiberglass would be the way to go if it fits reasonably well.

URIN 2ND · 04-09-2004, 09:28 AM

s928s...

That's not a bad start, and seeing as how it's FREE, I may just do it! I get the basic jist of it...my only question is "making aluminum pieces to fit over the turn sigs."

The turn sig holes are the ones in the actual bumper, right? Well, why can't you just leave the turn sigs in? I know it may not look as clean that way, but you can leave them in if you wanted, right? Or is there no more room for them? Let us know!

BlueQuestTSi · 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TCMdocs944

The conversion will run you a bit over $1000. Spoiler, lights, shipping, paint...

I think Bluequest (jack) is just finishing up his conversion. He would be the guy to ask specifics....

JACK............JACK......... Where are you?........

I'm here

My word of advice, this is from experience.....

Buy genuine parts, the time spent in making the fiberglass parts work/fit isn't worth the price difference you may pay.

To do the conversion with factory parts you'll need:

Fenders.
Headerpanel.
Headlight covers, both the plastic shroud and the lids.
Foglights.
Turnsignals.
Airdam.
Aluminum bumper with shocks.

The only parts on the front of your car now that are re-useable are the hood, headlight buckets and sidemarker lights.

You can do the GT Racing, Performance Products, Tweeks or AIR(brand I used) 'conversion nose'. But you'll still require the inner aluminum bumper w/shocks from a 951(which can be hard to find), and the associated lighting.

If you buy the bumper and lighting new from any of the above places, expect to pay close to $1500 shipped(lights and bumper), but this doesn't cover the price of the 951 aluminum bumper/shocks that you still need, nor does it cover mounting, fixing, painting, etc.... I've also found that the mold's used to make these fiberglass bumpers are far from perfect, I was able to find a 1.5" difference between the where the sidemarker lights are mounted(1 was 1.5" farther from the fender opening than the other). This appears to have translated itself throughout the whole bumper, which gave my front end a 'bent' look. Me being the perfectionist, I've shaved that difference, and am currently re-fiberglassing the bumper and fenders for a better appearance.

Other little issues I've run accross. None of the lights actually fit their holes, the holes are both slightly small and appear out of square. They are using a handlaid, non-vacuum formed process, so I've found air bubbles below the gel coat. This would mean the first time you hit a good sized bug at highway speeds, you'll have a small hole in your panel. I'm sure I'll find some more issues, as I'm still trying to make the car perfect..

BlueQuestTSi · 04-09-2004, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ross T
Yes the 944Turbo parts that are different are as follows
fenders
Header panel
Headlight assembly ( covers and black plastic headlight surround)
Bumper
Bumper support is different as well. I believe the bumper shocks are all the same.
I recently wrecked my 87 na/968 conversion.
I am changing to the turbo look as well.

The bumper shocks are different, they mount to the car with the same 2 bolt flange, but the way they mount to the bumper itself is different, making them non-interchangeable.

BlueQuestTSi · 04-09-2004, 02:30 PM

Here's a pic of my current project, the whole front end is fiberglass(fenders, hood, headerpanel and turbo look bumper).

Now to show the problem with the mold that I was referring too. Look closely at the pic. Notice how the right side(driver's side) of the bumper appears closer to the camera? Also notice the center vertical vent supports, and their alignment with the center of the headerpanel? It looks as though the bumper is off center and potruding on one side. However, the bumper fit the fender well arches perfect, and all the measurements added up, it's a problem with the AIR mold on the bumper, which is what's costing me so much time, as I can't have my car looking like that out in public

s928s · 04-09-2004, 04:20 PM

URIN 2ND
My version of the front bumper does still use the oem turn signal lights. If you remove the bumper pad. There are 3 screws holding the lense housing in. What you do is put the lense in the opening and JB weld in a small aluminum or metal piece that angles from the base of the lense to the outer edge of the bumper. it is better if the piece is snug into the opening. This makes a slit for the 2 inner screws to be eliminated and the new piece becomes a slit for the tabs of the lense to fit into. ...Kind of hard to describe, if interested i can send you some pics. just PM me

I am at the point of not to use ARI any more. The quality of the gt racing stuff to me is so much better. I just purchaced a gt\racing rear bumper, finish was perfect and spooth just needed a little tweeking. In AIR i went with there boxed rockers..finish was not as good and full of inperfections. I though the AIR was less money. But if you look at the invoice for shipping, added $45.00 for shipping ( ouch) and a $10.00 boxing charge....ended up costing me more. I used their box to ship a bumper to CA. and cost me $16.50 ups for more weight not $45.00