How do you remove 924 turbo front nose panel

[P944GUY]

Porsche 924 turbo front nose witht the vents....

I need info quick as I may pick one up tomorrow and I think they are welded in to the frame?? Is that right.....So anyone who has removed one, unless it's bolt in..let me know...Please give me a quick run down on how to remove the panel and undue the welds...drill them out ?

Thanks in advance...J

OK..found a post..looks like I have a lot of welds to drill out......anybody with an easy way please post....

[Techno Duck]

The fastest way is to bring a sawz-all with you and cut the entire front clip off at the frame rails. Seriously.

Otherwise be prepared to drill out 2 dozen spot welds. You will need to take the front bumper off to get the majority of them on the leading edge.

[Rasta Monsta]

Buy a spot weld cutter, and some cutting fluid. Take some spray cleaner with you, and clean the seam between the header and the body, after pulling the bumper (19mm). The spot welds will become obvious. Drill pilot holes for the cutter, then zip them out. Very easy with the proper tool.

There are also two 10mm bolts, one at each end. Remove the headlight squeegees to see these.

The last one of these I did took 30 minutes (it was my third).

[Rasta Monsta]

[944 Ecology]

drill, baby, drill!

[962porsche]

remove the front bumper two 17mm headed bolts and 4 wire plugs for the corner lamps . you will find 37 spot welds holding the header panel on the car and two 10mm nuts and bolts were the header panel meets the apron (front wheelhouse ) most of the time they will have some seam sealer on them pick it off to get at the nuts and bolts .pull the rubber seals for the head panel to see the bolts . but first remove the head lamp assy. ten 10mm bolts 3 on each side under the front of the fenders on each side and 2 for each support bracket just inside the head lamps and the plug for the head lamp motor . 8 mm bolt for the hood cable and remove the coil from its bracket one 10mm bolt just flip it up out of the way . you then can lift the hole head lamp assy up and out very ez all as one unit . to remove the donor header panel you can just use a 3/8 inch drill bit . you will be plug welding the holes you make in the donor panel . just be very careful when drilling out the spot welds in the front lip of the header not to let the drill punch throw to fast and put outtie dents in the donor header panel . once you have drilled out all the spot welds use a 45% angle panel splitter to remove the header panel . there about 20 dollars or you can make one from some flat stock . grind a knife edge on one side of a pease of stock about 2 inches long (flat stock size 1"wide x1/8" thick x 10"long ) bend a 45% angle at the end of the knife edge . you then can slip the splitter between the seam and hit it with a hammer to split the header from the header support . the less damage you do to the donor panel the better off you will be . the same goes for the header support for the car the panel its going on . when you go to remove the old header from the car you are putting the header on . i use an air chisel to remove as much of the old panel as i can before i start to drill out the spot welds and the lip thats left . then i do my drilling using a 1/8 inch drill bit just putting a dimple in the center of the spot weld (not drilling throw the weld) this will stop the spot weld cutter from spilling off the weld . i like BLAIR cutters 3/8" rotabroach cutter they last longer than the one in the other post reply and do not brake there teeth . when the cutter gets hot about every 2 welds dip it in some auto trans fluid to keep it cool . try not to drill throw the header support better yet don't ! if you do it makes welding it on a pain in the ass ! do your prep work to the donor panel before you do the in stall it makes life real ez that way . then all you will need to do is grind the welds and reprep and refinish the header .

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by Techno Duck

The fastest way is to bring a sawz-all with you and cut the entire front clip off at the frame rails. Seriously.

Otherwise be prepared to drill out 2 dozen spot welds. You will need to take the front bumper off to get the majority of them on the leading edge.

this is a job!!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Funny, I'm going through exactly this job right now on my early 944 (I'm installing a 931 vented header).

Yeah, you have to drill a LOT of spot-welds.

The part I'm not looking forward to is re-filling all of them. That'll be a PITA. I suspect six bolted connections along the bottom and four across the top will be adequate to hold the new header on once I get all the holes patched and everything mended from the removal of the original non-vented header.

Now if I can just find me an intercooler that will fit behind the darn thing...

[Rasta Monsta]

Stock IC should fit fine if you're using a late or turbo subframe.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Early car. There's actually another good thread going on this. I'll make the 951 i/c fit, not to worry. I have a sawzall and I'm not afraid to use it!

To echo the above, you'll need to drill, drill, drill. Get yourself a good set o' bits.

[v2rocket_aka944]

get a decent drill (12v or higher), a spare battery, and a step drill bit.


i just did mine like 2 weeks ago, the whole thing took like a half hour with the step bit