997 GT2RS Build... (Update - Dec 2022)

Did they take the old roof off before realising that the new roof was too thick? Call me critical-Charlie but... didn't they get their smarts the wrong way round?

Jcx said:

Did they take the old roof off before realising that the new roof was too thick? Call me critical-Charlie but... didn't they get their smarts the wrong way round?

Click to expand...

No they looked at the roof a few days ago. They removed the roof today and already had the metal roof onsite. They fitted it whilst I was there. Filmed the whole thing, will put it all in my next video.

isysman said:

Jcx said:

Did they take the old roof off before realising that the new roof was too thick? Call me critical-Charlie but... didn't they get their smarts the wrong way round?

Click to expand...

No they looked at the roof a few days ago. They removed the roof today and already had the metal roof on sight. They fitted it whilst I was there. Filmed the whole thing, will put it all in my next video.

Click to expand...

I am confused. Did they take a metal roof off to put on a new metal roof? Oh wait... sunroof delete?

Jcx said:

isysman said:

Jcx said:

Did they take the old roof off before realising that the new roof was too thick? Call me critical-Charlie but... didn't they get their smarts the wrong way round?

Click to expand...

No they looked at the roof a few days ago. They removed the roof today and already had the metal roof on sight. They fitted it whilst I was there. Filmed the whole thing, will put it all in my next video.

Click to expand...

I am confused. Did they take a metal roof off to put on a new metal roof? Oh wait... sunroof delete?

Click to expand...

Yes this was a sunroof delete and originally I was going to replace with a metal roof but then I went with the carbon panel. So after that was a bust I went back to the metal one. Also polycarbonate Windows going in at the same time.

isysman said:

Jcx said:

isysman said:

Jcx said:

Did they take the old roof off before realising that the new roof was too thick? Call me critical-Charlie but... didn't they get their smarts the wrong way round?

Click to expand...

No they looked at the roof a few days ago. They removed the roof today and already had the metal roof on sight. They fitted it whilst I was there. Filmed the whole thing, will put it all in my next video.

Click to expand...

I am confused. Did they take a metal roof off to put on a new metal roof? Oh wait... sunroof delete?

Click to expand...

Yes this was a sunroof delete and originally I was going to replace with a metal roof but then I went with the carbon panel. So after that was a bust I went back to the metal one. Also polycarbonate Windows going in at the same time.

Click to expand...

Got it. I'll catch up

What sunroof?
Phase Ten

I only just got my car back from Tech 9 in June this year and I was going away again. This time I'd be gone for 5 months so any mods for the car would have to wait a long time.

In September even though I was still at sea I started collecting the parts and arranging dates for the car to go in for the next phase, which would be the sunroof delete and fitting of the polycarbonate windows. I had thought about fitting a carbon roof panel but had decided not to as I've been unimpressed by the quality of parts supplied by third parties. Pretty much everything I've ordered has been disappointing. However I decided to take a chance on a carbon roof panel made in Germany from DP Motorsports. I contacted them about a carbon roof in white (so it can be painted) and they came back and said they had a finished carbon roof that the weave had been slightly out and they would sell it to me at the same price as the white roof. We agreed on the price and it was shipped directly to Road & race, as by this time I had already contacted John Bradshaw El Jefe of Road & Race to arrange a date. The date would be 7th November.

Carbon roof panel


John told me it would require two days labour; it's a big job, as I would later see when I visited the car once the work got underway. In the meantime I was still onboard the yacht in Monaco so was busy ordering parts. I needed a new headlining, roof panel (check), roof console and the roof rails and parts. I ordered the rest of the parts from Alistair at Wilmslow Porsche and also had them delivered directly to Road & Race. As they are the official repairer for Porsche Wilmslow they have regular shuttles back and forth delivering parts so this was done free of charge by Porsche.

I also ordered sill plates in carbon with RS logo on for the door shuts. I had wanted these for a long time after seeing them on Teile.com website but ended up ordering them from Wilmslow. I fitted these myself on the weekend before the car went in for the roof. What a nightmare getting the old ones off. I spent hours in my garage trying to use various different tools, heat guns etc. In the end I went with fishing wire underneath and just pulled it along. The second one came off easily but the first one I had done before I came up with that great idea so it came off very slowly and with a massive struggle. Removing the residue of the double-sided tape holding them on was another story. I used white spirits and elbow grease to get that off, but it took hours.

New sill protectors


Parts list as follows:

997.559.722.01 GASKET
997.559.721.01 GASKET
997.559.402.91 G2L ROOF EDGE STRIP
997.559.401.91 G2L ROOF EDGE STRIP
997.555.091.02 A14 ROOFLINING
996.559.405.01 ADAPTER
996.559.403.01 CLIP
996.555.557.11 A03 COVER INTERIOR
997.551.223.80 GT2 RS CARBON SILL TRIM
996.503.501.00 GRV ROOF PANEL, NON SUNROOF

Parts Sub Total: £2,469.73 (Inc VAT) plus approx. £450 for the roof panel.
Polycarbonate windows:
Rear screen: £314.50
Side screens £110.50 each plus VAT
Total £663.60 Inc. VAT
Job cost £3600 +VAT. (I had some other costs as I had extra painting done and the roof panel and soundproofing for the roof was included in the final bill.)


I also needed the polycarbonate windows however from Porsche they were almost £3,000 so I decided to go with a company that makes them for racing cars Plastic 4 Performance in Manchester who were able to make up almost exactly the same windows for just over £500 for the three! Again these were shipped directly to Road & Race. They added a layer on top to prevent them from being scratched so easily; this is something they do for road versions of the windows.

Once home in the UK the car went in the following Monday. When I delivered the car all of the parts were waiting and I had a look at the carbon roof panel, although it was still in the box but it seemed fine. A few days later however John called me to say they had looked at the roof panel and there were problems. He said the panel was twice as thick (3mm) as an OEM panel and it was going to make fitting it properly very difficult. Also the resin they had used had bubbles in it and it would be problematic to paint. They said the glass would not sit properly and the rails on the roof would also be out of position. So I made the decision to use an OEM panel instead. John ordered it directly from Wilmslow. So another third party carbon part was no good!

Thankfully that was the last issue I had and the rest of the conversion went without a hitch. The other thing that didn't really happen this time was I didn't need to order a load of parts that I had forgotten. Only one part I had missed because I didn't know about it was some soundproofing that attaches to the inside of the roof panel and sit under the head lining. Again Road & Race took care of ordering it. As I didn't order it I don't have the part number.

When I saw my car a week in to the project I was horrified. It looked like it was ready for the scrapheap. In fact it looked like a skip! It was covered in plastic but on top it was covered with old heavy rags to stop damage when welding. But it made it look a mess. I've only felt that was a few times during this build. The first was after I'd stripped out the interior to fit the RS rear carpets. The second time was when the car was at Tech9 and I saw it in the garage with the front end tipped off and then this time.





The car had been stripped right down. The upper interior fittings were out such as A post, B post trim, sunroof mechanism, headliner seats etc. The existing roof panel was drilled at the points where it was welded on at the factory, once they drilled all the points it just lifted off the car. I was impressed at how they were able to drill these points but not go through into the frame underneath that would receive the new roof panel, giving them a clean area to weld to. Once the panel was removed they immediately started fitting the new one. Bonding it first and then using a welder I'd never seen before to weld it by connecting on each side of the weld – very impressive.

Drilled roof panel




New roof panel


Welding


The car then went in for paint. I also noticed a scratch the size of a 5p piece on the driver side rear quarter after I'd collected the car after the last work was finished. When it had happened I have no idea but it was annoying enough but it needed to be dealt with. So I had the paint this at the same time. This means that almost every part of my car has now been painted. The only part of the car that has the original paint is the passenger side rear quarter. The quality of the paint is first class and the car looks new now – I'm very happy with the quality of the job.

Shiny


A few days later and I went back to see the car reassembled. First job was the front and rear windscreen going back in. One thing I had noticed was on the new rear plastic screen the PORSCHE logo was missing. I had contacted Porsche to see if I could order one but I was told they only offer it on the new screen. I can imagine how expensive it would have been anyway (the Porsche badge sticker on the bonnet was £50!) So I contacted a company mentioned to me on 911uk and they made 2 of them for me for £3.50! I fitted this the day the windows were due to go back in and it looks just like the real thing so I'm very happy about that. The devil is in the details! It was now starting to look like a car again and as parts went on I felt happier by the hour.

Most critical job of the day!


Prepping for windows








The roof rail strips were next to go on. At £500 for the set including the gaskets & clips they were one of those items you see and just wonder why they need to be so expensive as they are not much in terms of actual quantity. However like I keep saying it's all about details.

Once the interior started going back in I was pretty much happy again. The car was looking great although the plastic windows still had protective covers on them. I'd need to wait a few more days before I saw the car without any of this stuff on it. But it was well worth the wait; the car was looking fantastic. Although I have to admit if you didn't know what jobs had been done I think you would be hard pressed to see any difference. I showed my sister and she couldn't see any difference and when I pointed at the roof she said, 'Did it used to have a sunroof?" Mind you this is the same person who when she saw me in my new Boxster reversing off the drive didn't actually notice it was a different car to my 911!

Reassembly








Roof lining going in












New roof and windows all done






Links
http://www.road-and-race.com
http://www.porschewilmslow.co.uk/
http://www.plastics4performance.com

Also here is the full video created by Porsche about the rebuild of the 924 GTP Le Mans car

i love the quality of your project. top man. top job.

:bow: :salut:

Wow!! Amazing job and fantastic result.

Still loving that GT2 decklid

Looks mega.
As you say attention to detail is superb.

Just fantastic! :worship: :thumbs:

not sure if its the music but i found this video really relaxing Isy....great production too

seeforez said:

not sure if its the music but i found this video really relaxing Isy....great production too

Click to expand...

Well the music is spa music! Haha yeah I found when I played back the reassembly it was better with no talking or text on screen.

Fantastic... as always :thumb:

:worship:

Looking great - I dread to think what the total spend is!! But you love it which is what it's all about. Top job mate 👌