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Retro fitting 996 Hardtop to a 997

seans997

Member
Joined
17 Aug 2011
Messages
15
I have just picked up my 2007 997 ive a couple of people have said with some adaptors this should work, spoke to couple porsche dealers who said they had no idea if this could be done, can any body tell me how to do this does it make a difference what year 996 hardtop i buy also does any one know the part numbers of what i need.
 
The 996 hardtop will fit on a 997.

Basically it is a case of swapping the anchor pins on the roof.

However, unless your 997 was ordered with a hardtop (very rare), in a likelihood, your 997 does not have the mounting hardware on your car to install a hardtop, unlike all of the 996's.

All that's required are the mounts that bolt on to the car that receive the locks on the top. Mounts are specific to the locking pins on the car. Mounts are left - right specific with the left mount having the electrical connection for the rear defroster included. Electrical hookup is plug and play as the 997 includes the harness for the defroster connection.

It is important to know what kind of hardtop you have (if you buy one off eBay etc), because sometime during the 996 lifespan the attachment mounts (and hardware on the top) were changed for a better design.

It is a simple modification to do. Refer to TSB 6117 (Porsche Technical Service Bulletin) for more details. Here is a picture of the new and the old attachment methods.

newrearhardtoplock.jpg


The other minor issue is that the front alignment pins on the hardtop that fit into the slots on the left and right sunvisor mount in the windshield header have slightly different shapes to them. They will fit, but it is unclear how tight the fit will be.

Other than these two issues they are "Plug and Play".

The parts you will need for the newer style mounts are :

996.561.653.04 (mount to attach to the car)
996.561.654.04 (mount to attach to the car)
900.378.173.09 (8x)

Approx £250 (2008 prices).

You will install the updated THREADED BOLT (A/B) rear attachment mechanism on the top and the car.

The older "pin" design (C/D) was superceded.

AFAIK those part no's are universal (in the sense the order system will automatically give you the updated version).

Cityglitz did this upgrade:

Cityglitz said:
Just to let you know guys that we have actually done it (with the the help of OPC Reading and the knowledge from other posts on this forum) and all for around a £1000.

We found a 996 hardtop on E Bay the same colour as our car that came off a 2002 996 C4, paid £400 which we were very happy about as a good paint job could of cost around that alone if we had bought one in another colour to the car.

As you guys will know from reading the post above these 996 hardtops (whilst having the same part number as a 997 hardtop) have the older male fittings fitted, so these need to be changed to the new threaded type.

As our 997 was originally ordered new from the factory without a hardtop it did not have any female mountings fitted to the car, so we also needed to purchase two of these which we got Porsche to fit for us (1/2hour labour).

Once we had these mountings fitted we then fitted our Hardtop and took it back to OPC Reading who very kindly checked it and made a few slight adjustments so it sat safely and snugly on the car, (watch you don't fit it to tight or it might scratch your paintwork, to lose and it will rattle and you will get wind noise).... and yes even the heated window works.

Part numbers required were the two newer catches for the hardtop ;

P996.563.403.04 061763/catch c-pilla @ £156.87 each
P996.563.404.05 061783/catch c-pilla @ £156.87 each

Then the two female mountings that fit to the car ;

P997.561.653.00 mounting @ £91.81 each
P997.561.654.00 mounting @ £91.81 each

and finally 8 bolts ;

P900.378.173.09 to fix everything in @ .30p each.

All prices plus VAT as of 22/10/2010

This post is just for info so please check yourselves with Porsche ref part numbers and costs, however be warned, a few OPC might tell you it cannot be done, but yes it can if you are armed with the knowledge......

911_3_753.jpg

911_2_381.jpg

911_136.jpg
 
thankyou for the reply i have a few questions
is 1999 996 hardtop ok?
could i keep the existing pins on the roof and buy the the parts thats these bolt into which sit on the car or is is best to change everything?
are the part numbers you gave for uk spec?
 
I would confirm with Porsche, but in theory you have to update the mountings anyway for 997 use.

No (see above) - you must use 997 sockets in a 997 body, so you must change 996 pins (latches) for 997 pins.

Parts numbers are universal (they are not handed)

Note: the last two digits are manufacturing revisions (generally irrelevant to the end-user) that means only the 3x3 code defines the mechanical/functional part number.
 
RETRO FIT HARDTOP

Ok ive just managed to retrofit a 996 hardtop to my 997 thanks to the help of everyones reply.
Not all is good yet when the roof is on it seems that the metal just under the roof is touching the body so tightening the top would cause it to scratch the paint i was thinking of glueing a rubber seal to the hardtop any suggestions???
 
Sounds like the embedded locating pins are too low.

AFAIK they have adjustable collars.

Adjust them first, then add a rubber seal if you wish (although beware this doesn't mate and rub on painted area either)
 
by middle of next week going to stick rubber seal on hardtop and adjust roof pins will add some pictures.
 
by middle of next week going to stick rubber seal on hardtop and adjust roof pins will add some pictures.
 
ok so now someone needs to tell me how to add pictures everything i doing aint working what is the max size also file format lol
 
See the advisory on the "Post a reply" page.

Below the text box, below the line "Add an attachment" is a really visible linky:

"Allowed Extensions and Sizes"
 
pictures
 

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dropped in to the body shop today will post some pictures on weekend.
fitted the rubber all around the underneath at the back just under the steal at the back window no scratching on the body but finding it hard to get a exact high on both sides does it matter as long as the roof is securely fitted.

thanks to everyone for your help..
 

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