RE: Spotted: Porsche 944

RE: Spotted: Porsche 944

Author
Discussion

barks

29 posts

180 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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My baby! Rebuilt engine, Hybrid turbo, reverse engineered motronic ECU (fully re-mappable), wasted spark, mild head work, modified intercooler. Dyno time soon wohoo!

mattnunn

14,041 posts

160 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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Well you take a punt on a half scabby 928 for £5k

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

That's a 5 litre V8 that is. Genuine bona fide supercar.

MadRob6

3,592 posts

219 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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They even work well for camping trips


And make brilliant beer carriers for the weekend


Despite being bright blue mine does seem completely invisible to other drivers who seem to drive at me as if I wasn't there.

BigBen

11,604 posts

229 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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I had a 944 for about a year. Had some 185k miles on it and still drove as tight as a drum. A really good fun car which looked fantastic and handled very nicely. Don't be put off by the seemingly slow 0-60 times, they are deceptively quick cars.

Will likely have another one day

Ben

barks

29 posts

180 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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That's why you need guards red!

365daytonafan

283 posts

184 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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Itsallicanafford said:
....my next second car for sure, need to do my research though, any big bills associated with these?
Loved my 944S2 but it was expensive to run.

Biggest think to look out for on the 16v models is that the cambelts and rollers have been changed the interval between changes is quite short IIRC. Also look out for the wear on the timing change tensioner.

Clutch changes are expensive as access is tricky, and mine seemed to need discs and pads every 15,000 miles and that was only with road use.

I'd have another but would probably go for a 2.7 or a Turbo now.

J4CKO

41,190 posts

199 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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poprock said:
The prices are absolute rock bottom now. I’ve only ever owned 944s, never had another type of car … and this latest Turbo is the first time I have ever had to sell for less than I paid.

I can’t imagine a better car per pound is out there right now. I think the 944 has overtaken the MX-5 as Pistonheads’ favourite.
I was looking for a turbo MX5 when the 944 came up, 944 numbers are dwindling now though, so many being broken for spares, they are robust but also now very old, without proper maintenance they just get to a point, being worth a couple of grand it isnt worth spending the money on them,

There are according to howmanyleft.co.uk left on the road,

About

944 Lux 2000
944 Cab 385
Turbo Cab 48
944 S2 770
944 S 247
Turbo/turbo S 300

So, about 3700 944's still out there, there are 234 of the new Maclaren registered, another few months and my 944 Cab will be more exclusive biggrin



GranCab

2,902 posts

145 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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mattnunn said:
Well you take a punt on a half scabby 928 for £5k

http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...

That's a 5 litre V8 that is. Genuine bona fide supercar.
That looks like the one Clarkson brush-painted matt black biggrin

J4CKO

41,190 posts

199 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
quotequote all
365daytonafan said:
Loved my 944S2 but it was expensive to run.

Biggest think to look out for on the 16v models is that the cambelts and rollers have been changed the interval between changes is quite short IIRC. Also look out for the wear on the timing change tensioner.

Clutch changes are expensive as access is tricky, and mine seemed to need discs and pads every 15,000 miles and that was only with road use.

I'd have another but would probably go for a 2.7 or a Turbo now.
Why the 2.7 ? it shares the S2's foibles but isnt as fast, plus all the engines are being snapped up for high power turbo builds. Mine cam with a 2 grand bill for the top end rebuild and a new clutch done at Hartech which I was glad about.

MadRob6

3,592 posts

219 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
quotequote all
Clutch changes are also expensive as the parts cost a bloody fortune. I put a new clutch in mine as I had the engine out and the old one wasn't looking too great. That set me back £490 just for the clutch kit.

Certain parts are dirt cheap as they're nothing special but then others cost a bomb as they were only made for the 944. Water pump is a good example as no other car uses it they cost over £100.

I recently had to source a track rod for my early car and all aftermarket suppliers had stopped making them so I had to buy a Porsche part for £156! If it were to use the same track rod as an early Golf I could've gotten one from GSF for £18!

Luckily these cars are fairly easy to work on, the main issue with them is access as things are a bit tightly packed in places.

Sifly

570 posts

177 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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I've had a turbo and a 2.5 lux. Fantastic cars, so under-stated but massively capable.
They are from an era when Porsche built cars to last, so well screwed together and reliable.
250bhp in the turbo sounds pretty naff these days, but its the way the power is transfered to the
road that makes them so good (in the dry at least)! On a damp motorway, mine would spin the rear wheels in 3rd gear at 70mph! On a wet silverstone track day my turbo made mince meat of the 3.6 964 C2's.

They are fairly easy to maintain too (if you buy a good one). Main bodywork areas to check are the bottom of the front and rear wings behind the wheels and the cills will eventually rot if not looked after. Steer clear of a car with the 'box' style cill extensions unless you can be sure they are not hiding any horrors. The gear box is located under the boot floor, and any whining through the gears will probably mean a worn box and a fair bill to repair / replace. Engines are very robust, one of the main issues being timing chains which can stretch over time. Look for proof of recent replacement. Brake calipers can also suffer from alloy against steel corrosion causing binding and should be refurbished periodically to ensure propper function.

I've also had a Boxster S, and would now choose a 944 or 968 over one every time. Better built, more practical, cheaper to run and just as much fun to drive. If you want an everyday car the 2.5 will do the job really well. I have a friend who has a 1985 B 2.5 lux and has used it nearly every day since he bought it in 1988. It let him down for the first time ever about 2 months ago (failed sensor).
Best every day car would be the 3.0 S2, but if you want a fun weekend car, its got to be the turbo.

Buy a good one now, and it will not depreciate. I bought my turbo back in 1999, and sold it in 2001 for £1000 more than I paid for it. I miss that car massively!







Edited by Sifly on Wednesday 10th October 10:15


Edited by Sifly on Wednesday 10th October 10:18

Lione1 Richie

173 posts

182 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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I had one to use as I entered the world of Trackdays. Such a well balanced car and one of the first cars I gasped at when I was a young lad.

I think they still look great and it was really cheap to keep running, suspension was a little tired tho...


MrFrodo

21,535 posts

241 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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BigBen said:
Don't be put off by the seemingly slow 0-60 times, they are deceptively quick cars.
yes

The thing you notice about all the front engined Porsches is the gearing and the aerodynamics. The acceleration from, say, 60mph is a lot quicker than you'd expect from the relatively leisurely sprint times.

It's kind of like a Caterfield in reverse. smile

365daytonafan

283 posts

184 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
quotequote all
J4CKO said:
365daytonafan said:
Loved my 944S2 but it was expensive to run.

Biggest think to look out for on the 16v models is that the cambelts and rollers have been changed the interval between changes is quite short IIRC. Also look out for the wear on the timing change tensioner.

Clutch changes are expensive as access is tricky, and mine seemed to need discs and pads every 15,000 miles and that was only with road use.

I'd have another but would probably go for a 2.7 or a Turbo now.
Why the 2.7 ? it shares the S2's foibles but isnt as fast, plus all the engines are being snapped up for high power turbo builds. Mine cam with a 2 grand bill for the top end rebuild and a new clutch done at Hartech which I was glad about.
Partly because I now prefer the non S2/Turbo front.

poprock

1,984 posts

200 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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Lione1 Richie said:
… suspension was a little tired tho...
Great photo!

This is one of the reasons mine was so perfect … drive to the track in comfort, pop the bonnet and give the adjustable shocks a half turn, then drive straight onto the circuit and start warming the car up. Brilliant.

BigBen

11,604 posts

229 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
quotequote all
MrFrodo said:
BigBen said:
Don't be put off by the seemingly slow 0-60 times, they are deceptively quick cars.
yes

The thing you notice about all the front engined Porsches is the gearing and the aerodynamics. The acceleration from, say, 60mph is a lot quicker than you'd expect from the relatively leisurely sprint times.

It's kind of like a Caterfield in reverse. smile
I think the 0-60 sprint involved going from 2nd to 3rd which costs a fair bit of time 'vs rivals that can do 60 in second, certainly was the case in my 2.5

fivetenben

589 posts

169 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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White 944 2.5 lux with turbo valance, pinstripe interior and teledials? That takes me back! I ran a similar car for 5 years and 70,000 miles, often as my daily driver.



I bought the '944 back in 2002 for £4k, with 135,000 miles on the clock, and in the following 5 years it proved itself to be a truly great all-round car, dealing with everything from driving to work in the snow at 4am to lapping the 'ring with a boot full of camping gear and duty free, while touring Europe.

Predictably, it generated a few bills - a clutch change at 140,000 cost £800, head gasket at 175,000 was £700, a rusty will was patched up for £250 and corroded brake lines cost a bit to put right, and then there was £350 every 36,000 miles for a cambelt change. However, given the car was approaching 200,000 miles, I think these costs were, frankly, more than acceptable. It also provided tolerable fuel economy, being able to stretch into the mid-30s on a long run, and let me down 3 times during its life as a daily: A dead battery, a broken clutch and a snapped driveshaft (all issues which could have been skirted with preventative maintenance if I'd not stubbornly ignored the signs...).

After 5 years of ownership and 205,000 miles on the clock, I'd become so attached to my 944 that I still didn't want to sell it, and so I decided to drive it 15,000 miles across 26 countries, from the UK to Cape Town. Obviously, this trip revealed a few weaknesses in the '944s solidarity (and an oil pump failure writing off its engine 17 days before we left didn't exactly help our relationship); however I can't think of another vehicle which would have coped with the trip so well, in terms of both general toughness, and day-to-day comfort and practicality.





Off topic, but there's more on the trip here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadven...

Since the trip, I've defected to the plastic world of TVR. However I miss the 944's aloof feeling of solidarity, and will definitely have another one day...

only1ian

683 posts

193 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
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I get the logic, have considered one myself, even drove one admitidly with an auto box which was horrific!

But then I realised that for the same money I could have a much better and more modern looking 2004 Boxster S!!

Prawnboy

1,326 posts

146 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
quotequote all
it's a tempting one.....this or a lotus Excel for the new year i think.

or of course if i really don't worry about the snobery a 924S......
.....944 engine, slightly lighter, cheaper and with so few around must be set to rise in value.

tr7v8

7,180 posts

227 months

Wednesday 10th October 2012
quotequote all
I've just sold mine believe it or not to Germany. And replaced it with a Boxster, which I'm still not convinced is the better car.
£5750 is strong money for a lux & that should get an S2 or Turbo. Clutches are expensive but do last so should do 80-100K. The belts need doing every 36k or 3 years or so & can be expensive the first time you do it as it'll probably need a water pump & some or all the tensioners/idlers & top hats & seals. After that it should be good for a few years & you'll get away the next time with just the belts & an odd tensioner or so. I've just done a 2.7 for someone & it cost him the belts & 3 idlers. The idlers were £96.
2.7 water pumps are very expensive but otherwise should be cheaper to maintain than an S2 or Turbo.
Rust is the big issue, mine had sills inner & out & was £1400.

Mine was a daily driver for the first 18 months & did 38K in that time, gave virtually no trouble & returned 33mpg. Insurance was around the £500 as a Class 1 daily driver.