RE: Spotted: Porsche 944

[rob.kellock]

My old beauty - purchased blind from an ebay trader by accident (congratulations you've won - oh-oh)I bought it as a second car as my contract hire car at the time had a horrific mileage penalty and I had used up nearly all its miles.

The 944 came with no service history but its previous owner had it 13 years and the theory was that nobody would keep a 944 that long and give it no TLC. One nicely worded letter later and I received a phone call from the previous owner the next day follwed by a large envelope full of MOTs and bills ("I never gave the history to the garage when I p/exd it because they never asked for it!"). Mileage was genuine 91000, garaged all its life, serviced above and beyond the book, fuel and brake pipes replaced, stainless exhaust etc.

Ran it for 18 months and 12000 miles or so as a second car until a pillock in a Ford Fiesta wrote it off on the M55 when I was stopped in a traffic jam. Save for routine servicing and swapping the radio cassette for a CD player and new speakers it proved wholly reliable. Great cars and surprisingly practical too. They are probably a bit of an acquired taste compared to more modern "rivals" but this is Pistonheads so that is a good thing.

[poprock]

BigBen said:

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

Again, something the late-model Turbo differs on. Longer first and second gears mean you can even hit 60 in first if you really want to rev it. Fifth is only for Autobahns if you want to keep your license …

[bubster]

I've got a turbo (220bhp), bought as I thought it was cheaper than a rebuilt gearbox or clutch on my 993 (now sold)

I love this car, mine is now stage 2 promax, with adjustable boost etc, now on Koni adjustables and 17" cup 2's, sparco evo's etc. I love this car, now owned for 4 years, just had the sills done! These are expensive but I think its a great car.

With the mods to mine I don't believe my 993 would keep up, I love the bulging arches, the whole 80's feel and come on pop up lights are very very cool.

Mine is staying, could now do with a repaint and probably the original seats putting back in. Have done a few track days and some of my mates cars are faster but mine doesn't break and theirs do!

I bought mine broken, no power etc, rang promax in milton keynes, so helpful bought £35 of silicone tubing, fitted it, wow fixed!

Nearly forgot, insurance £129.00 fully comp for 3000 miles per annum with the mods!

Edited by bubster on Wednesday 10th October 11:00

[Twincam16]

I love these. The later ones are the best to drive, whereas my personal favourite in terms of looks is the 924S Le Mans - purity of line of the first 924s (I never thought the front bumper was ever properly integrated on the 944), but with the 'Proper Porsche' running gear of the 944. Lighter weight and lower drag coefficient made it a smidgin faster than the base early 944 too.

I wonder if it'd be possible to shoehorn a VarioCam three-litre 'four' and six-speed 'box from a 968 into a 924S?

[benjj]

When my daily car (Range Rover) ate a turbo and then lunched the entire block I was in the market for a snotter to use as a daily. After a bit of thinking I set myself a budget of the cost of a replaced Range Rover turbo. I ended up buying a very early 944 2.5 Lux. Registered on an '82 Y plate it is actually a very late 1981 manufacture making it one of the very first RHD models.

I have had it for about 3 months and use it daily for my 6 mile return commute. It lives outside and that's where it will stay.

I paid £2400 for it with 10 months MOT and no tax. I've since spent £420 on parts and £1100 on labour (plus putting in about 40 hours myself on it.)

I must say it is an absolute joy. It is only kicking out about 165bhp but it flies. The gearing is great, the general quality of the car is superb and I love driving it.

In addition to being my daily snotter the car will also be raced/rallied. In fact I am competing this Saturday in it on the HERO Throckmorton Challenge and then the following week at the MX5 day at Croft. Both of these will be with a Mission Motorsport co-driver/navigator. MM is the armed forces motorsport charity and focus on getting wounded soldiers into fast cars, boats etc. They're a terrific bunch and if any PHers want to support them in any way I know they'd be hugely appreciative. This doesn't have to be donating cash, they'd equally appreciate track time, workshop experience and pretty much anything to do with cars. Have a look at their website if you get a chance: www.missionmotorsport.org

The car:

[zcacogp]

only1ian said:

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

Drive a Box S back-to-back with a decent 944 and then see if you still think the same.

I'll be amazed if you do.


Oli.

[kambites]

I quite like the 944, but not for £6k!

[zcacogp]

Twincam16 said:

I wonder if it'd be possible to shoehorn a VarioCam three-litre 'four' and six-speed 'box from a 968 into a 924S?

Yes, it's not difficult and several have been done. Take the suspension and brakes over too and you have a seriously capable track weapon. All the power of a 968, but with lighter weight and slightly better aerodynamics.

Someone on here (Nurburghsingh I think) had one and claimed it would quite easily embarrass GT3's on track. Sold it for around £8k I seem to remember ...


Oli.

[s m]

poprock said:

Again, something the late-model Turbo differs on. Longer first and second gears mean you can even hit 60 in first if you really want to rev it. Fifth is only for Autobahns if you want to keep your license …

60 mph? or km/h?

I thought they did about 40mph at 6500rpm? What are you revving to?

[Shewie]

fivetenben said:

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...

Wow! Just wow!!!

You sir, are one crazy fool... But what a trip.

[Sifly]

only1ian said:

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

Having owned both, I have to disagree. Yes the boxster is more modern, but not a better car in my view. Cheaply built, expensive to maintain and no where near as practical as the 2+2 944 with huge rear hatch. They all came with huge lift out roof panel too, so you can even get some open air motoring if thats your thing! If you want a more modern car than the 944, the 968 should tick a few more boxes.

[Ricky944s2]

Ive had my S2 for nearly 5 years now, 165k on the clock and ownership has been pretty painless over that time.

The miles I do (daily driver to work 5mins down the road & the odd sunday hoon) its pretty economical for what your getting, cheap service every other year.

Only down point in that time is the £700 on a belt/roller/waterpump & cam chain pre-tensioner pad change earlier this year. Pretty hairy stuff for a DIY mechanic but took my time and shes running better than ever.

One thing I will say coming from old minis and the like previous, every nut or bolt I go to take of comes straight off, no cursing, rounding, drilling, more swearing and so on. Real pleasure to tinker at.

Cills, belts & rollers and cam tensioner pads (only 944s & s2) would be my concerns when buying again. At the miles most of them are at all torque tubes are noisey and the clutch is a b#+ch to fit either way but the seem to run for a lifetime on near-dead clutches.

[poprock]

s m said:

60 mph? or km/h?

I thought they did about 40mph at 6500rpm? What are you revving to?

MPH. I don’t recommend it at all, but for a wee drag race along the straight at Bruntingthorpe, it had to be tried just once … I hit 60 (indicated, not GPS checked) before reaching the redline, so I was quite comfortable doing it. The 996 next to me didn’t have a chance.

My car wasn’t exactly standard, but not heavily modded either. 280bhp at most.

[MrFrodo]

BigBen said:

MrFrodo said:

BigBen said:

Don't be put off by the seemingly slow 0-60 times, they are deceptively quick cars.

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.

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

Yep. I part ex'd my 205 GTI 1.9 for a 924S a few years back. The Peuegot was definitely the quicker off the line, but once you were in third gear the 924S would have been eaten it for breakfast.

I even notice it with the 2-litre 924 I have now. Okay, you'd never accuse that of being fast, but it's dual carriageway pace is a lot healthier than you'd expect from its low speed acceleration.

Looking at the 924/44/68 shape I'd expect the drag to be usefully lower than a hot hatch. I think they were geared for the autobahn to a certain extent too.

tr7v8 said:

£5750 is strong money for a Lux

That's putting it mildly. I'd be a little suspicious of some of these very cheap S2s going around, but once you're much over £4k I'd say a 16 valve car of one description or another is realistic, maybe even a Turbo.

Edited by MrFrodo on Wednesday 10th October 12:09

[skinny]

i looked at a few 944's as my second car - but couldn't find a decent one below £4k without having to travel a long way, and the annuals bills seemed pretty high too. and there's quite a lot out there for £5k.

decided if i couldn't afford to do it properly then i wouldn't do it at all.

ended up with a prelude vti for £2k, and happy so far! one day tho...

[Dalto123]

Reading this I do miss the old 944. Absolutely loved the car - meant the world to me, was quite tragic really it was written off

Like J4CKO my Dads was a 944 S2 Cab too. I cant really compare it to a Coupe or Turbo, but it was a fantastic car, and drove very well for a 22 year old car with 151,000 miles. Thankfully I managed to get to properly drive the car before the crash, on a Goodwood trackday - It didnt fail to impress

I'll post some just for the sake of it




And one from Goodwood - accelerating onto the pit straight:

[Twincam16]

Shewie said:

fivetenben said:

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...

Wow! Just wow!!!

You sir, are one crazy fool... But what a trip.

+1.

You, sir, are the end of a leg.

[will1981]

I've had my 944 S2 for 2 months and although it's a track car I use it on the road too, I can't help myself but make excuses up to go for a blast...
Filling up with petrol the other day a guy wandered over and asked if his son could have a picture in the car, made his and my day!

[J4CKO]

Dalto123 said:

Reading this I do miss the old 944. Absolutely loved the car - meant the world to me, was quite tragic really it was written off

Like J4CKO my Dads was a 944 S2 Cab too. I cant really compare it to a Coupe or Turbo, but it was a fantastic car, and drove very well for a 22 year old car with 151,000 miles. Thankfully I managed to get to properly drive the car before the crash, on a Goodwood trackday - It didnt fail to impress

I'll post some just for the sake of it




And one from Goodwood - accelerating onto the pit straight:

I read about yours getting written off, very sad.

I mean, just look at those photos, dont think you can get much more for four or five grand in terms of a distinctive car, they do seem to get a good reaction, kind of in your face a little perhaps but people know they arent massively expensive so you dont get the resentment, I perhaps get a little but the one time was a bloke in a Bentley Conti GTC giving me a dirty look as nobody was noticing his 140 grand car, too busy looking at my four grand one, have had the wife of a serial supercar owner getting all misty eyed as her husband had one back in 1990 and it was her favourite of all his cars, she loved it despite him having pretty much every exotic since, women eh, imagine that, getting a Lambo or Ferrari and being told she prefers the crusty old 944.

[M@1975]

Funny old world, I have been having the nightmare of finding a good 996 which seems impossible at the lower end of the market (my budget is around £15k) and I can't seem to enthuse about a boxster. Consequently I've been looking hard at the 968 and 944 market & finding incredibly well sorted cars for not silly money, cars with complete rebuilds are going for very good money, full engine rebuilds, bare metal restorations etc.. Seems like I can spend less & in some cases get more (depending on your POV) personally I really like the idea of owning something a bit older that falls into the classic bracket. Should be testing a 968 this weekend, will be interesting to see how it compares with the 944.