RE: Porsche 944 Turbo: PH Heroes
Discussion
I have an important story about rust. Back in 2009 I was stripping my S2 to make it into a race car. It had 2 rust patches, 1 on each side down in front of the rear arches towards the end of the sill into the arch area. I feared the worst and came close to selling the car to a Porsche addict friend who was also put off by the rust. Lo and behold the stripped down body shell went up to Surface Processing Ltd and through their dip process to take it back to bare metal. When the shell came out of the dip it was perfect except for those two patches.
The front wings were also rotten but we took those off early in the stirp down, they were much worse than they looked, the bottoms literally fell off once off the car and the top corners are also a moisture trap that causes corrosion but you can't see this with the wing on. Didn't matter to me as for a race car the wings, bumper, badge panel and bumpers are all fibreglass.
In summary a series 2 944 body shell will likely be much less worse than it looks (or totally shot, some are like that if the floor or front bulkhead is rusty the car is scrap), corrosion on the sills happens to all the later cars eventually and is nothing like as bad a thing in terms of cost etc. as many think, the front wings will likely be shot if they have any signs of corrosion.
The front wings were also rotten but we took those off early in the stirp down, they were much worse than they looked, the bottoms literally fell off once off the car and the top corners are also a moisture trap that causes corrosion but you can't see this with the wing on. Didn't matter to me as for a race car the wings, bumper, badge panel and bumpers are all fibreglass.
In summary a series 2 944 body shell will likely be much less worse than it looks (or totally shot, some are like that if the floor or front bulkhead is rusty the car is scrap), corrosion on the sills happens to all the later cars eventually and is nothing like as bad a thing in terms of cost etc. as many think, the front wings will likely be shot if they have any signs of corrosion.
Another happy 944 Turbo owner here -
'87 Porsche 944 Turbo by Hallsy01, on Flickr
My second 944, previously owning a mint 944S. I bought my 951 when I could see that the prices were starting to firm up, I was happy with my S but knew that deep down I'd still hanker for a Turbo, so decided to buy one before I was priced out of the market.
Like some of the other owners on this thread have said, I don't usually keep my fun cars for very long, too many cars I'd love to own and not enough time - but I have had this 944 for almost two years now. I still think about trying something else, but I know I'd probably regret letting the 944 go.
My one is getting a little tatty cosmetically now, but hopefully I will resurrect that this year. In two years it has cost me very little in maintenance (possibly offset by the previous owner spending £10k the year before I bought it). It has only let me down once when the DME relay failed, but a paperclip soon got me started & home again.
It's easy to forget it's 29 years old, the Turbo/S2 front end was way ahead of it's time imo. With both of my 944's you could jump in and be confident they would start & run without fuss, no matter the weather, or if they had been standing for a while. No spluttering into life or risk of stalling until warm, unlike some classics out there.
I do think some of the prices out there are crazy now, but it's not just 944's that are going this way. Many enthusiast cars from the 80's & 90's seem to be experiencing sharp price rises. It is a bit of a shame really, as many genuine enthusiasts are getting priced out of the market.
I still getting an itch for something like a B5 RS4 - but for now, the 944T is staying on my driveway
'87 Porsche 944 Turbo by Hallsy01, on FlickrMy second 944, previously owning a mint 944S. I bought my 951 when I could see that the prices were starting to firm up, I was happy with my S but knew that deep down I'd still hanker for a Turbo, so decided to buy one before I was priced out of the market.
Like some of the other owners on this thread have said, I don't usually keep my fun cars for very long, too many cars I'd love to own and not enough time - but I have had this 944 for almost two years now. I still think about trying something else, but I know I'd probably regret letting the 944 go.
My one is getting a little tatty cosmetically now, but hopefully I will resurrect that this year. In two years it has cost me very little in maintenance (possibly offset by the previous owner spending £10k the year before I bought it). It has only let me down once when the DME relay failed, but a paperclip soon got me started & home again.
It's easy to forget it's 29 years old, the Turbo/S2 front end was way ahead of it's time imo. With both of my 944's you could jump in and be confident they would start & run without fuss, no matter the weather, or if they had been standing for a while. No spluttering into life or risk of stalling until warm, unlike some classics out there.
I do think some of the prices out there are crazy now, but it's not just 944's that are going this way. Many enthusiast cars from the 80's & 90's seem to be experiencing sharp price rises. It is a bit of a shame really, as many genuine enthusiasts are getting priced out of the market.
I still getting an itch for something like a B5 RS4 - but for now, the 944T is staying on my driveway
The Porsche 944 is the most under rated car of all time. Period.
The turbo can be modded and sodded to 300bhp easy. That's more fun.
I admit i am biased. I own a Porsche 944, in Guards red and it's mint. Parking it next to my bmw e46 m3 which is probably one of the best cars ever made, it makes that look s
t.
The 944 looks stunning. Porsche spent years and years improving the 924 they purchased from VW,
They handle great, go really well and sell for 5k. The turbo from 10k. S2 from 6.5k. What a joke. A complete bargain.
When i think of all those rubbish fords from the 70's that now sell for 20k with an rs badge on the back i can only laugh myself silly and think thank god the classic car experts have not set there sights on the 944.
The 911 from the same era is not a very good car. The 996 is really bad.
In truth i know not many people have driven a 944, because if they had they would be buying them all up.
wow, what have i done. Should of kept quiet about one of the best classic cars money can buy.
The turbo can be modded and sodded to 300bhp easy. That's more fun.
I admit i am biased. I own a Porsche 944, in Guards red and it's mint. Parking it next to my bmw e46 m3 which is probably one of the best cars ever made, it makes that look s
t.The 944 looks stunning. Porsche spent years and years improving the 924 they purchased from VW,
They handle great, go really well and sell for 5k. The turbo from 10k. S2 from 6.5k. What a joke. A complete bargain.
When i think of all those rubbish fords from the 70's that now sell for 20k with an rs badge on the back i can only laugh myself silly and think thank god the classic car experts have not set there sights on the 944.
The 911 from the same era is not a very good car. The 996 is really bad.
In truth i know not many people have driven a 944, because if they had they would be buying them all up.
wow, what have i done. Should of kept quiet about one of the best classic cars money can buy.
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