SOTW: Porsche 944
Shed-money Porsche appeals, 'proper' engine position or not
Some may say 'it's not a real Porsche', whatever that means, but more than 163,000 folk were happy enough to buy the first-gen eight-valvers between 1982 and 1989. Shed is no stats geek but he feels in his water that this makes it the biggest selling Porsche ever. And you can see why. This shapely 2+2 coupe still looks sharp today. It's well-built, comfortable and surprisingly practical, with plenty of room not just in the cabin but also under that big rear hatch.
Attractive finish to the intake manifold...
Brake and suspension improvements over the weedy 924 created a chassis that was once again well ahead of the engine, with the Grail combo of near 50/50 weight distribution and rear-wheel drive. No ABS on this '85 specimen - that didn't come until 1987 - but you can count on the car's exceptional handling to keep you out of trouble. It was one of Car & Driver's top 10 cars for three years running in the mid-'80s.
Underneath the tat, this attractively painted Shed with more than six months' MOT has some allure at £950. Power? Depends. Some say 143hp, others 150hp, still others 161hp. Whatever it is, that peak output is delivered at a lofty-sounding 5,500rpm, but the good news is you don't need to wring this motor's neck to pack away big trips at a surprising rate. Expect a 0-60 in the high sevens and a top speed in the mid-130s, along with economy that was considered excellent at the time and is still more than acceptable today. 30mpg is easy, 25mpg normal in everyday use.
Bodykit may dissuade but it's not too offensive
One thing is for sure: solid early 944s are getting hard to find. Sills, lower front wings and where the body meets the rear beam axle are all hot spots for rust. Beyond this car's various skirts and Delboy add-ons the bodywork looks clean, with 'shiny' paint, always a nice touch. The vendor specifically mentions an absence of the brown stuff, so if you're hoping for a Shed keeper (excuse the oxymoron) and are happy to replace bits as they fail, this one could be a better risk than many,
It's a 28-year-old car, so some parts will simply be worn out, or on the way out. Proper maintenance paperwork is highly desirable with any Porsche, but none is mentioned here. That's a gamble the Shedman takes with a devil-may-care guffaw, but it would certainly be useful to know from the owner whether the belts and water pump have been renewed recently.
'Shiny paint' and no rust says the advert
Watch out for front engine oil seals and leaky steering racks. Flaky oil cooler seals will allow oil to contaminate the coolant. Electric window switches, fan sensors, fans, CV joints, fuel pumps, starter motors, engine and seat mountings and factory alarms can all play up. If it's got non-functioning AC, get used to it. Check the carpets too: if they're damp, there'll most likely be rust holes in the battery tray. You could always dry the rugs out with the heat from the bonfire you'll be throwing those stick-on bits onto, though.
Again because of the age, the sunroof could be an issue. Rear hatches leak too, and they're a potential swine to fix: sometimes a replacement hatch is the easiest solution. Shed reckons that 924 hatches will fit, but he doesn't say what size hammer is required for that job.
Shed rather likes the absence of a doorhandle on the driver's side as he believes it might confound the bone-idle opportunist tealeaf. That bonnet badge means that OE parts are expensive, but one advantage of a VW-ish heritage is that you won't always need Porsche-labelled stuff. Owner forums will give you the inside story there. The pop-up headlamps appear to work, and as the owner also mentions, insurance needn't be a problem either. That's one of the benefits of age, as Shed is always telling his missus.
Porsche 944 2.5 manual. Mot till August 2013. Tax till end of January.
Nice and clean example of classic car. Rust free, good condition bodywork and still shiny. Tinted rear window. Always kept in the garage and cared well.
All tyres in very good condition. Cheap insurance if bought in classic car insurance company. Driver side doorhandle is missing.
When I was 15 we drove down to South Spanish coast in it. One of the most memorable parts was driving through the mountains and hardly having to slow down for the corners due to how well they handle and grip. It never once let us down, even in temperatures close to 40c and stuck in city traffic she never once overheated. The temperature needle would sometimes start creeping up but as soon as the fan kicked in, it went back down again.
Incidentally all clutches are turbo sprung style these days, the rubber one isn't available as a replacement item.
Doesn't say anything about belts being changed etc. Difficult to know whether to run it as a shed & not care about the belts or spend on it. If needs a clutch & the belts doing you could easily double the purchase price, even doing it yourself.
Nuts.
"Expect a 0-60 in the high sevens and a top speed in the mid-130s"
Early Lux's are getting more collectible and dont rust as badly as later models but can still be pretty rusty, my own cab needs some attention this summer and that is six years newer.
As for being a money pit, these early cars are quite cheap to keep on top of mechanically, and engine is £200 or so and a gearbox abotu the same, lots of bits from Euro Car Parts or similar, some bits are shared with VW/Audi. like the front wishbones are I beleive Golf items on the eary cars. The S/S2/Turbo and 968 are a different ball game, the 16 valve engines arent as robust, hence are scarce and expensives (Nearer 2 grand) and Turbos can produce a world of pain if you buy the wrong one, the 8 valve 2.5 is simple and robust, oil change and a cam belt and will go for ever.
If the interior is a ruin that can be a nightmare, nobody wants to drive round in a dungheap, trim is available off Ebay but most of it will be moth eaten as well.
Would bw wary of what those sill extensions are hiding and even then 944 sills can look fine on the outside but look like the hull of the titantic on the inside.
Maybe its Pistonheads Deja vu?
Great fun for a short period of time for a grand. But then again German engineering and a mass of spares availability mean it could be easily made to last another 10+ years.
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