The Stuttgart Snotter - 944
Discussion
As my normal car detonated last week I thought I'd better get back into snotter territory so picked myself up this very early (1982) Porsche 944 Lux manual.
It wasn't quite as good as the advert made out.
1) Told the headgasket done - head not been off since it was built.
2) Passenger window not working, just a switch - piece of paper buried in the file saying it had been diagnosed by a Porsche specialist as a knackered window motor and the owner refused replacement part based on cost.
3) Advertised as solid apart from a tiny bubble on door - turns out that it is rustier than the prow of the Titanic. Today.
Still, it looked a little forlorn so I bought it anyway.
Car being driven to new home by friend:
When it arrived home after a pretty low stress run it overheated and shot the entire contents of its coolant out onto the underside of the bonnet, disintegrating the bonnet insulation and covering the entire engine bay in crap. I was not particularly thrilled about that. Turned out the fan wasn't kicking in so as soon as it was switched off it just boiled itself. After a lot of head scratching, shouting, crying and cigarette smoking it was isolated to a faulty radiator fan switch. Out came the air box, mass airflow sensor and misc other bits to get access. New one in, radiator fine. Total cost £7 plus the harrowing 3 hours in a car to Eurocarparts in Bradford.
Time for a wash. I'm far too important for that so I put a kitchen knife to my daughter's Barbie and she knew what she had to do.
Just been out for a cheeky 50 mile blast and all is ok-ish. Wheels need balancing and I reckon pretty much every bush is shot so time to invest a few bob in a full polybush set. No real urgency for that though just yet, time to enjoy some nice, easy snotting.
It wasn't quite as good as the advert made out.
1) Told the headgasket done - head not been off since it was built.
2) Passenger window not working, just a switch - piece of paper buried in the file saying it had been diagnosed by a Porsche specialist as a knackered window motor and the owner refused replacement part based on cost.
3) Advertised as solid apart from a tiny bubble on door - turns out that it is rustier than the prow of the Titanic. Today.
Still, it looked a little forlorn so I bought it anyway.
Car being driven to new home by friend:
When it arrived home after a pretty low stress run it overheated and shot the entire contents of its coolant out onto the underside of the bonnet, disintegrating the bonnet insulation and covering the entire engine bay in crap. I was not particularly thrilled about that. Turned out the fan wasn't kicking in so as soon as it was switched off it just boiled itself. After a lot of head scratching, shouting, crying and cigarette smoking it was isolated to a faulty radiator fan switch. Out came the air box, mass airflow sensor and misc other bits to get access. New one in, radiator fine. Total cost £7 plus the harrowing 3 hours in a car to Eurocarparts in Bradford.
Time for a wash. I'm far too important for that so I put a kitchen knife to my daughter's Barbie and she knew what she had to do.
Just been out for a cheeky 50 mile blast and all is ok-ish. Wheels need balancing and I reckon pretty much every bush is shot so time to invest a few bob in a full polybush set. No real urgency for that though just yet, time to enjoy some nice, easy snotting.
. Even in the best of times my dads 944 S2 cab which was in v good condition was quite expensive to run lol. Good luck though and keep us posted on progress 
I picked up one of a similar vintage a few weeks ago. Get yourself onto TIPEC if you haven't already, there is a lot of info on there. My passenger window didn't work either, try taking the switches apart and cleaning the contacts inside them, worked for me although it is still a bit slow.
Nice writeup. 
I'm surprised by the rust - a mate of mine bought a 944 for £500 which had a foot square portion of bare metal where someone was repainting a section of the car for some reason. He just left it for the best part of 18 months and while it got a bit of surface rust it didn't turn into a hideous flaky mess like I thought it would.
I'm surprised by the rust - a mate of mine bought a 944 for £500 which had a foot square portion of bare metal where someone was repainting a section of the car for some reason. He just left it for the best part of 18 months and while it got a bit of surface rust it didn't turn into a hideous flaky mess like I thought it would.
The upper bodywork is actually pretty strong on most 944s, the problems are with the sills and mounts in the engine bay, plus battery tray and scuttle. Mine is what I would award 55/100. That said it has been bought to snot so I'm not going to be addressing any of the bodywork unless for safety/MOT reasons.
I've also decided to enter it in the HERO Throckmorton Challenge which I'm already ebtered for in another car. Should be interesting to see how the little brute does against a similar aged 911SC, older 911S, misc Lotuses etc. My navigator is concerned that the (non power) steering will be too heavy. I'm sort of 50/50 on the subject but have had a low speed twisty play in it this morning up in the Dales and I think my arms can handle it. At 20mph+ the handling is an utter joy, even though it needs a lot of bushes doing.
I've also decided to enter it in the HERO Throckmorton Challenge which I'm already ebtered for in another car. Should be interesting to see how the little brute does against a similar aged 911SC, older 911S, misc Lotuses etc. My navigator is concerned that the (non power) steering will be too heavy. I'm sort of 50/50 on the subject but have had a low speed twisty play in it this morning up in the Dales and I think my arms can handle it. At 20mph+ the handling is an utter joy, even though it needs a lot of bushes doing.
Just a quick update for anyone interested...
After a good month of driving fun and commuting in the little snotter I took it along to my local super duper mechanic for a health check.
Overall the car was in ok shape considering it is fast approaching its 31st birthday. There were, of course, quite a few little niggles that needed attention. I got the list of parts required and did two things. Firstly I was my normal lazy self and just wen to the biggest 944 parts supplier and did a hypothetical order online. £912 inc VAT. Then I did something I've never done before - I actually really shopped for what I needed. The result, 2 days later, was everything I needed inc VAT and delivery for £422.
Then the expensive bit started - she had 60 hours of work. Even though Mr Super Duper Mechanic did me the deal of the century it was still quite a chunk of change. She had:
New front shocks
New front top mounts (v expensive, much more than I'd anticipated)
Rebuilt calipers all round
New pads
High temp racing brake fluid
All brake lines changed for cunifer from copper
Rear wheel bearings
Oil cooler seals changed
Full oil, coolant and fluid change
Driveshaft seals
Transmission oil change
Fuel lines replaced and filter changed
Throttle position sensor replaced
That said the car now runs and drives like a new car. I absolutely love it and drive her in rain, wind, whatever North Yorkshire decides to throw at me.
I also decided a bit of competition would do her good so I entered her into the HERO Throckmorton Challenge last week. The car stood up to an absolute beasting with aplomb. I've never driven a car as hard in my entire life. She handled it with ease and then monstered the 200 miles home in the pouring rain on the motorway.
A few pics:
I've now got a bit of post rally fettling to do. The passenger door card fell off, stereo surround broke off, front valance got a beating and needs refitting, exhaust silencer needs refitting, driver seatbelt mechanism broken, passenger window motor went bang. Should keep me busy this weekend. Also got to take all the stickers off and return her to a useable daily look.
God I love this little car.
After a good month of driving fun and commuting in the little snotter I took it along to my local super duper mechanic for a health check.
Overall the car was in ok shape considering it is fast approaching its 31st birthday. There were, of course, quite a few little niggles that needed attention. I got the list of parts required and did two things. Firstly I was my normal lazy self and just wen to the biggest 944 parts supplier and did a hypothetical order online. £912 inc VAT. Then I did something I've never done before - I actually really shopped for what I needed. The result, 2 days later, was everything I needed inc VAT and delivery for £422.
Then the expensive bit started - she had 60 hours of work. Even though Mr Super Duper Mechanic did me the deal of the century it was still quite a chunk of change. She had:
New front shocks
New front top mounts (v expensive, much more than I'd anticipated)
Rebuilt calipers all round
New pads
High temp racing brake fluid
All brake lines changed for cunifer from copper
Rear wheel bearings
Oil cooler seals changed
Full oil, coolant and fluid change
Driveshaft seals
Transmission oil change
Fuel lines replaced and filter changed
Throttle position sensor replaced
That said the car now runs and drives like a new car. I absolutely love it and drive her in rain, wind, whatever North Yorkshire decides to throw at me.
I also decided a bit of competition would do her good so I entered her into the HERO Throckmorton Challenge last week. The car stood up to an absolute beasting with aplomb. I've never driven a car as hard in my entire life. She handled it with ease and then monstered the 200 miles home in the pouring rain on the motorway.
A few pics:
I've now got a bit of post rally fettling to do. The passenger door card fell off, stereo surround broke off, front valance got a beating and needs refitting, exhaust silencer needs refitting, driver seatbelt mechanism broken, passenger window motor went bang. Should keep me busy this weekend. Also got to take all the stickers off and return her to a useable daily look.
God I love this little car.
I've also just bought a 944, given the price I was assuming it needed a few things doing, my plan is to tackle some of the more pressing ones over the winter and then see how I go.
I've bought myself a manual and a few of the smaller more obvious bits. She's going into a local specialist for belts, waterpump and front engine oil seals next week.
I've bought myself a manual and a few of the smaller more obvious bits. She's going into a local specialist for belts, waterpump and front engine oil seals next week.
AllyBee said:
I've also just bought a 944, given the price I was assuming it needed a few things doing, my plan is to tackle some of the more pressing ones over the winter and then see how I go.
I've bought myself a manual and a few of the smaller more obvious bits. She's going into a local specialist for belts, waterpump and front engine oil seals next week.
On the whole they're lovely cars to work on. Only a few jobs (like changing the oil cooler seals) are a nightmare.I've bought myself a manual and a few of the smaller more obvious bits. She's going into a local specialist for belts, waterpump and front engine oil seals next week.
Make sure you run it as often as possible, mine seems to like a good 100 miles a week to keep everything nice and tight.
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