944 S2 money pit
Discussion
Cool car! I looked at one of these about 10 years ago but ended up with a 986 Boxster instead for similar money (£5k). I got scared off by the rust stories having spent the past 18 months scrabbling around under a Mk2 Golf GTI welding it up, I fancied something a bit less crumbly!
Looking forward to seeing the progress.
Looking forward to seeing the progress.
Been there, got the grubby t shirt.
Mine had loads spent by previous owners but was still needy, I wish you luck and I hope your MIG skills are good.
Quite a nice car when working, but the scuttle shake does detract a bit.
I would check the engine is ok first, they tend to wear their cam sprockets down, thats an expensive job, thinkits cast into the cam, mine had seen a three grand top end rebuild at Hartech, new hood, respray, clutch, brakes, suspension etc.
Still rusted, had a running issue, gear linkage needed doing, clock didnt work, door filled with water, seats needed refurb (came out really well)
If you have any questions, post them and I may have some suggestions.
Mine had loads spent by previous owners but was still needy, I wish you luck and I hope your MIG skills are good.
Quite a nice car when working, but the scuttle shake does detract a bit.
I would check the engine is ok first, they tend to wear their cam sprockets down, thats an expensive job, thinkits cast into the cam, mine had seen a three grand top end rebuild at Hartech, new hood, respray, clutch, brakes, suspension etc.
Still rusted, had a running issue, gear linkage needed doing, clock didnt work, door filled with water, seats needed refurb (came out really well)
If you have any questions, post them and I may have some suggestions.
paulguitar said:
J4CKO said:
Been there, got the grubby t shirt.
Quite a nice car when working, but the scuttle shake does detract a bit.
I think the OP's is a coupe.Quite a nice car when working, but the scuttle shake does detract a bit.
J4CKO said:
paulguitar said:
J4CKO said:
Been there, got the grubby t shirt.
Quite a nice car when working, but the scuttle shake does detract a bit.
I think the OP's is a coupe.Quite a nice car when working, but the scuttle shake does detract a bit.
Ran one as a daily drive from ‘99 to 2003.
Quite possibly the best car I’ve owned, except maybe the 928 GT that I had before it.
In 3.5 years & 60k miles it had routine servicing. Nothing went wrong, nothing broke, nothing rusted, and every journey was thoroughly enjoyable.
What’s not to like??
Quite possibly the best car I’ve owned, except maybe the 928 GT that I had before it.
In 3.5 years & 60k miles it had routine servicing. Nothing went wrong, nothing broke, nothing rusted, and every journey was thoroughly enjoyable.
What’s not to like??
Magnum 475 said:
What’s not to like??
Quite a lot, at this price point!The good news is I'm no stranger to 944s and the all-important sills and torsion bar mounts appear to be made of actual metal. It's been laid up undercover for the best part of 15 years, and before that has had no end of money spent on it. Interior is absolutely banging and a world away from my old 70s-tastic square dash model. It's got Cup wheels, Cup mirrors and a rather unpleasant saggy bridge spoiler, which I assume is aftermarket as it seems quite poor quality (and is falling off).
Belts are ancient but it looks to have done <1000 miles since they were last changed - so the next job is to take off the front cover and have a butchers at the cambelt.
Providing it looks okay, am I brave enough to spin it over?
Edited by captain_cal on Thursday 31st August 20:29
The bridge spolier was on the very late ones, so yours might be factory spec.
Turn the engine over with plugs out, then if its ok, take fuel relay out, fresh battery in fresh fuell in, turn kvdr to build up oil pressure and listen for noise. If none, relay back in, fresh fudl,and go for it. Have a spare relay to hand as well (always had a spare in the glovebox just in case)
If it starts, then change the cambelt, chain and tensioner
I had an S and a Turbo SE. The S was a good car, the Turbo a great car. Would have another... and it would be an S2
Turn the engine over with plugs out, then if its ok, take fuel relay out, fresh battery in fresh fuell in, turn kvdr to build up oil pressure and listen for noise. If none, relay back in, fresh fudl,and go for it. Have a spare relay to hand as well (always had a spare in the glovebox just in case)
If it starts, then change the cambelt, chain and tensioner
I had an S and a Turbo SE. The S was a good car, the Turbo a great car. Would have another... and it would be an S2
It ain't much, but it's something..
Spent an unpleasant, sweaty hour this afternoon crawling around in the dark trying to undo the electric boot lock from inside. Why the hell they changed these from a mechanical lock to a microswitch is beyond me. Anyone know if the old system is a straight swap?
Anyway, a (wrong size) battery yielded several dash lights and functional pop-ups, so we have signs of life. Signs of no life include the indicators, hazards and most annoyingly, electric seats. At 6'5" these cars are cosy at the best of times, but with the electric seats jacked up it becomes no mean feat to even get in, let alone sit comfortably. Assume I can just take them out and wind them down manually, or even junk the electric parts full stop? I'm unlikely to need the adjustment!
Could swap them for early model manual seats but I'm really impressed with the robustness of these late model ones - my old ones had a habit of microscopically reclining the backrest while you weren't paying attention, until you realised you were driving horizontally.
Spent an unpleasant, sweaty hour this afternoon crawling around in the dark trying to undo the electric boot lock from inside. Why the hell they changed these from a mechanical lock to a microswitch is beyond me. Anyone know if the old system is a straight swap?
Anyway, a (wrong size) battery yielded several dash lights and functional pop-ups, so we have signs of life. Signs of no life include the indicators, hazards and most annoyingly, electric seats. At 6'5" these cars are cosy at the best of times, but with the electric seats jacked up it becomes no mean feat to even get in, let alone sit comfortably. Assume I can just take them out and wind them down manually, or even junk the electric parts full stop? I'm unlikely to need the adjustment!
Could swap them for early model manual seats but I'm really impressed with the robustness of these late model ones - my old ones had a habit of microscopically reclining the backrest while you weren't paying attention, until you realised you were driving horizontally.
Edited by captain_cal on Sunday 10th September 23:06
Attacked this again today, first job was to remove the badge panel to access the airbox.
What I expected:
What I found:
Very upmarket! At least it's stainless. Will need to fabricate a bracket as this is just hanging there with no support and I can foresee it vibrating like
.
In other news, peered inside the front cover to see a cambelt which looked like new, so decided to try and turn her over. This was a moderate disaster as even with a jump pack attached we couldn't get it to do anything more than lurch over sporadically. Suspect battery / earth / starter - most likely combination of all three. Still can't find a consensus on a suitable battery - most sites recommend an 096 but the one I have lying around is way too tall!
What I expected:
What I found:
Very upmarket! At least it's stainless. Will need to fabricate a bracket as this is just hanging there with no support and I can foresee it vibrating like
.In other news, peered inside the front cover to see a cambelt which looked like new, so decided to try and turn her over. This was a moderate disaster as even with a jump pack attached we couldn't get it to do anything more than lurch over sporadically. Suspect battery / earth / starter - most likely combination of all three. Still can't find a consensus on a suitable battery - most sites recommend an 096 but the one I have lying around is way too tall!
I had one of these (although a 2.5 Lux) and I’m pretty certain I could have run a 911 for less money over the few years I had it.
Fantastic cars though when they’re in good fettle. Still miss it. Sometimes.
Re the air filter - I’d try and find an original housing instead of fabricating a bracket for the one that’s fitted - can’t imagine the filter modification brings much to the party.
Good luck and I’ll follow with interest.
Fantastic cars though when they’re in good fettle. Still miss it. Sometimes.
Re the air filter - I’d try and find an original housing instead of fabricating a bracket for the one that’s fitted - can’t imagine the filter modification brings much to the party.
Good luck and I’ll follow with interest.
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