1985 Porsche 944

[Therumbandit]

Recently i purchased a 911 off eBay at a reasonable price the thread can be found here, the car was won and purchased having never viewed or driven another one!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

However i have now topped myself, during isolation i saw this appear on eBay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/porsche-944-/3530039355...

ive always liked the 944 so when it ended i asked the seller how much they were after, they told me a week or so passed and i asked if they still had it! which they did... i got these extra pictures and a price for delivery as they are a dealer and were 180 miles away not the 30 miles away i thought!






So after chatting to my neighbor and them agreeing to let me keep it in their garage i decided to pay the seller to deliver it sight unseen! bit of a gamble i know! it needs welding and paint work but worst case scenario it breaks for more than i paid for it!

[sc0tt]

Brave lad

[Therumbandit]

sc0tt said:

Brave lad

Stupid you mean

[finlo]

So much for galvanizing!

[NDNDNDND]

I nearly bought one of these back in 2007/2008. I tried to buy one of the early-dash cars as I thought they drove better than the 85.5 models. The later cars felt more like GT cars, whereas the early ones feel smaller and lighter and more like sports cars.

They are a bit interesting ergonomically though, have you sat in one before? The later cars are better, but the early ones required even me (at 5' 6"!) to splay my knees either side of the steering wheel!

I bought an MX-5 in the end, but I still look fondly whenever a 944 goes past.

Be prepared for a couple of grand of welding on those cills...

[Therumbandit]

if i say ive never sat in one is that bad! always liked the look of them and was tempted to get one about 10 years ago... i took a gamble and we will see

[Bashiar0]

Ouch at some of the pics! Hopefully its not going to cost an arm and leg to get it up to scratch!

I had a white 1983 924 - sold it a couple of years ago, brilliant cars! Miss mine still!

[Therumbandit]

Bashiar0 said:

Ouch at some of the pics! Hopefully its not going to cost an arm and leg to get it up to scratch!

I had a white 1983 924 - sold it a couple of years ago, brilliant cars! Miss mine still!

Its a long term project, will be done a bit at a time!

[J4CKO]

Do you have a Mig Welder ?


Mine didnt look too bad,

But

[ChevronB19]

I had an absolutely mint 924s (same engine). Loved it, it felt like it was built from granite.

[Gallons Per Mile]

That's going to be a nightmare once you start delving in to the rust. If the outer sill is that bad the inner will probably be non-existant. I hope you like welding!! These things are notorious for rot unfortunately Have a very thorough look around underneath and enjoy the project, they're really good to drive once you get it sorted though

[skylarking808]

I also think the early cars offer a slightly different more raw drive. They were also slightly lighter and quicker?

A smaller Momo steering wheel really helps. I still have a steering boss which fits these cars in case I ever got another.
Good luck, if the repairs get done you will have one of the best chasis in the business and a grunty sounding engine.

[Therumbandit]

Small update... managed to tidy next doors garage so i can hopefully squeeze the 944 in when it gets delivered!




Also been re reading this book that i bought probably 10 years ago when i first wanted to get a 944

[neutral 3]

We have one of the first 944s sold here, it’s an 82 model, Y reg, 1st registered August 1st 1982.
Non sunroof and the ultra scarce full ( red ) leather option.

[neutral 3]

[stinkyspanner]

I bought a cheap 944 2.7 a few years ago, I decided on the drive home I wasn't going to keep it.. it was dire-it looked ok although I didn't dare delve into the bodywork. It was basically worn out, everything was soggy, steering, brakes, gear change, it was dog slow, full of broken trim and was absolutely no fun whatsoever. Sold on before the mot ran out
I've just bought a Capri 2.8i for considerably more money and it's basically got all the same features as the 944, maybe classic cars aren't for me

[neutral 3]

The 2.8i is a crude thing, it was well past it’s sell by date when it was introduced in 81.
I’ve had many Capris. The only ones I’ve kept are a MK1 3 Litre and a 74 facelift 2800GT.
Think you were unlucky re your 944.

[stinkyspanner]

neutral 3 said:

The 2.8i is a crude thing, it was well past it’s sell by date when it was introduced in 81.
I’ve had many Capris. The only ones I’ve kept are a MK1 3 Litre and a 74 facelift 2800GT.
Think you were unlucky re your 944.

Yeah it really is, I've started going through some of the niggles a lot of which are electrical. It's so basic it's unbelievable, great for fault finding but it must have been old fashioned even when it was new..
Anyway I don't want to derail the thread, good luck OP!

[rufusgti]

Interesting choice.

I have a very old 944 that needed various work to get up to scratch. I enjoy it now but would like to get into a 911 like yours at some point.
I don't think I'd want two leggy old Porsches unless I had lots of time. They are not too bad to run on a budget so long as you can do as much as possible yourself. As soon as you start paying labour rates to keep these things going, the costs quickly add up. I'm speaking of the 944, no idea on the 911 but I'd imagine it's the same, Labour being very expensive these days.

[Therumbandit]

Ok so today whilst i was working the car was delivered! its pretty much as i expected not really had a good look at it! luckily it fits in the garage, the first things on the list of jobs to do are swap front passenger wheel for spare as its not holding air! the battery is also on charge but i think its dead! and finally free off the break calipers as they seem to be seized on! after that jack it up and asses how bad that rust is!