Porsche 944 S2 convertible
Discussion
Ah ha... long time lurker on Pistonheads, thought I should actually get involved and post up about my 944.
I purchased this as a treat to myself in 2003. Having smashed up my back quite badly I couldn't windsurf or wakeboard or scuba dive or mountain bike so for once I didn't need a decent size car that could take a roof rack. Having seen pictures of my dad's run of MGs and Spitfires I was desperate to have a convertible while I could....
A mate gave me a copy of a classic car magazine that had a group review of ten classics under £10k, and that ignited the interest. I'd had a 924 previously (bought for £800 at a furniture auction), and that had given me a taste for how they drove. Having previously had a 2.8 Capri, an Alfa 75 and a few Dolimites I was keen as mustard to get away from the succession of boring rusted hatchbacks (and even a Rover 820!) that I used to cart around large quantities of foul-smelling salty or muddy sports gear.
So I went out and drove few, including a 944 Turbo convertible... so I'm going to come straight out and say that I infinitely preferred the power delivery of the S2, but man I wish I'd bought the Turbo because it'd be worth ££££££££ now!
In the end I found my car in Whitstable. Right colour, mileage about 97k, looked in solid condition (oooooh there's more on that later). It was owned by a guy who'd bought it from Team Traction in Kent a year before, and honestly was moving it on before he had to service it. I bought it on a glorious sunny May day and drove roof down to Southampton and got a cracking case of sunburn!
Four months later and the fun began. A routine service at Bob Watson Engineering in Oxfordshire turned out that the balance belts had failed. When the previous owner had purchased it from Team Traction, they'd had an RAC inspection done, which had highlighted that the cam belt and balance belts needed doing. As I recall (it was some years ago) Team Traction had agreed to replace "the belts".... and replaced the fan and the alternator belt, NOT the important ones. Cue some BS back and forth with the previous owner, the RAC and Team Traction, and a £4500 engine rebuild bill soiled itself into my bank account.
Ah well, my back was getting fixed (nasty great operation) and I had a convertible Porsche! Life was good! Except I also now needed to start shifting around daft quantities of damp estuary-infused paraphernalia so something beige and possibly Vauxhall-shaped was purchased to do the lugging and the Porsche was promptly retired to high days and holidays because I just couldn't part with it.
Edited by flickyspinny on Saturday 25th January 23:48
Looks great. I have a 1990 S2 and really enjoy it.
Why did it need an engine rebuild after the balance belt failing out of interest? I guess these cars will throw a big bill every now and then but by today's standards they seem very simple and reliable to me. They certainly don't make cars like these any more.
What's the mileage?
Why did it need an engine rebuild after the balance belt failing out of interest? I guess these cars will throw a big bill every now and then but by today's standards they seem very simple and reliable to me. They certainly don't make cars like these any more.
What's the mileage?
So I run around in this beauty, occasionally sticking some tires on it, sorting the occasionally jamming callipers, putting some fresh oil in it and four years later sticking another set of belts on it. Having a lovely old time, for surprisingly small amounts of outlay. Life's good, right?
And then I notice a little bubbling on the sills...
So if you're reading this and you know anything about these cars, you know that if you can see bubbles on the sills there is a hell of a lot more corrosion hiding inside. I didn't know that... but I did know that if I was going to let anyone touch this car they had to be on top of their game, so off it went to Karl at Specialised Paintwork in Reading. They did the sills, and remanufactured where corrosion had got a hold into the bodywork area on the underside behind the rear wheels.
At the same time I had them apply a set of genuine 968 door handles to replace the standard pinched-from-a-mk1-golf ones that I never got on with.
£3300.
I'll say that again...
£3300!!!!
I'll find the photos and put 'em up, because it's not pretty. In fact it's astonishing what a mess the sills were in. The damn things rust from the inside out, so by the time you see the bubbles it's already in REALLY poor shape. But you knew that already, right?
Anyway they did a world-class job (as you'd expect from them, and the bill!)
And then I notice a little bubbling on the sills...
So if you're reading this and you know anything about these cars, you know that if you can see bubbles on the sills there is a hell of a lot more corrosion hiding inside. I didn't know that... but I did know that if I was going to let anyone touch this car they had to be on top of their game, so off it went to Karl at Specialised Paintwork in Reading. They did the sills, and remanufactured where corrosion had got a hold into the bodywork area on the underside behind the rear wheels.
At the same time I had them apply a set of genuine 968 door handles to replace the standard pinched-from-a-mk1-golf ones that I never got on with.
£3300.
I'll say that again...
£3300!!!!
I'll find the photos and put 'em up, because it's not pretty. In fact it's astonishing what a mess the sills were in. The damn things rust from the inside out, so by the time you see the bubbles it's already in REALLY poor shape. But you knew that already, right?
Anyway they did a world-class job (as you'd expect from them, and the bill!)
Edited by flickyspinny on Saturday 25th January 23:29
By this time I'm working overseas a lot, and the car is really only being used in summer.
However, 2 years later and this happens....
A bubble on the front offside wing, so it's back to Specialised Paintwork for another £1000 worth of body work and paint! ARGH.
This time, I wasn't taking any chances so off we go to Rustmaster in Hatfield, who do the full pro WaxOyl job.
£400 later and this is the result:
![](https://thumbsnap.com/sc/gQykacaL.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="https://thumbsnap.com/JC5TjcaF" Target="_blank" rel="nofollow">[img]https://thumbsnap.com/sc/JC5TjcaF.jpg)
However, 2 years later and this happens....
A bubble on the front offside wing, so it's back to Specialised Paintwork for another £1000 worth of body work and paint! ARGH.
This time, I wasn't taking any chances so off we go to Rustmaster in Hatfield, who do the full pro WaxOyl job.
£400 later and this is the result:
Sometime around this point I had a really crap experience.
The faintly tatty D90s that the car came on needed some new tires, and the monkeys that had previously fitted the tires had used an airgun to put the wheel nuts on. You may know that the super-light alloy wheel nuts that these cars use have a super-low torque setting.
The end result was that after four hours at an engineering company, they finally gave up and cut the stuck wheel off the car!
I was never a big fan of the D90s (16"), so I replaced them with a set of Boxster 17's, which it lived with for a few years despite the fact that they are worse in every way than the D90s.
Over the next few years I was working overseas more and more so I was using the car less and less, just being MOT'd and serviced and run for 2-3 months over June-August when I was back in the country. It was costing peanuts to run, apart from every four years throwing a cam belt and a set of balance belts at it.
The faintly tatty D90s that the car came on needed some new tires, and the monkeys that had previously fitted the tires had used an airgun to put the wheel nuts on. You may know that the super-light alloy wheel nuts that these cars use have a super-low torque setting.
The end result was that after four hours at an engineering company, they finally gave up and cut the stuck wheel off the car!
I was never a big fan of the D90s (16"), so I replaced them with a set of Boxster 17's, which it lived with for a few years despite the fact that they are worse in every way than the D90s.
Over the next few years I was working overseas more and more so I was using the car less and less, just being MOT'd and serviced and run for 2-3 months over June-August when I was back in the country. It was costing peanuts to run, apart from every four years throwing a cam belt and a set of balance belts at it.
Edited by flickyspinny on Saturday 25th January 23:10
So in 2015 I returned to the UK for good (for now) with a wife and a young son and purchased a house. I knew that the car was likely to need a little work and ANOTHER set of belts (when you own a car for this long the 4-year belt change thing starts coming round far too often!)
With a trans-continental move and a house purchase, there wasn't the funds to sort the work so I took her off the road for a year until the bank balance allowed a return to normal service.
I completely lucked out and found a superb local garage who did a stack of work for me - lower control arm bushings, 968 caster bushings, anti-roll bar brace, wheel bearings and of course the belts.
A couple of photos from whilst she was up in the air.
|https://thumbsnap.com/2TuFvnts[/url][url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/uGYiJIpA[/url]
At the same time I got incredibly lucky and scored a new set of wheels.
I'd been after another set of D90's for ages. Despite the fact that they don't look that good in my opinion, the car works so much better on them. Whilst on the hunt, I found these - the 16s from a Turbo S (Silver Rose).
Rare as they come, the right size and in my opinion much smarter than the D90s... but at the same time look so close to standard that most people wouldn't spot the difference.
A new set of Toys T1Rs and she was back on the road.
So she's now on 127k and doing an embarrassingly small amount of mileage, given that I work from home a lot and if I'm out and about I've often got bikes or two young children with me.
For some reason I can't upload a photo with the new wheels so will try again tomorrow. Let's see if this one works (crap photo)
With a trans-continental move and a house purchase, there wasn't the funds to sort the work so I took her off the road for a year until the bank balance allowed a return to normal service.
I completely lucked out and found a superb local garage who did a stack of work for me - lower control arm bushings, 968 caster bushings, anti-roll bar brace, wheel bearings and of course the belts.
A couple of photos from whilst she was up in the air.
|https://thumbsnap.com/2TuFvnts[/url][url]|https://thumbsnap.com/uGYiJIpA[/url]At the same time I got incredibly lucky and scored a new set of wheels.
I'd been after another set of D90's for ages. Despite the fact that they don't look that good in my opinion, the car works so much better on them. Whilst on the hunt, I found these - the 16s from a Turbo S (Silver Rose).
Rare as they come, the right size and in my opinion much smarter than the D90s... but at the same time look so close to standard that most people wouldn't spot the difference.
A new set of Toys T1Rs and she was back on the road.
So she's now on 127k and doing an embarrassingly small amount of mileage, given that I work from home a lot and if I'm out and about I've often got bikes or two young children with me.
For some reason I can't upload a photo with the new wheels so will try again tomorrow. Let's see if this one works (crap photo)
Edited by flickyspinny on Saturday 25th January 23:39
rufusgti said:
Looks great. I have a 1990 S2 and really enjoy it.
Why did it need an engine rebuild after the balance belt failing out of interest? I guess these cars will throw a big bill every now and then but by today's standards they seem very simple and reliable to me. They certainly don't make cars like these any more.
What's the mileage?
I can't remember the details - I think they stuck a new set of belts on and it started making some horrible noises so they started digging.... and the end result was a full rebuild. I think I was very very very unlucky - these cars seem to be able to manage 200k+ quite easily. Why did it need an engine rebuild after the balance belt failing out of interest? I guess these cars will throw a big bill every now and then but by today's standards they seem very simple and reliable to me. They certainly don't make cars like these any more.
What's the mileage?
She's on 127k now, and if you ignore the bodywork and the engine rebuild I've had nothing other than normal maintenance items (I include brakes and suspension components in that given the age) and a clutch master cylinder to deal with. The roof isn't exactly the latest in silent closing and is starting to look a little tired, but I never drive it with the roof up anyway as I never take it out in the rain.
They are such brilliantly analogue cars. I've often thought about upgrading, but the truth is that I can enjoy driving it on public roads without risking life or license too much. It's a real event driving it.
Have you got a thread on yours?
Edited by flickyspinny on Saturday 25th January 23:25
flickyspinny said:
rufusgti said:
Looks great. I have a 1990 S2 and really enjoy it.
Why did it need an engine rebuild after the balance belt failing out of interest? I guess these cars will throw a big bill every now and then but by today's standards they seem very simple and reliable to me. They certainly don't make cars like these any more.
What's the mileage?
I can't remember the details - I think they stuck a new set of belts on and it started making some horrible noises so they started digging.... and the end result was a full rebuild. I think I was very very very unlucky - these cars seem to be able to manage 200k+ quite easily. Why did it need an engine rebuild after the balance belt failing out of interest? I guess these cars will throw a big bill every now and then but by today's standards they seem very simple and reliable to me. They certainly don't make cars like these any more.
What's the mileage?
She's on 127k now, and if you ignore the bodywork and the engine rebuild I've had nothing other than normal maintenance items (I include brakes and suspension components in that given the age) and a clutch master cylinder to deal with. The roof isn't exactly the latest in silent closing and is starting to look a little tired, but I never drive it with the roof up anyway as I never take it out in the rain.
They are such brilliantly analogue cars. I've often thought about upgrading, but the truth is that I can enjoy driving it on public roads without risking life or license too much. It's a real event driving it.
Have you got a thread on yours?
Edited by flickyspinny on Saturday 25th January 23:25
Yes, capable of big miles. This is mine.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Keep us updated. What do you think of the Toyo tyres? My next purchase for the car will be tyres so I'm keen on real world opinion.
So glad I scrolled down to see the new wheels. I had the same wheels (I think) on my old 944 turbo that someone had fitted, looked awful. Good work on the resto.
Like you, I was surprised at the pace of the turbo for an old timer. Mine was always a bit lacklustre until I had a brain wave from my old cossie days (as they had the same Bosch recirc valve) pulled over on the way to work and reversed it so the boost was holding it closed and bingo! She went like a lizard drinking!
Like you, I was surprised at the pace of the turbo for an old timer. Mine was always a bit lacklustre until I had a brain wave from my old cossie days (as they had the same Bosch recirc valve) pulled over on the way to work and reversed it so the boost was holding it closed and bingo! She went like a lizard drinking!
rufusgti said:
Completely agree with everything you say about these. They do an awful lot very well, very easy to live with. I suppose being a coupe mine has a bit more luggage space but even so I bet the cab could be described as almost practical by sportscar standards.
Yes, capable of big miles. This is mine.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Keep us updated. What do you think of the Toyo tyres? My next purchase for the car will be tyres so I'm keen on real world opinion.
Ah, you've just reminded me of various things from your thread! Lovely car by the way - sounds like a great purchase.Yes, capable of big miles. This is mine.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Keep us updated. What do you think of the Toyo tyres? My next purchase for the car will be tyres so I'm keen on real world opinion.
Broken ARB bracket - yup, done that. The bracing brackets you can get for the ARB bracket is well worth the investment in my view.
https://www.design911.co.uk/fu/prod21624/Stiffener...
Gaters and CVs... yup, done those too. And the lower ball joint (what a headache that is).
The Toyos are great. I'm no pro racing driver, I only take the Porsche out when it's dry, I don't drive any harder than "spiritedly", and I don't do track days but I've found them to have fantastic amounts of grip and suit my needs perfectly. They also have the advantage that they're one of the very few tire brands that make tires that fit the silver rose wheels (7.5J and 9J vs the standard D90 7J and 8J).
Edited by flickyspinny on Sunday 26th January 16:40
Great looking piece of kit there, I was a brief co-owner of a late 924 years ago, and yes, I drove it like I stole it. My daily was an Impreza 2000 turbo. Talk about chalk and cheese. The Porsche was beautifully composed to do silly things <that may/or not have happened>
I'm guessing the 2.5 or 3.0 in the 944 S2 really flies - I keep looking at 968s, but they are entering 911 territory price-wise.
Enjoy yours!
I'm guessing the 2.5 or 3.0 in the 944 S2 really flies - I keep looking at 968s, but they are entering 911 territory price-wise.
Enjoy yours!
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