Anyone offer advice on an ancient 944?
Discussion
Hello I'm a Porsche novice although I did try a 944S2 and a 944S and a 968 at the weekend. Plenty of genes in common. I fancy one for weekend use to keep in the garage. No point in tying up lots of money so I'm going for the cheap ones. It is a dilemma. Every improvement means a younger car so I start looking at early 944 then oval dash then 2.7 then 3.0S2 and finally come home with a 968 Club Sport. NOOOO.
Anyway finally found timewarp minter 1 owner FSH from 1985. What corners of the bodywork should I peer into?
Nothing visible from the outside at all! Thanks
Anyway finally found timewarp minter 1 owner FSH from 1985. What corners of the bodywork should I peer into?
Nothing visible from the outside at all! Thanks
Take the air vents out of the B pillars and peer inside, there should be nothing but solid metal, if you can see daylight walk away.
The sills rust and a proper repair is expensive, so check for originality and no bodge repairs. The seems between rear wings and slam panel rust, as does around the windsreen.
They are good solid cars and it should be in fine fettle, mechanically/suspension wise things wear, the gearbox may well whine, not a big issue. The suspension may be tired but nothing is expensive of too dificult to sort.
The sills rust and a proper repair is expensive, so check for originality and no bodge repairs. The seems between rear wings and slam panel rust, as does around the windsreen.
They are good solid cars and it should be in fine fettle, mechanically/suspension wise things wear, the gearbox may well whine, not a big issue. The suspension may be tired but nothing is expensive of too dificult to sort.
1985 Isn't ancient!
A good tip is to look for the original stickers under the bonnet and behind the carpet in the boot, this will give you idea if it's been pranged.
The bodies were galvanised so on a minter rust should be minimal, I do echo what was said about checking the sills though and around the rear arches where chips can damage the coating.
What colour is it? I've always fancied a guards red one with the black fuchs wheels
Good luck with the purchase!
A good tip is to look for the original stickers under the bonnet and behind the carpet in the boot, this will give you idea if it's been pranged.
The bodies were galvanised so on a minter rust should be minimal, I do echo what was said about checking the sills though and around the rear arches where chips can damage the coating.
What colour is it? I've always fancied a guards red one with the black fuchs wheels
Good luck with the purchase!
bob1179 said:
What colour is it? I've always fancied a guards red one with the black fuchs wheels
Nah, black is the way forward! Mine was Guards Red and had faded quite badly despite spedning most of it's life garaged.The guy who organises my local TIPEC meetings has a gorgeous black 944. Find myself thinking about buying one again - think it's the bad weather, I'm drawn towards coupes again all of a sudden
If anywhere, they tend to rust on the sills and around the catches on the boot. Oh, and in the very bottom of the storage cubbys on either side of the boot, under the flaps of the boot carpet.
Watch out for one major thing on square-dash 944s—they had a steel fuel tank which was susceptible to rusting itself, especially around the straps that hold it in. The oval-dash model replaced it with a sensible plastic one. You can have these steel tanks refurbished by Porsch-apart near Wigan. They sell you a refurbed one (coated internally with fibreglass) and give you a part-exchange on your existing leaky steel tank.
Watch out for one major thing on square-dash 944s—they had a steel fuel tank which was susceptible to rusting itself, especially around the straps that hold it in. The oval-dash model replaced it with a sensible plastic one. You can have these steel tanks refurbished by Porsch-apart near Wigan. They sell you a refurbed one (coated internally with fibreglass) and give you a part-exchange on your existing leaky steel tank.
Anyone who thinks these cars are rustproof are not in the real world. Galvanising works great for 10 years or so but salted roads of the UK will cause tin worm in the lower wheel arch front unless previous owners have hosed out each wash in the winter - worse on the S2 and Turbo because of the plastic trim.
As stated the sills suffer from condensation and blocked drain holes. The most careful owners have removed the air vent as previous post and sprayed Dinatrol or similar to prevent deterioration.
It's very difficult to find a really good one now - be careful you don't buy one without checking thoroughly as it is very depressing to find the screwdriver goes through the bubbles when you get it home !!
My 944 Turbo was one of the best cars I ever had and I wish I still had it now.
As stated the sills suffer from condensation and blocked drain holes. The most careful owners have removed the air vent as previous post and sprayed Dinatrol or similar to prevent deterioration.
It's very difficult to find a really good one now - be careful you don't buy one without checking thoroughly as it is very depressing to find the screwdriver goes through the bubbles when you get it home !!
My 944 Turbo was one of the best cars I ever had and I wish I still had it now.
Don't know if its been mentioned,but another common area is around the rear number plate lights, and along the top of the windscreen. (caused if the cars had a replacement screen and the fitter broke the paint when removing old rubber/sealant.
I had a mint '84 944 and later on an S2, and the early dash car was easily as much fun as the S2.
The early dash is significantly quicker than the later 2.5 8V (especially midrange acceleration). Its about 150kg lighter and feels it -I know this from experience.
When Autocar tested the updated 944 in '85, they were so surprised at the performance (or lack of) compared to the earlier car that they retested it,thinking they might have received a bad example- they hadn't.
I always regretted selling my old Lux.If I could find a pre '85 car in the same condioion again, I'd buy it tomorrow.
I had a mint '84 944 and later on an S2, and the early dash car was easily as much fun as the S2.
The early dash is significantly quicker than the later 2.5 8V (especially midrange acceleration). Its about 150kg lighter and feels it -I know this from experience.
When Autocar tested the updated 944 in '85, they were so surprised at the performance (or lack of) compared to the earlier car that they retested it,thinking they might have received a bad example- they hadn't.
I always regretted selling my old Lux.If I could find a pre '85 car in the same condioion again, I'd buy it tomorrow.
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