1984 Porsche 944 Parts Car Beater

Here is the ad on CL. "1984 Porsche 944 odometer $1900 Champaign have low miles 944 Porsche 5 speed need paint no rust . Engine rebuild last year .Car runs good need tlc.and need right door handle . This car need to go. No time to do the paint job Move to other state. let me know if you have question"

Was on CL for 29 days..I could take it no longer and called. Seller spoke very little English, and was planning to move to KY at the end of the month. Stated he thought engine had been rebuilt a year ago, but no paperwork to prove it.Didn't know much about that or anything else I asked.. So It is Christmas Eve, what else could I be doing that would be more important than dragging home a 30 year old Porsche in primer So I grabbed my dad and the truck and trailer and drove 90 miles in the rain to check it out. Car was running when I got there, not normally a good sign. Neither door handle worked, had to use a screwdriver to gain access to the cabin, no big deal, have had to do worse before. Car sounded good. Clutch felt good. So I made an offer and after about 20 minutes of haggling and threatening to leave I got for $700. It is a running parts car at best. Interior is trashed. Wipers don't work, sunroof is sealed shut with caulk..On the plus side-Clean Illinois title, Factory Cookie Cutters are in nice shape and have all their center caps.I have parted 3 out last year so I knew my downside is $0, will actually make money if it blows up and I part it out Not even going to change the t-belt. Not worth the time and effort. Will drive it till something catastrophic fails and part it out to keep nicer cars running. How long will it go? No idea we shall see.. Planning on changing oil and checking fluids day after Christmas and taking it for a spin.

I saw that one too Billy - and I was so tempted!

In reply to petegossett:

I may have saved you, we shall see.......

In reply to Billy_Bottle_Caps:

Oh you definitely did!

Pretty decent looking, make a terrific daily driver.

LOVE your haggling skills ! ! ! ! ! I have practically none . . .

TeamEvil wrote: Pretty decent looking, make a terrific daily driver. LOVE your haggling skills ! ! ! ! ! I have practically none . . .

That is probably the only thing I am good at.... Going to work on it a bit tomm. Hope to drive it and see what all HAS to be fixed..

Nice deal! Should be fun for a while anyway!

sethmeister4 wrote: Nice deal! Should be fun for a while anyway!

Hope so Changed oil and filter today. Oil was pretty dirty. On plus side it has a like new K&N air filter in it.Removed driver side door handle since it was broken anyhow and threw it on eBay along with the ashtray and center caps. Fixed couple burnt out bulbs and replaced some fuses. All lights and signals work now, Still no wipers. Cleaned up some wiring, but have a lot more to do. Checked all the fluids and they looked good. Was getting dark so still haven't really gotten to drive it yet. Will work on it a bit in the morning, throw in some fresh gas and do a little loop I do to test cars-about 20 miles and see how it goes.

Looks like my old 944... except in better shape. and all one colour of primer.

Just received the February issue, very timely feature about the 944!

The_Jed wrote: Just received the February issue, very timely feature about the 944!

haven't got mine yet.. Looking forward to now more than usual.

BBC

AClockworkGarage wrote: Looks like my old 944... except in better shape. and all one colour of primer.

Yours must have been truly scary then

Indeed it was. But I was 19 and working at a junkyard. and it was a Porshe! It lasted about 2 weeks.

AClockworkGarage wrote: Indeed it was. But I was 19 and working at a junkyard. and it was a Porshe! It lasted about 2 weeks.

Hoping mine goes a bit longer. Drove it today for about an hour straight. Ran it pretty hard. Very pleased with it. Threw on some cheap used seat covers I had laying around, looks a lot better. Will have to reseal sunroof as it has terrible wind noise. I have a parts car, may rob top off of it.

Billy_Bottle_Caps wrote: Not even going to change the t-belt. Not worth the time and effort. Will drive it till something catastrophic fails and part it out to keep nicer cars running.

why not part it out before the T-belt takes a E36 M3? will bending a bunch of valves make you feel like more of a man?

AngryCorvair wrote:

Billy_Bottle_Caps wrote: Not even going to change the t-belt. Not worth the time and effort. Will drive it till something catastrophic fails and part it out to keep nicer cars running.

why not part it out before the T-belt takes a E36 M3? will bending a bunch of valves make you feel like more of a man?

No, bending valves doesn't make me feel like more of a man.. Good running 944 2.5 is $500ish. If it bends valves I can part engine out for about $450ish based on the last 3 I have done. I will have more than $50 worth of fun with it, matter of fact, probably already have

The_Jed wrote: Just received the February issue, very timely feature about the 944!

Mine just came today.. Was hoping for longer article with some more tech, but better than nothing. Think there is an older issue with a Buyer's guide? Will have to dig and see if I can find it. Ordered a new speedometer gear through Paragon though

I seem to remember a front engine Porsche buyer's guide... I'll dig through my stash and see if I can find anything.

I must have imagined that... other than the blurb in the latest issue I found zip.

A guy that runs around with our group is building a 924/944/951 ( I have no idea what the differences are) he says they really arent near as expensive to run repair as people think. When I was searching for a 928 I was turned off by part and repair prices, but never looked into the 9x4s.

So whats the GRM scoop?

Opti wrote: A guy that runs around with our group is building a 924/944/951 ( I have no idea what the differences are) he says they really arent near as expensive to run repair as people think. When I was searching for a 928 I was turned off by part and repair prices, but never looked into the 9x4s. So whats the GRM scoop?

Clutch parts expensive and a bear to do. Timing belts need done every 30K also bit of a bear and kinda pricy for parts. Other than that though, good solid cars and parts prices are reasonable. Not Toyota Honda reasonable, more like BMW and Volvo reasonable. Great support and DIY web sites Clark's Garage is very good for the 924/944 cars

Took parts car to crusher today--got $67.50 for what was left. Took sunroof off of it before leaving and put on my 944. New odometer gear came in today, will try and get it installed this weekend and throw up so more pics. Happy New Year!

Opti wrote: A guy that runs around with our group is building a 924/944/951 ( I have no idea what the differences are) he says they really arent near as expensive to run repair as people think. When I was searching for a 928 I was turned off by part and repair prices, but never looked into the 9x4s. So whats the GRM scoop?

There's a feature on the 944 in the latest mag.

Clutch job isn't bad if you do it while the engine is out for new rod bearings, seals, belts and hoses. Once done it will be good for 100K aside from the timing belts. Unfortunately the parts are just expensive, but honestly you don't need to do it very often so why people are so hung up on it is beyond me.

88 and later engines use a spring loaded tensioner for the timing belt, which is easier to deal with. Tensioner tools are available for loan from some vendors and enthusiasts.

951 = 944 turbo and due to the heat and loads on the drivetrain will be more labor intensive, but as long as it is left stock isn't bad to own. Though who leaves a turbo car stock? :)

The 924S is a narrow body'd 944 (the 924 was the basis for the 944, so the chassis and most of the suspension is shared between the two models) and therefore has less frontal area and weight so some have combined the 924S with a 968 or a 951 for the ultimate 924 variant.

Billy_Bottle_Caps wrote Very nice pic, there!

In reply to wheelsmithy:

Kinda sad--but there was literally nothing left on it. Weighed 900lbs.

BBC

Very interested to see where this goes. I really want to pick up a 944 to thrash/ try my hand at auto x.

Can't wait to see how long it survives