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Hey guys! I'm back. My daughter and I bought an 88 944
Hey old friends, 944fest acquaintances and fans of the front engine Porsche! I'm back! as in, I spent a lot of time here in years past, threw a few little parties, met a lot of fun people and learned a lot about the 944 series and it's owners. I popped a rod in my 951 back at the 2012 Fest and she's been getting dusty while I creep toward rebirth. I've drifted away from Renny, the last 5 years I've spent my car budget chump car racing a Supercharged (G60!) VW Corrado and taking care of family and business. Well, life goes in circles, and now I've got a 17 year old daughter who is getting bored with her 2003 Passat Wagon. (1.8t, she helped me salvage it from a craigslist timing belt fail) She wanted something with pop up headlights and a clutch. She works with me at the family DQ and has a steady cash flow. I used to own a 1988 Celebration Edition (plaid!) 944 and really liked it. I put it all together last month and found a craigslist ad for an 88 944, 109k, $2900. Zermatt silver over the checkered cloth. Located in Lafayette, IN, it was a 5 hr drive but I've got a Touareg and trailer, lets go!
The car is home, it's on the lift and the list is long! I will use this thread to update on the projects and problems we find, as we fix up this 1988 944 Celebration Edition 944. My daughter turns 18 just before the 2018 944 at Nelson Ledges, OH, August 3-5. She will be eligible to drive her 944 with the PCA in a HPDE just 3 days after her 18th B-day!
Thanks for the comments, Hi Fred! Hope to see you at the next Fest!
So upon inspection the list is long but certainly doable. Some receipts show recent clutch hydraulics, tires and horrible seat covers. Underneath the seat covers I found a zombie plaid drivers seat and a not so bad celebration cloth passenger seat. Local Craigslist had a pretty nice set of 944 black leather seats for $400, that was a no brainer. I sold the pass seat fabric for $250 and I've got enough left over for a pillow from the drivers seat. I put a set of motor mounts in it, and it needs the odo gear, the sunroof gear, and fresh belts. RMS is in need as well, that will be the tough one. I guess I can freshen the cIutch when I'm in there. I found a broken stud on the PS pump and a swap from the bench fixed that leak right up. Mice chewed the fuel level sender wire, the shop vac of the nest and a little solder put the gas gauge return to service! I've got a set of hoses on the way I'll put on when I do the timing belt. I imagine speakers should be on the list, the old paper cones have to be cracked by now, they sure sound like they are! The mandarin symbols on my board are from my 14 year old. I'll resize some images to update you on the progress.
When we picked it up the belts were squealing, but we drove it on the trailer without a fuss! She had evidence of sitting, like leaves in the nooks, etc, so I'm making sure the drains are all clear. Really though, starts, runs just fine, clutch feels great. I'm going to do the timing belt before we drive it anymore, the snow if flying here so perfect for doing some bigger jobs before something snaps. Funny story, previous owner was an attorney, his wife wrote the craigslist advert. She reportedly asked him what his bottom dollar was, he said $4500. She then went and listed the car on Craigslist for $2900!! Right or wrong somehow it feels good getting a one-up on a lawyer.
Nice find! Of all the 944 NA 8V cars, that is a great car to start with and to bring back to life. It appears that you got it for a decent price, even considering the work ahead.
I look forward to seeing your progress.
Hopefully one of my 3 kids will want to take on a project like that some day! At the moment it's just Nerf Guns, Transformers, and Lego's....
Best of luck!
I am also Jealous of the the lift in your garage! Well done!
Thanks for saving another of these quite rare Jubilee/Celebration 944s.
Do you plan to recover the seats back to the special cloth ?.... a fairly close match to the material is available in Europe.
Did you get the medallion that comes with these cars ?
( I own a Satin Black Metallic '88 Jubilee in it's all original, unmolested condition. It was a gift to a lady for her 40th birthday, by her now deceased husband, coming originally from Pennsylvania. It was always a Sunday, sunny weather driver/show car and I got it from her nearly 10 years ago as she decided to move on with her life after his death.
They are indeed special cars. Low in production and full of special features.
Best wishes on bringing this one back. The future looks really great for their position as a collectible in Porsche's water cooled history. )
Thanks for saving another of these quite rare Jubilee/Celebration 944s.
Do you plan to recover the seats back to the special cloth ?.... a fairly close match to the material is available in Europe.
Did you get the medallion that comes with these cars ?
)
Hello Mr GJ! Thanks for the interest, no, honestly I made the realization that as much as I loved the cloth, I was not the guy to chase originality and went with black leather on the seats. I have had an 88 CE before and did the same thing. I did sell the 90% real nice passenger seat to a guy in Scottsdale AZ who is using it fixing the only flaw on an immaculate 88 Zermatt Celebration Car that will likely show up at auction soon with about 50K miles on her. I told that guy about the medallion and he went off on a hunt. You know the 20K$ buyer will want the medallion! Down here in the $3k market you are lucky if you get a second set of keys! Seriously a 30+ year old outside car does not have much of a chance of nice cloth left inside it. My back seats feel like they turn to dust when bumped, their days are numbered!
Gotta love daughters who love wrenching. Mine started with me way before she could drive, and later took responsibility for oil changes and other maintenance on the family Subaru she commandeered. And even later when she "inherited" this car to use at college, she changed the clutch and timing belt (with just a little bit of help).
Gotta love daughters who love wrenching. Mine started with me way before she could drive, and later took responsibility for oil changes and other maintenance on the family Subaru she commandeered. And even later when she "inherited" this car to use at college, she changed the clutch and timing belt (with just a little bit of help).
Great job. I hope my daughter (5years) develops an interest.
12-12-2017, 02:17 AM
Hey guys! I'm back. My daughter and I bought an 88 944
