Hi Everyone,

Been beating myself up pretty hard over the last 2 days for the inevitable news, my 8 month owned 944 Turbo "S" (cause it's an 89' Turbo) has taken a turn for the worse.
I was driving up in cottage country when I heard a fairly evident ticking sound coming from my engine. This has happened before and I satiated it by adding a litre of oil and it went away. This time, I was on back roads in the country, so I tried my luck to get to the closest service center/retail store and as I drove approx 10kms, the sound got much worse. I pulled over at the Canadian Tire and bought 2 litres of 5w40 and put them in the car. continued on my way home and the noice subsided a little bit. Then it returned and after 5 minutes of driving like that, there was a pop, the cabin filled with smoke as did the engine compartment and the car shut off. I pulled over, tried to start it and it cranked but wouldn't start. I tried to start it after an hour and no dice. CAA came and pick me up and we towed the car on a flatbed to my buddies shop. My buddy called me today and gave me the news I have been fearing, he thinks the car needs a new engine rebuild. He's a corvette specialist and they have extensive experience on many marques, including engine rebuilds but no porsche experience.

My options are:
1. Take it to a renowned Porsche specialist that charges $175/hr in Toronto, GTEK
2. Take it to friend's of mine that know old speciality cars very well, Autostrada in Vaughn
3. Sell the car as is and try to get my money out now.
4. Park the car for a while, let the dust settle and see if an engine comes up, etc.

I am scared of Option 1 because my friend said it can easily go up to $20k once I'm in there with the "you should change this while you're there" approach.
Option 2 is suggesting the replace the engine with a new one entirely.

What to do, have at it, but please go easy on me, I've been sick to my stomach for about a day now and not very happy with myself.

Thanks.


The car is a black on black 89' turbo, Canadian car with heated sport seats, LSD, etc. It has been painted before and it has 180,000kms on it.

 

I'll give you $2500 for it.

I think you really need to do some soul searching to decide if you have the money to fix it now - either rebuild the existing engine, or put in a new engine - or park it until you have the desire/money to do it.

You're not going to get a lot selling it.

 

GTEK is way over priced. they deal with the downtown stock brokers who have more money than time.
You should talk to broadfoot racing (or similar name) in the US as they rebuild these daily. If it is Turbo S I would keep the original engine as values are increasing.
for install or other alternatives talk to Ernie at Mantis in Oakville he knows these cars well, may have a spare engine around too.
good luck

 

It's a kit car now. V8 Chevy..... better still,

go BMW V10 and she'll roar like the exotic she was always meant to be.

 

Awesome, great advice @Turbodan Thanks for that.

 

Already have a 71' v8 chevy and have no desire to this car. I'm not a frankenstien kinda guy. Funnily enough, have many of those engines at my disposal but have no desire at all. The only time I would do that is putting an S54 powerplant in an E30 M3 as I think it improves it and ultimately, it's family DNA.

@odurandina

 

I don't really need to soul-search to determine if I wanna give it away for anywhere near $2500, that's just being so sick to your stomach that you can't think clearly and allowing someone else take advantage of you @Van !

Why would I ever give an 89' Turbo "S spec" with a long list of amazing options away for $2500? That's just dumb. People are selling sport seats for that price, so I would rather do that and part the car out for $7k+ USD and take the shell to the junkyard then sell it to you for that money. Either that or take the entire car to the junkyard as is just not to sell it to you for $2500.

Money spent on cars is for enjoyment, no need to put too much thought into how much money you want to spend in exchange for personal enjoyment and satisfaction.

 

btw Van is a good guy. He has many diy videos and helps the 944 community immensely. I think he was just saying if you try to sell it as is you won't get much for it. Doubt he was really trying to steal it from you.
Anyways let us know what your research leads to...and good luck. can you post some pics of your car curious if I have seen it before.

 

I Know What I Have!

 

Exactly. I don't want this car - I have too many other projects and priorities. The only reason I'd possibly consider it would be if it were practically free.

To the OP, it looks like you've done the soul searching and have come to the conclusion that you're going to spend whatever it take to make it whole so you can enjoy it again.

I'm glad I could help!

 

+1 for Ernie at Mantisport in Oakville ... he knows those cars inside out and i believe he has a few SP3 944 turbo cars lying around
and i'm sure he could provide you with an engine or help you out.
He rented me a transmission when mine blew up during a race event at Mosport , nice person to deal with !

 

I called Ernie this morning, he is a great guy for sure and incredibly knowledgable. Thanks for the recommendation and Oakville is so close.

Regards

 

The oem engine just isn't practical in the world in 2018 going forward.
Too many flaws. Too many fatal flaws..... Too costly.... Too little power..... Too little upside.
Too much negative longevity..... Too much harsh sound unless you build a proper tuned exhaust..... even then.....

 

These engines aren't THAT bad. They don't go south without a reason. Yours did because it was probably pushed to it's limits without being properly maintained by those that owned it before you. Have your buddy pull the engine, put it on a pallet, and ship to Lindsey Racing for rebuilding. They're reasonably priced and good. It's an easy solution and WAY better than bastardizing the car with a non-factory engine.

 

FWIW, I completely agree with this!