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I picked up a lower-mileage 931 this summer... and suddenly I'm back in the water-cooled game!
I bought it off BaT after an earlier buyer turned out to be a deadbeat. It's an 81, with a little over 40k original miles, and is a hoot to drive. Even when you are driving around town, it sounds like it is always up to something - whistling, wooshing and burbling. Driving and performance-wise, it is a near facsimile to an early 944 with just a bit more grunt. It's a total momentum car, and I wish we had gotten the extra 30 horse that the ROW cars came with. I'm having that addressed in the future.
I put about 500 miles on it getting a feel for what it needed. It is currently in the shop getting fluids across the board, sealed up, exhaust, suspension, and some fuel work (WUR, 02, etc). They are NOT inexpensive to run... which of course is why there are so few left.
The biggest let-down of the car is that it had a center taillight reflector installed when new. My first 944 (also Platinum) had one as well, so I thought I would be okay with it from a nostalgia perspective... but 2 months in and I think it will have to go. This, of course, means paint... which also means I may as well have the whole car sprayed. It's in solid #3 shape right now, but it was out west originally, and has had 40 years on the stone chips/touch up/stone chips/touch up merry-go-round. May as well do the whole thing. The interior is #2, with the exception of the dash... trying to find one of those is going to be a huge hassle. It has the ubiquitous cover in place for now.
Looks great! For dashes, you could use justdashes.com when you get to that point. Of course, that's a lot of deconstruction to get the dash out, and just as much to reinstall.
I was thinking about Just Dashes, but I have also been in contact with http://www.werk924.eu/. Unfortunately, it seems like their supply chain(s) have gone cold.
The most recent NOS sale I spotted (on pcarmarket, so not ideal...) went for a little over a grand, which is around the same price as the new werk924 units. I was REALLY hoping when I bought the car that by this point SOMEONE would have come out with a stateside direct replacement... but I guess the market just hasn't been there.
The irony is that I remember dreaming over new dashes in the Automotion catalogs when they were still available from Porsche. I'm getting old!
Nice car and a rare find! I had a chance several years ago to get a 931 in two-tone silver and green with Pascha interior. I passed and often wished I hadn’t. BTW, looks great with your 930.
Very nice. It looks like almost an exact (but lower mileage/better condition) version of my '82. My interior is all dark brown, that's the only real difference.
What a beautiful example!!! That car is stunning and it appears to be in great hands! Do you know much of the car's history?
Thank you! I'm the 4th owner; it was originally purchased from Santa Cruz Porsche Audi and is an entirely stock example. It did about 2k miles a year up until the early 90s, then 1k a year after it went to another long-term owner in MN. Unfortunately, it started sitting in the early 00s... It was brought back to running/driving by a succession of dealers from auction purchases, but I still spent a fair amount of money getting it to 100% no excuses drive-ability.
From what I can tell, 3 things doomed these cars. The CIS was (is) temperamental, they are very heat sensitive, and they are expensive to troubleshoot/repair (and that's after you find a mechanic who knows them).
I had wanted another early 944NA (my first Porsche was an 83 944, also in Platinum) for a long time, but when this one came up, I knew it was too rare to pass up! I'm totally smitten, now. With the windows down and the top out I would take it over the 911s on a narrow, tight 2nd/3rd gear back road any time.
One of the neatest things is that people in general have ZERO clue what is.
Very nice. It looks like almost an exact (but lower mileage/better condition) version of my '82. My interior is all dark brown, that's the only real difference.
Honestly, brown leather would probably be easier to work with in the long run... but I really like the contrast.
Did the 82s have the Porsche script panels? I know some early 83 944s had them.
I was always a bigger fan of the early interiors... which put me in the minority, but it had WAY more character than the generic 85.5 facelift. I just wish Porsche had put the tach in the center pod right off the bat, and then developed the three-pod upright layout in the later cars rather than just completely remake it. I always thought that went against the "evolution not revolution" theory.
Beautiful car Micah, great pickup. Its definitely in good hands now!
Sam, thanks! Great to see a familiar name around these parts! Glad to see you are still in the 951 game. Your car looks amazing, as always - gotta be 20 years of ownership at this point, right!?
Sam, thanks! Great to see a familiar name around these parts! Glad to see you are still in the 951 game. Your car looks amazing, as always - gotta be 20 years of ownership at this point, right!?
Oh yeah, Ill never leave haha, forever owner until one of my kids talk me out of it I guess! Thanks, I "stole" it from my dad 23 years ago.
Keep the updates coming! Where are you living these days?
I agree with you...that two-tone interior is striking!
You mentioned the temperamental CIS. I'm living that right now Haven't thrown in the towel and started looking for a pro yet, but I'm starting to think about it!
Originally Posted by Micah
Honestly, brown leather would probably be easier to work with in the long run... but I really like the contrast.
Did the 82s have the Porsche script panels? I know some early 83 944s had them.
I was always a bigger fan of the early interiors... which put me in the minority, but it had WAY more character than the generic 85.5 facelift. I just wish Porsche had put the tach in the center pod right off the bat, and then developed the three-pod upright layout in the later cars rather than just completely remake it. I always thought that went against the "evolution not revolution" theory.
08-09-2020, 10:16 PM
'81 931
Haven't thrown in the towel and started looking for a pro yet, but I'm starting to think about it!
