T. Jamison

I finally got the stones in August and bought a 944. First Porsche, first project car, and first car I have ever been proud to own (and it doesn’t even run). This car is intended to be a learning experience. I know I will make expensive mistakes, but I have immersed myself in the PET Katalog, Factory Workshop Manual, and Clarks Garage. So far, I have really enjoyed the myriad of questions this car has given me, and the chase to find the answers. This is not a cry for help just yet, but suggestions are always welcome. I would just like to introduce myself and share my plight with perhaps the only group of people that would understand.




For the most part, my 944 is a 1984 Saphir-Metallic, 5-speed, with Porsche script seats, headlight washers, fuches, and sport suspension options. The body is pretty clean with limited rust, but the paint has seen much better days. The interior isn’t the worst. I assume the sunroof leaks based on the aged adhesive residue on the roof, but it’s covered for the time being. The glass hatch is separating from the frame. The hood is a little worse for wear and the front spoiler has slight damaged. I have dubbed my 944 an ’84.5 due to the M44.07 under the hood, but I’ll get there





The previous owner purchased the car sight-unseen from Connecticut and had it shipped straight to a local shop in Oklahoma. When the shop called to give the owner an update, his widow answered the phone. (As an aside: From what I was able to gather, he was quite the individual.) The car remained at the shop when it was listed, and they knew little about it. The Connecticut owner had been in the middle of installing a “newer used Porsche engine” before they gave up and sold it. The shop figured it needed to have the installation completed, exhaust welded back up, brakes rebuilt, and the A/C bracket replaced. Easy. I bought the car and saw my sister for the first time in 5 years on the same day. Oddly, the car came with the Connecticut title, and my sister had driven all the way from Connecticut to see us. I felt as though we were off to a harmonious start. I couldn’t pick the car up for another week, but that was fine.

I am a data person. I like knowing everything I can before I take on an endeavor. The week before I went to get the ’84.5, I did what I do best. I researched all I could, saved all the Clark’s Garage stuff, watched hours of YouTube, and went down too many Rennlist rabbit holes. I rented a Uhaul trailer and conned a gracious friend to help me go get it with his truck. Getting it home was more difficult than it needed to be, but it got done.

I found the previous listing from East Haven, Connecticut when the engine was originally swapped after about a million and one Google searches. It was fortunate that I found it. Otherwise, it may have taken me much longer to untangle this.





The previous listing indicated they bought the car with a bad head gasket, had the head freshened up and put it back together. The motor seized and they decided to get another engine. They got a donor motor from a 1985.5 to put in the 1984. Prior to finding this listing, I had not known the engine was from an ’85.5. The wiring harness wasn’t compatible, and they had indicated adjustments were made to fix the issue. The listing said they were relying on online sources for the engine swap. When I received the car, a printout of Clark’s Garage manual was in the front seat. I assumed it didn’t include the idiosyncrasies of an early DME operating a later engine. It’s at this point I think I’ve figured it all out. Put the right pieces of the puzzle together and it runs and drives.



The box of parts that came with the ’84.5 included the upper air box section with the snorkel. However, everything between there and the J-Boot was missing, including the AFM. I called to double check it wasn’t left at the shop, but alas, it was not. I guess the silver lining is, throughout this process I have learned how the early and late engines differ. I begin to take stock of the various components and that is when I realize where this went sideways. The engine is an ’85.5, but the fuel rail is from the ’84 and bent. The idle control is via an ISV (’85.5) not the Auxiliary Air Valve (’84). I assume if I got the AFM, it would have been an ’85.5 for good measure. I got an extra engine wiring harness which came from the ’85.5. In addition, I got another battery-starter harness with a portion that appears to have been cut. What was supposed to be the extra A/C mounting bracket, ended up being the power steering bracket (which unfortunately was the broken bracket). I also received a few other odds and ends like another starter, speed and reference sensor bracket, and some assorted nuts and bolts in a metal tin.

The engine isn’t fully mounted. One bolt on the intake side has broken off in the block and the mount isn’t bolted to the body at all. Some of the cam tower bolts aren’t tightened down so I don’t know if it had been taken off recently. One of the alternator bracket bolts stick out quite a bit, which I have assumed is because the brackets are different between ’84 and ’85.5 and have different length bolts. The vacuum lines need some attention. The AOC vacuum line has split off by the fitting at the J-Boot and I’m sure it isn’t alone.

The cut in the battery-starter harness is the connection to the relay board. The connectors didn’t match up, so they twisted the wires together which probably explains why they stopped getting clicks from the starter.

I decided to do some free stuff, like giving it three or four good “once overs”. I thought to look at the fuel tank since it had been sitting for a long while. I removed the fuel sender unit, and this is what I found:




Not exactly the first project I wanted to do, but I’ll survive. I look at Clarks Garage and other resources to see what I need to get the transaxle down. Such as pressing the clutch in to rotate the coupler. The car had no clutch pedal pressure and when I got under the dash, the boot around the clutch master cylinder was damp. I assume the rest of the missing fluid drained in the footwell and is long gone. The exterior of the tank looks relatively good. Hopefully it doesn’t need any welding. While inspecting the outside of the fuel tank, I noticed the line from the tank to the fuel pump was rotting away, so I can tack that on to my list of replacement part. I may run new fuel lines since I want to use an ’85.5 fuel rail and injectors, and likely need longer lines.

And this is where I am today. One stroke of good luck so far was finding out about Lindsey Racing. I work 15 minutes from LR so I may not have to wait as long for some parts. At this point, I don’t feel confident making any assumptions about the condition of the engine. My exact plans are up in the air. I definitely want to swap DME’s since I already have more of the late components. I may pull the head for extra assurance. I may pull the whole engine since it’s really wouldn’t take much work and make some of these jobs much easier. I am in no real rush to get everything done. I’m buying tools as I go and learning something new every day.

In summary, the working list of mechanic projects in no particular order is:

Drop the transaxle
Rebuild axles
Reseal fuel tank
Replace needed fuel lines
Replace fuel rail and injectors (maybe 924 S stuff?)
Replace power steering bracket
Replace seals, belts, rollers, and water pump in the process
DME Swap (Maybe stand-alone)
New AFM (Maybe MAF swap if stand-alone)
Replace vacuum lines
Remove the bolt stem in the block
Replace engine mounts and bolt down the engine
Replace the likely original clutch
Weld up the exhaust
Replace intake, exhaust and maybe head gaskets
Replace the alternator starter harness
New speed and reference sensors
New oil pressure sending unit (it appears to have taken some damage)
Replace the oil cooler seals since the manifold is off

…I’m sure there is more I just can’t think of or haven’t thought of yet.

At any rate, I am glad to be here and excited to get wrenching. So far, I’ve just been plotting the best way to put the put the car back together efficiently in a modern way. I hope to have more updates soon and be able to contribute more here in time.

DSMblue

Sounds like you have quite a list! Welcome and don’t hesitate to post with questions. For used parts, check with Plyhammer’s or Elliott Grafton. It will take a long time to get it right, but will be immensely rewarding once you have

T&T Racing

FCP Euro, Paragon Porsche, EBS Racing, ECS Tuning, Pelican Parts and Lindsey Racing are good sourced for new parts. Bosch is the only reliable reference sensor, shop around for best price

T&T Racing

Rebuild should include rebuilding brake calipers, replacing piston seals and cleaning all slide surfaces, cleaning the retaining spring clip surfaces in contact with brake pad, and replacing pins. Use Permatex Hi Temp Lubricant on all slide surfaces including brake pad backing plates. Search RL for previous posts on cleaning techniques. Use only featured alcohol for cleaning.

Bleed brakes and clutch master cylinder and clutch slave cylinder. Purchase a power bleeder with catch bottles and tubing,

If fuel injectors need cleaning, contact SouthBay Fuel Injector Service. Do not add fuel injector cleaner to the fuel tank as the cleaner also removes varnish internal to piping causing plugging if fuel injector internal screen filter.

Consider repacking front wheel bearings. Measure rotors for compliance thickness.

Porsche 944 PET parts manual and maintenance manuals are available on internet for free. Ckark's Garage is another source for testing procedures and repair procedures.
PET parts manual is a most for ordering the correct part, being aware that Porsche sometimes up dates p/n's

T&T Racing

dcAuto Porsche is also a good source for used parts and eBay with discretion.

secondchris

Cool looking car and I love sapphire metallic color. I actually looked at sapphire metallic 944 in East Haven, CT a couple of years ago, but amazingly it was a different car than this one.

notny41

I pulled my fuel rail and injectors off and cleaned them. It isn't that hard to clean them. Unless they aren't even clicking when you apply voltage to them, I wouldn't think they'd need to be replaced. I used a 9v battery as a power source when cleaning them.

basically used this guys' method

T. Jamison

Thanks! I forgot to put rebuilding the brakes on the list.

I've already bought a Motive power bleeder. I have to replace my clutch master cylinder and I saw how many times it was praised on here. I figured it was a must. I just changed the pads and rotors on my daily and tested out the power bleeder while I was at it.

I planned on getting new injectors anyway. I haven't checked the part numbers, but I'm pretty sure they are early injectors. I figured I'd have the early injectors cleaned and flowed, sell them, and buy the later injectors.

I'm definitely going to add wheel bearings to the list. I've had to push this car on multiple occasions, and they may need it.

I already have a cloud storage file with the PET, Workshop Manual (924 & 944), all of Clark's Garage resources, technical articles and every photo of the car I've taken or found. The week I was waiting to pick up the car, I was on my phone going through the PET page by page. I need to learn a lot more about the Porsche updated parts and numbers though. I want to stick with the theme I was given and make this car somewhat of a "Best of Collection" by adding as much of the improved late 944 components to an early car without being unreasonable.

T. Jamison

Thanks! I was pleasantly surprised by the sapphire metallic color. I thought it was Zermatt Silver Metallic until I got it home and checked. The paint is in rough shape, but after looking at the original paint around the fuel sending unit I am excited to get the mechanical stuff worked out and return the paint to it's former glory. I've seen some pictures of one with the Fuches painted to match and I was immediately in love.

I wish it were the same car. I sure hope I can find out more about this car's prior life. The title I have was signed over in 2014 from South Haven. But the guy I bought it from got it in 2020 from East Haven. So there could have been more owners in between there. I don't know, but the Carfax didn't show any others since 2014.

T. Jamison

I have looked at cleaning them myself and saved a Pelican Parts technical article on it. I'm pretty sure they are early injectors, and I want to replace them with the same injectors to match a later DME. I have seen some rennlist members say they didn't have an issue using early injectors with a later DME. But also, Clark's Garage has a little blurb that mentions you can't use the later DME's with the early injectors. I really want to make the engine bay as much of a later style setup as I can, so I want to get the injectors that came stock with the engine.

I am going to replace the fuel rail because it appears it was damaged at some point and is also an early style.



I have heard something about a 924S fuel rail that was used with M44.07's engines with fuel lines that match the early style's intake side routing. That's on my list of things to research in the near future.

T. Jamison

Thanks for the welcome. I am not exactly hesitant to post questions, but rather in love with the hunt to find the answers. I try not to ask questions I haven't tried to answer myself. I have been keeping up with every post on this forum and the 944/944S forum. I've been bookmarking every site I see, and learning so much.

The first thing I will do when it is truly road worthy is take her 100 miles up Route 66 to meet my family. That's the real pay off.

secondchris

Hard to believe there was more than one sapphire blue metallic around East Haven, CT last year - but the one I saw had the cookie cutter wheels and the previous owner had it running pretty nicely at the time so it would have to be a different car.

T. Jamison

The East Haven listing was still up on a website, so I tried to contact the seller. So far, I haven't received a response. I even spent maybe an hour or so on Google Earth trying to identify where the photos from the listing were taken so I could hopefully find them. I have the information on the owner prior to 2014, but haven't bothered to give them a call yet.

16again2009

Where are you in Oklahoma?

T. Jamison

I live in OKC, but I spend a lot of time in Tulsa. I grew up in the Tulsa metro so I visit family and friends maybe one or two weekends out of a month. The car was in Owasso when I bought it.