choupette.944

Hello everyone,

last spring I lost my beloved 944 1989 to Vulcan (the god of fire, not the pointy ear guys…)

I am looking for a replacement, so far and I have three options.

1. 1988 944 S, interior needs to be fixed (water leaked from the sunroof), dashboard is intact! some noises coming from the exhaust. But the engine head has been recently rebuilt 190 000 km, no AC( asking 15K CAD)

2. 1987 951, interior ok, dashboard cracks, mileage unknown (over 150 000km for sure). Exterior looks perfect. Original fuel
lines… no AC(Asking 20K CAD)

3. 1990 S2, well maintained (with papers), interior looks almost perfect, exterior looks good, 200 000km, no AC (Asking 18K CAD)

All are 5 speed manual.

I know the 951 has a greater resale value, but the S2 is more exclusive (correct me if I’m wrong), it may be less prone to failure as well?

I do all the mechanical work myself. So time investment is not a big issue.

Which one will you chose if you were me?

Thanks

M.

autosea

#3
Cant go wrong with the three ltr motor.

jeyjey

#3 for me as well. Turbo brings a lot of complications for a result that's not as drivable as the S2.

Did you see #1 in person? You may have to replace more of the interior than looks damaged in order to get rid of the smell if it got all mouldy....

joes c4 cab

I have a 1986 NA car that my son and I have been working on that we are about to put up for sale. It's not as fancy as the ones you listed, but it would be less expensive. I have documented the progress on the 944/944s page titled "Another father son project." We are looking for around $9,000 US. DM me if you would like some pics or details. I would call it a really nice driver. There are some clear coat issues, but the interior is pretty clean except for a spot on the drivers bolster.

choupette.944

I had brought my previous 1989 944, from a standstill, not running piece of junk, to an all restored, running well nice car. I had a fire in it and the car was totaled (no, it was not the fuel hoses, I replaced them). I tried to find another restorable one, but none are for sale in my part of the world at the moment (Quebec, Canada). So, I turned myself to other potential more pricy ones, but a little bit more exclusives.

choupette.944

Yes I saw it. It was mostly the rear roof panel that was damaged. You know the piece made out of cardboard paper? 😂

My intention is to strip all the interior and do a thorough cleaning of carpets and panels anyway. I did that with my previous one to remove that “nice old car smell”

bonus12

In your shoes I would prefer a Turbo for the overall experience

Tiger03447

I concur with Jeyjey. Go with the S-2. Less prone to electrical fires as well as other problems. More enjoyable unless you love wrenching. 😀

choupette.944

Thank you all for the advices.

I will keep you informed on my selection. I feel so empty without a 944 in my garage! 😢😂

M.

goblues38

Tell me about it. 10 days since I lost my 944 and it is painful every time I go in the garage.

mine was an s2 with 72,000 miles and I felt like the motor was almost bullet proof

walfreyydo

Power:
If you are wanting to keep power levels stock I would take the S2. However if you are wanting to increase power, the 951 is going to have many more options. The S2 is just tough to upgrade staying NA

Ease of working:
The S2 is much easier to work on. The 951, due to the turbo and related piping (crossover pipe), oil/coolant lines, etc is much more of a pain to work on for common maintenance items (which you will need to do on both cars).

I have an S2 but I would have preferred a turbo as the power levels of the S2 leave something to be desired, at least for me. The S2 is still fun and relatively fast, but upgrades will be expensive and hp per dollar ratio will be much lower than the turbo. My goal for power on my S2 is 250hp, which will require many mods/tuning to achieve (cams, maf, exhaust, headwork, etc), whereas this can be reached with a turbo with relatively simple and inexpensive upgrades (small boost and fuel increase with a simple piggyback or tune).

choupette.944

What happened to it?

choupette.944

I originally planned to swap my 1989 2.7l with a S2 engine as I want to keep it as “Porsche” as possible. A lot of people suggested me to do a LS swap, but it’s kind of a sacrilege to me.

I intend to keep my future 944 as original as possible. I would like to keep it as long as possible in the best condition and give it to my grand son when he’ll be 16 (don’t tell my wife or my daughter! ) So no tuning on the menu 😉

Jfrahm

The S2 would be my choice if not modding (with a large budget). Do any of them have AC that can be repaired?

choupette.944

They all claimed that it can be… It just stopped working. I figure it will at least take a new compressor and dryer.