Clint's 944

Hello,
I just talked to a guy that is selling his callaway 944 and he's asking $5000 for it as is. I haven't gone to see the car in person yet as I would like to be a little more prepared...
Can anyone offer advice as to what I should ask about and how much would/could this be worth?

Details:
85 1/2
114K miles
Velvet red color Ext. with brown or linen int.
BBS wheels
It's 85 1/2 that he bought new and had taken it to callaway for the conversion. He said it cost him $9000 for the kit and install at callaway.

The good:
One owner
Car was repainted two years ago.
The BBS wheels were refinished two years ago when he repainted
Front seats were complete redone two months ago.
Front seals and timing belt changed within 2000 miles.
Engine is supposed to be very strong and turbo was rebuilt by the manufacturer last year.
All other callaway components are intact and in great shape.

Bad:
Rear carpet is terrible.
Ball joints are bad.
Sunroof clips are broken.
Timing belt snapped 2000 miles ago. Owner said he replaced the valves pistons and head. He said it cost in excess of 2K for all the work.

So...could this be a keeper?

Thanks....

theedge

Ball joints are easy, no worry there. Sunroof stuff is easy as well.

Rear carpet sounds like the only REAL downside, unless its need a clutch or something big soon... However carpet isnt that big of a deal, im sure theres a few nice sets floating around from parts cars.

$5k doesnt sound bad for a Callaway's rareness and uniqueness, so it does sound like a keeper IMHO.

Der Rennwagen

I'd go for it. The price seems correct for how rare and unique they are. Most had Recaro LS seats and or different rims like the Ronal lightwieght racing rims on the one I photographed.

I took some photos a few years back of a Callaway for sale here in Vermont. Somehow I digitally misplaced them. Then, out of the blue while searching for Porsche 944 photos I found them on a fellow rennlisters site - too kewl !!!. So, in all there glory (whatever that is..) I present the photos again. Yes, I'm the original photographer. The dealer where they were taken has since gone out of business. Enjoy.

www.thompsonsmithdesign.com/944callaway/944.html

Jakerx

where's porsch-o-phile...he should be posting right about now

hacker-pschorr

It would be fun to have an N/A body with turbo power.

Mike C.

The problems you mentioned are fairly trivial. If he really had to replace any pistons, I would need to see the bills. Changing pistons means taking the engine out of the car - if one were to do that, why not a new clutch? However, if you don't uncover any big problems and car fax checks out O.K. and if it was a quality repaint, (even if it needs a clutch), I don't think 5K would be out of line considering the rarity of these machines (and the power!)

Clint's 944

Does anyone if there were any problems with the callaway kit? I wonder how hard it would be to find an exhaust manifold, you know?

It's funny though...I've never seen another 944 around here and low and behold a callaway is sitting in a garage 10 miles from where I live!!!

CT944

get it, i had a callaway turbo vw gti and i swear it was still one of the fastest cars i've been in. they are finicky, as they are highly tuned and callaway doesn't service them anymore. neuspeed bought the rights to many of their 4 cyl turbo packages, so callaway now focuses on the corvettes only. they were way ahead of their time. callaway is located in CT, so i've seen alot out of that shop and it is impressive.

Porsche-O-Phile

GET IT!!!

I don't even have mine together and I wouldn't trade it for the world! Especially if it's already put together and proven in a car, that's a pretty good deal. The stuff you mention is pretty minor - a rear carpet can be had for $100 or so. Ball joints are easy (and should probably be inspected anyway), the sunroof clips are a non-issue. I'm a bit suprised to see one on an 85.5 car as the Callaway conversions were typically done for the benefit of the early car owners. To see one (particularly if it's an original Callaway installation) in a late style is quite unusual. I'll look and see if there are any numbers of how many were put into the late style cars (85.5s) but I'm sure it wasn't many. The other things to look for are obviously turbo condition (does it need seals and a rebuild?) These turbos (IHI-6) are hung right off the exhaust manifold for rapid spool times and simple plumbing, but the downside is they have slightly shorter lifespan than the 951 / k26 setup. Just check it in any case. . .

The car itself sounds pretty nice condition wise except for some minor things. This is an interesting find - that makes four of the 32 kits explained - the one you found, the one I've got, Charlie944 has one and there's that black one that was done by someone in Massachusetts and then sold not too long ago (present location unknown). Wow! I'd say if he's got receipts and a strongly rebuilt head go for it. It's going to be faster than a 951, even with the later body (which is a bit heavier than the early ones) and people pay $5K-$7K for ones in similar conditions to what yours sounds like. Drive it and identify other issues - does everything work? Stuff like that. If it is as he says, go drive it (I'm sure it'll blow your mind) and see how you feel about it. I'd personally offer $4.5K but that's only because I know I'd be adding H2O injection, after oiler system, external oil cooler, etc. all of which costs $$$. If you don't get it, let me know - the only thing better than having a Callaway 944 is having TWO Callaway 944s!

Porsche-O-Phile

Check this site to learn more (this is the black one I mentioned):
http://members.rennlist.com/tholyoak/

Charlie944

Well said Jeff, one is better than two! Clint, I say drive it, check out any receipts and records, and think about a PPI. Sounds like a good buy despite the carpet and ball joints. You would have yourself a unique piece of US automotive history! My Callaway always turns heads and is a good conversation topic. But most of all it is BLAST to drive. With my current setup it will spin the tires a bit in 2nd while not even at WOT, this is with 275 rubber as well. It is light and nimble and wickedly quick with the shorter gear ratios of the NA tranny, and quick spool up IHI. I purchased mine for $4995 and an additional $1500 for the Fikse/Goodyear package. This was a steal due to the TEC2 needed major tuning and was not emissions legal, okay forme but in Deleware and surrounding areas it was a major turn-off. The $4995 gave me the car, and a set of early offset 951 PD's with like-new Dunlop tires. The passanger seat was trashed and the engine compartment needed some TLC and reducting/hose replacement, and the original base paint is pretty rough but the custom overlay is in good shape.

Let us know what you think of the car when you drive it, and if you get it or not.

tifosiman

I have read that Callaway did not beef the 944 trans up at all when doing this conversion. Is that the case?

If so, I can't imagine that the early 944 transmissions can withstand that much additional HP without turning into steel granola, sooner than later.

Porsche-O-Phile

That is partially true, although from what I've been told, there haven't been any "Callaway-related" transmission failures. I think a lot of that might have to do with the fact that the turbo's power comes on AFTER the gears are already meshed and moving and probably a certain amount of the longevity of the particular transmission involved is attributable to driver skill (or lack of it). If you go doing "rev up, spool up, and dump the clutch" starts, yes I'd suspect you'll rip the pinion apart in very short order (and probably the CVs). If however, you drive with a certain degree of finesse and respect the limits of the car, I imagine it will last pretty much indefinitely.

For my own, I will EVENTUALLY (long-term plan) swap the 951 pinion and final drive gearing into the n/a transmission. This will increase top-end considerably (especially considering the n/a transmission's higher 5th gear) and overall strength. This will be before I attempt to do anything higher than about 300 RWHP in the car.

The SUPER long-term (5-10 years out) plan is to transplant a highly-built / strengthened 3.0L engine into it and run the Callaway kit on top of that - I believe this has never been done with that particular setup. . . I would most certainly want to run the stronger transmission prior to even attempting that one, however. I suppose if I can find that elusive winning lottery ticket it might be done sooner. . .

Danno

"The SUPER long-term (5-10 years out) plan is to transplant a highly-built / strengthened 3.0L engine into it and run the Callaway kit on top of that"

Jeff, you're simply sick! You need help. First you go from wanting bone-stock and safety. Then with a tiny small hit of the crack-pipe with those Welt chips, you're headed down the dark-side, there's no turning back!!!

88BlueTSiQuest

Replacing the pistons would worry me. Callaway modified the pistons in order to work with the conversion. They lowered the compression to 8.0:1, because they were experiencing detonation with the stock compression of 9.5:1.