JB '87 944

Like everyone...drove home. The next day I drove it fast. It wouldn't handle a straight line at high speed. Discovered Rennlist. Asked the question....was bombarded with, "Get an alignment". Got an alignment. WOW. It's still a WOW 3 years later.

SamGrant951

Great advice- 3 ring with the plastic envelope type sheet holders. Every receipt, service write up, mod instructions, etc...

pete944

When I got the white car the first thing I did was put the 8" wheels on the rear and the 7" wheels on the front because the PO had them backwards.

When I got the blue one the first thing I did was drive it 1200 miles.

Clint's 944

I picked up the car in Atlanta and drove it back to Myrtle Beach. (350 miles) The PO had reciepts that all the belts, brakes and other misc. items were done and the car really seemed to be in excellent shape. As soon as I was on the interstate I floored it up to 135MPH!! (Iknow..I know...dumb and overly excited!)
The following day I stripped the interior and cleaned everything including the shell casings under the carpet!

I did a full tune up and acustomed my self to the motor and when I pulled off the belt covers to check the timing belt, I saw that one of the rollers were oval. It had apparently seized and the timing belt had worn through half the roller! I keep it in my tool box as a reminder to NEVER trust the PO. After that, I slowed down and started repairing and replacing that would or could be needed!

No breakdowns yet!!

Dan in Pasadena

I was really stupid. I bought mine for $5500 in April 2001. My sister-in-law was the original owner and pretty much nothing had ever been done to it. It had been parked in her garage for 6-1/2 years, had 59,200 miles, cheapo discount store tires - flat spotted of course on it. Midas Muffler shop brake job was the only receipt she had!

I posted to Rennlist, you guys told me NOT to try to start it - the timing belt had never been changed! I paid a LOT to flat bed tow it out of the local mountains where she lived, to Pasadena. Spent (Gulp!!) $1800 to have all belts, hoses, fluids, filters, tuneup, new battery, fuel rail and assorted other fixes - OUCH!. Still needed new tires, motor mounts, AC fixed, rear axles replaced, brakes all around, PS reservoir, clutch...and so much more. She's very well sorted now...but I am in it for maybe $10,000 total. Runs like a champ for an NA, but come one....$10K? - Stupid.

Anyway, I think of selling her - someone will get a VERY good car for the money. I want a 911 to do more or less the same level of effort to. Takers?

weizen

Mine was quite honestly in need of repairs, looked a bit rough and the seller was in in need of cash so I picked it up pretty cheaply in Lincoln , NE and drove it straight to my my mechanic (about 100 miles) to get looked over and have all the important stuff done.

I was quite the novice when I bought it, but had the cash from saving up so I had it done proper. I'm very glad that I did! It was pricey as I had never worked on a p-car and wasn't used to the prices and was intimidated to work on it at first (now it's like working on a chevy with different wrenches). I just knew that I had to have the car so I budgeted accordingly.

Here we are 5 years later and am in the middle of a restore. Don't post a great deal, but I have to say I've gotten a great deal of ideas and technical help from searching and reading everyone's posts, you guys make owning this thing much easier!! Thanks to all!

iloveporsches

Drove it for a weekend. Then I parked it for a while (couple months) as the belts needed to be done and I didn't want to pay insurance on two cars. Belts were done, two weeks later my throwout fork broke. Car spent the next few months in the garage on jack stands. As soon as that was done, headgasket blew. Had that fixed at a shop, then the starter solenoid went bad. So from owning it from the end of July through early May, I drove it a total of maybe 200 or 300 miles.

Since then its been (relatively) trouble free. Sure, over the summer it liked to die when it was idling before it warmed up, but that went away. And yeah, it leaks oil and need an alignment BAD, but it still runs and drives ok. I have the parts to fix the oil leak and replace the suspension, now I just need the time/ motivation to put them on.

Geo

I started stripping the interior.

car_slave

Drove home from NJ very carefully, and then took a look at the belts, which were Ok, and wished I had driven it harder. Then replaced the front rotors which were warped from a hot track day by the PO, and took care of a bad front wheel bearing. Then I went crazy and did a waterpump, front oil seals, and belt job. uggg

Red1

I instructed the seller to meet me at a mechanic's shop with the car, where we could finalize the transaction. I insisted he drive it there, and then we'd transfer the title.

On the test drive I quickly discovered the brake master cylinder was shot, and figured if he wrecked it trying to get it to the shop, it was not my problem. The mechanic knew the car, and the seller had all the receipts going back to the window sticker, otherwise I'd have had him check the timing belt too.

jonnybgood

Started driving in 900 miles home after the PO told me about retensioning the belts. Something he did not put in the ad and something he declined to tell me until I flew up and was standing in his front yard.

I drove it for 700 miles until I downshifted and heard a thump. Put in clutch, 1 second, coasting, buzzing sound, 4 seconds, engine stops running 6 seconds. Open hood, black rubber belt material coming out of T belt inspection hole. Oh if I only had those six seconds over again. I now know what the buzzing sound is and if I ever here it again I am going for the ignition key.

NeedPorscheSpeed

Stared at it.

Let me explain:

I spent an entire week during the summer of 1999 agonizing about which 944 Turbo to buy. It came down to three: an immaculate 1987 Turbo in Michigan, a 1988 Turbo S in St. Louis, and a 1989 Turbo in Atlanta. I chose the 1989 Turbo in Atlanta, as can be seen. By the time I arrived at the previous owner's home to take ownership, I was exhausted from my painstaking search. Thankfully, my father was with me, and he was able to drive it to the hotel for me. So, when we arrived at the hotel, we parked it in a perfect place for me to just admire it from our 2nd floor balcony. I was too exhausted to drive, so staring at her was the next best thing. When I was able to drive her the next day, I realized that I liked the view from the cockpit even better!

Bluesky4x4

I teset drove an 84 in St. Louis and decided I was right, P944 was the best bang for the buck when it comes to getting an older sports car. The 84 was junk, so I picked an 87 up in Cincy off ebay in great shape for a grand less. Drove it all the way home and the first thing I did was install a shiny new crest on the front. It's much faster now! .

dmw44

Bought my '86 42k miles 944 in Pittsburgh after finding it on e-Bay. Flew to Pittsburgh from Florida to examine and it was as pristine as advertised. Now the big decision--drive it home or have it transported. Had it transported back to Florida in an enclosed rig. Took it in to my Porsche guy, only to find the timing belt was shot. He suggested it very well may not have made it back to Florida had I chosen to drive it...

Gator_86_951

Checked the ball joints and all the hoses etc.. myself. Belts had just been done, and clutch. Went to Sebring for DE. Used the fuchs from the 930 w/khumos, so i guess i put those on and took them off. Good car ever since...until my brother let it overheat :-(.