Techno Duck

I am at that crossroad. I have a couple of things im thinking of putting into my car, turbo brakes, hubs, spindles, rebuilt control arms..etc. However it leaves me wondering, do i go for a 944 Turbo instead?

I feel like i can make this car handle incredible and stop better, but i will always be wanting something a bit faster i think. Im really not sure what to do right now.

I do autocross my car, but i am not so competitive to the point where it matters to me that i am at a slight handicap due to the turbo lag. I do enjoy the competition with the other 944 drivers, but i figure there is nothing stopping me from comparing times between the other 944's still.

Im really not sure what to do. I will not have the money to buy a prospective car outright until atleast next summer, but i figure if i do find the right car, i can borrow the money from my parents for the time being, sell my car and pay them back most, if not all i borrow. Id love to keep both cars, but thats out of the question. If i did end up borrowing money from my parents, it would be less than $3000 or whatever i think i can get for selling my car. This way i am not indebt to them for years while i pay off the car. All i would need to do is sell the car and instantly be able to pay them back.

I feel like i have reached that step of either being in to deep, or still being comfortable cutting my losses and selling.

Reasons i want the 944 Turbo? Not only because the extra power, but it really is one of those dream cars id love to have the experience to own. I have a feeling the general consensus will be to sell the brakes and whatnot and just save up for the turbo. But something deep inside wants to see these nice red shiney things tucked under my black C2 5-spokes! I really had no inteion of ever upgrading the brakes, but i got the calipers, hubs and spindles (plus used rotors) at an incredible price for the entire package.

These parts are telling me to put them in every day i wake up...

Dilberto

Keep those brakes for your 951. There may be one available soon....I'll keep everyone posted.

Zach
"Dedicated to the car that saved the Marque"

500

Jon,

You have been dreaming turbo dreams for some time now. The fact is, you are going to be thinking about/looking at every turbo that comes along until you get one. So, just face it, you will buy a turbo, the only question is when?

You will get more $$ selling the parts like your turbo brakes seperately, that is true, but if you want to wait for a while, you can still install the parts and then remove them again in the future.

What I would say is either go for a really nice turbo, or an amazing deal (like that $3700 dollar car in the classifieds right now). Don't settle for a 60-70% car. It will nickle and dime you to death.

If you do decide to sell your parts, I'd be interested in the spindles, brake lines and washers...

Techno Duck

Allan, i thought of doing that. But hate to have to spend more money on another wheel alignment before selling the car. I think thats what i may end up doing though.. i would probably strip the suspension ive got in the car and save it for a 951 and throw all the stock stuff back in. I am very interested in that car in the classifieds, just the only real problem being distance, i am about 2800 miles away from it. I am checking into shipping quotes and hopefully will have some quotes tomorrow.. am also considering flying out and driving the car (supposedly about a 40 hour drive) back home. It really is a tough decision.

I think its inevitable at this point i will eventually buy a 951, just i would hate to find the 'right car' within the next few months...then feel uncomfortable cutting my losses and selling my current car.

L8 APEKS

My guess is that a $3700 951 will soon become a $6700 951. You might get lucky, but I wouldn't bet on it. My $2500 944 seemed like a good deal at the time...then I did the clutch, the headgasket, the waterpump, and some other things.

Now I'm basically where you are - do I spend any more money on this car, or get something faster knowing that I'll alwaysbe limited in terms of power? But the thought that keeps prevailing is that I have done SO much to my N/A that I KNOW for a fact it's solid and reliable. I would drive this car cross-country without thinking twice. All the big work is done, and so all that's really left is to nitpick at little things and enjoy the drive.

I am afraid that if I stepped up to a 944 Turbo or a 968 (my first choice), I would have to go through all of those maintenance headaches again. I don't want to do that right now, my wallet can't take the hit.

So for me, keeping the N/A a little longer is still the better choice I think. I will probably do a cam this summer, and an MAF if I feel daring. At that point, I should be pretty close to the 195chp mark. It won't be quite turbo fast, but it'll get me a ticket easily enough.

Legoland951

Well, it sounds like you should drive your car, save money, and get a turbo later. Sell those parts so you won't have to look at them while learn on how to work on a 951. BTW, Sean, call me. I waited all night for your call but still don't know if I can take my turbo S over.

michaelathome

That isn't a lot to pay for a 951 that is sorted out, I doubt that I need to tell you that. You have a lot of challenges in front of you to say the least.

If there is any way that I can help let me know. I say if you are ready to make the move then keep what you you can move from the '87 NA and move it to the 951 and go from there.

I can't wait till I have a pic like yours of my 928 working the turnies

Michael

M758

I have had my Turbo S and an bone stock 83 944 at the same time. Guess what? I much enjoyed autocrossing the 83 over the turbo S. I was always fighting the power band of the 951. The 83 had no hp and leaned like ship at sea, but was darn fast even on street tires. It was lots of fun too.

I prefer to race my 84 944 spec car than take my turbo on the track. My spec car is faster and more fun to drive. However my 944 Turbo S is great street car and will not part with it. In fact I'd rather part with my 944 spec car than my Turbo S.

Yabo

How old are you? Do you go to college away from home, have a good job, etc?

I'm happy with my decisions, but many people would not be happy living with a couple hundred dollars in the bank for a few years while trying to afford parts for broken cars.

It sounds like a great idea in plan form.. but they all do. Hey I planned on only needing a few hundred dollars and a winter to get my car back on the road. In short it's been a year and a half, and over 1k easy and it still isnt remarkably close to completion.

If I were to do it again, as many will tell you, I would still do it differently even though I'm happy with where I am right now. I would wait for a well sorted out car, and not buy one that uses all my funds. Especially when your borrowing money from your parents, you say you'll sell your car and pay them back, but what happens when you sell your car, and suddenly a timing belt slips, clutch blows, headgasket goes, R&P snaps, etc? Then you'll be throwing that money from your car into repairs, then be on the slippery slope of trying to repay your parents and get your car back together.

I'm kind of suprised the older guys are saying go for it, as it's not the advice I've seen given usually.

Maybe the best plan would be to get your car as clean as possible.. list it all over teh place (wherever it's cheap to) for a little more than it is "worth" and wait for the right buyer who respects the work you done and will pay it's pricetag. Then you'll have more than enough money to buy the turbo and pay for parts.

That's my .02... whatever you do, make sure you plan for the worst.

500

Hey Jon, perhaps you should post the pics of the car in question and see what everyone has to say. I am often surprised by how much people can pick out from pictures as to what looks right and what doesn't. Obviously many things may lurk beneath the surface, but there are usually visible clues as to what kind of life the car has lead.

FRporscheman

I was in E X A C T L Y the same situation. Bought my 85 NA for $875, fixed pretty much everything made of metal or plastic. Selling it for a loss doesn't make sense when it's so reliable, but it's lacking power. The only thing different with me is that my absolute dream 968 came along (perfect everything, $10k) and I would have been stupid to let it go. I borrowed $5k, and hopefully if I can sell the NA I can pay my brother and dad back partially. I love the 968. I look back at the NA, sure, but then I look at the 968 again and I know I made the right choice.

Techno Duck - DO IT! Get the 951! Just make sure you sell the 944 first... it sucks having 2 at the same time.

Techno Duck

With all thats said, i do have a ton of work into my 944..both performance (all suspension) and with the maitenence. I would also not hesitate to drive this car cross country right now.

I looked into shipping the 951 that is in the classifieds right now, i am looking at over $1500 for shipping, plus needing belts...etc. So i figure by the time i am said and done with making the car comfortable to drive (no impending failure of anything), i just entered the low end of the price range with 951's closer to me.

If the car were not 2700 miles away from me, or atleast a few thousand closer, i would have picked it up without a doubt!

I guess ill just do the last hoo-rah with this car with throwing in these brakes and start saving it towards a 951.

I am 20 right now and soon will be 21 in late July. I do have a decent paying enough job during the summer which will only get better once i turn 21 and can get a CDL (commercial drivers license). So financially supporting myself with the car i dont think will be much of a challenge. ts just actuallly saving up long enough without wanting to upgrade my current ride that will be the problem! Even if i end up having a car that is down for an extended period needing repairs, its not to much of a inconveience as i am at school 5-days a week where i cant leave campus anyway.

Devon, i do see what your saying about having enough left over for a 'disaster' fund. And i defenetley agree with you. My original plans were to save up about $9k and look for a $8k car. That would give me about $1k to spend making it 'right'.

Ideally i would keep both cars. But honestly i do not have the space for it (still live with the 'rents). Plus i would likely sell my car to offset the cost of buying another.

Looks like this summers theme will be "how much money can i save?!?".

So the ideal 951.. white ext., black interior (i know, hard to find!) and LSD. So maybe an '89 if i get lucky!

xsboost90

keep the n/a for awhile and learn how to drive it better. I want to get a turbo, eventually, but not until ive maxed my car and the only thing that will help is more power. I want my car to run the same times as some other better prepared cars while mine is stock. When i get that fast, ill get a faster car then try again.

Techno Duck

Dan, i am trying to get faster with my car but i think what is slowing me down right now is tires. At the last autocross (the one from my avatar actually) i was over 9 seconds off the fastest driver with a 944 who runs VictoRacers (jeeper31). I was thinking i just plain suck being that far off..and i really did not feel like i had any good afternoon runs (there were issues with the timing equipment in the morning, where i feel i made the best runs!). But was told by practically everyone its because of my tires. I am running some fairly old Yoko A008P summer tires, the best i could find about them is they were discontinued around '03. It probably is the tires...i was lighting up the wheels in 2nd gear through almost every corner exit. But still wonder how i will fair with a decent set of tires. I am planning on buying the new Falken Azenis 615's come May when im back to work.

I really hope it is the tires..im running out of excuses

xsboost90

yeah, it could be tires. You also need to remember if you are sliding or spinning, your wasting time. They say, to go faster, you must slow down. I believe this to be true, take your time and make clean runs, then keep the clean and add some speed. When i started out i was within .5 sec on goodyear street tires as some others w/ slicks. Then i bought some slicks. I would prob. get whooped if i ever went to a real competitive autox though, not many 944's in my class when i race. I always wanted a turbo, but now my goal is to do as well as i can w/ the car i have so instead of "yeah i have 350bhp" its " hey i beat you and i only have 125hp to the rear wheels!"