chriovorg

Hi,

I am looking to get in to AutoX and some Porsche DE days and just plain have a nice little toy to work on with my son. I found a local guy who has an 83 944 with 125,000 miles on it for $1,000. It is a brownish silver with brown interior.

The major problems are a small crack in the windshield bottom left corner. mushy clutch pedal(May need slave cyl). two holes in the body at the bottom just before the back wheel under the rock guards. bumber guards missing. he removed the idle valve and bypassed it but it wan in the back seet. He also removed the AC but left the pully and a hose just cut from the firewall dangling. the dash was cracked bad but expected. the driver seat was a little loose. IT has manual steering and it squeecks like hell. He told me that he replaced the rear suspension and the front left strut but the right was still old and soft and I could feel the bounce when going slow on big bumps inthe front end. The It was very cold yesterday and it was after work so I did not have a great look at it.

The good news the motor sounded very stron and when I test drove it besides the clutch pedal being soft the clutch grabbed hard and the motor and tranny pulled strong through all gears and shifting was smooth. the rear felt very stiff and grabbed well around tight corners. the body accept for the two rocker panel holes was solid. the rear seats were in good condition. He just replaced the lights for the clock and oil pressure gauges. The cookie cutter wheels look to be in good condition. the back glass is in tact.

I guess what I am looking for is I just want a fun toy to drive to and in events inthe northeast and have something to work on that I can do most of the work on. I have a Porsche mech who lives two doors down but is away in FLA for the next three months. I wanted to know that If I just picked this up and I failed could I get my money back piecemailing the parts out on Ebay and such.

Thanks for any advice.

M758

Seems like a fair price for what you want. I'd bet you might be able to fine nicer car for the same money or a similar one a bit cheaper, but that will take time.

For me $1000 is not a bad price for a donor/parts 944. It will need to ton of work to make it safe/good for DE and autocross, but it sounds like that is part of the plan.

BTW... 84 944 race car was bought as $1200 junker back in 1999. Over time it was a father/son project and built into an autocross car/DE car first. Then evolved into a race car. My father used to autocross it with me, but has since retired to "crew cheif" duties. I am driver/mechanic. He gives orders. Also my currnet race motor had 146k on it back in 2003 when I rebuilt it (original bores & rings) as a stock race motor. 50+ races later it is still going strong.

chriovorg

Its nice to hear from peaple who get what I am talking about.

I knew this forum would be the perfect place to get answers.

I have been looking for something here in the Northeast Mainly MA. but this is the only one I have found ithat was running and had a strong motor clutch and trans. the Kid who owns it bought two and took all the parts from the worst one and put them on this car. he was originally interested in racing it hence the removed AC but it sounds like he is just looking to make a quicjk buck on it to pursue something else. He mentioned that he had originally had plans to go with the renegadeHybrids LT1 conversion but just got in over his head.

I also forgot to mention that he rerouted the battery to the the back because the battery compartment was rusted through. It was repaired with some sort of black layered material and it cosmetically bad but structurally sound.

jaje

A $1000 for a running 944 is decent. Try to get him down as he's done some sketchy things to the car. I'd be worried about how much work the engine or transmission needs, or rust from interior leaks.

tifosiman

Here is my take on it.

I would pass.

The rust spots scare me. If the body is rusting there is no telling what the rest of the underside of the car is like. These cars are OK to work on when the bolts and hardware are in decent shape, but if everything is rust-welded it will make an otherwise enjoyable afternoon in the garage into a nightmare. Also, the fact that this car is made up of two different cars concerns me a little, unless the owner is a good mechanic and knows what he is doing. And that prospect doesn't sound too hopeful based on your post about the A/C and the idle valve. These are signs that the car has been neglected and not kept up correctly.

If you are buying it as a parts car, and could talk him down on it for that purpose, it might be OK. But to me it doesn't sound like a good basis for a fun father/son project car.

Tom R.

different spin on what tifo said.

if 1000 is not a major expenditure for you try it out. see what it needs, and if all fails sell it for $300. but get your son involved and have some fun "wrecking" it in the name of learning.

then get one in a bit better shape for not much more.

500

In some ways, I can really relate to what you are doing. My own 944 S was purchased with the intention of being a long-term project, many parts of which I share with my son. However, I started out with a fairly solid car to begin with and am trying to do a detailed restoration of the thing.

I 100% agree with Tifosiman, the two main "must haves" for a good project candiate are:

1) Straight, zero-rust body. Many of these cars still do not have rust due to the effective zinc galvanzing. Why bother with rust when you really have the option not to? Plus, when there is some easily found, there will be more lurking only to be found later on.

2) Un-molested. My car was a daily driver that had recieved typical maintenance of regular oil changes etc. But having no "custom" mods like hacked up wiring etc makes it that much easier to build from.

M758

Well have been probably the only one posting here who has done what you are looking todo...

I will reiterate some of my points. $1000 is a fair price. Not perfect and if you look really hard you could get it for less or a better car.

Now as for condition. If there is no rust, like all az cars, and the engine runs you have a perfect project. It will take alot of work, but that is case for any 944. You can spend $3000 on much nicer car, but then you can have alot of fun redoing the the car way you want it. Making this car into a nice street car is way too much work. However a track car needs really very little to be solid. As for a car cobbled together from two cars.

Lets see. my "84 944"

Chassis = 84 944
Block = 84 944
Head 87 942S
Headers 87 924S
Computer 85.5+ unknown source
Left front spindle/hub/caliper 84 944
Right front spindle/hub/caliper 87 924S
Steering rack Manual unknown year
Oil cooler = 86 944 Turbo
Transmission - 87 924S
rear suspension = 87 924S
Dash = 87 924S
Main harness = 84 944
DME harness & injection = 87 924S
Driver's door = 84 944
Passenger's door = 87 924S
Starter motor = 87 924S

That is the list of all the "stock" parts on my car.

As you can imagine I had access to an 87 924S parts car that I could swap alot of parts from.

Pcar944

I agree with the majority, I'd rather have a $1000 project car that is "stock" rather than starting out with someone else's (dubious) project. And there should be a good selection of candidates around $1000.

-mike
___________________
1986 944na Guards Red/Linen
1988 944na Dark Blue/Linen

tifosiman

Yes, but we know that you know what you are doing.

(says the man who's car is made up of parts from 7 different porsche model #'s )

chriovorg

It looks like I may keep this guy on hold and if it goes it goes. I will continue my search. Maybe if I can find something in the $2000 and under range that has no body or rust issues and start from there something like this guys car would be great for stripping.

It is sort of a slight buz kill but I do want to start off on the right foot to be sure that I stick with it and not teach my son how to give up or not finish something.

flashgordon

Waiting for a better car to start with is a wise choice. I have found that you always spend half your time making the car right before you can start with a project. Repairing wiring and doing body work is not fun and makes for a long project before you see any progress towards your goal. Be patient and you'll find the right car.

Tom R.

Here is a sad reality. I just sold an 89 with 78k miles. Every body panel had the VIN sticker, no rust, spare never used and all that jazz. I had receipts for about 3000 in parts and labor for the clutch over the last year, the window sticker, and many receipts since day one. Assuming the labor for everything else was free (belts, brakes, motor mounts etc.) I got less than 2000 for the car, and while very presentable, it has clear coat issues that may bother some.

chriovorg

Just found this add.

PORSCHE 944 1984. 2 door, 5 spd, solid body, not running. Good for parts or restore. $1500/bo. Larry. Mass Auto Recycling508-754-2691
Listing Source: Worcester Telegram and Gazette (MA)


I called and he is sending me some pictures of it. This is about an hour away from me and might be wirth a drive to check out.

He says that there is a brand new timing belt in a box in it but it does not run and they have not checked it out yet. He states the body is completely clean though.

tifosiman

More than likely the brand new timing belt is in the box because it should have been installed before the old one broke and took out some valves in the head and maybe a piston.

If the car is pristine other than the broken timing belt $1500 is still probably too much.

If you upped your budget to the $2K you mentioned earlier, you should probably be able to find a nice, running 944 that may need some TLC over time (like new belts, good cleaning, brakes, tires, etc, eventually maybe a clutch). Better to start there than behind the 8 ball of a rusty abused car or one with a blown engine (remember if you can't drive it you really don't know if the engine is the only problem, as transaxles can be problematic too).