Hiya all!

Looking around these boards, you sure seem like a buncha friendly types, so please forgive me for the lame questions to follow....

Currently I am driving a sweeeet 94 Ford Aspire. While 63 HP (no lie) is monstrous, my good friend at work got hisself a 944 and has gotten me to start thinking about moving on into grown-up land.

Looking on Ebay, and reading through some of the alt.autos.porsche boards, I think I have narrowed my choice down to a 944 class car. Main reasons being a mellow sticker price, ease of driving, and all around stability. Being as how I am getting married in the spring, I'd like to take the Missus around in some style without breaking the bank.

My questions are:

1) Is there an ultimate newbie FAQ online somwehere about the 944 class? As in, what years they were made, what differs from a 944, 944 Turbo, 944 S class, etc? Ratings of horsepower, reliability, all that good stuff.

2) I know next to nothing about cars (am a computer geek in RL, so if you have UNIX questions toss em my way). Would a auto class at a local community college be a good start to doing my own stuff? I don't plan on rebuilding the engine in my first week, but I have read (sensibly enough) that a DYI approach to car repair, especially for Porches, will be easier on the wallet and possibly more fun. Would a starter course plus manuals be good enough to go with for a starter? Do Porsche clubs take newbies under their wing for teaching the art of car repair and maintenace?

3) Is Ebay a decent way to buy a 944? Seems that they have more selections on there than any other website. Has anyone bought a Porsche from the Bay, and if so, how has your experience been?

Thank you for humoring me on this - please don't feel bad if you toss me a "read the FAQ", as long as you point me to an FAQ like I specified above Even a few are fine if they are good for a total newb. Surfing around, I am picking up little pieces here and there, but it would sure be nice to find a lot of this stuff grouped somewhere. Anything would be a help - thanks!

Hans Gruber

 

Hi Hans,
welcome to the list

Check out this:
<a href="http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html" target="_blank">http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html</a>

Good sources for upgrades:
<a href="http://www.gururacing.net" target="_blank">http://www.gururacing.net</a>
<a href="http://www.speedforceracing.com" target="_blank">http://www.speedforceracing.com</a>

 

[quote]Originally posted by Hans Gruber:
<strong>1) Is there an ultimate newbie FAQ online somwehere about the 944 class? As in, what years they were made, what differs from a 944, 944 Turbo, 944 S class, etc? Ratings of horsepower, reliability, all that good stuff.</strong><hr></blockquote>

There's not one place that I found (I was just a searching nooB a few months back). I read about them in Grassroots Motorsports (magazine - not sure if they have the articles online or not), and then just started doing searches through Yahoo and Google.

For basics:
944's were an 83~90 deal with 'early' being anything before 85.5, they have a 'classic' looking dash. The 85.5+ have a modern looking dash (there are other changes too - but that's one of the most notable). The 944 turbo came about in 86. The 924s (87/88) is just the 944 without wide fenders (and usually fairly inexpensive). The S/Turbo S started in 88 and have 16 valves per cylinder vs. 8v for the rest with the S2 being a n/a with the turbos good looks.

HP - I don't know (don't care actually), and reliability seems like they're Bulletproof once you get past the timing belt and clutch.
[quote]<strong>
2) I know next to nothing about cars (am a computer geek in RL, so if you have UNIX questions toss em my way). Would a auto class at a local community college be a good start to doing my own stuff? I don't plan on rebuilding the engine in my first week, but I have read (sensibly enough) that a DYI approach to car repair, especially for Porches, will be easier on the wallet and possibly more fun. Would a starter course plus manuals be good enough to go with for a starter? Do Porsche clubs take newbies under their wing for teaching the art of car repair and maintenace?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Being a computer geek AND professionally trained mechanic, I can honestly say that they both feed off the same basic need to be able to read a manual, digest the info quickly and then apply that info. Armed with that ability and a good set of tools (er, plus the required confidence in yourself) you'll be set. An auto class at a local college will Definatally help. Also, the Porsche Club of America should present you with some people who know their way around the specific cars as well.. (not to mention this Wonderfull forum - they've helped me Tremendously).
[quote]<strong>
3) Is Ebay a decent way to buy a 944? Seems that they have more selections on there than any other website. Has anyone bought a Porsche from the Bay, and if so, how has your experience been?
</strong><hr></blockquote>

I think I've found that the best prices were consistantally on autotrader.com. I also watched Ebay, cars.com and carbuyer.com (plus the classifieds here and 'The Mart' through pca.org). I almost bought a car from ebay, but decided that it wasn't what I desired and the Exact car I was looking for turned up for $1000 less 2 weeks later in Much better shape. Before committing to a car though ebay, I'd suggest getting a feel for the market, what you can afford and learn a bit about the cars here (it'll help your friend out aswell!).


Good luck Hans... <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Note: I'm a 7 week old 951 owner and the information above May contain errors. Just keep the salt handy...

 

Welcome to the Club. I am a newbie to the 944 scene myself, although I have had a 911E project car on the go for years. My son got me into 944's after the last Porsche Club run up here to Whistler and back. Sort of got me hooked. He has a very sweet 944 S2 If you can afford one it seems the way to go. Very nice and very quick. He actually lets me drive it on occasion. G/L

 

Hans, welcome to the group. I'm sure you'll enjoy a 944. Just take some time to learn about them, be picky and buy a good one. Finding this board is an excellent start.

As far as learning how to do maintenance, I'd say start with your little Ford. Do an oil change and see if you like doing your own work. It is a lot like computer repairs, but you need more space and it's a lot messier!

Most important is to be safe. Use ramps or a jackstand...never get under a car supported only by a jack! Other than that, read a manual or instructions on this board. Buy good tools, but you can just buy them one at a time as you need them.

And make sure it's fun! There are still many jobs I won't tackle, but reading this board will give you a good idea of what problems you may encounter and how much it will set you back if you outsource it.

 

Welcome to the 'list. You are no longer a post virgin (just don't become a post ***** <img src="graemlins/yltype.gif" border="0" alt="[typing]" /> ). The cars are great. Half the fun is working on them. Just take time and make sure you understand what needs to be done to fix it. You owe it to yourself to get one. <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" />

 

I am new to the 944 world as well. Make sure the veh you purchased has a maintenance history that comes with it. I really only wanted to ask if you are off of the lamb since Bruce Willis caught you in "Die Hard"? (Sorry, I had to ask the question.)

 

Brian's info is helpful and mostly correct, but the Turbo and Turbo S are 8V motors; the 944S, 944S2 and 968 are the 16-valvers.

Porsche clubs are a good source of technical info, whether by word of mouth with others that own your type of car, or through tech days that some clubs host. For instance, in the San Diego club will have such an event every couple of months where they explain Bosch fuel injection, or braking systems, or whatever.

Good luck!

 

Looks like Doug beat me to the punch on this one -
Hit thie link towards the bottom for good useful 944 Information...
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Brian McCoy:
<strong>944's were an 83~90 deal </strong>
First year was 82, not available in the US. Last year was 91 and 91 was available in the US in the S2 variant. The Last year we Americans received Turbos was 89, while the RoW saw them until 91 eventually in the Turbo Cabriolet version.

<strong> The S/Turbo S started in 88 and have 16 valves per cylinder vs. 8v for the rest with the S2 being a n/a with the turbos good looks.</strong>

The 944S was born in 1987 and did sport the 4 Valves Per Cylinder, as opposed to the base models 2 Valves per cylinder. It also carried badges on the side reading "16 Ventilier." It was also produced in 88.
In 1989, the S2 was born, mating the Turbo's looks with a 3.0L, 4 Valve per cylinder Normally Aspirated engine.

The 944 Turbo s was born in 1988, however, it did not have 4 valves per cylinder, instead keeping the same 2 valves per cylinder of all previous 944 Turbos. The major changes were a larger Turbo (more lag), upgraded brakes and suspension.
In 1989 they stopped making the Turbo "S," however the 89 944 Turbo was equipped with the same larger turbo and upgraded brakes and suspension of the previous year's S model.

Lastly the 968 - This is copied from the following website (definitely worth checking out)
<a href="http://members.optusnet.com.au/~dr_scott/944s2.htm" target="_blank">944 Info</a>

The S2's successor, finally designated the 968, was put into production in late 1991. Porsche claimed that 968 was 80% changed from the 944S2 and incorporated Porsche's new "VarioCam" technology. The 968's body styling was a blending of the 944 and it's larger brother, the 928. Production continued until the last 4-cylinder front-engined Porsche 968 rolled out of the Zuffenhausen plant in July 1995 ending a successful history of front engined Porsche automobiles. Strong competition from Japanese car makers (Mazda RX-7 and others) had forced Porsche to move upmarket and concentrate on the lower volume, rear-engined 911 models which were less exposed to market competition. Porsche's experience with water-cooling, DME and other technologies pioneered in the 944's can be seen in today's 996's and Boxsters

 

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the info - I bookmarked this thread for later and have started to look at some of the links you all mentioned. Lots to learn, but now I can start - thanks again!

 

My advice is to be very patient in your search. i know the heart takes over and your head stops working after you see a car for a good price. If its cheap there is probably a reason for that. Read alot about the car and be specific what you are looking for whether it be the NA, 951 or the S/S2 models. This will make your search easier. When inspecting a car make sure you don;t forget to check each item mentioned in previous posts carefully and to also take it to a Porsche mechanic. Many of these cars may be cheap but the cost of repair will break the bank if you are not careful.

 

All 944 turbos have 8 valves per cylinder including the Turbo S.

[EDIT] 2 valves per cylinder hehe 8 total.

 

[quote]Originally posted by Florida951:
<strong>All 944 turbos have 8 valves per cylinder including the Turbo S. </strong><hr></blockquote>

Yup. Kind of an odd design though. You'd think they would try to put the spark plug in the middle of the valves. Oh well, Porsche knows best!

 

Anyone have any pictures of the s2 cylinder head with 16 valves per cylinder?

 

LOL yes steve thats exactly what I mean :-)