CN

Mine was originally purchased in spring 1989 from a Toronto Porsche dealer (Downtown Fine Cars) by an owner of a restaurtant. He apparently had little to no respect for it as it had evidence of water damage from leaving the roof off in the rain. I bought it in 1999 with 63,000km (41k miles) after the PO traded it in. Lucky for me, he never drove it in winter so the body was good. The engine was mint but the seats were spoiled by water. I've been fixing small things along the way and have had no major problems.

Ben Plaisted

I'm the second owner of my car. The first owner bought it brand new on May 5th of 1989 with 12 miles. He owned it up until 2002. During his ownership it was towed down to florida. He brought it back up to maine in 99 and didn't drive it at all. I saw it at a mom and pop dealership just sitting there. I drove by it everyday from may to october. One day in october I set a price that I would spend and it turned out to be exactly the price I wanted. So I looked at it one day and took it for a test drive. hahaha Big difference from the 944 then my subaru I was driving. What sold me is on my test drive a guy in a 911 gave me the wave. You all know it. From then I signed the papers and it was mine.

ERAU-944

wow, this one's gonna be long...

the story of the '83
not much known about the early history of the car, my family is the 3rd owner (grandpa financed, dad purchased, myself owned). second owner was a mechanic from stuart, florida. its first owner some of you may recognize. his name was Lou Gertsner, CEO for IBM. he kept it at a hangar at Witham Field in Stuart, FL. we purchased it from his former mechanic when it had 18,000 miles on it, immediately had belts done, car has been running flawlessly and now has 26K on it. it lives in the garage under a cover till i get home and drive it at least once a month, and drive it just about all day long when i do.

the '85.5 is our second porsche. the only history i have of it is the previous owner, a guy from ft. lauderdale who had had an 83 944 and wrecked it, so at the time we picked up a bunch of spare parts as well. this guy had used and abused this car, and i've replaced just about everything driveline wise in it. its original paint is faded from abuse, but she still shines up nicely, i drove her for about 6 months to and from school, and around here, while dad looked for my TRUE daily driver... he now drives that car daily, waiting to sell it to its next loving owner.

the '84 - third owner of this car also, was owned by a pilot from miami first, then a gent from fort lauderdale who i purchased it from, the second owner treated it like a garage queen, the interior is great, and it has been repainted. not the best quality, and as the result of an accident, but it looks good nonetheless, and performs great. check my posts for the mods or my website, i'm going to add my page of the word document i made for it entailing its entire history, eventually i'll make one of those for the 83. i'll always own a 944 series car, i'd never think of selling my current daily driver. its also the color of luis' car, and i love it as much as the zermatt 83... the metallics really hit a soft spot in my heart... *sniff* they're beautiful!

enjoy the drive y'all!
- Mike

JDeitz951

Hey, what's a guy with a drop dead gorgoeus 911 cab doing on the water-pumper list anyway. I mean, welcome aboard and more power to you, buddy, but I'm just curious. That's could be a good story in itself!

924Superwagen

OK, here we go... 1987 924S that was originally bought by a doctor/dentist in NJ and owned it for two years. Sold it to a relative of mine (interior designer) to replace her 280Z (even owned a 240Z before the 280). Retired and moved to the Catskills. Sold the '24 to my aunt/godmother in 1996 who had just scraped her '87 RX7, only for it to be hijacked by her husband... He loves the car, but knows jack-$hit about it and has no clue what's wrong with it. It's in sad shape, but she still owns the title to it and wants somebody to save it from a shamefull death. Here's where I come in... I'm about to inherit it for the sole purpose of restoring it to its former glory. Broken odo, but probably has 250 000 miles on the original motor. Needs a lot of work mechanically, and has a few large dings on the driver's side door. No rust to speak of, though... THE perfect project car!!! <img border="0" alt="[cherrsagai]" title="" src="graemlins/drink.gif" />

Fishey

My car has lived a life of passion, glory, and Justice. The car was bought in 1990 with 5k miles previous owner was a mechanic at northland porsche. The car was brought to me when we bought our house and when it came home I cried because it was so pretty. Then for years it was drivin by my father for thrills. Then my oldest sister had the car and it was still very nice and pretty and she used it for awile (she learned manual on it) Then came the dark (hard to speak about) days when my older sister but not oldest recived the car. The car was tormmented(she learned stick on it too) day after day and in only 8 months she racked up 7 accidents (ok no understand this I put the car back togeather each time) So the car has good parts not recycled ones and The car has a 5K paintjob done and 3 days after it is done my sister hits the garage and nicks the front of the car (still there) and I cried. Then only 1 month after that she gets rear ended after spining across 3 lanes of traffic. The car that hit her was a jeep grand cherroke and it was totaled. This time I was pissed and I put a who new rear end on the car exept I couldnt locate a boot for the car and had to reuse the one I had (dont talk about it) The car was repainted in the back and the match was ok so I wasnt to ultra pissed. Then I recived the car (also learned stick on it) and have put a ton of work into it and my oldest sister takes it to the YMCA and someone hit and runs my car. (IF I ever find them I am going to kill them) So at this point I dont have the money to fix the car so I decide to just keep the rear qrt the way it is. Then about a month ago someone rear ends me when I was makeing a left hand turn this (Totals there honda accord I mean jsut crushes there car) my car cracked the rear right pumper cornor thingy. I used the insuracne to fic the side of the car and then after that I put in my 3rd clutch this time a (sachs clutch with the springs instead of rubber crap) Then after this I am right now getting the car repaired for transmission falure of some sorts (now relise this is prolly due to 4 people learning stick on the car) And insipite of all of this I love my car and you will never own it because its never going to be for sale! ( I am getting baried with my car so not even after I am dead)

Fishey

My car has lived a life of passion, glory, and Justice. The car was bought in 1990 with 5k miles previous owner was a mechanic at northland porsche. The car was brought to me when we bought our house and when it came home I cried because it was so pretty. Then for years it was drivin by my father for thrills. Then my oldest sister had the car and it was still very nice and pretty and she used it for awile (she learned manual on it) Then came the dark (hard to speak about) days when my older sister but not oldest recived the car. The car was tormmented(she learned stick on it too) day after day and in only 8 months she racked up 7 accidents (ok no understand this I put the car back togeather each time) So the car has good parts not recycled ones and The car has a 5K paintjob done and 3 days after it is done my sister hits the garage and nicks the front of the car (still there) and I cried. Then only 1 month after that she gets rear ended after spining across 3 lanes of traffic. The car that hit her was a jeep grand cherroke and it was totaled. This time I was pissed and I put a who new rear end on the car exept I couldnt locate a boot for the car and had to reuse the one I had (dont talk about it) The car was repainted in the back and the match was ok so I wasnt to ultra pissed. Then I recived the car (also learned stick on it) and have put a ton of work into it and my oldest sister takes it to the YMCA and someone hit and runs my car. (IF I ever find them I am going to kill them) So at this point I dont have the money to fix the car so I decide to just keep the rear qrt the way it is. Then about a month ago someone rear ends me when I was makeing a left hand turn this (Totals there honda accord I mean jsut crushes there car) my car cracked the rear right pumper cornor thingy. I used the insuracne to fic the side of the car and then after that I put in my 3rd clutch this time a (sachs clutch with the springs instead of rubber crap) Then after this I am right now getting the car repaired for transmission falure of some sorts (now relise this is prolly due to 4 people learning stick on the car) And insipite of all of this I love my car and you will never own it because its never going to be for sale! ( I am getting baried with my car so not even after I am dead)

Fishey

My car has lived a life of passion, glory, and Justice. The car was bought in 1990 with 5k miles previous owner was a mechanic at northland porsche. The car was brought to me when we bought our house and when it came home I cried because it was so pretty. Then for years it was drivin by my father for thrills. Then my oldest sister had the car and it was still very nice and pretty and she used it for awile (she learned manual on it) Then came the dark (hard to speak about) days when my older sister but not oldest recived the car. The car was tormmented(she learned stick on it too) day after day and in only 8 months she racked up 7 accidents (ok no understand this I put the car back togeather each time) So the car has good parts not recycled ones and The car has a 5K paintjob done and 3 days after it is done my sister hits the garage and nicks the front of the car (still there) and I cried. Then only 1 month after that she gets rear ended after spining across 3 lanes of traffic. The car that hit her was a jeep grand cherroke and it was totaled. This time I was pissed and I put a who new rear end on the car exept I couldnt locate a boot for the car and had to reuse the one I had (dont talk about it) The car was repainted in the back and the match was ok so I wasnt to ultra pissed. Then I recived the car (also learned stick on it) and have put a ton of work into it and my oldest sister takes it to the YMCA and someone hit and runs my car. (IF I ever find them I am going to kill them) So at this point I dont have the money to fix the car so I decide to just keep the rear qrt the way it is. Then about a month ago someone rear ends me when I was makeing a left hand turn this (Totals there honda accord I mean jsut crushes there car) my car cracked the rear right pumper cornor thingy. I used the insuracne to fic the side of the car and then after that I put in my 3rd clutch this time a (sachs clutch with the springs instead of rubber crap) Then after this I am right now getting the car repaired for transmission falure of some sorts (now relise this is prolly due to 4 people learning stick on the car) And insipite of all of this I love my car and you will never own it because its never going to be for sale! ( I am getting baried with my car so not even after I am dead)

Fishey

sorry about tripple post (browser error)

JDeitz951

My first 944, a 1985.5, was ridden hard and put away wet by 6 owners; had no history, just mystery. So after I fixed everything, I documented what I did to it (which I summarized in a MS Word doc) so the next guy would have history!

My current beauty, 86 951, on the other hand, has all the service stamps in the maintenance manual (to around 60K) and most receipts since that time, now 130k (which I again summarized in a MS Word doc). The first owner lived in Georgia, later his son took it to California, the next owner somehow got it back to Georgia. He also vacationed in Hilton Head, SC, where previous owner is a resident there and bought it for like his 25th P-car. When a very nice 911SC he had his eye on became available, he had to sell either the 951 or the concours 1958 356 ragtop. No brainer! So that's how my 951 became available on Ebay last June ('02).

It's a real beauty (new: factory-spec paint, leather seats, clutch, 17" cup wheels, tires, more) but I knew the engine was never really "done" since new. So I rebuilt it myself. Now it's even better.

Now that I have bored you with my obsession, here's the really interesting part (IMHO). This car was "Tourist delivery" (it's right there in the option codes) which means it was delivered to the original owner at the factory! I have the original German language road map, European rules of the road, faux passport to record what countries were visited before it was shipped to the US, full first aid kit (req'd in Europe) and all importation documents, plus the original compressor and Porsche air gauge it it's own little bag. It's really cool!

Last summer on a whim I took it to a P-car club show. I though it was wash & show, but to my shock it was a "casual" concours. I stuck around anyway and won 3rd place in the largest group. Cool! And the engine was still a leaky mess! I think the tourist delivery stuff I spread out in the trunk area was a big plus.

Love the stories, keep 'em comin'!

OC Porsche

I'm the second owner of the car, have owned her for a bit over a year now. The prior owners purchased her from Braman Porsche in Miami, FL in 1983. They are a very nice German couple still living in this area. The car was in excellent condition with just over 80k miles. I think that it is kind of funny sometimes when I look at the service stamps in the book.....the name of the garage that has worked on her for the last 20 years has changed names 4 times! Meticulous records to the extent that there were not enough spaces for maintenance, so they just started popping stamps everywhere. The day that I drove the car was the day that they put her out front and coincidentally the same day I paid for and signed the title. The gentleman was older in years as was his wife, so unfortunately they just couldn't drive the car any longer. I welled up a bit because they both were choking back tears after the owner signed the title over. I felt sad for them, it was obvious that they cared for the car. I saw them a few months back and was proud to show him the new leather seats, detailed wheels, buffed paint, new shift **** and boot etc. etc. It gave me a warm and fuzzy when he remarked that the car could not have gone to anyone better. <img border="0" alt="[king]" title="" src="graemlins/r.gif" />

ERAU-944

awesome seth! i love to hear those stories! sounds like that baby's doing well, i should stop by one time on my way down... or you could come to orlando this saturday... either way i'd love to see that beauty again!

take care!
- Mike

Riff

Well let's see. I purchase the car in '96 off a used car lot in a dicier part of Cincinatti. Funny thing was I went there to help a friend look at a 3rd gen RX7, I was not looking for a ride. Anyway, he got there before me and looked pissed. Told me the RX7 was not there yet, but there was this nice silver Porsche just sitting there. I didn't think I had any business (let alone cash being just out of school) to buy the thing til I hear the price ($12.5K, 70K on the odo) Well I pretty much signed on the line then and there, no previous records, no clean Carfax (was Carfax even around back then???), no nothing.

I did go get a PPI at this trusted german mech (BMW place) I know and he gave it a clean bill of health. About 3 days later I find Porschefans and start learning all sorts of scary things I never knew about 944s and their weak points. Luckily mine never shows any (knock on wood) and I begin to learn and love this car more everyday.

With the begining in Porschefans and later incarnations to what we now know as Rennlist, I can truthfully say that without this community, I could never own this car. Learning what to look for and how to fix problems, well it has been worth many times the price of membership. This S2 will always stay with me as I won't part with her.

Cheers,

rcldesign

The first owner of my 951 for some reason or another ended up having it sold at an estate auction - the car came with "repo" keys, so I guess it was reposessed for the first owner.

The second owner drove it around a little bit, then parked it in his drive way for months at a time, in the San Diego sun, while he spent time in Thailand teaching english to kids there. They offerd him some good money to just move there and teach, so he sold the car to me.

Since he parked it in the sun, never drove it, and never maintained a damn thing on it, I gave him $5K for the 951 with 40K miles, cracked dash, oxidized paint, and hard leather interior.

I am just beginning to find out that all the hoses, vacuum lines, wires - everything - is 15 years old, deteriorating, and it is all falling apart. I blew a head gasket a year ago, and the pistons looked like they tagged the valves a long time ago, so apparently one of the previous owners let the timing belt go and had it fixed.

So now its mine, and I am very slowly restoring and modifying it to what I want it to be, and maybe someday I'll get there.

Nabeel

I'm the 4th owner of my '85.5 n/a.

The first owner was a lady in Colorado who bought it new in March '85, and kept the car until summer 1998, putting 47-48K miles on it. She always serviced it at the local Porsche dealer there. She then sold it to....

The second owner, who bought it in Colorado, then apparently moved to Cincinatti. He owned it for a couple years, servicing the car at Northland Porsche. He then sold it to...

The third owners, a middle-aged couple in Florence, KY. They had it until October 2001, and continued to service it at the Porsche dealer. Then....

I found an ad for the car in the local paper here, and drove about 70 miles north to take a look at it. The car was in superb condition, with all service records since the day it rolled off the dealer lot. All original and perfect inside and out, with the exception of a few minor dash cracks. It had 63K miles at this point. I bought it for $5500.

I was lucky that the previous owners took very good care of the car. I don't service it at the dealer anymore, too expensive and no dealers in my town. Instead, I there are 2 Porsche specialists in town which I am very satisfied with. Unfortunately, since I got the car, it has been through a fender-bender, so no more all-original paint, and has aquired a few scratches and dents/door dings. Also, the front wheels (Fuchs) are beginning to lose their clearcoat and become corroded. I'm using the car as a daily driver, so some of these things are inevitable. I would like to someday take out the dents and fully repaint the car, bringing it back to showroom condition. Mechanically, I make sure that the car is in tip-top operating shape. It currently has 71K miles. I can't imagine ever selling this car, I love it!