Tom R.

dont forget the e36 m3. I sold my 951S and bought a M3. Much more useable space, bigger back seat, more practical, easier on a long trip if stock v stock, and about the same times on a track.

a 150k mile car with recent work done doesnt bring much more than 5k, is 5 years newer than the newest 944s and doesnt have a timing belt. i got my 95 for 5 with 180k on the car 160 on the warranty motor at 20k. new tires, brakes, rotors, trailing arm bushings, same owner since 90k, all vin stickers, very presentable paint, no rip or tear interior, some clear bra on the freshly sprayed bumper, blah blah blah and 240hp from the 3.0 I6. oh, same clutch since at least 90k when the PO bought it. so that may be an issue, but if he got 90k it speaks well for a non abusive driving style.

another beer budget car for those of us with champagne taste putting significant pressure on the prices of 944s

J Berk

I know...M3's are a lot of car for the $ !

odurandina

I love 944 Turbo... one of the fastest production cars of the 1980s, second only to the Ferrari F-40 in handling... and the soul of Rennlist.

I just spent a few minutes visiting Brett's "alllllmost done.... build pics," and I'm jealous.

Brett's project is just going to be a classic 80's supercar when its completed and I will be lining up to sit in the cockpit.


67King: "The big question to me is WHERE this car is. I'm thinking max in the mid 6's if it is from a warm climate."

As 67King has mentioned, this is a huge issue for the 944 in a "value-per-dollar" purchase...

especially if it's gonna be a summertime, daily driver -- a very optimistic endeavor.

and what 67King is saying has a lot of truth when you are thinking of buying... but there's still a lot of potential for electrical or other corrosion related problems with the northern cars... and that's before you even begin talking about the mechanical support components, engines and driveline components.

The galvanite body coating is a huge advantage, and you can see this with Bretts fresh paint...

Everyone should have a comprehensive Turbo build project in their hearts, even if one isn't sitting in their garage --

the car is easily Porsche's shining achievement prior to the 959.

Potomac-Greg

I have to admit that I don't fully understand why 968s still sell in the teens while a 944S2 would be under 7K. Perhaps its simple rarity (so few 968s are out there and the S2 gets lumped with all the other 944s), or the "bigger" model number. But under the skin, they're almost the same car.

odurandina

I'll do you one better than that... the 968s were actually selling in the low 20s as recently as late 2007 ! It was only the deep recession and the fact that it is truly the Porsche car that time forgot [in the general public] that caused prices to finally bottom out... and that is precisely where they are now...

There were 80 some odd 968s for sale as recently as the summer of 2008, and now a lot of the cheap ones are gone, with many holdouts deciding to simply keep their cars.

and why not, it's a car that is far easier justifying the massive amount of work required to keep older Porsches around as daily drivers...

[all you die-hard, rennlisters asside], how are the number of average buyers who maybe are on the fence about getting involved in a 944 going to outnumber those who are reluctantly moving on to 968s, Boxters [gulp] and 996s, [even with their throwaway, wc motors] ?

One week spent researching here and you might see such potential buyers taking a more serious, second look at 90s M3's and Nissans or early 2000s , Hondas, and Subarus.

I am borrowing Rock's photos just as an example of what some of these cars are looking like these days, especially here in New England...

Obviously this is going to be a beautiful car when it is finished...

I am just saying that the 944s are a lot of work.

./

J Berk

Using Rock's Cab as an example is really sad. He and I bought our cars from the same guy.

Rock's Cab was a non-running car in need of a rebuild that had been rode hard and hung up wet...it was sitting under a blue tarp when I went to look at and buy my car.

He is turning it into something that was unfortunately not sold here in the USA...a Turbo Cab.

I agree with Greg's comments regarding the 968....

It's a great car..but other than looks, there's not all that much different than an S2....and the S2 simply gets lumped in with the rest of the series. For the price of a mediocre to poor 968 you can get a stunning, well maintained S2.

odurandina

____ All that being said, I'm hooked... Definitely going to be in a 951 project after my 968 is completed !! Or maybe I'll just make Brett an offer he can't refuse.


btw... it is my guess that at sometime in the past this car was painted, and somebody sanded the electrolite coating off... It's very unusual to see a 944 or S2 body with this type of rust.

J Berk

That spot (lower corners of the wheel arches) is a common rust point on 944's...not withstanding the galvanized body.

It gets beaten upon from behind by road salt, stones, etc and also tends to collect leafy matter in the fall and hold moisture....The exact same spot on my driver's side has the same issue....it's the only spot on the car.

odurandina

taking a couple of steps back...

heaven = jackstands

I borrowed the photos not to beat down on your projects, but to add a visual aid to the point I was trying to make that has, as usual made my 944 cousins upset !

I meant no disrespect... By all means, these 944 and Turbo projects represent a level of courage/risk and reward that few mortals will ever know...

Tom R.

Joe,
That is where i had the problems on my last S2 that was from NJ for the same reasons.

about three weeks after i patched the drivers side of mine with pieces of thin aluminum, epoxy and bondo, a friend here in CO gave me a drivers side turbo/S2 fender with nasty track dent in a different area than the rusted area on your car. if you want to try what i did with epoxy and bondo, I will cut the piece out and send it to you. Call it pay it forward since Tifo sent me the patch piece for the passenger side.

then if someone wants the front part of the fender for a turbo look conversion.....
my guess is you are wrong. sand and gravel over time will chip the miniscule rubber coating on the bottom corner of the front fender. then it only takes a small pebble to get through the rustproof coating (that by the way was invented by my co workers brother when he worked for either krups or braun and got a wonderful plaque and small bonus fo his invention in the early 70s). after the coating suffers a microscopic puncture it is only a matter of time until the corner looks like rocks, mine, joes, etc.

it is not unusual to find the rust. it is unusual for people to poke the rubberized coating that stays in place.

J Berk

Tom

Thanks for the offer !

I actually purchased a piece from a parts car about a year ago....it's sitting in my basement waiting for my lazy *** to dive into fixing it !

Besides...I am pretty sure that I still owe you for the last thing you sent me....so for example...if you get a hankerin for some NY bagels, let me know and I'll send you a fed-x !

best

Joe

Tom R.

my mother in law brought out six or eight dozen from her favorite shop in riverdale when she came out for the holidays in september.

It is the pizza i miss/missed most, but i fixed that using the same technique i used many a night (remember i got married late). I lowered my standards!!!

67King

Just a few follow-up thoughts:

One of the 951's I looked at, an 88 in Virginia (had been an Ohio car) that was advertised as "rust free" had a hole large enough for me to stick four fingers through from the trunk into the wheel well. Galvanization helps, but does not cure. The zinc is sacrificial, it will corrode to protect the steel. But, it also corrodes faster than the steel. The system is called a "galvanic couple," and exists when you have two dissimilar metals in contact in a solution. The potential of some metals is greater than others, so the coating of one metal is always the sacrificial anode. When it starts, it keeps going. When there is a space big enough, the steel will start going, too. So, it only delays the inevitable, it doesn't prevent it. Water heaters have them, boats have them. If the anodes aren't replaced when they corrode away, the next thing (shell of water heater or prop on the boat) will start corroding. In cars, the paint helps provide robustness, since one can't just replace the anode.

Alright, engineering blabber aside, there is nothing inherently less reliable in a 944 than a 968. Except for age. As the cars age, they fall into the hands of people who are less and less likely to keep them in good order. Maybe that is included in what is being said, I don't know. But, if you know what you are doing, you can have a decent S2 or 951 running reliably for several thousand dollars less than what a 968 would cost. I'm a bit biased in that I don't really care for the looks of the 968 that much. But, I've owned enough Merkurs that I've got no right to be critical of cars in the looks department!

Tom R.

Part of an email from my brother about his 15 year old daughter and 20 year old S2
My reply