whalebird

Anything I can do to help. I love your project. You seem to attract a little flack on your investment stratagy, but it's people like you that are, not just keeping, but preserving and restoring them that will make all of our investments grow. I believe that the market on these cars will cycle thru the come back strong. Otherwise it's a labor of love that cannot be priced - when you're done you will have a sweet car thats a boatload of fun to drive. Keep the pics rolling in.

JustinL

We need to clarify what induction you are talking about. 944 na, there is little to gain in exhaust. On a 951 the stock is FAR from optimal. Canadian Rothman's turbo cup cars did NOT come with standard 951 exhausts. There is no cat, no muffler, and the pipe diameter is larger (at least 3").

LiveFromNY

So I addressed my front seats today.

One of the nice things about a one-owner, 41k mile car is that so many of the interior parts are in such great condition. My seats are no exception and I'm very glad that I'm not looking at a complete re-upholstery situation. That said - they did not meet my 95% perfect rule for this car so they needed some attention.

I didn't have any tears or really rough spots to deal with and I was tempted to re-dye these seats myself. I've had great success with the Leatherique products in the past but it's a messy and time-consuming job that I really didn't have the time for so I decided to see what my local Color Glo guys could do. I've seen some Color Glo jobs before and I've seen both great and not-so-great results. I'm happy to report that Greg at Color Glo Austin exceeded my expectations. I'm a big believer that this kind of work is dependent on the skill-level of the technician and Greg seemed to really know what he was doing.

Pretty simple process: carefuly examine the seats and identify any problem areas, thorough cleaning to remove dirt and contaminants that may prevent the dye from adhering properly, mix and color-match the new dye (you really need a great eye for this) and then apply the color.

Greg spent probably 2-3 hours on my seats and the total cost was $200. He did it on-site. Again, my seats were already in good shape (I think Greg thought I was a little nuts paying him to re-dye them) but there were a few problem areas. The new color is beautiful and even. I really didn't realize how uneven the old color was until I saw the final results.

I think they look as good as new but you can all judge for yourselves.

BEFORE







AFTER

luftpirate

Wow those seats look excellent and what a deal!

AllenM

Just wondering, but if you are going to spend the time ripping a car apart and replacing most of it, why start with such a nice, low mileage 951? I would think that $50k could bring most lower mileage 951's back to 95% new condition.
I love the idea and I'm jealous of your project, but my first thought was that I'd leave the car as is and do this tear down once it has actually seen some miles.

Luis de Prat

Well, speaking from 16+ years of buying OE and OEM parts for my Porsches, I can say that it's not true for the 944.

As you continue to buy parts for your 951, I think you will find that manufacturers seldom supply the same quality to aftermarket OEM suppliers that they do for Porsche OE.

For many consumable parts like filters, brake pads, etc. the difference in quality doesn't matter much or is less noticeable. But for critical parts like rotors, timing belts, and motor mounts, there is nothing to be gained by using aftermarket parts other than short term cost.

Enjoy the project!

LiveFromNY

Well, speaking from almost 30 years of cars, and having owned and built everything from classic muscle cars to british racers to various 911's to high-end exotics like Astons and Ferraris, I can say that the 944 is fairly unique in this regard.

I have a $300k Ferrari sitting next to the 944 as I type this. And even that piece of engineering genius can be improved upon by some of the creative people building performance aftermarket parts today. I guess I picked the right car to restore in the 951 if no part of it has ever been improved upon. Also, I can fly.

j/k. I appreciate your advice.

LiveFromNY

What makes you think I'm replacing most of it? Much of this car either is already, or can be refurbished to, 95% new. I'd be talking much higher $$ if I was replacing most of it.

No reason to wait for miles. Car isn't a DD so it won't see more than a couple thousand a year.

As for why this car? It didn't make much sense to start with a car in inferior condition. These cars are cheap right now. Why not start with the best example you can find and save yourself a ton of headaches?

LiveFromNY

And Luis (or anyone else)...

As a guy who's much more familar with these cars than I am, what are your thoughts on chipping the car? The local guys at TPWS are telling me that it's worth doing. I'm hesitant based on past experiences. Thoughts?

Just to clarify this project, I am not going for a concours restoration here. I have a different goal here.

If I could, I would stop by the Porsche dealer tomorrow morning and buy a brand new 944 Turbo. Obviously, I can't do that. So I'm trying to go another route to achieve close to the same results. I'm not opposed to some minor non-oem upgrades as long as the final result is a car that appears (at least to my eyes) to be a brand new '86 944. If it has slightly better performance, but looks and drives like a brand new car, I'm not going to complain.

Luis de Prat

Given your goals, I think you will get the most enjoyment from getting the car back to 'as new' condition with stock parts in the factory boxes. NOS parts would be a plus for the enjoyment factor, IMHO.

I buy all plastic snaps, hardware, etc. to replace worn items on my relatively rare factory turbo cab from Porsche and it gives the car a more finished look and feel. Most times they're only offered in batches and I buy them anyway, e.g. the reverse tightening nuts for the accessory belt turnbuckles that tend to round out, hose clips, wire holders, etc. The factory plastic is aeons better and looks 'new' much longer. The metal hardware too.

Personally, I would bring the car back to showroom condition, drive it for a few months, and then consider chip'ing it.

Been doing this for 9 years and still haven't given in to the temptation. Modified 951s are a dime a dozen, but there's something special about a bone stock car. Enjoy!

Black Sea RD

Just stumbled across this thread and really identify with it.

Sweet work on the 951 and understand completely the thoughts behind this kind of restoration. Many believe that modding is the way to go and few understand the difficulty and conviction to stay on point during this kind of restoration process.

Cheers,

P. Ortiz

[QUOTE=LiveFromNY; These cars are cheap right now.

I agree with this. When you consider the performance, design, quality and heritage of these 951's, they're a steal. Lump-in the ability to turn one into a serious racer, or to raise performance to supercar levels, and they're a bargain indeed.

What I've observed over time is that when popular cars reach their lowest prices, they become subject to neglect and often parting-out, ultimately thinning-out the available supply. There comes a tipping point though, when mass appreciation for the car kicks-in and the remaining examples begin to rise in price to meet that appreciation. Take your Austin Healey for example. I remember a time when you could pick-up a well-used but running big Healey for $500 to $1,000. "Not no more". The difficulties of living with a British sports car are forgotten and the inconvenient (and frequent) breakdowns are forgiven, and what's left are buyers who appreciate, and will pay for, an interesting car of which there are relatively few examples left.

I'm really glad to see that you are raising your already very nice 951 to an even higher level. My car is similar to yours; 53k miles, Alpine White, black Fuchs. I wish I could do the same thing to mine but I worry that if I started a project of that size, I might not have the time to finish it (been there). For this reason, I tend to focus on one or two areas at a time, while still enjoying the car. That said, I hope that you continue to post your progress information and pictures. I can already see by looking at your seat reconditioning post, that there is much to be gained by someone like me. Best wishes.

ELLSSUU

LiveFromNY,

Great undertaking and I applaud you for it. Will be a stellar car when finished.

May I make a suggestions that IMHO would put the car over the top? 930 rear Fuchs:



You can have them finished in any style you prefer. The look will maintain the period correctness you seek, can be easily reversed, and will make the car. Throw your current rears on the front and procure some 930 rears for the back.

choinga

I'd go with John's (Vitesse) AFM chip. I had one in my car w/ Accuboost before I upgrade to his MAF and my car ran like a top. I had a bad experience with the Lindsey boost kit (944MAX chip). I know many people like it - but IMHO for the extra $100 or whatever, I'd go with John's chip.

carlege

What about a properly modified 951? Not so common i think.

The only thing special about a bone stock car is that its slower then a modified car.