Just bought a 86' 944 NA last month and was wondering what are the first things I should look into replacing/restoring.? Just a little background info. Car sat for about 2 year before I bought it. Says about 175k on the odometer but it doesn't work and I'm not sure when it went out. The engine runs stong and smooth though aside from heavy vibration. Suspension in the rear seems a little too soft for my taste though. So any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

Just being able to get the '86 to run after sitting for 2 years should be exceiting.
What did you have to do to get it started?
You must know a little about cars to buy a project.

Did you get any records?

Do you plan to make it a daily driver or track car?

The vibration could be the 2 belts, cam and balance. If the balance belt pullys are reversed, the car vibrates.
If the car vibrates at idle, usually the $400 per pair motor mounts are shot.

Either way, if you let it vibrate, you have the chance of cracking the oil pick up tube or cause a fire with the fuel rail.

Maybe first thing would be to change the belts, all the pullys and get motor mounts. This should cost about $600 or so and stop the vibration.

Now most would suggest you get Koni shocks all around. $1000 and up or so.

Normally most would start by saying...."change the belts" I gave it a little twist.

Welcome and GL

John

 

Belts, rollers and water pump... Any one of those go out and it's your engine. I suspect from your posts that you don't have any reliable records of when these items were last changed so it would be a good idea to start fresh.
Updating suspension and cosmetics are alway fun tasks but at the same time are not a smart place to start.

 

Thanks for the advice and keep it coming. John the car started right up first try. It only sat because the last owner never registered it. /: And I know a little but I'm most definately in a learning stage. I'm only 19 and this is my first car so you could say I have a lot to learn still, but I've really been studying since a couple months before I bought it. Its going to be my daily driver for atleast 6months-1year and then I'm going to sell it and get an S2. So right now I'm just trying to get this car restored and reliable. Not really gonna do any mods(that's gonna be for the S2(:/ ). So far I've taken out the rear seats, put in new front seats, and changed the relays and fuses that were blown. And I'm going to take out the ps rack(leaking) for a manual one, and change(rebuild?) The cv joints. And I'm looking for a rear axle shaft and rightside quarter panel.

 

Travis- yea I got no records from the last owner. He really didn't seem to know much about the car anyways. He said that the t-belt was changed along with the clutch and that's about it. /: also there is a weird situation with the brakes. On occasion while driving, the brake pedal will go pretty much all the way to the floor with little pressure and practically no stopping power. If I pump the brakes once or twice it works normally. /: idk what this would be caused by. I bleed the brakes and the problem is still there.? Any answers.?

 

If the brake fluid level is full and you have properly bled them then I would look at the master cylinder. With bad seals, fluid will pass by the seals and allow the pedal to travel without applying brakes.

 

good luck with the resto! Reminds me of my car. It also sat for two years, and I also found the rear suspension to be a bit on the soft side.

I just drove it right off the PO's driveway (started first try) and 4/5 years later, I'm only just getting around to fixing that suspension!

Can you hear/feel the vibration in the car? It's probably also worth changing the engine mounts.. get some later turbo mounts if you do as they're stronger. My car felt so much smoother after I changed mine.

 

Thanks for all the advice everyone. @montel52- I'm sure I bled the system right so it has to be something else. /: so your saying check the master cylinder seals.? @cb944- yes I can both hear and feel the vibration but its mostly under acceleration, and less while idle. /: also I haven't been able to open up the hatch or sunroof and don't fully understand why.? I ended up just unscrewing one side of my hatch to finally open it and the sunroof is still a fail. ); the sunroof motor spins and it sounds like its trying to open it but nothing. Any additional advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

Rubber parts - fuel lines, brake seals and lines should all be looked at and considered for replacement. Sounds like a failing brake master cylinder too. Any rubber components in the suspension should be checked too as they will fail with age/sitting/175K miles etc.

Sunroof gears sound stripped (common issues)

Check out www.clarks-garage.com for much of your 944 guidance.

 

Thanks.

 

Welcome to the 944.

First things first, take a walk around clarks-garage.com

THEN do your water pump, oil seals and belts.

 

Yessir

 

On a car with those miles, check the alternator to make sure it's charging properly. Enjoy the car!

 

post pics of your car !! after all this advice, figure you would post up pics or something

 

once you start, there's no end in sight.... i'm getting toward's the middle.

and the money side of it is as hazy as heat coming off the hot rails on the Missouri Pacific as you look down yonder...