Screechin' Rubber

I was just wondering what some of the differences were between the early and late 944s were. I already know about the dashboard, but what else was different?

tifosiman

Oh lets see.....

A-Arms
Rear trailing arms
Spindles
Transmission and mounts
Seats and seat bolt patterns
Belly Pans
Steering Wheel height (too low on the pre 85.5 cars)
The 85.5 and later cars share the same shell with Turbo cars so mount points for skirts, rear valance, etc are there.
Fan Thermo switch
Header Panel isn't spot-welded on the 85.5 cars

There's more but that's a quick list off the top of my head.

tifosiman

Oh. Gas tanks. The 85.5 and later cars had larger tanks.

catamax944

also wiring harness and DME ,flush windshield ,rain channels ,plastic wheel wells under front fenders ,modified sunroof mechanism ,ABS from '87 (optional) ,different wheel offset from '87 , auto timing belt tensioner from '87 ,stronger spindles from '87 ....

n_hall

the handbrake handle is different.
antenna in windshield

ernie9468

Fuses & relays boxe on early model is underneath the dash making it a PITA to change fuses & relays & unless your name is Gumby you don't want to go in there unless you have to lol ,on late models it's located in the engine bay on the left hand side near the winshield making it a breeze to access all fuses & relays.Does anybody agree with me on this one.

murrayg

Rear shocks (different lower bolt size), headers (cast instead of tube), starter.

944Ross

I always got a kick out of the usual advice to jumper the DME relay on no-start; on an early car you can barely get your fingers on the top of the relay, I don't know how you'd get your head under there enough to see the socket to stick in jumper wires.

The late cars also use modern fuses, not those POS 1950's types with exposed elements.

The only thing I liked better about early cars was the analog clock.

V2Rocket

the rain channels started in regular '85

and the plastic wheel liners are more of a nuisance imo than a benefit, they get in the way.