Oh the joy of having a running 944 again!
09-09-2010, 01:35 AM
#1
Three Wheelin'
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Oh the joy of having a running 944 again!
It has been a 4 week ordeal I've been dealing with.
What started this entire ordeal is at my last race with 944-Spec I lost oil pressure in the 2nd race (while fighting for a place on the podium. Turns out my oil pickup tube cracked which in turn lead to road bearings failing and then chewing up the crank. I shut it down early enough so that no other engine damage was done (cylinder and bore are in great shape so the block is rebuildable).
I wound up buying an '87 924S on craigslist - it was Maaco'd Pink years back by the owner's husband as it was her favorite color. It was not in the best shape but the engine ran great and was at a good price. I wound up lucking out in the end as the tranny is a 7Q unit (has LSD) and since it's a 924S it has the short 5th gear (in terms of 944 racers - I hit the jackpot in this find - easily worth the price of the car just for this one item).
So onto kicking the wife out of her garage spot so I can park a pink 924S in the garage that I pull completely apart. Get the engine over to a friend to rebuild - get a new oil pickup tube - new belts - get Turbo oil cooler off the old block - get the oil pan baffle rewelded and oil pickup tube ring welded. Get new oil cooler lines made as one started to leak. Remove the engine from my car and get it over to him for other parts (we recently did all the belts and rollers). This is all the while we've had 90-100 degree humid KS days / nights.
Well we got it fired up today and with a couple small issues - it is running like a top. All in time for me to race this weekend at the same track the problem occurred. My garage is a complete mess with tools, parts and crap everywhere.
I sacrificed time / energy / money / exercise / sanity to get this damn thing done. Easily one of the hardest things I've had to do (yes I'm a wuss with cars!). I feel for the next guy who has to go through this...as I now understand how hard it all is!
What started this entire ordeal is at my last race with 944-Spec I lost oil pressure in the 2nd race (while fighting for a place on the podium. Turns out my oil pickup tube cracked which in turn lead to road bearings failing and then chewing up the crank. I shut it down early enough so that no other engine damage was done (cylinder and bore are in great shape so the block is rebuildable).
I wound up buying an '87 924S on craigslist - it was Maaco'd Pink years back by the owner's husband as it was her favorite color. It was not in the best shape but the engine ran great and was at a good price. I wound up lucking out in the end as the tranny is a 7Q unit (has LSD) and since it's a 924S it has the short 5th gear (in terms of 944 racers - I hit the jackpot in this find - easily worth the price of the car just for this one item).
So onto kicking the wife out of her garage spot so I can park a pink 924S in the garage that I pull completely apart. Get the engine over to a friend to rebuild - get a new oil pickup tube - new belts - get Turbo oil cooler off the old block - get the oil pan baffle rewelded and oil pickup tube ring welded. Get new oil cooler lines made as one started to leak. Remove the engine from my car and get it over to him for other parts (we recently did all the belts and rollers). This is all the while we've had 90-100 degree humid KS days / nights.
Well we got it fired up today and with a couple small issues - it is running like a top. All in time for me to race this weekend at the same track the problem occurred. My garage is a complete mess with tools, parts and crap everywhere.
I sacrificed time / energy / money / exercise / sanity to get this damn thing done. Easily one of the hardest things I've had to do (yes I'm a wuss with cars!). I feel for the next guy who has to go through this...as I now understand how hard it all is!
Last edited by jaje; 09-09-2010 at 12:36 PM.
09-09-2010, 08:09 PM
#6
Three Wheelin'
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