odurandina

indeed, headgaskets going bad, electrical problems or clutch failures seem to be the end of the road for many 944 owners that otherwise, had adapted after the gradual "shock" of "cost of ownership" reality had settled in with maybe a couple of years of "driving without breaking the bank" happening in between... it's possible that before or after these more-serious issues get resolved, the cars are quietly sold, and the guys move on. sad but, likely, true.

JohnKoaWood

This is probably the most true statement I have read you post in a long time..

These are NOT cheap to fix, but are so rewarding to fix..

Having done the clutch, suspension, and now in the middle of head gasket replacement on my N/A I can say yes on all accounts, I will be driving this car once it is finished, but always have a 996 I am looking for to replace this car..

My 951 on the other hand.. it is a pit I keep throwing money into.. it is like heroin, I am in an never ending quest to keep the fix... it will be a completely new car when it returns to the fold, with a 24YO chassis wrapped around it!

yellowline

They're worth what someone will pay for them.

One of these is currently for sale 10 minutes from me. I'd buy this and sell the 944S as it sits, if the owner didn't admit to a little fender rust (so it's probably rotting). The whole car is hand-built, not on a line. 1000 sent to North America. The engine is based on the M1. 256 HP, 240 ft-lb 3.6 liter six. 7000 RPM redline. I'm not sure I buy the 944 character and rarity argument when these are in the low teens for a pretty good one.



I do like Porsches a lot. I think 75% of people would part the 944S I'm saving (I found household copper plumbing in the vacuum system). They're fun. A well-maintained one is a good deal. Maybe I just have cabin fever. But, in my mind, 944/68s just are not standout cars from a performance or rarity/coolness standpoint.

JohnKoaWood

One of my co-workers has one... he still feels the sting of me referring to it as a German taxi...

I am not debating the 944 family vs other cars, just that so many of these cars are left to rot for wanting of a good home.. and most of this rot is the result of someone buying it because it is cheap to pick up, and then realizing WHY it was cheap to pick up...

odurandina

what year is that? it reminds me of a late update of an audi fox, (my first P-car).

76 911s

I'll have one as long as there's parts support, but not because they're the best cars around or will have collectors value in the future...

There's been a 944 in my life basically as long as I can remember. My dad got an early '85 in 1990 with essentially no miles on it. I grew up in the back seat of that car as he had it for 17 years. After that one (lost it to an accident, or we'd still have it), I got an '88 ROW 951 and then a '92 968 a few months after that. I almost got an R32 GTR, to replace the old '85, but I missed the feel of the 944. I drove the 951 daily for almost two years while keeping the 968 for weekends before mods made the 951 a bit of a pain to drive daily.

The way a nicely sorted 944/968 feels, as you all know, pretty special. So many people with 944's lust after 911's...and don't get me wrong, they're special in their own way, but are far more primitive in so many ways when compared to a 944. I have one that sits in the garage most of the time while the 944/968 get used...

andys-944

Interesting, I bought a 87 944 3 years ago with 180k on it well cared for, drove it home from Florida to michigan no problems its my daily driver during the summer it now has close to 230k on it. I've had the timing belt and clutch done all routine, the worst repair needed a new ac compressor and a new clutch slave cylinder and fiddling with a after market exhaust, replaced the drive gears on the sun roof, now the maf is playing up.
50k motoring on a 23 yr old car, I've expensive new cars leave me stranded and pissed mpre time than I care to recall so now I drive old cars and stay happy.
The 944 is a very well made car and if looked after is reliable, but looking after them isn't cheap.

fasterfaster

I can't afford my 951 and have no business owning it right now. But it's beautiful and makes me smile every time i think about it. I'm committed to hanging onto it for sentimental reasons, doing the proper maintenance to keep it running and prevent deterioration, and keeping my own ham-fists off the nuts and bolts. Thankfully this board helped me find a fantastic mechanic who appreciates 944s and my desire to keep this one running.

Besides, my current financial situation is temporary (starting a company), and soon enough I'll be able to treat the car as it deserves.

Voith

Haha, same story except mine had eaten its timing pulley

MickR

Oh dear, I've seem to have fallen down a rabbit hole. Look - first post!

My VW autoX car bled me dry. My E30 was the best car I owned but bled me dry. I have more money now and I have been on Bring a Trailer and ebay motors for a couple years and thinking of all the cars I loved as a kid in the 80's. The 944 keeps coming up to the top of the list. My sister had a 951 and it was incredible. I was a steward for that car for a few months while she went off to college and I loved just washing it, let alone driving it. I let my friend drive it and he loved it so much he is a 996 Turbo owner today. Well, all this talk about wrenching will probably scare me away and cause me to get something like a Miata. But if I do get a 924 or 944, like all the other interests I have it might end up being a phase that I move out of in the end. But I would like to give it a go.

odurandina

not if you immediately go "chevrolet/944." the LS engines may save more 944s than not. whatever that means. but seriously... rebuilds separated by 4 or 5 hundred thousand miles with a few oil changes in between sound more fun than dealing with headgasket problems, timing belts, fan-relays, quirky electrical systems and leaky everthing, underpowered, low-torque, 944 engines...... and i forgot to mention nightmare clutch changes, power-steering pumps from hell, bad fan-relays and expensive-everything replacement parts.

AScholtes

Yeah, but if I wanted an LS series motor... i would have bought something that had it in it already.

Seriously, I bought mine because it was a Porsche, not a platform to build yet another Chevy. I always wanted one, since I was a kid, and I think putting a Chevy motor in one is almost blasphemy... JMO here.

I researched the costs and normal maintenance items that would be required so I was somewhat prepared, but I can tell you I did not think it would be as much as it has been so quickly. Either way, its gonna get fixed and Im gonna drive it, then repair it again when that point comes. Time to get it back together has been my problem. Add in the weather and unheated (and usually un-insulated) garages here in the South, and one just does not want to go out there to touch freezing cold tools and metallic parts, let alone lay on freezing cold concrete...But I have been knocking it out a couple of hours at a time. Im gonna finish the timing belts tomorrow and move on to pulling the intake and replacing all the rotting vacuum lines. Then on to the clutch master and slave... and then on to... well you get the idea...

odurandina

with all due respect, the only blasphemy i know about is a car that bleeds you dry, and spends more time off the road than taking you on a journey on it..... properly-built small block Chevy engines running mild cams and exhausts, offer endless, fun driving experiences when located in an engine bay of a decent car. forget about all the cheap engines they built 35 years ago. the afterworld offers some of the most bulletproof, high-performance engines money can buy.....

a few decent/fun cars:

Ferrari 308, 328, 348,
Porsche 944, 968,
Chevrolet Corvette,
1969 Chevrolet Camaro.
late '60s Pontiac Firebird or Tempest.

properly done in a 944 or 968 puts you into another class of automobile altogether.
i will do my build with a quieter exhaust, but maybe, with a bypass pipe to avoid having just another ultra-obnoxious hotrod.

http://www.tonygarcia.org/944V8/

make sure to see Tony's three California Roval videos at the bottom of the page.

AScholtes

Almost forgot about the point to my post....

One has to remember these are fairly rare vehicles (in relation to other vehicles that get restored and driven) that are getting old. Things are gonna need replacement and things are gonna break. Once you knock out all the little stuff that nickle and dimes you to death it seems that the big ticket items come a little easier. The hardest part I find having to deal with is waiting for yet another delivery from UPS or FedEx (or whomever) to finish that project you are currently working on. That part gets frustrating. I do wish that there were more stickies with complete parts lists for certain tasks with recommended "while you are in there, you may as well" lists with it... this would make this alot less frustrating for someone just looking to do a waterpump and belt change. That was the first thing I noticed about this forum, the lack of easily and readily accessible and findable data for those just getting in to these cars. I know, I know... use the search feature... I find it is nearly useless sometimes, and is barely worth using other times... just add a couple of damn stickies already and most of the basic and frequently asked questions would nearly answer themselves...

Ok.. end rant

AScholtes

I guess you arent getting the point.....so I will say it louder...


I dont care if the damn Chevy engine has been blessed by the Pope and touched by the hands of God... it does not belong in any Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo... whatever... when one puts it in one of these cars, they just ruined it to me, it is now as worthless as a piece of tissue I just wiped my nose with.. To ME anyway.

I dont want a Poschrolet, of a Chevrrari... I want a Porsche, and a Ferrari subsequently. And this includes whatever shortcomings either of them have that goes along with owning one...