odurandina

many cars maketh ranting kids of men. put me at the top of any list.


btw, i can think of one car that i would go to heaven and earth to keep (at least 1) all stock.


two interpretations: one w/chevy, the other without......

















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AScholtes

Definitely diggin the second

Thats a series 1 E type, correct... Im more of a series 2 guy

odurandina

the Chevy is a '71. not 100 % sure on the other.

i believe the car from Silver Streak is a '68 XK-e;


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4nk6L_DGC0

AScholtes

The second is an E-Type Jag, pretty sure its a series 1... a series 2 is a bit more refined. They are my favorite of all time... in comparison to everything else.... but I had to settle for my 944 as I am not wealthy enough to even start to consider to own an E-type. We think our lil P-cars are bad, get a British car, you will be beggin for another P-car

pettybird

the prophet strikes again...seriously--can't you help yourself?

V8 SWAP

odurandina

thats how far small block Chrysler, Ford and Chevy engines go with modern internals and lubricants driving properly geared, 2,800 pound cars.... at 2,700 rpm... take a typical Ford pickup w/ curb weights of 4685, 5095, up to 5335 pounds. considering these 4-bolt engines are designed to haul around those kinds of payloads, for up to 200,000 miles with proper care, going several hundred thousand miles hauling around a little 944 is what you'd probably see with normal driving..

Van

Other way around. The series 1 has the plastic head light covers, series 2, pictured above, has the bigger headlights. The top car, the flat black one is an XKE (E-type) coupe, where the bottom one is a convertible, but with a hard top.

Here's a series 1 convertible:

JohnKoaWood

While I wont ever try to tell someone what they should or shouldn't do to their car, I don't ever see myself driving a bow tie powered car, unless it is a one off build, or is wearing a bow tie..

I am in the camp of leaving it as the OEM intending it, but updating as technology allows.. within reason..

LS swaps are neat to look at, and I am sure they are fun to drive, but it just isnt me...

ZR8ED

Been there done that, and spent tens of thousands of dollars in a quest for ultimate performance, being cool, having fun etc. I have now moved on to a part of the crowd that believes in leaving it more or less OEM, with minor mods that don't take away from the "spirit" of the car. Much cheaper on the pocket book, and is intended to make the car MORE driveable. No more garage queens for me. I have had cars that were so built up, that I was no longer willing to risk breaking them due to the amount of money and effort required in building them, they were too wild to just drive around town, and too uncomfortable for long trips, and my wife refused to drive in it for any kind of vacation.

JohnKoaWood

Hence my 944 being 99.9% stock, but new... and my 951 being 99.9% not stock, but fun...

FWIW, neither is running at the moment, until the N/A head comes back from rebuild, and the 951 budget returns following the divorce... stupid 20YO head gasket...

AScholtes

Thanks, you are absolutely correct, I missed it not having covers. Maybe the hardtop threw me off a bit as well... great catch..

ThirdPedal

Buying a 944 comes down to two things: patience and not getting blinded by glitz. Here's my 944 story:

I've been a car fan my whole life, and have always admired 944's. 8 months ago, my (now ex) fiancée wanted to part ways, and I decided to spend the engagement ring money and my new disposable income on a 944. I spent a month (and I got lucky it was the short) in search of the perfect car. I drove a few n/a's that were gorgeous, but without maintenance records and owners that seemed clueless. I fell in love, but my logical side got the better of me, and I moved on.

Then I found my car. An 88 951 in Maraschino Red with a Burgundy interior. Outside, it's a 10-footer at best. Dents, dings, scratches, but the interior is decent (save for a cracked dash) and the mechanics are flawless. The PO was a german car fanatic and knew what it took to keep a p-car in top shape. The 951 was his weekend and track car, so he spent 10's of thousands of dollars at a reputable Porsche shop over the last 8 years keeping it in top shape (he gave me records to prove it). Everything important has been changed out. He just didn't pay much attention to exterior aesthetics, which resulted in his asking price dropping well within my range as he tried to sell it. He claimed most people wanted a better looking example. Suckers. It also worked to my benefit that he was just trying to sell it to free up space in his garage, and not because he needed the money.

I've been driving the car for a few months now as my main transportation, and it hasn't skipped a beat. This is the most fun I've had in a car yet. I've gotten my hands dirty with a timing and balance shaft belt change and a fuel line upgrade, but those were strictly preventative and great for learning the car.

At the end of the day, if you're willing to be patient and focus on mechanical history, you can find a great 944 in your pricerange. Don't be delusional though, sock away the money you save driving error-free for the time when something bad goes wrong. That's what I'm doing, but with the amount of work done to my car, I might have saved up enough to buy another one before something catastrophic happens.

lovemyp-car

I believe that there are many cars out there that very much should be left the hell alone. That flat black jag up there was probably one. But here's the deal: if that car was sitting in a junkyard, ready to be flattened because the motor was blown or some dumb insurance company had totalled it because it had been partially stripped and the windows blown out, then i say do whatever the hell you want with it, as long as you bring it back to life.

Some cars just shouldn't be saved, i've seen plenty, but there are a lot out there that are slipping fast into the realm of less than mediocre in every way, including price. My car was definitely on its way down...213,000 miles on the original motor and transmission, and it was due for a service. I, like many of you, can't leave well enough alone when it comes to maintenance and stuff, i wasn't just going to throw a new timing belt kit on this thing and keep going...because honestly, it scared the hell out of me to drive it. So i took close to the same amount of money that i would have to pull the motor and completely rebuild it to put something louder, faster, cheaper, and more reliable in. Granted i've had my problems along the way, but i wouldn't have this car right now if i hadn't decided to put that v8 in...and now that i did, i will never let it go.

Joka is one who's opinion on this i can completely agree with, because i've heard him talk about his car. He has the same passion for it that i do, he's just going a different way. That and he has a little more money to put into things like Porsche motor parts that this poor college kid can't do. Now AScholtes, i can't speak of your passion because i don't know you. And i respect your opinion about keeping these cars OEM, but the 944 is a bit of a bastard to begin with, is it really worth the trouble (and i know it is to you...this is more of an open ended question) to spend that much time and money on something that really isn't going anywhere in terms of value or rarity? It was said that these cars are rare, well i wouldn't worry about those of us putting chevy motors in them bringing the value down and pulling good cars off of the market, what you should worry about is all of the 944's that i've seen go to the junkers and get crushed because their owners believe they're worth more than they really are.

If anything, you should be happy that we, the v8'ers, are getting this car back on the map in terms of performance and price...betcha i could sell my 948 for a helluva lot more than i could before i put the chevy in it...and if anything, that higher price on my car helps the resale value of the stock cars!

JohnKoaWood

Well put..

AScholtes

I can say this... the more cars that are crushed or parted or totally molested will eventually bring the value up. An example are Mustangs... people thought the same thing back in the day, and there are far more of them on the road than there will ever be of any Porsche. Who would have thought that a Hemi Cuda would bring in 6 figures... from an old dodge.

On the other side, while I would never drop a LS motor in anything (yeah I mean anything, Im more of a Ford guy), I can respect that it is your car, and do what you want... I however am not one to take the soul out of a car and transplant another one in its place. My car is beyond the point of diminishing returns at 254000 miles, but it doesnt matter. Its my P-car, and it will be kept in the OEM state for as long as I own it.