early 85 questions
05-04-2011, 12:45 PM
#16
Drifting
I don't really recall there being trim levels for 944s. I always considered the 944S a variation of the 944, but the 944 Turbo or 944S2 had some many changes that I considered them a different models within the 944 family...kind of like I would not consider a 930/911 Turbo a trim level for a 911...the 930 was a different model in my eyes.
If I recall correctly, most options on these cars were a la carte. Some options included cruise control, central locking, leather interior, 16 inch wheels/Fuchs, metallic paint, wheels painted exterior color, sun roof, rear winshield wiper, and I don't recall if there was a sport suspension available. Today we take many options for granted, but when these cars were new they were considered quite well equipped with standard equipment including air conditioning, dual power side mirrors that were heated, am/fm stereo with cassette, a cassette holder, a full array of gauges (not simply gas, tach, speedometer, temp), electric rear hatch opener, and fog lamps.
These cars were heralded as an absolute bargain considering their performance, when introduced with a base price of around $18,000 in late 1982 early 83. There was such a shortage and high demand that I recall some dealers selling them for nearly twice the list price...which was 911 range back then. But eventually, prices ballooned and later in the cars production they were tough to sell. Today the interiors (particularly the 85.5 and later) still look good on these cars today. Take a look at an interior of an 80's Supra, Mitsubish Starion, or Corvette and they look gimicky or as though Atari designed the inside of their cars.
Best regards,
Dino
If I recall correctly, most options on these cars were a la carte. Some options included cruise control, central locking, leather interior, 16 inch wheels/Fuchs, metallic paint, wheels painted exterior color, sun roof, rear winshield wiper, and I don't recall if there was a sport suspension available. Today we take many options for granted, but when these cars were new they were considered quite well equipped with standard equipment including air conditioning, dual power side mirrors that were heated, am/fm stereo with cassette, a cassette holder, a full array of gauges (not simply gas, tach, speedometer, temp), electric rear hatch opener, and fog lamps.
These cars were heralded as an absolute bargain considering their performance, when introduced with a base price of around $18,000 in late 1982 early 83. There was such a shortage and high demand that I recall some dealers selling them for nearly twice the list price...which was 911 range back then. But eventually, prices ballooned and later in the cars production they were tough to sell. Today the interiors (particularly the 85.5 and later) still look good on these cars today. Take a look at an interior of an 80's Supra, Mitsubish Starion, or Corvette and they look gimicky or as though Atari designed the inside of their cars.
Best regards,
Dino
05-04-2011, 04:02 PM
#17
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
i fully agree with the retro 80's interiors being somewhat gimicky..though i'm one who loves the 80's and most of the 10 cars i own are from the 80's..and as much as my wife hates it, i will probably be that way forever..some of the best cars were born in the 80's. i had a nice 84 Corvette with a 4+3 trans with 37k miles on it. i sold it last year because my wife was pregnant and we needed the space and the money. i remember the interio being plasticy and brittle. my Mazda RX-7's of which i own four of right now, have excellent interiors that feel good and held up well compared to the Vette which costed quite a bit more.
with that said, its a shame that the dash cracks are so common with the 944, even the later ones. i can live with seat splits as those are easially reupholstered. my 944 is no exception and has a black dash cap on it. i spoke with Bob from Classic 9 yesterday and he quoted me something like $750 for a recover in vinyl. fair price considering the work he'll have in recovering it.
i will say though that the interior of the 944 feels solid and overall has held up well, considering it was originally sold in Alabama and had warm weather nearly year round. i'm a fan of either dash design and i like the yellow on black gauges. they're unique and easy to read. i find that compared to my RX-7's and the Vette, the 944 was extremely well optioned!!
back on topic with another two possibly dumb questions..
1. will the 85.5 sport seat fit in my early 85 if i were to swap over my manual seat rails and ditch the electronic motor and drive? or were the cars prewired for the options and will the seats be a plug and play affair?
2. were early 85's produced in gemini gray versus late 85's switching to stone gray? i have to check my color code to see what color i actually have. i assume it will be gemini gray.
with that said, its a shame that the dash cracks are so common with the 944, even the later ones. i can live with seat splits as those are easially reupholstered. my 944 is no exception and has a black dash cap on it. i spoke with Bob from Classic 9 yesterday and he quoted me something like $750 for a recover in vinyl. fair price considering the work he'll have in recovering it.
i will say though that the interior of the 944 feels solid and overall has held up well, considering it was originally sold in Alabama and had warm weather nearly year round. i'm a fan of either dash design and i like the yellow on black gauges. they're unique and easy to read. i find that compared to my RX-7's and the Vette, the 944 was extremely well optioned!!
back on topic with another two possibly dumb questions..
1. will the 85.5 sport seat fit in my early 85 if i were to swap over my manual seat rails and ditch the electronic motor and drive? or were the cars prewired for the options and will the seats be a plug and play affair?
2. were early 85's produced in gemini gray versus late 85's switching to stone gray? i have to check my color code to see what color i actually have. i assume it will be gemini gray.
05-04-2011, 05:00 PM
#18
Drifting
It really is too bad that so many 944s have cracked dashes. I had my 85.5 for nearly 17 years (had 106,000 miles when I sold it), and my dash did not have any cracks in it (even my seats did not have any tears or splits just some bends/wear marks on the bolsters). But then again, I was very vigilent about using a window/sun shield to protect the dash when the car was outside, and regularly conditioning the leather portion of my seats.
I like cars of the 1980s a lot. I was merely pointing out that IMHO, the interiors on 944s look less dated than those on Vettes, Supras, Nissans and other cars that were similarly priced back then.
Best regards,
Dino
I like cars of the 1980s a lot. I was merely pointing out that IMHO, the interiors on 944s look less dated than those on Vettes, Supras, Nissans and other cars that were similarly priced back then.
Best regards,
Dino
05-05-2011, 01:56 AM
#19
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
i do agree with you on the interiors of the 85.5+ 944's looking a lot less dated than other cars of the era. even today the look is still very modern!
05-05-2011, 04:26 AM
#20
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
You can interchance early and late seats with no problem. Well, there is a minor problem.
If you have an early car and you want to use late seats, you have to remove the seat belt buckle that comes on the seat, and you have to wire some power for the seat motors. Or, you can try rail swapping to make them manual, I've never tried that.
If you want to put early seats in a late car, you need to figure out how to put in a seat belt buckle.
If you have an early car and you want to use late seats, you have to remove the seat belt buckle that comes on the seat, and you have to wire some power for the seat motors. Or, you can try rail swapping to make them manual, I've never tried that.
If you want to put early seats in a late car, you need to figure out how to put in a seat belt buckle.
