ditch68

Well, this is my second 951, had an 86 before this, but smashed it due to a foolish, inattentive lapse of attention. Luckily, my first accident EVER, and no one was hurt, so no problem with insurance. Got a full payout, and got a better replacement.

I've had about 40 (!) cars in my lifetime, ranging from mild to wild. Many '60s and '70s musclecars, Jap sportscars, and all sorts of motorcycles. Lots of fast cars and bikes. But this is the keeper, the end of the road. I really intend to stick with this one, for so many reasons. It does everything I want a car to do and more. Second favorite was my '65 912 with '69 911 engine, but it just wasn't like this. Had a 1988 924S but the power was just not there, and the looks fell short (I just like the wide look of 944 cars so much)


Well, I now have 300 miles on my new 951, and about 2000 on the last one. I am sure everyone here knows what the first 300 (500) miles of new car ownership are like. Settling in, learning controls, handling, etc. And limits in some cases.

I do love it. I have done maximum 0-60 countless times FAST (more like 10-60, really), found the end of tire adhesion at all corners, under braking, acceleration, and neutral in hard turns at speed.

Found every little switch sticking, screw cap missing, dash crack, speedo, body and trim discrepancy and fault I could identify, and fixed most.

Made 120 or so mph with ease in seconds ( on private property! Really. ) and now I really get the car, I think.

It is really something to behold, and really much more owner friendly (to most owners who know what a wrench is) than it's rep suggests. Solid build quality, just listen to the doors close. Seats by Recaro from the factory. Brembo 4 piston calipers. Not much easy bolt on horsepower, the easy stuff is already done. If there was cheap horsepower versus weight gains to me found, the factory found and included them. Cold air intake, tube headers. Aluminum bumpers, suspension, block, head, everything possible. The car has all the M030 suspesion parts added by a PO. Handles like NOTHING I have ever driven.

All that stuff is included in a laundry list of parts and efforts I have thrown into other cars to make them better than they were built, and the 944 has it all for pennies on the dollar, these days.

Forged pistons, rods, high oil capacity, on and on. Race car stuff. The stock Turbo driveline is designed to take over double the factory horsepower rating without issue. Factory racetrack legal tow point is even standard. They knew exactly what the cars would be used for - racing - from club cup cars to full blown pro series. And the design reflects this - a truly potent production platform for serious race cars, with little effort and modification required to see very competitive cars on the track fielded by privateers and enthusiasts.

Even the bodywork has a pedigree, the factory took the 924 Carerra GT race car's simple add-on race shop flat fender fiberglass swashes for massive tire clearance and track width with filleting to the quarter-panels, and made them into the factory improvement of the 924, as the 944. No clay model approach, just take a 924 body and make the race car shape fit and be reproducible on the assembly line and add the new Porsche designed race engine, (after winning Le Mans in class with it) and call it the 944. It seems very little of the car is made for comfort, all that is added to the performance to make it less harsh.

The car strikes me as a race car squeezed into a production concept, without much loss to shape or function.

Hard to believe these $2000- $9000 rockets cost $29000 plus in 1986 for the turbo model, (about $75000 in 1986 dollars). My '88 was $37,335. In 1988 adjusted USD, a whopping $72,422. I got it for a shade over $6k with all maintenance records included and all issues addressed.

Such an interesting and great car.

Well, I guess I am really rambling, and being obsessive/compulsive. But I believe it all!

Jeff

Dino V

Congrats and enjoy your new toy! These cars are a lot of fun.

s14kev

Interesting roll bar. Rear points mount further back like the DASsport one but without a diagonal. Any chance you can post more pics of the roll bar and the mounting points? I'm installing a DASsport roll bar currently. They are much different from the more common autopower style.

ditch68

Sure, Ill go do that.

I love it. I plan to do track time.whenever and whereever possible. The kids dont get the back seats, but that's the breaks.

I think it looks great.

Jeff

ditch68

Here you go. Didnt want to ter up carpet, but if you really need me to, I will.

Someone started to mount a different one (cut carpet) but stopped short of cutting into the sound deadening.

This one is very sturdy indeed, I do trust it completely.

Jeff

VirginiaF1

Great write up Jeff... Your 951 looks great!
Making me have 2nd thoughts on trading my '88 n/a in for a new Mustang.

How many miles on her?
How many miles on current turbo, clutch and timing belt?
Good luck!

ditch68

Thanks!

Belts 20,000.
turbo unknown
Clutch 15000

All good news!!

VirginiaF1

Cool... Total miles on her?

ditch68

As for my two cents, the Mustang of today is a bunch of "Gee whiz" technical crap and flashy interior to seem modern and be what people expect now, coupled with an outdated frame and drivetrain that has been tweaked and pushed into the 21st century. Not much remains of the original, it is in name only.

I hate them, and they are everywhere. Can't go get a Coke without seeing 5 of those pathetic things. When's the last time you saw a 944 in the wild?

Jeff

ditch68

169,109.

ditch68

For the record, I just removed those sheepskin seat covers. Have a receipt from the PO for $378 for the pair. I don't like them, Id rather live with the couple tiny tears on the seat bases...my wife gets them in her car (van!)

Sentinelist

Nice write-up, especially with your history of ownership of everything out there it sounds like. Looks nice! When it's love, it's love.

MAGK944

I prefer driving my 951 to my newer 996. There are a lot of purist 911 owners out there who are missing out on a real Porsche.

s14kev

Thanks for the pics. Very helpful for my install. It's nice to see a different rollbar compared to the typical autopower style.

333pg333

Great write up Jeff. These cars really are addictive.

btw your house actually looks quite Australian to me for some reason.