944 Neglect stories
10-21-2012, 12:33 AM
#16
Three Wheelin'
And now you're broke 'cause you just spent every last dime on buying the car and the rear hatch is stuck closed and the heater runs full hot whenever it feels like it and the sunroof is stuck and you just blew the speakers and gas is $4 and you gotta pay for 74 in a 55.
Is it really true that these cars are more often neglected than others? If so, it must be what we all know: Porsches are more than just a cars, they're potential hobbies that are best enjoyed when approached as such.
If you are willing and able learn and approach the mechanics of the Porsche, you can save money and make a connection with the car. Likewise, though they look great and invoke conversation, they need to be driven spiritedly on the back roads to make everything more than worth it! These are my thoughts anyway.
When I bought mine, there was mold on the exterior and the tires were a decade old. It's needed lots of other work to bring it "up to speed."
10-21-2012, 01:49 AM
#17
Pro
Thread Starter
Exactly, and the list goes on! Smog, old tires, stolen gas cap, etc... So many things can go wrong despite preparation to drive an owner to neglect. Or maybe the owner just doesn't know about Rennlist!
Is it really true that these cars are more often neglected than others? If so, it must be what we all know: Porsches are more than just a cars, they're potential hobbies that are best enjoyed when approached as such.
If you are willing and able learn and approach the mechanics of the Porsche, you can save money and make a connection with the car. Likewise, though they look great and invoke conversation, they need to be driven spiritedly on the back roads to make everything more than worth it! These are my thoughts anyway.
When I bought mine, there was mold on the exterior and the tires were a decade old. It's needed lots of other work to bring it "up to speed."
Is it really true that these cars are more often neglected than others? If so, it must be what we all know: Porsches are more than just a cars, they're potential hobbies that are best enjoyed when approached as such.
If you are willing and able learn and approach the mechanics of the Porsche, you can save money and make a connection with the car. Likewise, though they look great and invoke conversation, they need to be driven spiritedly on the back roads to make everything more than worth it! These are my thoughts anyway.
When I bought mine, there was mold on the exterior and the tires were a decade old. It's needed lots of other work to bring it "up to speed."
10-21-2012, 01:56 AM
#18
Pro
Thread Starter
Nothing super interesting. Just general maintenance items and a small patch of rust in front of the right real wheel. One thing I wasn't happy about when I got the car was the ruined third gear synchronizer. It was kind of suspicious how the guy I bought it from wouldn't let me drive it and how he was double clutching before he shifted into third. I figured he wouldn't let me drive it because I was a 19 year old kid and he assumed that I didn't know how to drive a stick. I didn't bug him about it because I figured I'd have lots of time to drive it when I got it home. It would have been really nice if he had given me a heads up about third gear 
On the plus side I found about 10 bucks in change and an unopened bottle of Mikes hard lemonade under the seat
On the plus side I found about 10 bucks in change and an unopened bottle of Mikes hard lemonade under the seat
. Thank God for him. He also said the car was unusually flawless other than said flaws lol. Said from the looks...it had caught on fire before. Tells me I got someone looking out for me cause they usually burn to the ground :SDid get brand new tires out of it and came with gold Fuchs(flawless). No leaks at all(waterpump kit from 944 Online). Just no brakes -_-.
10-21-2012, 10:23 AM
#19
Drifting
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I started a thread in 2008 titled "can you unmolest a molested car?" Unfortunately all the pictures are gone, but here it is four years later and I'm still working on it. I'm dead serious when I say the only thing that hasn't been out of my car is the gas tank.
Today I'm hoping to get the interior back together so the car is drivable again. I pulled the dash out to get recovered (a second time) and it opened a big can of worms. Now I'm redoing things that I've already done and wasn't happy with (carpet, headliner, auxiliary gauges, etc). And, of course, I had to turn around and add something new - keyless door locks. And all the body work/paint I had done now looks like crap because the shop did a half-assed job (and they've long since gone out of business)
Today I'm hoping to get the interior back together so the car is drivable again. I pulled the dash out to get recovered (a second time) and it opened a big can of worms. Now I'm redoing things that I've already done and wasn't happy with (carpet, headliner, auxiliary gauges, etc). And, of course, I had to turn around and add something new - keyless door locks. And all the body work/paint I had done now looks like crap because the shop did a half-assed job (and they've long since gone out of business)
10-21-2012, 12:29 PM
#20
Proprietoristicly Refined
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
10-21-2012, 03:37 PM
#22
Oh boy.....When we got the 83....the guy acted like he knew cars....funny thing is I knew the guy from a few years back just never remembered him....I will tell the long version one day....but he said a kid wanted to buy it but it was just so fast he could not be a responsible adult selling such a powerful car to a kid LMAO. Car caught fire under the dash but was put out FAST.....took it to a guy that knew the cars and he hunted for 4 months trying to get spark . Thank God for him. He also said the car was unusually flawless other than said flaws lol. Said from the looks...it had caught on fire before. Tells me I got someone looking out for me cause they usually burn to the ground :S
Did get brand new tires out of it and came with gold Fuchs(flawless). No leaks at all(waterpump kit from 944 Online). Just no brakes -_-.
. Thank God for him. He also said the car was unusually flawless other than said flaws lol. Said from the looks...it had caught on fire before. Tells me I got someone looking out for me cause they usually burn to the ground :SDid get brand new tires out of it and came with gold Fuchs(flawless). No leaks at all(waterpump kit from 944 Online). Just no brakes -_-.
The brakes on my car were shot, too (another thing this guy didn't tell me about). While bringing it home there was a stop sign at the bottom of a steep hill. I applied the brakes and slowed down a little bit, but after a few seconds the pedal just kept sinking without doing much to slow me down. Luckily the emergency brake still worked (I HATE how it's on the left side
) and the guy at the stop sign pulled away just in time. After that I parked the car and only take it on short trips around the block once or twice a week just to get it out of the garage.One thing that turned me on to this car is how it had Porsche dealership service receipts from the first few years of its life and about 5-7 years of service history receipts from another garage. Unfortunately those were from NAPPA Auto Parts
I did get a set of free D90 rims that are in pretty good shape, though The PO said he was going to get a 928 after selling this car. I almost cried when I thought about what he might put that car through
10-21-2012, 07:46 PM
#23
Rennlist Member
My first 944 was an '84 I ended up getting for $1200. The PO was an affable buffoon, claimed constantly how much the car meant to him, hated to see it go... but the fuel pump had failed seven years earlier, and he just pulled the battery and left it sitting in the apartment parking lot... in the NM sun, wind, blowing sand, etc. The oxidation on the Indischerot paint was unbelievable. The sun completely rotted the hatch carpeting, it literally turned to powder. The seats were cloth and were down to the foam everywhere. But it had what I was after -- a body without need of repairs, and no mods.
10-21-2012, 08:21 PM
#24
Rennlist Member
I haven't really had that bad an experience with mine.
however, the aftermarket A/C that doesn't work appears to be tapped into EVERY SINGLE WIRE in the car.
Also, I really need to take a photo of my fuse box. It's.... special.
Apart from that, it's just the usual case of maintainence "options" that were never done.... like running a bottle of gasket repair is a good solution to a head gasket leak, right????
Also, the balance belt had failed and was wrapped around everything in the covers.
however, the aftermarket A/C that doesn't work appears to be tapped into EVERY SINGLE WIRE in the car.
Also, I really need to take a photo of my fuse box. It's.... special.
Apart from that, it's just the usual case of maintainence "options" that were never done.... like running a bottle of gasket repair is a good solution to a head gasket leak, right????
Also, the balance belt had failed and was wrapped around everything in the covers.
10-22-2012, 12:24 AM
#25
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Were do I start on my nightmare! I found a 87S right down the street from me.
The car was in fair shape, great body just looked like a red chalk board, ripped
drivers seat but otherwise good interior and only 76000 miles all this for the
bargain price of $1000. In the glove box I found receipts for almost $20,000 in
repairs going back about 4 years. This looked like a great deal as I was looking
for a new project to add to my stable and I always wanted a 944 anyway.
I took my time and looked around a few places for a replacement head, wound
up finding one on here for a fair price. I ordered the head, gasket set and a few odds and ends.
While waiting on the parts to arrive I took the engine apart, cleaned and painted everything, buffed the
outside (it looks great now!)and painted the stock wheels.
The head showed up and looked just fine out of the box, it looked to have been decked recently as well as a few new valves,
glass beaded and it had been welded up from a tensioner problem ( I was told about this ahead of
time). The one problem I saw was it was very stiff to turn the cams... since
I wasn't experianced with a head setup like this I thought it might be normal.
SO I go to install the head, remove the cams and check there fit in the head,
seems the cam towers are messed up from the heat of welding. SO I get
them repaired.
Go to test fit the parts agein and find both the tensioner bolts stripped from the
heat, I helicoil them. Move to the oil pressure valve, it's stuck in the head,
after some work it comes out along with ALOT of glass beads, seems it
wasn't cleaned well after glassbeading. I take it to work to clean all the beads
out of it.
Back in the shop I notice that all on the lifter bores are scored from the glass
beads, every last one is scored up. I was told this head was from a running
car so I hoped it would be ok and moved on.
I put the head on the car, torqued it down and move on to install the cams and
find the game changer. The lifter bore right next to the welded area was
oval shaped by .025" that's inch not MM!!! needless to say the lifter wobbles
all over the place. The head is junk....
So I have a very pretty low mileage 944S with a expensive junk head... I'm
sure the guy that sold it to me will step up and refund my money but I still
need to source another head...
Steve
The car was in fair shape, great body just looked like a red chalk board, ripped
drivers seat but otherwise good interior and only 76000 miles all this for the
bargain price of $1000. In the glove box I found receipts for almost $20,000 in
repairs going back about 4 years. This looked like a great deal as I was looking
for a new project to add to my stable and I always wanted a 944 anyway.
I took my time and looked around a few places for a replacement head, wound
up finding one on here for a fair price. I ordered the head, gasket set and a few odds and ends.
While waiting on the parts to arrive I took the engine apart, cleaned and painted everything, buffed the
outside (it looks great now!)and painted the stock wheels.
The head showed up and looked just fine out of the box, it looked to have been decked recently as well as a few new valves,
glass beaded and it had been welded up from a tensioner problem ( I was told about this ahead of
time). The one problem I saw was it was very stiff to turn the cams... since
I wasn't experianced with a head setup like this I thought it might be normal.
SO I go to install the head, remove the cams and check there fit in the head,
seems the cam towers are messed up from the heat of welding. SO I get
them repaired.
Go to test fit the parts agein and find both the tensioner bolts stripped from the
heat, I helicoil them. Move to the oil pressure valve, it's stuck in the head,
after some work it comes out along with ALOT of glass beads, seems it
wasn't cleaned well after glassbeading. I take it to work to clean all the beads
out of it.
Back in the shop I notice that all on the lifter bores are scored from the glass
beads, every last one is scored up. I was told this head was from a running
car so I hoped it would be ok and moved on.
I put the head on the car, torqued it down and move on to install the cams and
find the game changer. The lifter bore right next to the welded area was
oval shaped by .025" that's inch not MM!!! needless to say the lifter wobbles
all over the place. The head is junk....
So I have a very pretty low mileage 944S with a expensive junk head... I'm
sure the guy that sold it to me will step up and refund my money but I still
need to source another head...
Steve
10-22-2012, 01:34 AM
#26
My first 944 (which I bought when I was 17) was not that bad... except for the failed rubber center clutch and the hatch and the power steering and the fact it had not been on the road in 7 years.
My second 944 was a cab that had been neglected somewhat its whole life. It wasn't too bad or anything but was in overall "runout" shape.
After that I bought a 94 E36 BMW. I can now say I owned a car with bullet holes that were indifferently patched with bondo. The stange thing was that it was a really tight group of 9 223 in the passenger door almost like a bench rest kind of deal. The rest of the car sucked too.
My second 944 was a cab that had been neglected somewhat its whole life. It wasn't too bad or anything but was in overall "runout" shape.
After that I bought a 94 E36 BMW. I can now say I owned a car with bullet holes that were indifferently patched with bondo. The stange thing was that it was a really tight group of 9 223 in the passenger door almost like a bench rest kind of deal. The rest of the car sucked too.
10-22-2012, 02:14 AM
#27
Pro
Thread Starter
Were do I start on my nightmare! I found a 87S right down the street from me.
The car was in fair shape, great body just looked like a red chalk board, ripped
drivers seat but otherwise good interior and only 76000 miles all this for the
bargain price of $1000. In the glove box I found receipts for almost $20,000 in
repairs going back about 4 years. This looked like a great deal as I was looking
for a new project to add to my stable and I always wanted a 944 anyway.
I took my time and looked around a few places for a replacement head, wound
up finding one on here for a fair price. I ordered the head, gasket set and a few odds and ends.
While waiting on the parts to arrive I took the engine apart, cleaned and painted everything, buffed the
outside (it looks great now!)and painted the stock wheels.
The head showed up and looked just fine out of the box, it looked to have been decked recently as well as a few new valves,
glass beaded and it had been welded up from a tensioner problem ( I was told about this ahead of
time). The one problem I saw was it was very stiff to turn the cams... since
I wasn't experianced with a head setup like this I thought it might be normal.
SO I go to install the head, remove the cams and check there fit in the head,
seems the cam towers are messed up from the heat of welding. SO I get
them repaired.
Go to test fit the parts agein and find both the tensioner bolts stripped from the
heat, I helicoil them. Move to the oil pressure valve, it's stuck in the head,
after some work it comes out along with ALOT of glass beads, seems it
wasn't cleaned well after glassbeading. I take it to work to clean all the beads
out of it.
Back in the shop I notice that all on the lifter bores are scored from the glass
beads, every last one is scored up. I was told this head was from a running
car so I hoped it would be ok and moved on.
I put the head on the car, torqued it down and move on to install the cams and
find the game changer. The lifter bore right next to the welded area was
oval shaped by .025" that's inch not MM!!! needless to say the lifter wobbles
all over the place. The head is junk....
So I have a very pretty low mileage 944S with a expensive junk head... I'm
sure the guy that sold it to me will step up and refund my money but I still
need to source another head...
Steve
The car was in fair shape, great body just looked like a red chalk board, ripped
drivers seat but otherwise good interior and only 76000 miles all this for the
bargain price of $1000. In the glove box I found receipts for almost $20,000 in
repairs going back about 4 years. This looked like a great deal as I was looking
for a new project to add to my stable and I always wanted a 944 anyway.
I took my time and looked around a few places for a replacement head, wound
up finding one on here for a fair price. I ordered the head, gasket set and a few odds and ends.
While waiting on the parts to arrive I took the engine apart, cleaned and painted everything, buffed the
outside (it looks great now!)and painted the stock wheels.
The head showed up and looked just fine out of the box, it looked to have been decked recently as well as a few new valves,
glass beaded and it had been welded up from a tensioner problem ( I was told about this ahead of
time). The one problem I saw was it was very stiff to turn the cams... since
I wasn't experianced with a head setup like this I thought it might be normal.
SO I go to install the head, remove the cams and check there fit in the head,
seems the cam towers are messed up from the heat of welding. SO I get
them repaired.
Go to test fit the parts agein and find both the tensioner bolts stripped from the
heat, I helicoil them. Move to the oil pressure valve, it's stuck in the head,
after some work it comes out along with ALOT of glass beads, seems it
wasn't cleaned well after glassbeading. I take it to work to clean all the beads
out of it.
Back in the shop I notice that all on the lifter bores are scored from the glass
beads, every last one is scored up. I was told this head was from a running
car so I hoped it would be ok and moved on.
I put the head on the car, torqued it down and move on to install the cams and
find the game changer. The lifter bore right next to the welded area was
oval shaped by .025" that's inch not MM!!! needless to say the lifter wobbles
all over the place. The head is junk....
So I have a very pretty low mileage 944S with a expensive junk head... I'm
sure the guy that sold it to me will step up and refund my money but I still
need to source another head...
Steve
10-22-2012, 02:16 AM
#28
Pro
Thread Starter
My first 944 (which I bought when I was 17) was not that bad... except for the failed rubber center clutch and the hatch and the power steering and the fact it had not been on the road in 7 years.
My second 944 was a cab that had been neglected somewhat its whole life. It wasn't too bad or anything but was in overall "runout" shape.
After that I bought a 94 E36 BMW. I can now say I owned a car with bullet holes that were indifferently patched with bondo. The stange thing was that it was a really tight group of 9 223 in the passenger door almost like a bench rest kind of deal. The rest of the car sucked too.
My second 944 was a cab that had been neglected somewhat its whole life. It wasn't too bad or anything but was in overall "runout" shape.
After that I bought a 94 E36 BMW. I can now say I owned a car with bullet holes that were indifferently patched with bondo. The stange thing was that it was a really tight group of 9 223 in the passenger door almost like a bench rest kind of deal. The rest of the car sucked too.
10-22-2012, 02:17 AM
#29
Pro
Thread Starter
I haven't really had that bad an experience with mine.
however, the aftermarket A/C that doesn't work appears to be tapped into EVERY SINGLE WIRE in the car.
Also, I really need to take a photo of my fuse box. It's.... special.
Apart from that, it's just the usual case of maintainence "options" that were never done.... like running a bottle of gasket repair is a good solution to a head gasket leak, right????
Also, the balance belt had failed and was wrapped around everything in the covers.
however, the aftermarket A/C that doesn't work appears to be tapped into EVERY SINGLE WIRE in the car.
Also, I really need to take a photo of my fuse box. It's.... special.
Apart from that, it's just the usual case of maintainence "options" that were never done.... like running a bottle of gasket repair is a good solution to a head gasket leak, right????
Also, the balance belt had failed and was wrapped around everything in the covers.
10-22-2012, 02:18 AM
#30
Pro
Thread Starter