MAGK944

+1

Most people here will tell you if you buy a 944 for $5k you will spend another $5k on it very quickly. Buy a $3k car, expect to spend $7k, etc, etc. $10k seems to be the majic number unless you are very lucky. Makes the extra money for an S2 look very attractive especially as there are good S2's out there for $7-9k. Just something worth thinking about.

Butters944

Everybody is going to tell you whichever year they personally prefer. You need to figure out yourself which you want by trying both if possible.

That 10k number is true in the case that you want a car that is PERFECT interior/exterior/mechanically.

I don't understand the "newest year possible" thing. When you're dealing with just a 6 year range, age will have nothing to do with condition, maintenance will.

Fara

I Personally chose to get an early car.
The reasons behind my choice were:

Lighter stock weight
Simpler wiring for the interior
I'm going to be racing the thing. Weight is very important as the rules state that my car must be able to be weighed and have the same or greater weight than when it rolled off the showroom floor.

MAGK944

Not so much age, it's more about features and improvements, they did a lot of that over those 6 years. TurboS and S2 had all the bells and whistles compared to earlier models. But even the 87+ models has stuff like better/stronger hubs, auto belt tensioner, upgraded dme, better OPRV, etc.
Other notable improvements: 85+ had uprated oil pump; 86 had better exhaust valves and tubular exhaust manifold; 88 had 10.2cr, oil level sensor. Plus lots of other things in all years.

odonnell

Hmm... I really don't mind a few minor things, it doesn't have to be flawless. I'm hoping to spend around $3000 on the initial purchase, and sink $2000 in for maintenance over the summer so it's ship-shape for the next few months. Is that realistic? I've been doing months and months of research and bookmarking (and will continue to) so I can make the best purchase in May 2013

MAGK944

Sounds reasonable, you have done your research so make sure the $3k car you buy is not a basket case. $2k reserve should cover belts, rollers, wp, FOES plus other stuff to make it reliable like vac lines, coolant lines, injector cleaning, throttle reseal, oil service, brake seals & pads & flush. Just watch out for other items that will take you way over that $2k or cause you to do a lot of work like TT bearings, struts, dampers, bushes, rear engine seal, clutch, cam/balance cover/sump gasket leaks, exhaust, CAT, bad electrics (especially in the engine bay), etc.

odonnell

Are engine seals something that I can inspect myself, or will I need a PPI/compression test to see? I know how to test some gaskets (coolant/oil etc etc) but am vague on the rest.

and what are TT bearings? I recognized all of those acronyms except that one

Fara

Torque Tube Bearings
The strange lingo for the link between the clutch and the transaxle.

The bearings last for ages, but changing them is a pig of a job if they are failing.

Arominus

For 2k, you should be able to do all of the struts/shocks, Water pump, belts and such. easy.

The seals are behind the belt cover, it only takes a few minutes to take that cover off.

Look for a car that someone has already been spending money on, it will be more caught up than a car that has been neglected.

V2Rocket

Some MY85/1 cars had the tubular manifolds as well (mine)...though I would not go so far as to call the "auto belt tensioner" an improvement.

FRporscheman

The tubular headers crack, the cast ones are bullet-proof.
The manual timing belt tensioner (of the years 83-86) is preferred by most, including me - it's reliable.
The DME from a late car can very easily be put into an early car.
The higher compression ratio of '88 only gives a few more horses - not really worth the premium for most people.

Sorry, not trying to pick on you Mike. The main things about late cars I think are nice are
- the late rear suspension (with the redesigned bearing cartridges)
- the adjustable wiper speed
- relayed headlights (early 944 headlight power goes right through the switch)
- I like the flush-mounted windshield of late cars, it looks better and doesn't have metal trim that fades and pops off, lol.

Don't get scared with the $10k number, you can buy a 944 and fully sort it out for less than $5k, if you work on it yourself.

Overall, there are many reasons to choose an early car, and many reasons to choose a late car. Look at both, see what you like more, and go with the best 944 you find.

goatfarmerdave

I have an 84. I did all the do things.The biggest pain in my opinion is that if you are trying to upgrade your suspension,a lot of stuff isn't readily available on the sites.Most sights say 85.5 and later for a lot of things. I never understood the better heating and air. I have to turn mine down most of the time ever on level 1 fan.Totally hot and cold air flies out. I also had to get a late ecu and arm for the car if you want to chip it. A half hour job but another 3 to 6 hundred bucks to buy them.Also,wheel selection.I am stuch with limited rim selection because I have early offset. Luckily,I love fuchs and have a mint pair on. Cookie cutters and phone dials are easy to find and cheap if you like those also.Go for a clean one that has not a tremendous amount of miles and you will be good. I've had mine for 2 and a half years.I spent 2000(800 of that tires) right away to give me peace of mind and have not had 1 iota of a problem the last 2 summers driving the crap out of it. So much fun to go to the track for the dar and then just drive it home and put it in the garage.I change the oil lots!Thats about it. I recommend Brad Penn oil also. Good luck and have fun.

goatfarmerdave

Sorry about all the spelling mistakes.Should have proof read!

sumpcracker

Id get an early late car, about 86.
Best all rounders imo, and also no abs ect and early offset so you can use steel lower arms.
the early cars have trouble with the metal fuel tank rusting, inferior fuse box/loom and the dash is prone to cracking.
An 8v 2.5 oval dash is very easy to look after and a good all rounder.

Butters944

The early 944s have way more wheel options with early offset

They can fit practically any porsche wheel including late 944 wheels with proper spacers.