Newbie (sort of)
11-01-2001 | 04:49 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,594
Likes: 1
From: Costa Mesa, CA
Newbie (sort of)
I posted this on the 944 turbo board, but it seems this one gets more traffic...
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Hello all,
I was a part of the 944 web scene a year or two ago, but since I had an NA and not enough money to race it beyond autocrossing, my interest in "how do I install the rear speakers" and "I gained 2 hp from this $500 part" type threads faded quickly.
I messed myself into the turbo scene the cheapest way I thought was possible. About a year ago, I bought a Dodge with the 2.2L turbo in hopes of gaining the knowledge required to some day do likewise to a 951. Those guys taught me a lot. Cars definitely don't have to be expensive to be fast.
Then I get a call at 7am this morning. My friends dad's 951 had an engine fire and it was totalled. The insurance buyout is $500.
So now I'm a 951 owner!
I haven't even seen the car, but my friend tells me the interior is perfect, and the only visible damage to the exterior is a dent from prying the hood open (I guess the release cable melted). He said the car did not burn for long, and its really not that toasted. I'm guessing it will probably need a new head and turbo as he told me the intake manifold melted.
So that is my situation. I'm not too rich (rephrase, I'm in college). My repairs to the car will be done entirely in my backyard. At first I was thinking, sweet, new wheels and brakes for my 944. But after talking with my friend, it seems fixing the car up is the best choice as far as profit. Plus I'd have a 951 for beans.
Since I'm going to be tearing into this engine and probably adding a ton of new parts, I was wondering what everyones best results have been as far as performance parts and upgrades.
Borrowing from the turbo dodge crowd, I'll take fuel management and boost control entirely into my own hands. I might even be thinking of going with a DIY-efi system. If I pull the right strings to get a 3.0 crank on the cheap, that will be done too. Depending on the block and pistons conditions (I'm guessing they didn't melt, but might have damage or wear), I'll look at overboring. The way I look at it, I have the perfect start at an awesome buildup.
So give me your thoughts and experience with buildups that have gone well. I'm specifically interested in heavily modified fuel systems. I'd like to avoid costly MAF kits and the like, and would prefer to work with either a Ford 2.3 MAF or even a MAP sensor setup like used in the Dodges. And some general info on injector upgrades would help too, as far as flow rates, pressures used, and sources.
Once again, I just wanted to say hello and give a quick background on my car. I used to have a webpage on my 944, but it disappeared when NBCi shut stuff down. I'll probably get around to putting it up again sometime soon, with some pics of the 951 too.
---------
Hello all,
I was a part of the 944 web scene a year or two ago, but since I had an NA and not enough money to race it beyond autocrossing, my interest in "how do I install the rear speakers" and "I gained 2 hp from this $500 part" type threads faded quickly.
I messed myself into the turbo scene the cheapest way I thought was possible. About a year ago, I bought a Dodge with the 2.2L turbo in hopes of gaining the knowledge required to some day do likewise to a 951. Those guys taught me a lot. Cars definitely don't have to be expensive to be fast.
Then I get a call at 7am this morning. My friends dad's 951 had an engine fire and it was totalled. The insurance buyout is $500.
So now I'm a 951 owner!
I haven't even seen the car, but my friend tells me the interior is perfect, and the only visible damage to the exterior is a dent from prying the hood open (I guess the release cable melted). He said the car did not burn for long, and its really not that toasted. I'm guessing it will probably need a new head and turbo as he told me the intake manifold melted.
So that is my situation. I'm not too rich (rephrase, I'm in college). My repairs to the car will be done entirely in my backyard. At first I was thinking, sweet, new wheels and brakes for my 944. But after talking with my friend, it seems fixing the car up is the best choice as far as profit. Plus I'd have a 951 for beans.
Since I'm going to be tearing into this engine and probably adding a ton of new parts, I was wondering what everyones best results have been as far as performance parts and upgrades.
Borrowing from the turbo dodge crowd, I'll take fuel management and boost control entirely into my own hands. I might even be thinking of going with a DIY-efi system. If I pull the right strings to get a 3.0 crank on the cheap, that will be done too. Depending on the block and pistons conditions (I'm guessing they didn't melt, but might have damage or wear), I'll look at overboring. The way I look at it, I have the perfect start at an awesome buildup.
So give me your thoughts and experience with buildups that have gone well. I'm specifically interested in heavily modified fuel systems. I'd like to avoid costly MAF kits and the like, and would prefer to work with either a Ford 2.3 MAF or even a MAP sensor setup like used in the Dodges. And some general info on injector upgrades would help too, as far as flow rates, pressures used, and sources.
Once again, I just wanted to say hello and give a quick background on my car. I used to have a webpage on my 944, but it disappeared when NBCi shut stuff down. I'll probably get around to putting it up again sometime soon, with some pics of the 951 too.
11-01-2001 | 05:12 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 2,120
Likes: 4
From: Brisbane, Australia (Formerly: Sunnyvale, CA)
A big problem for making a profit out of this situation is that the car is now on a salvage title, which will seriously curtail the resale value of the vehicle no matter how well it has been repaired mechanically.
Before you undertake any serious expenditure of time or money, I'd try to get an idea of what the car may be sellable for once it's been fixed. There are a number of ways to do this; one (slightly unethical) way would be to put an ad in the paper or on the internet describing the car as if it was fixed up and for sale salvage title, and see what price points you get a level of interested response that you might believe would lead to a sale. (Of course, you'd have to tell all the interested would-be buyers some story about why it's no longer for sale, wasting their time, which is what makes it slightly unethical. But hey -- this is America.)
Of course, if you primarily want a 951 to drive and will be driving it long enough that you don't care too much about eventual resale value, that's a different calculation. Here, you just have to figure out in advance how much it's really going to ultimately cost (dollars plus your time and effort) to get this thing back on the road. Problem is, that number may be difficult to estimate until you are in pretty deep -- you could be lucky or you could be opening the proverbial can-o'-worms. My guess from what you've described is that it's likely you could do better by simply buying an already running 951.
Sad fact is that most salvage title cars are worth most as parts cars. The possible good news is that going this route I suspect could be quite profitable for you.
Anyway, good luck whichever way you decide to go.
-Mark 86 944 NA
Before you undertake any serious expenditure of time or money, I'd try to get an idea of what the car may be sellable for once it's been fixed. There are a number of ways to do this; one (slightly unethical) way would be to put an ad in the paper or on the internet describing the car as if it was fixed up and for sale salvage title, and see what price points you get a level of interested response that you might believe would lead to a sale. (Of course, you'd have to tell all the interested would-be buyers some story about why it's no longer for sale, wasting their time, which is what makes it slightly unethical. But hey -- this is America.)
Of course, if you primarily want a 951 to drive and will be driving it long enough that you don't care too much about eventual resale value, that's a different calculation. Here, you just have to figure out in advance how much it's really going to ultimately cost (dollars plus your time and effort) to get this thing back on the road. Problem is, that number may be difficult to estimate until you are in pretty deep -- you could be lucky or you could be opening the proverbial can-o'-worms. My guess from what you've described is that it's likely you could do better by simply buying an already running 951.
Sad fact is that most salvage title cars are worth most as parts cars. The possible good news is that going this route I suspect could be quite profitable for you.
Anyway, good luck whichever way you decide to go.
-Mark 86 944 NA
11-01-2001 | 06:15 AM
#3
Thread Starter
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,594
Likes: 1
From: Costa Mesa, CA
Mark,
Good point about the salvage title. I will definitely decide whether to part the car out, based on what it looks like when I check it out. The description I got seemed to say that it really just needed new hoses/wires and *maybe* new hard parts. If this is the case, then I will definitely be looking to make it run again.
I am undecided as to whether I want to keep the car. I have been planning to move into a 951 since about the third day I owned my 944. Since I'm poor, I figured the easiest way would be getting one cheap and fixing it. Unfortunately I was planning to just have to do a headgasket or something, not reconstruct the engine. Also, the car is white, which is my least favorite color. My 944 is red, which is nice, but I want my future 951 to be black. So I'm thinking of using this 951 as either a money maker for my long term 951 or even as the start of a track car.
So basically, if all the car needs is some minor work to get the engine running again, I'll probably try to fix it, play with it (who can resist), and then hope to sell it and have enough money to get a nice black project car in better shape. If its a total heap under the hood, I'll just pull the goodies I can use on my 944 and part the rest out on EBay.
Dan
Good point about the salvage title. I will definitely decide whether to part the car out, based on what it looks like when I check it out. The description I got seemed to say that it really just needed new hoses/wires and *maybe* new hard parts. If this is the case, then I will definitely be looking to make it run again.
I am undecided as to whether I want to keep the car. I have been planning to move into a 951 since about the third day I owned my 944. Since I'm poor, I figured the easiest way would be getting one cheap and fixing it. Unfortunately I was planning to just have to do a headgasket or something, not reconstruct the engine. Also, the car is white, which is my least favorite color. My 944 is red, which is nice, but I want my future 951 to be black. So I'm thinking of using this 951 as either a money maker for my long term 951 or even as the start of a track car.
So basically, if all the car needs is some minor work to get the engine running again, I'll probably try to fix it, play with it (who can resist), and then hope to sell it and have enough money to get a nice black project car in better shape. If its a total heap under the hood, I'll just pull the goodies I can use on my 944 and part the rest out on EBay.
Dan
11-01-2001 | 11:34 PM
#5
Racer
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 303
Likes: 0
From: Sparks, Maryland
If the intake manifold MELTED on the car, then you're looking at sustained under-hood temperatures in excess of 1500 degrees. You're probably going to find that rebuilding this car to operational conditon is going to cost you a wheel-barrow full of money.
But, you may get lucky if you want to part our the car once getting prices on the parts that you need to re-build it. If the mileage is reasonable, you can get good money for the transmission, brakes, intercooler (if it's not damaged), the DME/KLE, interior, power mirrors, etc. I'd be willing to gamble there are at least $2000-$3000 in resalable used parts that AREN'T directly in proximity to the fire.
Greg
But, you may get lucky if you want to part our the car once getting prices on the parts that you need to re-build it. If the mileage is reasonable, you can get good money for the transmission, brakes, intercooler (if it's not damaged), the DME/KLE, interior, power mirrors, etc. I'd be willing to gamble there are at least $2000-$3000 in resalable used parts that AREN'T directly in proximity to the fire.
Greg