Fixing up my 1985.5 - 10 months of work.
06-28-2015, 10:08 PM
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Fixing up my 1985.5 - 10 months of work.
Almost a year ago I picked up a 85.5 944 from a friend for $700. It was poorly painted blue (over factory red), had been slid into something in the snow, and the interior was trashed. Sounds like a great idea! My father is a retired auto-shop teacher and had some time to spend on it.
This isn't every step, there are a LOT more photos in the URL at the end.
It looked like this when when we picked it up:
Project Car - Porsche 944 by John Abella, on Flickr
Project Car Interior by John Abella, on Flickr
A very dirty project car. by John Abella, on Flickr
Here's the option sticker:
Owners Manual Build Sticker - Porsche 944 Project Car by John Abella, on Flickr
New timing belt:
Cam tower work. by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixing leaks:
944 work - Fixing cam tower leaks by John Abella, on Flickr
Brakes:
944 work - Brakes by John Abella, on Flickr
Re-painting wheels:
First coat of 'Hyper Silver' by John Abella, on Flickr
New exhaust:
Exhaust Installed by John Abella, on Flickr
Pulled the dash:
Completed Porsche 944 Dash Removal by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixed some cracks:
944 dash progress. by John Abella, on Flickr
Dash re-foamed, re-covered, re-installed:
Porsche 944 Dash Work by John Abella, on Flickr
Dash stitching:
Porsche 944 Seats by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixed odometer gear:
Porsche 944 Odometer Gear Fix by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixed dash lights:
Porsche 944 Dash Light Fix by John Abella, on Flickr
Re-covered the passenger seat:
Porsche 944 Seats by John Abella, on Flickr
Bodywork and sanding:
Painting The 944 by John Abella, on Flickr
Painted it in our garage:
Painting The 944 by John Abella, on Flickr
Pulling off masking:
Porsche 944 Re-Paint by John Abella, on Flickr
Nose assembled / fixed / lights working:
Porsche 944 Painting Day 3 by John Abella, on Flickr
Inner and outer shift boots:
Porsche Work - More! by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixed up trunk carpeting / liner - foam was torn / folded:
Porsche Trunk by John Abella, on Flickr
Back seat - just wiped down really:
Porsche 944 Back Seats by John Abella, on Flickr
Almost completely re-assembled:
Porsche 944 - Father's Day by John Abella, on Flickr
Interior finished - new seat covers, new dash cover, new shift boot, new gauge lighting, donated radio, 968 club sport center tray....
Interior 'Finished' by John Abella, on Flickr
Still some things to do:
- wet sand and polish the paint
- get oem rear spacers and install longer studs
- put in new hood pad
Full photo album is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jabell...57645361289730
This isn't every step, there are a LOT more photos in the URL at the end.
It looked like this when when we picked it up:
Project Car - Porsche 944 by John Abella, on Flickr
Project Car Interior by John Abella, on Flickr
A very dirty project car. by John Abella, on Flickr
Here's the option sticker:
Owners Manual Build Sticker - Porsche 944 Project Car by John Abella, on Flickr
New timing belt:
Cam tower work. by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixing leaks:
944 work - Fixing cam tower leaks by John Abella, on Flickr
Brakes:
944 work - Brakes by John Abella, on Flickr
Re-painting wheels:
First coat of 'Hyper Silver' by John Abella, on Flickr
New exhaust:
Exhaust Installed by John Abella, on Flickr
Pulled the dash:
Completed Porsche 944 Dash Removal by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixed some cracks:
944 dash progress. by John Abella, on Flickr
Dash re-foamed, re-covered, re-installed:
Porsche 944 Dash Work by John Abella, on Flickr
Dash stitching:
Porsche 944 Seats by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixed odometer gear:
Porsche 944 Odometer Gear Fix by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixed dash lights:
Porsche 944 Dash Light Fix by John Abella, on Flickr
Re-covered the passenger seat:
Porsche 944 Seats by John Abella, on Flickr
Bodywork and sanding:
Painting The 944 by John Abella, on Flickr
Painted it in our garage:
Painting The 944 by John Abella, on Flickr
Pulling off masking:
Porsche 944 Re-Paint by John Abella, on Flickr
Nose assembled / fixed / lights working:
Porsche 944 Painting Day 3 by John Abella, on Flickr
Inner and outer shift boots:
Porsche Work - More! by John Abella, on Flickr
Fixed up trunk carpeting / liner - foam was torn / folded:
Porsche Trunk by John Abella, on Flickr
Back seat - just wiped down really:
Porsche 944 Back Seats by John Abella, on Flickr
Almost completely re-assembled:
Porsche 944 - Father's Day by John Abella, on Flickr
Interior finished - new seat covers, new dash cover, new shift boot, new gauge lighting, donated radio, 968 club sport center tray....
Interior 'Finished' by John Abella, on Flickr
Still some things to do:
- wet sand and polish the paint
- get oem rear spacers and install longer studs
- put in new hood pad
Full photo album is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jabell...57645361289730
06-29-2015, 12:09 AM
#6
Rennlist Member
Now THAT's a first post! Welcome to Rennlist-- fantastic project. So great to see someone with great skills bringing back an unloved n/a 944 from the brink of death. Very inspiring -- way to go!
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06-29-2015, 05:56 AM
#9
Rennlist Member
I really like the looks of the center console tray..and since my tape box is pretty shot, I might go this way myself..Is this a "drop In" or did you have to do much modification to it? jus wondering..THX
06-29-2015, 07:30 AM
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And the work continues. Picked up a sunroof storage back this week, and lost an eBay auction for some spacers, so I need to keep an eye out. Maybe I'll order some lug bolts this week.
Minor gripes, my turn signal doesn't turn off when i unwind the wheel after a turn. And my horn isn't working.
06-29-2015, 09:24 AM
#11
Burning Brakes
The tray is awesome, but Paragon claims they are the only ones now who have them, so you better buy soon.
06-29-2015, 05:43 PM
#13
Rennlist Member
Very impressive work! The car looks 1000% better than when you started.
Did you sew up the dash cover yourself or purchase it from somewhere? It looks great either way!
Did you sew up the dash cover yourself or purchase it from somewhere? It looks great either way!
06-29-2015, 07:52 PM
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Red button on dash isn't wired to anything currently, not sure what it was for. I got a new horn 'wiper' contact when we had the steering apart and dash out, so that's one problem eliminated, hopefully.
Just got my NOS sunroof bag today from an 85.5, another item off the list.