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The triangular shaped stands are something to keep an eye on. Not only because of only a 3 point landing, but because some have been known to 'split' at the weld points. Avoid any from China or Taiwan or Mexico. They well may kill you in a most inopportune moment.
The very dark brake fluid would be one of the very first things to get purged and replaced with a good quality, high temperature, oil based derived product such as made by ATE, WILWOOD, Castrol LMA Racing and others.... the brake fluid retains moisture and will corrode the inside of the brake lines, clutch cylinder, the master and slave, and do it from the inside out, corrupting a dynamic braking system over time.
The VERY next thing, (if not the first thing), would be a thorough inspection of the fuel lines leading to the fuel rail, and the rail itself. These have a history of cracking and if not replaced quite recently, may spray fuel over a hot manifold or spark, and the car is gone in an instant. Any smell of raw fuel needs attention immediately. Especially if on a series two car which this isn't but all are vulnerable.
There are many things to know about the health of these cars. Search here on those maint. items, such as coolant flush, brake fluid, water pump, timing belts, rollers, dme issues, and the common no-start syndrome due to alarms, dme cold solder cracks, ignition housing separation, and the speed/reference sensors on the backside of the engine, and by going to other sources like Clark's Garage, 944Online, and others. Volumes have been written...... and all for your benefit on making your experience with one of the world's best sports cars, a thing of beauty.
Oh, and position that coil wire by swiveling it to face downward to the bottom of the car, so there is NO chance the headlight arm will grab at it when activated. I cannot tell you the number of frayed or burned coil wires I have seen due to the fact they are shorting against the headlight assembly arm or have been corrupted or pulled out of the dist. cap. Porsche has a small plastic holder which clips on this wire to keep it positioned so ( came that way from the factory ) and most are lost, broken or thrown away when re-wired.
I've owned my first one since July of 1984. Bought it new and have added many more...... they are a GREAT car, a beautiful sweet 'momentum' sports car eager to please.
Thanks for the tips about the jack stands! I appreciate that one. This is my second 944, I already own a 1984 with manual rack. No history with this one, so I will be doing the belts and regular maintenance. The 84 is a stripped out semi track car, no balance shafts, cat, ac. I picked up this one for more of a summer car, AC is not working, but it will be!
Here is my 1984 that I have done a ton of work to since I have had it, it very simple to work on, timing belt and alternator belt, thats it! It was my first, had it about a 1.5 years.
An '83 with power steering. I bet if you drove one with manual steering you'd prefer it. And no leaky mess.
Actually I own both, and the power steering is not an issue at all for me or a detriment to my preference to which car has it or not .... I do prefer the power units, even on the track.
BUT, the non p/s cars have a bit more of a 'wiggle' to them and did cause some issues for Porsche regarding wheel shake when these first came out.
A combination of problem solving eliminated most of these issues, from high speed 'wheel on car' balancing, to steering knuckle replacements, to ball joint replacements, to fine tuning a full four wheel alignment. Many wheels were also replaced along the way, thinking this would resolve it. But the biggest help was putting on power steering which was made standard in '84.
I am thankful for my own '82 built 944 without the power steering because it gives me an opportunity to know what they are about without it. For all around driving comfort and ease of ownership, the powered units are tough to beat.
Interesting.
What is the build date ? And last 4 numbers of your serial # ?
Do you believe ROW owners had a choice ? Or is it possible you no longer retain the engine the car was built with ?
Well, I'm not sure about build date & numbers. :S
The car was also repainted and the option code stickers had gone missing.
All of this happened before I got the car. But I'm 100% sure that it is not a de-powered rack. The car was also bone stock except for the aluminium rear suspension. (It had an accident at the back, I suspect that it was changed when repairing that.)
Are you sure power steering was standard everywhere? I think I have seen quite a few manuals advertised. Maybe they were all very early models and I haven't realised...
04-17-2016, 11:16 AM
