gred44

Hello Rennlist, I wanted to share my experiences about project 944 ownership at a young age, mostly because when I was looking for my first 944 when I was 17, I had literally zero experience working on cars, except for putting mudflaps on my WRX, I had always been into cars, and I had a soft spot for 944's ever since I was like 10 and watched the Top Gear ambulance special on TV, the one where Jeremy Clarkson turned a 951 into a Gulf-liveried ambulance, so naturally I figured that a Porsche would be a smart financial decision to try and restore on a high-schooler's budget. It also might not have helped my wallet that the car I bought was an incomprehensibly large project to undertake, and most forums where people my age had bought 944 projects, they were in half decent shape whereas I had gone for an absolutely wretched example that had been sitting in an alleyway since 2004, and I couldn't find anyone with a comparable experience, so I thought it would be cool to share mine to give younger people an idea of what they're in for if they go for a proper project 944 as their first project.


PART ONE: There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche

So the first 944 I bought was a real Facebook marketplace special, It was a 1987 NA 2.5 that was listed as an S (which it wasn't) it was missing both bumpers, the front valence, the locks for the hatch, two of the brake calipers, all it's badges, only the passenger door opened, and it was sitting on Michelin Pilot Sports from 1997 which had succumbed to the elements. Also it was guards red. At some point. It was more of a guards orangish sunset color when I found it. Pictures of when I first got it below.



Pulling it out of the alley where I found it. This picture's from around late July 2022.



Cleaning the garbage out of it.


After this I decided to empty the fuel tank, and I was kind of banking on the plastic fuel tank providing some sort of protection from the elements, or at least that the previous owner had attempted to prep the car to be sitting by putting preserver in it or something, but that proved to be a futile hope because I drained the fuel, and I have literally never in my life ever seen gas that has been more deteriorated and dirty. I mean the fuel that was sitting in this tank was pitch black sludge.


This led to my first expenses on this car, replacing effectively the entire fuel system. Cleaned the fuel tank, replaced the fuel filter with a KL21, new fuel pump, new injectors, new lines, etc. All this came out to be about two grand, as it was all replaced with OEM components. I then bought some fuses and new speed and reference sensors. All the fluids were also changed around this time. Having replaced the fuel system, the battery, done a full service on the car, and changed some electrical components, I decided to give it a try, and the car started right up. It wasn't knocking or catching fire, so that was a win, but now I was able to see how much of the car actually worked, or as I would find out, didn't work. Headlights: didn't pop up, didn't work. Taillights: Didn't work. Sunroof tilt: Didn't work. Windows: Didn't work. Rear hatch release: would make the most horrific sound known to man if you pressed the button, so it didn't work. My dash lights did work, though. My next plan for the car was to fix the brakes, but it would take some saving up, as I needed to replace the entire brake system and I worked at a car wash at the time, and that was part time, as school had started up again. Fast forward several months, it's now April 2023. I had saved up the $6,000 needed to redo the entire brake system and some other random components. So far I had sunk about $2,700 into this car, plus the couple hundred bucks I paid for it, so once the brake and suspension job is all said and done, I would be about ten grand into this thing. Some friends ended up talking me into the idea of just using the $6,000 I had saved to just buy a half decent 944, and after having the '87 looked at by some experts who pretty much deemed the car a lost cause, I bought a second 944, one nearly identical to my current in spec, but was actually in decent shape. I sold the '87 to a friend who still has it, and it's still running now and is likely going to be turned into an autocross or ARA Open 2WD class rally car.


PART TWO: My 1984 944

So my second (and current) 944 is a 1984 2.5 NA that I got in West Virginia back in April. It's also guards red, but this time the paint is in decent shape, along with the rest of the car. When I bought it, it would start, but die after a few seconds due to a bad DME temp sensor. I changed the oil and replaced the sensor and the car ran really well. I daily drove it for about three weeks before it conked out, and it took me quite some time to figure out what was wrong with it. (Picture of the '84 below)



944 #2


This is where this story gets a bit interesting. So the car broke down and I couldn't get it going, so I did what most people would do and started doing tests on it, first I tested the battery and relays, then the fuel pump, then I decided to check the fuel pressure. So I had a pretty decent (so I thought) fuel pressure tester kit, and I hooked it up to the fuel rail, business as usual. I had someone watch the gauge while I started it, and it went fine, I had good fuel pressure, so I could rule that out. I turn off the ignition, and the fuel pressure spiked and blew the tester line out, which caught the engine on fire. Luckily, I keep a fire extinguisher in my car, and I was able to put it out pretty quick, but the fire had caught a puddle of power steering fluid under the car on fire, so I pushed the 944 out of the way to put that out, and I wasn't really thinking straight at the time, because it was very nerve-wracking, so I had pushed the car and forgot to re-engage the parking brake. So I get the fire on the ground out, then turn around to realize the car has rolled into a dumpster, so now in the span of five minutes, the car has been on fire, covered in fire retardant, and had it's front fender caved in. This was not a good day.



ALWAYS KEEP A FIRE EXTINGUISHER IN YOUR CAR!



At this point, I felt pretty hopeless because I had worked so hard to even get this car, and now it was a complete mess. But, I didn't give up that easily. I pushed the car off the dumpster, cleaned the engine bay thoroughly, and luckily there hadn't been any serious damage, just the plastic fuel rail cover had been a little warped and the spark plug wires were absolutely barbecued, so I replaced those. After some trial and error, replacing the air oil separator, and doing a smoke test on the vacuum lines, I found out that the car's MAF had gone bad, which I did by starting the car and unplugging the MAF. When it was plugged in, the car would sputter out after a little, but when I unplugged it, it would run fine, albeit only for about 6 seconds. I was able to get a new MAF off of 944online, and after I installed it the car fired right up. In the weekend before I went off to college, me and some friends took our cars out and took some pictures, you can see the behind the scenes below.



Pretty cool duo, if I do say so myself. Also, you can see the fender damage in this pic.



When I go on breaks from college I'm able to drive the car around and mess with it a bit, right now I'm dealing with a fuel leak, but even though I have definitely had my hardships with my 944's, I don't regret buying them, not one bit. I spent about $2,700 on the '87, which was probably WAYYYY too much lol, and it still needed a full restoration, which can give you a price gauge on starting with a scrap 944 and trying to fix it up, and I've spent about $7,000 on the current 944 including the car, and it is definitely way way nicer, it runs, drives, and it doesn't look (and smell) like a nuclear bomb was dropped on it. So if I could say anything about the cars, it's that a couple thousand bucks definitely makes a massive difference when buying the car itself. A more important point I would like to stress is always have a fire extinguisher in your car.


Websites I used to help with my project: So, as I said at the beginning, I had no experience working on cars before my first 944, so I used a few websites to help figure it out. Rennlist Forums was probably the most helpful website, but I also used Pelican Parts Forums and of course YouTube. NC944er is a fantastic YouTube channel for guides on working on these cars. Most helpful though, wasn't a website, it was going to a local Porsche shop and asking the professionals, along with other 944 owners I met at car meets.


Parts Websites: I used 944Online and Pelican Parts for mechanical stuff, and I think 944Online is the better website, at least for these cars, as I couldn't find a decent MAF outside of 944Online, also the customer support was beyond top tier. If you need trim stuff or interior bits, I recommend Sierra Madre Collection.


CONCLUSION: To the person in high school who's considering a 944 project, just know you aren't in for a cake walk, and sure it might be easier to get something cheaper to maintain, something that might even be a bit more reliable, but if you have the passion and more importantly, patience, for these cars, they really are fantastic. I've learned a lot from these cars, and have much more to learn, but I'm very happy with my pick of project car. You'll spend much more time working on it than driving it, but when you do get to drive it, it is an awesome experience. But anyway, I hope this thread shines light on what it's like owning one of these projects, and if anyone reading this has a similar story, add it to the thread because I'd love to read them!

wildcat077

Nice … not easy to learn how to maintain your first cars , especially when they’re German.
Luckily for you though, they’ve been around forever and there’s a lot of available online resources which simplify things !
My first car was a 1969 Mercury Cougar that i bought for $150 at the time , that’s where my learning curve began …
Keep it up and you’ll surprise yourself at how good of a mechanic you’ll become over the years, you definitely have a good start !

Cheers
Phil

IL8APEX

What a fun read! Type 2 fun, that is! You're a better person for it.

-T

Bridge2fairway$

@gred944 Great story you told of your adventures !
I bought my first ‘84 944 with 41k miles when it was 5 yrs old and I was 23. Before I was 25 I had put a roll bar in it and had driven 7 track events, including riding home overnight in the passenger seat with it on a roll back from Mosport after an overly enthusiastic slide into a guard rail. I eventually PCA Club Raced that car, and learned about it as I worked. I did most my own work but I had friends who helped, and grew a friendship with 2 young entrepreneurs who started their own European car shop who I could not have done what I did without. Thus make sure you are involved in PCA and dialog with Porsche 944 and Porsche Club people. It’s connections that will make your experience better. .and save you time and money. I am currently assembling a ground up restoration of a 1989 2,7 which I put over 140,000 miles on and drove 4 seasons of the year in Pennsylvania. I have a biometric 3D model of nearly every part of a 944 in my head, but I really can’t wait to start the engine again and have all the diagnostic problems that I read about on these forums! LOL

944 rear quarter trim original burgundy / wein rot vinyl with black perforated leather sewn to continue the black upper door card and dash before installing.

1991 Brilliant Black: Base coat/clear coat

1989 944 being reassembled