Buying a non running Porsche 944
05-21-2018, 11:39 PM
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Buying a non running Porsche 944
I’m most likely buying a 1985 Porsche 944 for $800. I already looked at it and it’s definitely been sitting a year or two. The body looked great and there was no rust anywhere. No dents either. I looked all underneath and it looked great. Didn’t even see any surface rust on the exhaust. I pulled the dipstick and the oil level was perfect and the oil looked brand new on the dipstick. It had a brand new set of tires that had been installed before it’s been sitting. I’m not sure what all to look for though in these cars. The guy who owns it got it kind of as a free car when he bought another car from his friend so he doesn’t know too much about it. The mileage on the odometer says 24k on it but would that be the actual mileage? Do the odometers commonly go out on these cars? Also the paint is sun dried pretty good and the interior is a mess but I’m not worried about cosmetics. I just want it mechanically sound. He said it ran 2 years ago and that they pulled the fuel injectors because two of them weren’t working properly. The fuel rail is still there but it’s just unbolted. Also the ecu is unplugged. I’m not sure if anyone would know why it would be unplugged. It also doesn’t have a battery so there was no way for me to try and start it. I want a car that just needs a little tlc to get going. What do y’all think about this? Any red flags? Anything I should go over?
05-22-2018, 02:29 AM
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I'd give $800 bucks for it as described if you are handy with tools. First, if it is like my '84, there are only 5 digits in the odometer and so it could have 24k or 124k miles if it has rolled over. Not a problem though, as these engines can go 2-300k miles with good maintenance . Mine has 145k miles and doesn't smoke or use oil and it runs great.
Next, if it has no dents or rust and paint is only faded you can rescue the paint by polishing. These car's bodies were hot-dip-galvanized at the factory and have good paint jobs on top of that. The paint usually only fades on add-on parts such as rain gutters, mirrors and plastic bumper trim, all of which can be repainted easily.
Fuel injectors are easy to replace. I'm running 350 chevy injectors now and some late model ford injectors will work as well. The old injectors can be sent to local people to be cleaned and flow tested for about $75 if you want to reuse them.
Good clean oil is a good sign. Roll the engine over with a breaker bar first to see that it is free before cranking.
Good Luck
Next, if it has no dents or rust and paint is only faded you can rescue the paint by polishing. These car's bodies were hot-dip-galvanized at the factory and have good paint jobs on top of that. The paint usually only fades on add-on parts such as rain gutters, mirrors and plastic bumper trim, all of which can be repainted easily.
Fuel injectors are easy to replace. I'm running 350 chevy injectors now and some late model ford injectors will work as well. The old injectors can be sent to local people to be cleaned and flow tested for about $75 if you want to reuse them.
Good clean oil is a good sign. Roll the engine over with a breaker bar first to see that it is free before cranking.
Good Luck
05-22-2018, 02:50 AM
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I’m mainly worried about the ecu being unplugged laying in the floor board. Why would it be like that? I don’t see any reason why a car would have their ecu unplugged unless it’s being tuned. Is there something wrong with the ecu s in these cars or something? Could it being unplugged mean there’s other problems?
05-22-2018, 03:25 AM
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I'm guessing that the car wouldn't start and they were pulling injectors, ECU, etc in an attempt to see what was wrong and get it started. Then at some point they just gave up and left it. If you have doubts, you can send it to ECU Doctors in Florida and have them check it out for $75. Where are you located?
How about the crank and speed sensors in the top of the bell housing? have they been removed? They are a common cause of no-start problems in these cars.
How about the crank and speed sensors in the top of the bell housing? have they been removed? They are a common cause of no-start problems in these cars.
05-22-2018, 11:07 AM
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I live in Alabama. Honestly I wouldn’t even know where to start on this thing. I’m very smart mechanically but I’ve never worked on a non running car, let alone a Porsche. I can do anything to dirt bikes including complete engine rebuilds but this is new to me. Do you know where I can start on this project? Have a list of things to go over in order to get it running good?
05-22-2018, 11:00 PM
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Unplugging the ECU could be attempting to diagnose a no start condition....gave up left it out.
odometers do break its common fairly easy fix though.....
Any car non-running is a gamble but a 944 is a bigger gamble......timing belts should be done before you drive the car....that could even be the real reason it was parked. Clutch could be on its way out. etc...all big jobs. Porsche parts are expensive. The good news is there are great resources on the internet such as Clarks Garage and lots of smart owners that have had these cars for many years in this forum
If it were me....and i have only owned one of these cars for almost a year...so take that however it sounds.... I would buy a non-running car only if it were cherry condition besides it not running and it were a smokin deal. Otherwise I buy the nicest car I can afford with some sort of records.
odometers do break its common fairly easy fix though.....
Any car non-running is a gamble but a 944 is a bigger gamble......timing belts should be done before you drive the car....that could even be the real reason it was parked. Clutch could be on its way out. etc...all big jobs. Porsche parts are expensive. The good news is there are great resources on the internet such as Clarks Garage and lots of smart owners that have had these cars for many years in this forum
If it were me....and i have only owned one of these cars for almost a year...so take that however it sounds.... I would buy a non-running car only if it were cherry condition besides it not running and it were a smokin deal. Otherwise I buy the nicest car I can afford with some sort of records.
05-23-2018, 11:06 AM
#7
I bought my $400 '83 in January with the ECU unplugged and in the floorboard. And the distributor cap off, and a thousand other things off and in a box in the rear hatch. Somebody had tried to diagnose a no spark.
[In my case, several things contributed to the no spark: the speed and reference sensor bracket was broken and could not be properly aligned, and even after I replaced it and both sensors and the DME relay, my ECU still ended up being bad. I've got spark now, she fires right up.]
Having JUST been where you are right now, I'd suggest first off getting the PDFs of all the factory maintenance manuals. The size of the files is pretty big, but I can set you up with a dropbox link to them if you'd like.
Hundreds have been where you are. I hadn't turned a wrench since 1989 or so, and I'm hardly a mechanic. So if I can do it, you can too - there are lots of resources, including a fantastic community to help when whats on the page doesn't make sense with what you're actually looking it.
Welcome, this is going to be a fantastic ride!
[In my case, several things contributed to the no spark: the speed and reference sensor bracket was broken and could not be properly aligned, and even after I replaced it and both sensors and the DME relay, my ECU still ended up being bad. I've got spark now, she fires right up.]
Having JUST been where you are right now, I'd suggest first off getting the PDFs of all the factory maintenance manuals. The size of the files is pretty big, but I can set you up with a dropbox link to them if you'd like.
Hundreds have been where you are. I hadn't turned a wrench since 1989 or so, and I'm hardly a mechanic. So if I can do it, you can too - there are lots of resources, including a fantastic community to help when whats on the page doesn't make sense with what you're actually looking it.
Welcome, this is going to be a fantastic ride!
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05-23-2018, 11:44 AM
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I did end up buying the car. If y’all want you can check out my new thread that goes over everything I’ve noticed on the car so far and it’s overall condition and then give me some insight on what could use a go over.