Rose Garage

My hot rod shop just took in an 87 944 non turbo. It came with my normal instructions, "Make it Cool."
My question is, What would you like to see?
Porsche is not normally up my Hot Rod Shop alley but I have always been a huge fan of 944's and 928's and I'm a former nationally competitive autocrosser so I got excited about it. It is a present for a 21 year old girl. Keep in mind she is not your standard girl, she's a farmers daughter and now a long haul trucker.
The owner originally thought I would do something crazy like chop it or flair it out... my normal artsy hot rod stuff. But I would not do that to a Porsche.
My plan is a pseudo track car. I doubt it will actually see that track so I don't want to dump 10k into performance enhancements. But I'm thinking it could look the part.
I have an idea on the paint. It will mimic the Ducati 848 Evo Corse with satin finish silver and black. http://www.ducati.com/cms-web/upl/Me...1_1067x600.jpg
I'm a dealer for Braum Seats so I'm using the Elite Series black with red stitching: http://www.braumracing.com/product/e...red-stitching/
I also bought a Momo steering wheel that matches the seats.

Here are some things I'm thinking of doing but don't know these cars so I was hoping somebody could help me out on where to source the parts.
-Remove back seat and install roll bar. Where do I get a roll bar that doesn't make it a pain to get in and out of the car.
-Change shocks maybe drop ride height slightly
-Wheels...I bought Mustang size bolt pattern adaptors, haven't picked out wheels yet, something black satin.
-Brakes... the stock brakes are probably just fine but don't look great with an open spoke wheel that I'm sure I'll end up with.

What else should I look into, I'm open to ideas and have a decent budget.

Thanks in advance!
Jay
Rose Garage
Rosalia Wa

AZ520

Make it work good! The engine is the most expensive part of the 944 and it needs to be solid for a daily driver.

FrenchToast

Never been a fan of matte paints, but to each their own! The silver/black is a nice choice regardless.

By definition, no rollbar intrudes into the actual front seating area. A rollbar exists entirely behind the front seats. A rollcage does cover the passenger compartment.

Rennline makes a rollbar that bolts directly to the existing seatbelt bolt locations, however I don't remember if it requires you car be originally equipped with provisions for three-point rear belts? Regardless, it is more of a glorified harness bar. In a rollover situation it is relying on the shear strength of said seatbelt provisions. It does not spread the load onto a frame rail or boxed component.

I would recommend sticking to a Porsche 5x130 wheel in the proper offset. For any kind of remotely performance driving I've never been a fan of adapters. It puts a lot of strain on the hub and studs. Additionally, the inner studs cannot be checked for torque without removing the wheel.

There are hundreds of wheels styles to choose from that bolt to the car no problem, from OE to aftermarket. This covers most of the OE offerings: http://wheelenhancement.com/index.ph...&brand=Porsche

The brakes are more than up to the task of stock power.

I've always had some ideas for the car, might fit your 'hot rod' purpose and "make it cool" instructions..

There are a lot of new, very powerful 4-cylinder engines on the market today. I've always thought they would be an interesting swap. Audi's 2.0T for example, makes 252 hp and 273 lb-ft in its latest form. Of course the electronics would be a nightmare. The original 2.0T (2005) made ~200hp, the 2009-2015 unit made ~230 hp. The old Audi 5-cyl and 1.8T are also a remotely popular swap.

I've also always thought of redesigning the entire console. It is pretty un-ergonomic. But maybe that's the charm.

If it is not going to see the track, doing the 'poser' look is kind of pointless. Funds are better spent elsewhere IMO. But if it really is going to go on the track, then by all means.

BTW, you'll get more responses in the main 924/44/68 section. Post there!

autosea

The person that dropped the car off to you to work on? I assume that he would be taking care of the mechanicals and you just the bodywork ?. If so that would make sense that you will not have to know the ins and outs of the drive train . On these kinds of forums you wont get to much from us wanting the work to sway to far from the theme of mods that were offered at the factory as we like the cars for what they are. If you look up "Magnus Walker" on Google you can get an idea of how he kept within the theme of Urban Outlaw and really pulled it off. On the other side of the theme take a look google "RWB Porsche".
He goes outside the box but totally pulls it off . A lot of stuff is availible for these cars. I see it looks like you are from Washington. I live in Seattle and have a shop that helps me out with my 6 different versions of 944 called Fordahl Motorsports. The guy is a pro and really know these cars. let me know if you need any help.

I would recomend that someone that knows these cars help with setting up the minimal stance that you are looking at for the car. These cars have torsion bars and trailing arms which make it possible to set the ride height, camber and also the ability to weight balance the car.

Many choices of wheels available without adapters

For the brakes. The stock brakes work well but lots of bolt on options for a a better look. The stock 944 turbo brakes look real good.



Just an example for the roll bar you were talking about its already done for you. Keep us posted
http://www.hanksvillehotrods.com/Pro...0/Default.aspx

autosea

This is one of my two race cars

autosea

wide body. Not mine

exe30

My unhelpful suggestion is to take the budget and upgrade her to a 951.

To actually answer your question ... here are some ideas

Not sure about the condition but it'd be nice if everything works and that the required maintenance is all up to date, timing belt, water pump, shocks, ball joints, control arms, air conditioning, hatch seals, fuel lines, power bits and pieces, reseal engine and power steering, steering rack bushings, steering intermediate shaft, etc.

2 - Wheels - Outlaw Fuchs. Don't need adapters, the car doesn't need any more weight.

3 - Remove backseats and replace with the Deutsch Nine cover.

4 - Replace the speakers if they're original with something that fits and put in a VDO / Kienzle head unit.

5 - Two-tone paint https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...l#post12919796

Rose Garage

Thanks for the suggestions. Here's an update. We're going to SEMA in a couple weeks so I've been stalling a bit on the Porsche. SEMA may influence some of my ideas on a few things. So far here's what I have going.
Braum Elite Series seats, black with red stitching. The rest of the interior including the back seat is in the upholstery shop getting stitched to match those seats. A combination of black with red stitching and carbon look material. Also going with the red LED gauge cluster lighting plus a few other detail items from Garage9. I'm still deciding what to do with the gauge face and the plastic dash trim, either going to paint it or cover it with something cool, maybe hydrodip...
I started laying out some graphics ideas with tape and decided the exterior wasn't radical enough in stock form for what this customer is looking for so I ordered a GT@ wide body kit from Broadfoot (not the nose).
Mechanically, ya we've gone through a lot of it suspension bushings, timing belts and guides, hoses and lines and anything rubber...
Ya I know Greg and Jody Fordahl, I used to autocross with him, we'll against him, different class.
Anyway thanks for the ideas!