turbo951fan

I had a 964 before. The A/C is much better in the 951 but I would use R12a which cools really cold. No need to spend that much money for a 951 right now. For 15 K you should find a nice clean 89 with low mileage. Don't spend more. They are a hard sell.

The 951 is very slow at low rpm compared to the 964/993. Have you test driven one before? Maybe you won't like it. When you drive a lot on town you will be disappointed.

Best strategy right now (slow winter time) is: Take whatever you get for your 993 on ebay and then buy a 951 with cash.

Nobody will give you a good deal when you try to do the swap.

When looking for a really nice modified one, buy Tony G.'s car for $25 minus winter discount.

Good luck.

Eyal 951

as i said in my earlier post, the AC in my car works better then a brand new infinity, much better. but mine has not been converted. Brian Mcoy is selling his for a good price, and is willing to deliver it anywere for no extra $$$ as I undrstand it. Its really nice, and its a good deal. check it out, I'll have a link up for you in a second.
~Eyal

Eyal 951

Buy this car, a fellow rennlister's welll taken care of baby:

http://home.speedfactory.net/bmccoy

~Eyal

Matt H

Deano - I may talk to you about trades. I will have everything together in mine very soon, should be 350+ HP but I am looking for a 993/996 for my wife. Would prefer 6 speed but might be open to talking about it.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote

Eyal 951

Matt no! you cant get rid of the 951 after all that effort when you finish it! ah well, do as you will...
Eyal

Deano

Thank's for the support. Eyal I'm understanding the AC better now, thank's. I am also looking for a lower than 50k mile car. Turbo 951 fan, you bring up some valid points. Am I crazy? I'm not sure. I drove a 944 turbo last year and 10 years ago only for a test drive but I like it a lot. I also agree that there are great 944's out there for 15K and under & That's what it is about. I feel it is the best bang for the buck period. Compare it to an '87 corvette (which is a nice car but....).
I only plan to drive 2k miles a year & go to many concours shows (for fun.... I dont plan to win unless it just happens).
Thank's again

deano

gatorbait

Deano,

Please look at the pics of my '86 951 (see signature). My car looked like that when I bought it a year ago with 76K on the clock. It was clean and pretty inside and out. One would assume that the PO treated the motor with TLC. Think again. Here's what it's needed thus far:

New Battery
Alignment
Wheel balance
New Blow off valve
New TPS switch
Shimmed wastegate (wouldn't hold boost)
New fuel injectors
New fuel pump
Re-weld the exhaust
Repaired two leaking seals
New fuel pressure regulator
Rebuilt transmission at 80K
Rebuilt engine at 83K
Replaced air conditioning panel
New clutch at 83K
New Tial 38 mm wastegate
New plug wires
New oxygen sensor
Belts, Rollers, etc., etc.

I'm sure that I'm forgetting at least a dozen other things the car's needed.
I bought the car out of state for $12K from a small independent dealer who had the car PPI'd before I showed up (since he was working for the seller as you might expect, the report was glowing). Turns out that I've put at least as much into repairs as I paid for the car.

I love my 951, and I've never driven anything quite like it. But, I wouldn't recommend one to anyone who couldn't do his/her own maintenance (regrettably, I'm in that category). Otherwise, labor costs will eat you alive, even if you find a reasonably inexpensive mechanic. Even if you find a low-mile beauty like the one on ebay, the car may still have arthritic underpinnings.

My advice (for which I'm bound to get flamed) is to pass on the 951 altogether and get well-kept S2 or 968. Forced induction cars are tons of fun but they don't age well. Even if you don't run into the need for a complete rebuild with a 951 (as I did), you can still get nibbled to death trying to get (or keep) these aging cars in shape. The purchase price for these cars is only the beginning....

OTOH, there's nothing quite like the sensation of rolling onto boost in a 951. It's also amazing what these 4-bangers will do with relatively inexpensive mods. They're great to look at, they're well-built, and best of all, they're pure, dedicated sports cars.

If you must have a 951, do an exhaustive PPI before you buy.

Sermon over

Ahmet

You will pay extra for a 951 S, but for around town driving you'll only get a slightly harsher ride, and slower turbo response. Once chipped, power wise they won't be all that far apart. I will stand by my earlier suggestion, especially if you don't drive all that much, the car in that auction is a nice one. Had I not seen it first hand, I wouldn't be so eager to suggest it. It has just gone through a $7k check up that included replacing everything that wasn't 100% on the car. I really don't think anybody's likely to find a car like that one, unless it had been kept in a sealed bag from day one (hey, those exist too, but won't make a great "driver").
Ahmet

Deano

Ahmet, that car is expensive! May as well get a 930. I'm sure that it will need some kind of work anyway. He's asking 25K. It is asweet ride & my perfect color. Gator Bait, brings up some valid points. I have been scared out of a 930 for years for the reasons you mentioned. Now i'm getting scared of the 944 turbo too? I cant wait to afford a brand new turbo! Ceratinly there has to be a well cared for, low mile (around 30K miles) , well serviced 944 somewhere that is a good solid car! I expect maintenance but not rebuilds. I can do a leak down, PPI, and more... I guess it is hard to tell if the turbo has been over boosted though (not that I know what that means yet, or any dynamic to turbo care). I'd rather put similar mechanical money into a 15K$ car that is 16 years old than a $40k car that is 16 years old (930). Ahmet, I'll let you know what happens with the red one. That would be awesome.
This is the ride-of life. Sieze the day... not the piston.

Deano

Ahmet

The car is "expensive" indeed, but it is a very mint example. You could go for something much cheaper, $15k ought to buy you a pretty nice 944 turbo though, especially if you go with a non S model. If you are very selective when purchasing (and you can afford to be w/15k), you should be able to pick up a nice example that doesn't need to much work. The ability to work on your own car does save lots of money and headaches, but it's not exactly required, like I said above, especially if you can be selective. The cars are pretty robust, my 944 turbo made it to 212k miles on the original block and transaxle and I drive my car VERY hard. I am having to open the transaxle now (I did the rings/bearings about 40k miles ago, they were not needed, on the other hand a valve job was needed in all fairness), but I really doubt too many people on this board drive their cars the way I do, and c'mon 212k miles! I think you'll be alright. Buy one in very good shape with records, get a pre purchase inspection done by a mechanic that has experience w/944s (here I would pick his experience with 944 turbos over his reputation, or what his shop looks like), and you shouldn't have anything to be afraid of.
Ahmet

Eyal 951

i wouldnt worry about milleage that much. mine is at 117,000 and problem free, or as problem free as it gets, for now. no rebuild in sight etc. these engines, if treated and mainained right easily do 250,000 miles. there are people on these borads to prove it. just go look for a well maintained babied one, then worry about milleage. good luck, and the AC is great. dont be discouraged, it all depends on the car. there are guys here that barely put a dime (outside of regular and preventative maintainence) into the car annually, but there are guys that spend thousands a year, again, it depends on which car you buy,
~Eyal

Ahmet

Beat me to it.

I agree, miles aren't all that important. Buy a clean, nice car but keep in mind 30k "sunday" miles may very well be harder on a car compared to 100k highway miles. Cruising @80 constantly on descent roads would take a million miles to wear an engine out!
Ahmet

Matt H

I cant wait to afford a brand new turbo! A new turbo runs 550-600 rebuilt and about 850 for a Garrett. If that scares you then you are not fit for 944 ownership. I dont know of many failures, most just upgrade because they want it to be faster.

As far as mileage you are wasting your time. My last car had 88K on it and it was a complete pile of **** compared to the one I bought with 195K on it. These cars are cared for and valued completely different than the 911s. They are cheaper to buy and therefore the newest buyers are far less likely to have done maintenance.

The 951 is a damn good car but not without its downfalls, hard to work on in some areas, parts can be expensive (clutch parts are as much as a new turbo and cost a pretty penny to replace if you cant do it yourself), the exhaust was built by a sadist, etc, etc, etc. If you are not going to work on it yourself then you are better off to buy a newer 911, where there should be much less maintenance. If a 951 is taken to repair shops for everything you will have a very thin wallet in no time.

As to gatorbait's list lets cover it

New Battery - maintenance about 75 dollars
Alignment - maintenance (depends on where it is done but no more than 250)
Wheel balance - maintenance about 30 bucks
New Blow off valve - common failure item can be repaired for 30 dollars
New TPS switch - could be anything
Shimmed wastegate (wouldn't hold boost) - WG was bad and should have been replaced, common, see TiAl down the list - 300 dollars
New fuel injectors - probably leaking - 48 dollars per
New fuel pump - who knows why it failed but it can be had for 75 dollars
Re-weld the exhaust - common on these cars - can be expensive
Repaired two leaking seals - who knows which ones
New fuel pressure regulator - who knows wht it failed but they are cheap
Rebuilt transmission at 80K - likely driven hard non-LSD trans about 800-1000 LSD trans about 1500
Rebuilt engine at 83K - moves to being driven hard
Replaced air conditioning panel - regular wear and tear about 50 bucks used
New clutch at 83K - wear and tear, but that is early, moves to the car being driven hard
New Tial 38 mm wastegate - common failure, most people dont realize they are bad, runs about 300 from SFR
New plug wires - maintenance, mine were 117 dollars
New oxygen sensor - maintenance - can be had for less than 30 dollars, but run about 60 bucks
Belts, Rollers, etc., etc. - maintenance - parts can be had for about 100 dollars

If you did this work yourself most of this is fairly inexpensive, as far as the motor and trans, I am sure 99.9% of us would tell you that is premature by about 2 times. The most common engine failure is spun #2 rod bearing, these can be checked but it requires removal of a whole bunch of not fun items.
__________________
Best Car Insurance | Auto Protection Today | FREE Trade-In Quote