1989 Excellence Magazine 944 Turbo - Build Thread
 

At the request of a few - I am starting a build thread. Having two small kids and a business - updates may take a while.

For the last year, I have been chasing down a 944 Turbo that I spotted in a neighbors barn. It's sat for about 9-10 years, somewhat exposed to the elements. The interior is in shockingly good condition. The engine bay - not so much.

The car comes with many stories - it was featured in Excellence Magazine in June 1999. Owned by a Gary Stone, 968 6 Speed Transmission. Many suspension and engine upgrades.85k miles.

According to the seller his ex-wife hit a curb, taco'd a wheel and it was then parked. He says it was wildly fast - a good compliment from someone who owns a GT2RS.

I havent been able to find a shop that can take the car in anytime soon for a timing belt. I am reasonably mechanically inclined and may do this myself, so that I dont need to wait 2 months to test fire. If anyone knows of a mobile mechanic (or anyone with the right experience) in the SF Bay Area - please let me know.

For now I am cleaning and fixing the easy stuff: battery, hood/ hatch struts. Next: timing belt (by a shop or myself).

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...e28922b199.jpg
moving for the first time in ten years.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...7719f668c1.jpg

Two of the tires wouldnt hold air, so I bolted on my stock 997 wheels - so I can roll it around my driveway and into my garage after I make some room.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...1fb8cb0f55.jpg
tight fit!!

I welcome any feedback. I am aware that this project wont be cheap or easy. This car deserves to be back on the road.

I'm looking forward to seeing the car makes its way back to life! LOL, those wheels make me think of a little kid wearing his dad's shoes; way too big, but so proud to have them on.

I know time sounds like it's at a premium, but if you can manage to do the timing/balance belts yourself, you will have accomplished a fundamental task to working on these cars. Even with new belts, it won't be the last time they come off and back on. Good luck!

Have you already checked with ABP Repair / BauerWerks in Oakland? They are usually booked out 2 weeks, not 2 months.

You mentioned replacing the hood/hatch struts...

Be really careful with the rear hatch struts.

I had the same thought as you, and replaced both hood and hatch struts shortly after I received my car. At which point I noticed a creaking noise from the rear hatch when going over bumps in the road. The new (OEM) rear struts were stressing the hatch surround enough to pull the glass away from the metal frame.

This is common on 944s - there really isn't much holding the glass to the frame and new struts basically push the glass away from the hinges. It's just a rather poor design. Looks nice when new. A real PITA to fix. Once the frame separates there's not a lot you can do. There is a process on Pelican that someone did which claims to re-attach the frame to the glass, but several 'experts' (including one from the PCA) stated this is difficult thing to do and to stay away if possible. My local Porsche shop also said it was almost impossible to fix.

In my case I still had the original rear struts and I put them back on the car, and the glass is mostly re-seated. The old struts are still good to hold the hatch open, but the electric release doesn't pop the hatch open like it would with new struts. I also have a new rear hatch seal I will install to cure the tiny water leak. With the new struts I had a 'big water leak'. Not that the car sees rain, but I noticed it when washing the car.

There are alternates to the OEM struts - I think there are struts from a Jeep that are the same dimensions, but much softer, and hence won't push the glass off the frame. The other common suggestion was to buy a broom handle and trim it to length :-)

Anyway, in the grand scheme of what you will need to do, this is really minor, but may save you the same experience I had.

Can’t wait to see how this goes! Thanks for taking it on and posting!

I echo the comments above. Strongly recommend learning how to do the timing belt job. If you keep the car, you’ll be adjusting these belts several times. It’s really not a hard job, and doing it yourself will be less hassle than taking it somewhere to get done. Especially after the first time.

I also suggest you get the arnworx tool, right off the bat.

I'll second this and add that great care also needs to be extended to the hood struts.
Many new owners out there doing the "easy stuff" that have caused windshields and rear hatches to be broken.
It is very common to, while replacing hood struts, over extend the hinge range and cause the hood corners to contact the windshield. Next comes a terrible sound.

I’ll jump on the bandwagon. Get the Arnnworx tool... and do the belts yourself!

Cool find! I live In Danville CA it seems like you are also in the Bay. I have done a few timing belt changes, and re-tensioning it is very easy! If you do decide to do it yourself, I would be more than happy to lend a hand.

With my first 944 Turbo, I had a Porsche shop do the belts. It was pretty pricy for what is really an easy job. What got me was the price they wanted to charge for re-tensioning the belts after 1500miles. I was quoted $800 for the re-tensioning (maybe an hour job) and they did not even have the 9201 tool! Crazy! I just put a new head gasket in my 89T so the timing belt among other things had to come off, but now I have access to a 9201 so it makes the DIY belt replacement a much more reasonable proposition. Also being that you are in Norcal you should join the Car Pokes forum and Norcal 944 on Facebook both great resources.

This is great advice. I would love to learn more about these cars. I am in Walnut Creek - ten minutes away at most. I'll send you a DM.

I just joined Norcal 944 as well.

Thank you.

thank you for saving me a windshield. This sounds like something that would happen to me.

I came across the Jeep strut thread and ordered those on Friday. This is great advice. .

Since I am horrible at finding those old threads... once you have the replacements installed and you think they are 'good', would you mind posting the part number of the struts you ordered? At some point mine will need replacing.

Also, did you have to mod them to retain the electric connections for the rear heated glass (and I think the rear wiper - maybe your car has that deleted?).

What is the Jeep strut part#

I used this p/n on my 944. Depending on the outside temp and the angle the car is parked, it will hold the hatch in the open position. About 1/2 the lifting force of the proper struts. I keep and use an old putter in the boot as my prop.

Jeep Wrangler Liftgate Struts 1998 - Rockauto
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlis...e43c7741f2.jpg

Looking like it’s cleaning up nicely.