Knappster Im

Hi Everyone: I am considering buying an 87 944T as A project, with 165000 miles that has sat for 2 yrs. Initial cost $2,500. obvious needs, Tires, paint and tune up. It runs, with some valve noise. Currently owned by 2nd owner who claimes that when he last drove the car it had great power, did not smoke & shifted fine. His records include belt only change 10K ago. no record of turbo change or water pump change. The interior is 7 of 10 with no leaks from sun roof or hatch. Is this a good buy or should I continue saving for another ? Thanks for your feedback.

evil 944t

Typically, a car with few records and a lot of minor problems can lead to a $10k repair bill and/or a lot of regret. If its something you have to have, bring it to a p-car shop and have them do a pre purchase inspection.

It depends on what your goals or expectations are but get an inspection. I don't know what your budget is but $10-12k can buy a beautiful car with records.. $6-9k will bring in a nicer car but they still usually need a few things here and there.

Better yet, buy the car and part it out. If the engine and the tranny is good, it will be worth it(maybe). You'll make your money back and then some.

quinnfiske

The price on this car is really low. This could be a good deal if you are willing to learn and put some time and money into sorting it out. Most people are scared off by cars like this which is why the price is so low. It could end up being a great learning experience if you have the right attitude. Sort out the basics before you spend big bucks on paint and tires. Clutches are a pain for instance and engine belts are critical. Once you make a runner out of it, decide if it is worth it to keep going. Have an exit strategy in mind if it doesn't work out. That is. part it out.

The easy way is to spend $15K or so and buy a better example, and most people will advise this, but if you like cars and want an interesting hobby, you should think about it.

Start out by spending a lot of time here learning all about these wonderful cars. There is a whole world of people and suppliers out here to show you the way.

Jeff N.

Just one more quick thought if you plan to purchase and nurse it to health.

These are not the easiest cars to physically work on. Everything is very tightly packed into the engine bay and typically you need to remove parts A, B and C to get part D. You need to have a good set of tools, good mechanics skills and patience.

Add to that a somewhat tricky engine setup that can be hard to diagnose and you get a car that takes some decent skills to work on.

In your inspection, be sure to do a careful check of the engine wiring harness. They are a common problem area - can create lots of run problems that are difficult to diagnose and fix.

Knappster Im

Thanks for your input, I now have a 924s that I have returned to health (rear wheel bearing , brakes, belts, steering rack and more minor things) However I have no experience with major engine repair, given the high miles should I expect the need to rebuild the engine? Are there any tests to preform for engine condition?

mylesfast

leakdown & compression test

JohnKoaWood

Compression test will give a good measure of engine health.
Leakdown will tell you what area to concentrate on with a stock rebuild, if modding the leakdown test really isn't needed as all the components will need to be changed durring the rebuild even if they are good for stock use.

I got the compression tester and leakdown test sets from Paragon (Longacre gauges BTW HERE) and have not used my leakdown tester yet as my Compression test showed good (142-140-135-140) with the cylinders dry. As I acrue miles I will continue to watch #3 as the low cylinder, but with compression readings all above 120 dry, I saw no reason to do the leakdown test, if 1 cylinder is off the leakdown will tell you why it is low and where to concentrate on during the rebuild (cylinder vs valves vs headgasket).

carreracoupe997

I would not worry about records on any 944. Chances are good that whoever has done the work on the car for the past 22 years didn't do it right. I bought my 951 in 2005 sight unseen and had a Porsche dealer do a PPI. It passed fine. When I got the car it pulled hard to the left. The freaking hard brake lines coming out of the firewall had been crossed so the Left Front was the one coming from the portioning valve. The right rear was getting 100% braking. Then 6 mos later the cam gear worked its way loose, vibrated, and broke the cam. When I pulled the engine and found 10 pounds of nuts and bolts under the intake I knew a hack had been working on the car. It had all the reciepts. My advise, don't trust anyones work on your car unless you do it yourself. I do agree with the leakdown test.

JohnKoaWood

Receipts are only good for work done in a shop, I am pretty sure you will NEVER get a receipt for the shadetree who decides to take apart and re-assemble the car himself...not to mention that a shop receipt shows what was done, it doesn't say it was done correctly.

carreracoupe997

Amen BrotherJohn.

dmalo810

Unless the owner was a complete dumba$$ and abused the car, it is a good buy. Regardless of past history, even if he has receipts (except clutch and a/c) that doesn't matter much in this case since the car has set for so long.
You, at a minimum, will need to replace the belts, seals and obviously fluids before you fire it. Replacing the water pump is also recommended. If you do the work yourself, you are in for under $200 in parts. Fuel pump may also be an issue. Of course, then you have all the cosmetic stuff to attend to and you can throw crazy $$s at that depending on your tastes and pocket book.
If your not interested in the car, let me know where it is. We buy these things all the time and fix-em/sell-em

Tedro951

If you're craving a project, go for it. Getting into the game for 2500 sounds good. Discipline will be the only thing keeping it from becoming a $12000 money pit, regardless of previous receipts or who did the work. These cars may go a year or two without a major repair, but I'm betting many have bought "well sorted" or "well documented" 951s for top dollar and had them on jackstands for expensive repairs within the first 20,000 miles. If it doesn't have a salvage title and cats living in it, go get it.

carreracoupe997

It depends really on what kind of cats are living in it.