jeevyboy

Im in the process of doing a complete rebuild to a 944 turbo, and i am at the planning stage with what to do in terms of the body and engine.

Justification for the build.

The quick down low on the build; I have always loved the look of the 944, and the performance hasn't been all that bad either. After doing a lot of research on this car for another build we are doing, i decided to get into one myself. . Out here, in Singapore you dont get many old cars, the pricing structure is that so most ppl get rid of their cars within the first 10 years of ownership so as to get back as much value from their cars as possible. You cant even bring in old or vintage cars either, only cars 3 years old or younger can be imported! So older cars here are rare and very unique.

The second thing is that cars here are VERY expensive!!! Its one of the ways that the government here limits the number of cars in a tiny country where there is very limited space. So a car like a BMW 335I here would cost around $175,000 new, as compared to $60,000 in the US . So that being said, I have an old 924T here and enough 944 & 968 parts, and instead of going and buying a new car for crazy money, i can spend the same amount of crazy money on rebuilding this 944 to my own specifications!

So with that being the case, i wanted to rebuild one to showcase what its capable of, especially to all the guys driving the newer Porsches and have no idea about the heritage of the Marque (with cars usually not lasting more than 10 years here, not many people know of the 944)! So the aim is to make a 944 as Porsche would build it today, both in terms of performance, and luxury. It will be a street car, so i want it to look sleek and good, but sporty, without giving it the race car look, and also embody the class and luxury that is synonymous with the brand.

The interior will be based on the modern Porsche interior color schemes, but im having a hard time figuring out what to do with the body. So i thought id get some advise from other 944 lovers!


First thing, set the bar.... High. If Porsche were to make 944s today, this is what it would have to compete with in terms of looks! And now after i have decided that i will probably end up stealing the paint and rims from this car, lets look at the options for the 944.


Option 1:
The European orange car caught my attention, and i still love the way it looks. This one would be easy to do and it looks clean and slick. I have even got the vented side skirts on hand! So this would be easy to go for!



Option 2:
Now this one is a lot tougher to describe. I was thinking of going for a widebody look, without giving it a race feel. I like the way the bolt on flares look on the KMR 968 turbo, but i dont want the pop rivet look. Modern Porsches havent had that look since the 993 era, so in spirit of this build, i would need to meld the flares into the bodywork, to look smooth and follow the lines of the car. With a wide body, i think the 968 rear bumper looks much more modern too, so i figure i would use a 968 rear and keep the turbo nose.
So if you use a bit of imagination, it would kind of be a mixture of the next few photos.






Anyone have pics of wide body street cars? Or even better, pics of street cars with "bolt on" flares that have been bonded to the body?
I was wondering what the flares would look like if someone had actually worked them into the body lines, for a flush looking finish.

Looking for any and all opinions!!!

PS, will get into the engine details soon. I have a 968 3L Variocam engine that is being shipped over from the US, and we are thinking of using that with some kind of forced induction, most likely turbo. My mechanic and friend runs his own independent Porsche garage out here, and he'll be leading the build.

Olli Snellman

Option #1. I have made that front spoiler

Same car with different wheels and Jägermeister theme




Similar sideskirts

V2Rocket

i am very interested in this thread, the body mods you have listed are all things i want someday...
in terms of engine, i have a feeling a modern fofo would be a direct-injected four-cyl turbo...2.0FSI...dare i say...an ecotec?

jeevyboy

Olli, i love the orange car. You simply cant tell its a 27 year old body design when you look at at. A lot of friends i have asked here have said that i should do something similar too, and i can understand why

On the other hand, it would also be nice to go all out! Be aggressive in the design and take it to a new level. Its a risk... I was even thinking about incorporating vented sideskirts into the wide body design if possible... (and if it looked good)

What would all of you be more likely to do if given the opportunity to do something like this?? Maybe you have some ideas that i have not thought about myself?

thirdgenbird

why would you say ecotec when vw/audi offers the 2.0t

RobE952

If you are going for a more modern look I definitely agree with the 968 rear end. Of course 968 door handles and mirrors go without saying.

Have you considered fixed head lights? The dual projector style? I'm still on the fence about them as they change the look of the car a great deal, but you can't deny they are much more modern. It is also possible to do a headlight delete and just use euro fog lights. In the city they are all I ever need. That would give a more sleek look for sure.

I've dreamt about changing the look of my front end with a chin spoiler, brake cooling ducts, and a big front mount IC. I'd love to remove the bumper cover in front of the radiator and show off a huge IC.

As for the interior I think 951s aren't too bad off considering how bad most other cars of the era were. So far I am very happy with the look of my 3-spoke steering wheel, a-pillar gauge pod, momo shift ****, and updated stereo. I think some modern seats go a long way in updating the look and feel of the interior. If money was no option I'd include a lot of alcantera (seats, shift boot, steering wheel etc.). I also have plans for a tasteful push button starter, every serious modern sports car needs one LOL! You could definitely stand to improve the instrument cluster with some white face gauges or even some back-lit ones.

Can't wait to see how this turns out. Good luck.

jeevyboy

In terms of headlights i would have wanted to go for something flush as well, but then again, i haven't seen anything that works perfectly with the look. I did pick up this headlight conversion last year, and am sourcing for the HID lights that fit this application from Hella. I will likely use the running lights mostly, but for when i need full lighting this will have to do. I suppose the flip up headlights was one of the defining characters of a 944. Either way, it looks more modern, and will cause less drag.



In terms of interior, i am also going for the 3 spoke airbag steering wheel, custom shifter, and for the seats, i plan on using a set of 997 turbo seats that my friend has laying around, i think they will look fantastic provided they fit!!!





I wanted to base the color scheme on the Carrera Gt interior, basically charcoal grey, mocha brown, and brushed aluminum. Its got that performance/luxury feel to it.



Still working on ideas for the gauges, and maybe incorporating PLX OBDII displays in it to remove the need for pod gauges.

I love the idea for the push start button!!! i may have to steal that idea as well! I'd still need to figure out some kind of anti theft system for it though, if it wont be using a normal key.

V2Rocket

solely as another option for him specifically for engine choices, not thinking that would actually be offered in a production p-car.

thirdgenbird

i was giving you a hard time. i dream of having a 944S2 with a direct injection 2.0t out of the latest A4

jeevyboy

Its looking more and more like we will be doing a MID sleeved turbo 3.0L 968 with the 16valve head, and keeping the variocam. I know that this will take a lot of tuning to get it just right, butit promises to have the most poential, and we have the time and money which is a rare occasion! Not sure what type of turbo setup we will be looking at though.

I want the car to be above 500 bhp for sure, to play with the big boys. But i want usable power, not just boost in the high RPM range. I took out a tuned 997 turbo for a drive the other day and the power was SO usable. It comes on early and is real smooth but strong too.So we are still figuring out how to attain good dyno numbers while also providing smooth boost trough the range. Been toying with ideas from twin turbocharging, to adapting a VGT Turbo or an aerocharger. Anyone with experience in this? I would love to get more informed opinions.

thirdgenbird

Time and money, time and money

mikey_audiogeek

It's been done:
http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehi...AdIdZ228093990

JDS968

You said to set the bar high, so here we go...

In terms of styling...the answer to your question, how would Porsche build a 944 today...is "they wouldn't".

If you ask how Porsche would build a 924 in 1982, the answer is "a 944". If you ask how Porsche would build a 944 in 1989, the answer is "a 944 S2". If you ask how Porsche would build a 944 S2 in 1992, the answer is "a 968". So now the question you'd have to ask is, how would Porsche build a 968 in 2010? If you look at the S2 and the 968, and instead of looking at the details of either car, you look carefully at the way details changed between the two...you can see some of that thinking even in the current cars, like the 997 and the 987.

I think you would definitely have to start from the 968 body and then make changes from there.

First, the headlights obviously have to go from forward-deploying halogen reflectors to fixed projectors underneath flush aero glass. Either halogen projectors or xenon projectors would be appropriate, but I think bi-xenon would be more so, and aesthetically would work better. Also, very high quality bi-xenon retrofit kits are EXTREMELY cheap these days ($325 for this one, for example).

Next, the front bumper should probably be subtly reshaped. I really like how it looks, but lined up next to modern Porsches, I think it stands out a bit. I think the biggest issue is that modern Porsches have very large air intakes in the front. I find this rather odd, as the front-engined 968 got away with very few square inches of air intake in the front bumper, and the mid- and rear-engined models have much larger intakes, even though there's nothing but a luggage compartment behind that front bumper. Anyway, it would probably need two tall intakes on either side of the front bumper, and one long, low intake across the center...pretty much look at the Boxster, Cayman, 911, and Panamera, it's all the same theme. Don't forget the LED strips in both the left and right intakes, those are mandatory in all new Porsches. Also, whereas the 968 front bumper smoothly tucks under, blending into the first underbody pan, you should add a protruding lip, a subtle splitter, both for practical reasons, and to match the modern designs.

Next, you need to look at the long crease on either side that extends from the front fender, just outboard of the headlight, all the way back across each door, becomes most prominent on the rear fender flare, and then continues all the way back to the corner, where it finally smooths at the back where it becomes the joint between the body panel and the rear bumper skin. While the 968 smoothed out the 944 lines considerable, that crease needs to be smoothed out to fit with the lines of modern Porsches. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing though...I'm convinced that the styling of the 968 is a definitely improvement over the 944, but I think they were right to keep that crease...

The sunroof is another issue. I love it the way it is, but if you want to make the car a "modern" Porsche, you need to make it sliding glass, or delete it entirely. The latter option would be extremely difficult, considering its size. Besides, the former option makes it lighter. I like light.

Next issue is the exhaust. Porsche doesn't do exhaust tips off to one side anymore, and dual-exit exhausts are stupid with straight-4 motors, so all you need to do is move it over a bit to make it a center-exit.

I think the door handles might be another issue, however subtle. The handles don't blend smoothly enough with the door, and the cutouts behind them are not quite ovoid...they're a bit hexagonal. It's one of this niggly details that very quietly says "this isn't a 2010 model", even if only to Porschephiles.

Lastly...wheels. 18" mandatory. I think the 2002 "Carrera" wheel looks best.

I'd have to think on it, but I believe those (relatively) minor changes would actually make the 968 look very, very modern. It's a timeless design that has aged shockingly well, and would take well to updates.

Now if you're going to address other issues, such as power and interior, that's an entirely different story.

As for the powerplant, a 2010 Porsche "968" would have the 300hp 3.6L direct-injected Variocam Plus V6 that the new Panamera and Panamera 4 have. I'm not saying it's practical to transplant this into your car (I asked the BMW people about their N54 engine once, and they pointed out that the newer electronics and high-pressure fuel system just won't play ball with an old car). But that's what it would use. I really don't know why Porsche has suddenly picked up on V6s though, it's an engine design with very little to recommend it. Why have they never, ever built a straight-6?

As for you...I like your plan of starting with the 968 motor and adding a turbocharger. I don't know about 500 horsepower (a 2010 "968" sure as hell would not have 500 horsepower, and even I probably wouldn't push it past 400), but I sure as hell won't discourage you.

And while you're doing the engine build...I think you should look at getting one of the more advanced standalone systems, like a Motec M400. It will give you a few of the modern features a 2010 Porsche would have, like traction control, launch control, and electronic boost control...and it has provisions for continuously variable camshaft control. I've been thinking about this, and while the Variocam system switches cam phasing between two fixed points, I think it might be feasibly to convert it to continuously variable cam phasing, simply by replacing the solenoid with something that can adjust the oil pressure (and thus the chain tension) infinitely under the Motec's control, rather than a simple on/off.

You still wouldn't have some of the things a 2010 Porsche would have, like stability control, but stability control sucks anyway and Porsche really should offer a no-cost stability control delete, I think...

Something else you might want to think about is the rear suspension. Semi-trailing arms are a very simple, effective design...but Porsche has left them far behind. They're all about multilink rear suspensions these days, which are of course excellent in every way. I don't really know how feasible a custom-built multilink rear suspension retrofit would be...but that's what a 2010 "968" would have.

If you wanted...I think you can even retrofit your car with electronically-adjustable dampers now, like the PASM cars have. I'm pretty sure I remember reading about somebody who makes them now, to add to any car, but I can't remember who...

As for the interior...I don't know. I think a late 944 or a 968, with an all-black interior, looks perfect. That's the way a sports car should look. Oh well...

You'll probably need to add lots and lots of contrasting trim. Lots of silver trim bits, I suppose. I was just looking at a site earlier today that offered a lot of these, they looked very nice if you're into that kind of thing. Wish I could find it, I should have bookmarked it...

The interior lighting would be much better, though. You'll need to fix those "light guides" that channel the light to the gauge pod, apparently they're all toast by now (mine sure as hell are). And while you're at it, I think you should convert every last interior light to LEDs...if the 2010 models haven't already done this (have they?) they will soon.

And of course, no vinyl. Anywhere. As I understand it, Porsche doesn't do vinyl anymore. Not that plastics in general are out, just that particular one. And since you probably can't get the right sorts of plastics, molded into the right shapes, the best option is probably just to leather-wrap all vinyl surfaces.

mikey_audiogeek

Spot on.

Ray_Singh

Jevvy - Singapore? Bit of a far cry from Bagshot??

I think the answer to your question is a Cayman S. The market for the 924, 944 and 968 was filled due to demand for that type of car.
Fast forward 25 years and the Cayman S is filling the void now.