Bobbo

If someone gave you 20k$ to purchase and mod and to fix any problems the car has. Would u get a 944 or 951? Which year and why?

Im totally new to porsches, im currently driving a modded 1.8t jetta. I need a project car and this is gonna be it, i got 20k to throw now. So any advice on to where to pick one up or where to look or what to do!?!? Im having trouble finding one between 7-10k that is in good condition, are there any left?

Anyone selling thiers?

Danno

Well, it depends on what your intended uses are. What do you want to do with such a car? Cruise? Go to shows? Drag race? Autocross? Open tracking? If you're going to be racing, check out Doug's <a href="http://www.nsxfiles.com/s2k_laguna.htm" target="_blank">Pyramid of Speed</a> racers hierarchy.

Typically, I will say definitely get a 951 !!! No ifs ands or buts about it for $20K. You can find track-ready 951s (ready to rebuild) for less than $5k or really nice street ones for $12-15k. The rest of the money in upgrades will gain you 10x the improvements on the 951 than putting the same amount into a 944.

There were more '86 951s made than all the following years combined, so prices on them will tend to be lower. They don't have additional features that came in the later ones like ABS or airbags. There was a change in wheel offsets as well, but nothing that couldn't be easily remedied with spacers (no one's reported problems yet). The '86 951s also had the last run of the good forged con-rods and tranny oil-coolers as standard equipment.

The '87-88 951 had optional and later standard ABS & airbags. As such, they tended to be a couple hundred pounds heavier than the '86; important if you're racing. These can more conveniently swap wheels from other contemporary Porsche models (911 & Boxster).

The '88 TurboS (standard in '89) was the special limited edition model with more power and stiffer suspension. These fetch a premium price if you can find one in prime condition (most are track cars now). But for the price premium of a Turbo-S, you could upgraded a non-S Turbo to higher-performance specs than a Turbo-S. These would be great collectors' cars if you were to keep your car stock.

These cars have great nimble and responsive handling that'd be hard to find just about anywhere else (though they can be handful at their limits).

aka 951

Personally I wouldn't blow 20k on a 951 (ask me how I know). If you want to mod one buy a higher mileage one or a cheap one at least for about 5-6k. I bought my most recent 951 for $2500 and its my favorite so far (partly because I don't have much $ in it!). For 20k, waste your money on a 911 where you can probably recoup some of the money.

Ski

hmmm,,$20k. Street - fun and show,,yeah I'll probably agree with Erick on the 911. But for any performance driving, street to DE events,,get the 951!! Like Danno stated the 86s are more abundant. Find a higher milage on that has great paint and interior for $6500 to $9K. You then have room for a complete rebuild with goodies, new suspension, wheels and tires if needed, and find a nice low milage LSD(if not alreay equipped). With all of my upgrades, the purchase price of the car, my recent clutch, rod bearings etc.,, my present total investment to date is $15,683.57( as brought to me by my trusty palm pilot)

Perry 951

Who says spending $20k in parts on a 951 is no good? Mine will be a daily driver, Auto X/DE car, show car all in one. Gotta pay to play, but I can play with the best.

Really... it all depends on what you want to do with it. Track car is cheapest, street car a little more, daily driver more than that, and an all in one combined the most.

Bobbo

Yes, i plan on making it a daily driver that i can autox and race on the highway. I got a jetta now that i will keep to drive but ill drive the porsche on a regular basis too.

Im looking now for an 86 between 6-9k, now i just have to figure out where in jacksonville florida i can get the work done. Can the factory porsche dealer help me or goto someone else?

Wish i could take it to a shop, give them 8k and tell them to give it back in a week or two

And thanks for the advice guys... <img src="graemlins/bigok.gif" border="0" alt="[thumbsup]" />

adrial

A good autocrosser and a good highway racer are two completely different things.

On top of that, you're way better off doing DE's than street racing.

Straight line..ooooh look at me!!

Scott Heckert

I just bought a 1986 951. It had 110,000 miles on it. The interior, body, paint and everything else was perfect. It needes a new clutch, timing belts, oil pan gasket, hoses and oil lines. The motor is sitting in my garage now. I will be putting everything back together this week. I have spent about $4500 in parts. This includes new tires and shocks. I bought it for $1100 so it was a great deal. The only thing about these cars is that they are so old that all the o-rings and gaskets need to be replaced. All my o-rings in the front and back of the car were hard as rock. The car should fly once I am done.

Scott Heckert

I will sell my 1986 951 once I am done fixing everything. The car will be in perfect shape once I am done.

951and944S

Many valid points here, but with that kinda budget, I'd follow Eric's advice.
Personally I'd never spend big $ on a 951.
You can pick up a beater or salvage titled car for 2-3K... Then go from there.
A complete interior in good shape will run about 1K, and paint 2-4K.

Why buy a sweet condition car with records, if you are gonna mod every component on the thing, especially if you can dosome/all work yourself.

Take advantage of some of the great deals out there, ask Redeye......

Here's my '87, purchased with fire damage and wrecked rear 1/4 panel, for $2500.00, after much work (myself) and 5K worth of performance and dealer parts.....



Cheers
944t@bellsouth.net

Bobbo

Thanks for the advice guys, i do streetrace. But i dont goto the illegal runs like the ricers. I will autox the car every chance I get. But the majority of my fun in FLORIDA is long open str8s. Jacksonville is avery large city that is widespread so our roads have room for racnig in a straight line. And by str8 line speed i dont mean drag racing. I dont streetlight race too often, i like to highway race if the chance arrises. Im attempting to make an ls1 killer.

951and944S

LOL, I know what you mean, there's a flock of late model Camaro's that come around my shop on Friday's before heading to the dragstrip, and I love to hurt their feelings as often as I can...

Find someone with a dealer liscense and see if you can tag along to an auction, there are many good cars out there to be had for cheap.

If you are not mechanical, give me a shout, I restore salvaged cars, and can do one for you to your specs, or I sometimes have one for sale..

Cheers

Danno

"I love to hurt their feelings as often as I can... "
I think lighting up your tires next to them on the freeway at 60-80mph and pulling away should get the message across... heh, heh...