Yogii

Hi All,

I am a city dweller with limited garage space. I have been carless for the last 8 years. Now I miss it for weekend getaways.
Was considering a recent vintage GTI but then thought, for similar money I could have a 968. Is this folly?
I understand the BIG maintenance items. It is the little annoying things that I worry about. I briefly considered an 850i, but after a brief conversation with a BMW mechanic, reconsidered.
He mentioned that this was at the beginning of electric everything and the plugs were not modular yet. No big wire looms. He said chasing an electrical gremlin could be a nightmare.
Back to the 968!
Are convertible tops a problem? Between fabric wear and motor issues, are they worth the trouble? Even with front strut brace, are they more flexible that coupes?
Sun roofs? Motors not working, clogged drains, rust issues. Worth the bother?
Rear hatch wiper, glass seal, any major issues?
I know the interior materials were much better quality than early 924's, but they still are 20-25+ years old. Window motors/switches, headlight motors/switches. Would a PPI cover all that?

I thank you all in advance,

Yogii

Eyeman

I think you would be very happy with a 968. Take care of it and it should go up in value and you'll have something fun and unique to drive. I also loved BMW 850s and considered purchasing one, but was actually convinced that if I had to have one, I should get an 840 instead.

Practically the best thing to me about Porsches (not sure starting with which models) is they are fully galvanized. I'm new to coupes, but I hear there can be a mild issue with sunroof drains and gears.

For sure there are tons of issues with the cab tops, motors and systems. Many owners finally give up and disconnect the motors and turn the top into a manual. For sure it will leak a little in hard rain or during washing, and it will rattle when up. The coolest thing to me is how few rattles my cabriolet has when the top is down. I also think the cabriolets look much better.

I think the 968 Cab was rated as one of the least flexing cabs around, but it still flexes more than the coupe. If you plan to track the car, this flex is way less of an issue than the slight weight gain and poorer aerodynamics to me. I don't think strut braces would help at all but I could be wrong.

Good luck.

LM964

968 all the way. Feels so right on the road. Sorted/good dampers and decent tyres and you're done.

odurandina

and a V8

Yogii

[QUOTE=odurandina;14758019]and a V8


/QUOTE]

wouldn't that be a 928? Seems horns not working, radios that are out, rear wipers that do not wipe; are all pretty common occurrences on 928's. I'm hoping 968's less so.
Appreciate the shared information.

-Yogii

Jfrahm

Ignore the forum troll.

I have some of each and 928s do have more electrical gremlins, at least 1986 and 1987 928s do compared to later 944S2 and 968 cars in my experience (of a good number of each). Electrically speaking in the 968 I have had some trouble with window switches, top limit switches, seat controls, mysterious battery drain... that is probably it. Sweet car to drive though, very fun and unique.

You can probably get a BRZ or an S2000 for similar money which would be slightly less trouble prone and easier to find experienced help for maintenance and repairs if this sort of thing is a concern. Maybe less money once you are in and caught up on maintenance.

-Joel.

Yogii

Joel,

Thanks for the reply. Are all the little items that you mentioned on your 968, fixed now? What are top limit switches?

I have considered a S2000, just a little small. Truck just won't cut it. Need to haul hard sided music instrument cases.
I drove the BZR when they first came out. My thought were, why would anybody buy this over a Miata?

When the 968 came out. Its 3.Vario Cam engine produced app, 235-240 HP. At the time considered the most powerful-and largest I believe-
4 cylinder ever. Does anybody know if that is still the case?

Thanks in advance,

Yogii

Yogii

Non-Turbo of course...

-Y

Jfrahm

My issues fixed? No... I think I need to do something with my window track to make it easier to move the window, as a result the window switch is getting a workout. The top limit switches are switches that determine the limits of the power top's movement and I think one of mine is kinda iffy so I sometimes have to mash on the button a few times to get the top to close. They are kind of a pain to dig out and replace and I put my top up like 4x a year so I have not bothered. Some people switch the top to manual mode rather than electric. I think my seat switches are OK at this point. Battery drain I am not sure about, maybe I need to replace the alternator diodes, I started using a maintainer. I put that alternator job off as I need to do the timing belt and front-of-engine service soon anyway.

Re: The engine's size and power I have no idea and do not see how it matters.

I would like a car similar to the 968 cabrio but with more (stock) power, not with the supercharger (as I currently have) nor with an engine swap and it's cost and swap-related issues. I have not found such a car in my price range, maybe some flavor of 911 would do. The 997 cabrio is probably as close as I have seen to ideal for what I want and will get a hard look if I get to the point of replacing the 968s. I like modded cars but for the cabrio's role I would like it to be stock and just work.

jsheiry

Troll seems harsh....OD contributes much to the forum but you do have to accept the regular LS advertisement in with the good stuff....he also keeps it lite, funny, and reality checked at times.

If money and time were no object I would put an LS in at least a 968 track day car as I have always dreamed of sneaking up on a GT3 at drivers ed on the back straight of Summit Point in a 968 smiling away! With him giving ME the "pass by point"!

Yogii

Thanks Joel and John,

Like I said, if I wanted a V-8, I would be looking at 928's.

Joel-Is the complete disabling of the electric convertible top a difficult thing to do? Would give me some thing to do while the oil is warming up.
On the coupes would it be possible to have a manual only sunroof?

-Y

Jay Wellwood

Having owned a 928S4 I can assure you that this powerplant is nowhere in the same Galaxy as the LS motors.

Just sayin'

Jfrahm

Disabling the power top is easy. Google for the procedure.

I have heard of manual latches for the coupe roof but do not know how they end up working, I dimly recall you can't crack the roof anymore?

az968gpw

There are some other issues with the cab top, one of the roof "bows" tends to break and they are no longer available. So most cab tops, at least all the ones I hear about, are now in manual mode.Just disconnect some cables and it is manual.

The sunroof gears do break (plastic) and have been replaced twice in my car. And I open my sun roof a lot, don't take it out all that much cause its a PITA.

Cabs with tops down are beautiful! But not a stiff a chassis, although Porsche did a great job stiffening it up (at least the sub-contractor did) But, if you expect a lot of track time then you want a couple for weight and aerodynamics (and roll over safety.) Rear wiper motors wear out and many people have removed them and use a "rear wiper delete" plug in teh rear hatch.

Have had to clean my window switches (not hard and replacement switches are cheap). Good to take the door panels off and clean/silicon the tracks and they work like new.

Minor electrical gremlins - 25 yr old car.

Biggest concerns are in the engine - timing and balance belts need replacement every 4-5 years (40k miles) or major bad things can happen. Heater control valves need to replace with metal ones, water pumps, things like that. For a few bucks you can buy an RS Barn chip and do the air box mod and get some nice extra horsepower.

Best advice - decide if you want a couple or cab "life style" and buy the best one you can afford - a cheap 968 will turn out to be a very expensive 968. Get a PPI.

Get all the preventative maintenance items taken care of right away.

Then enjoy the hell out of it!

Yogii

968 Cabriolet questions,

I know the 944 cab was originally made as a coupe and then sent to ASC/ACS to get the top cut off. I understand that they also weld in a second floor pan, and then added the convertible hardware.
Did 968 cab's also have this done?

Thanks,

Yogii