Lusting after 944's

[dannyzabolotny]

I've really been looking into getting a 1985+ Porsche 944 now that my 750il is more or less sold, and I've found a few good examples that I'll be looking at. Should be an interesting experience, going from driving a big V12 to a small inline 4 haha. I'm gonna have a pretty interesting garage with a 944 and an M5 haha. I wonder which one will be more reliable :P

[dannyzabolotny]

Wow, I move quickly. Less than two days after I posted this, I found a 1987 Porsche 944S. I was expecting it to be a regular old 944, but it turns out it was the 944S which has a good bit more horsepower and torque. I found it in Tucson, paid for it, and I'll hopefully be driving it home tonight :)

570542

[sooch]

And the results are...?

[auaq]

I see a lot of 944s on Craigslist. My wish is to get a 993 911 someday. I love their looks. Hard to find some but they are expensive.

[dannyzabolotny]

I never really liked the rear engine Porsches, the front-engined ones always looked way nicer to me. Plus I love the massive trunk in the 944. I'm going down to Tucson tonight to hopefully drive this car home. Bringing a bunch of spare parts and tools with me too.

[540 Hammer]

I was going to suggest that you look into the 928GTS, with a 5.4L (340 C.I.), 5spd., V8 packing 350HP and pleanty of torque. Oh well, done deal. If you look carefully, there can be some good examples left. A four cylinder to me just won't do in the sports car arena; kind of like getting a Miata. If your little 924 doesn't work out, maybe look at a 928 GTS. There's one I just saw for sale: $18K with only 35K on the clock. Plenty of tire smoking power left with such low miles!

[geargrinder]

944? Good car for a track rat, cool old retro fun ride. But I'd be hard pressed to buy a non-951. Still, have fun w/ it Danny... they are great handlers, and have that cool funky 80's Porsche interior.

A for real for real 928GTS ? Totally different budget category. They are starting to bump in money too since the Porsche snobbery about front-engine versions is wearing off with time. Friend has one - it's super cool, sitting in it feels like being in a 1980's science fiction space-fighter cockpit. Not freakin cheap to fix though. Maint costs on those also tote difft situation to a cheap 944...

[dannyzabolotny]

Yeah I looked at 928's and they're a lot more complex. I specifically wanted something low tech and easy to work on as a companion for my M5. I have the 944S sitting in my driveway now, it needs some work to get it up and running but I've got my hands full with the M5 at the moment, so it'll have to wait for a bit. I'll get it running at some point though.

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

I had an '86 928S a few years ago. Was a cool car, Euro gray market car, had more horses than the US version. Had the dogleg 5 speed, felt weird with that at first, but got used to it. Was a fast, fun car, never had any cooling issues like they were known for, but I only had it for a little over two years. Only issues I had was bad relays for the power windows, happened twice. A good friend made me an offer I didn't refuse.

[bostonaudi]

Enjoy the 944s. I had an 87 951 for 7 years, fun car, reliable, and great handling and power. That being said, there are things that have to be watched for. If you don't have a receipt showing exactly when the balance shaft and timing belts were last done, I would replace them and start fresh. Other than that drive and enjoy it!

[bostonaudi]

I see a lot of 944s on Craigslist. My wish is to get a 993 911 someday. I love their looks. Hard to find some but they are expensive.

You might want to get moving on that, 993's are headed for stratosphere.

[XAlt]

The auto is really fun on the highway just to have some fun and mess around with the radio, roll down the windows and enjoy the breeze. On paper it sounds terrible, but it just feels like a nice car, and the manual will probably add +30% immersion.

[auaq]

You might want to get moving on that, 993's are headed for stratosphere.

I know .... because they are so desirable cars!

Will you look at this!

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GOYOgO7vWEI/Vl0Dp8k4KeI/AAAAAAAAQqg/6G-P1xyPOxU/s1600/911-993-6.jpg

Will you look at this too!
http://pcarforsale.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/porsche-993-turbo.jpg

And will you look at this too too!

http://www.jzmporsche.com/000111-3-l/porsche-993-c4s.jpg


Furthermore, will you look at this too too too!

http://allfotocars.com/data_images/gallery/01/porsche-993/porsche-993-06.jpg

[justinca540i]

oh my god in red

[auaq]

oh my god in red

That's hardcore car pr0n right there, bruh!!

[bostonaudi]

Yup, even a base stock 993 is a beautiful car. The 968 has similar front end design, also good looking.

[auaq]

The 968 is a pretty looking car but those baby headlights makes the car look like a baby Porsche.

[justinca540i]

Do you still own the 944 Danny?

[bostonaudi]

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20161112/a5fda700f353c4b36b930cbe28e6b2fa.jpg

I'm a water cooled fan.

[XAlt]

oh my god in red993 has the best rear end, but I love the 996 fried egg.


I want to drive a 993 some day though, beautiful cars but I think it'll be all hype.

[bostonaudi]

993 has the best rear end, but I love the 996 fried egg.


I want to drive a 993 some day though, beautiful cars but I think it'll be all hype.

No! Not hype, best of the air cooled, and Porsche started upping the power nicely in the 3.6. Good track cars too.

[XAlt]

No! Not hype, best of the air cooled, and Porsche started upping the power nicely in the 3.6. Good track cars too.Oh, it's the real god's chariot. It needs to be 30x better than the E30 M3 I drove or I quit life.

[angeleye540i]

I know .... because they are so desirable cars! Will you look at this! Will you look at this too! And will you look at this too too! Furthermore, will you look at this too too too! it's true 993 is expensive for a reason... I mean... Cmon... That black Turbo is FVCKING amazing

[bostonaudi]

Oh, it's the real god's chariot. It needs to be 30x better than the E30 M3 I drove or I quit life.

I find any 911 to be highly entertaining, God's chariot? lol probably a 60's Ferrari.

[angeleye540i]

The 968 is a pretty looking car but those baby headlights makes the car look like a baby Porsche. i like the 968, the newer version of the 944... The 928 is my Porsche fantasy, as far as getting a car without spending house money on it... 993 for sure tho... AIR COOLED TURBO! I mean how could it get much better? No coolant explosions and cooling system malfunctions.... The cooling system is one big turbo fan jet engine sounding fan...

[justinca540i]

http://alphaperformance.com/performance-packages/porsche-performance-package-alpha10/
I'll just leave this here even tho we haven't mentioned the 997 turbo

[angeleye540i]

I find any 911 to be highly entertaining, God's chariot? lol probably a 60's Ferrari. you know the 930 turbo is the realist of the Porsche turbos, it's "unregulated" meaning no waist gates, no limiting, what you give is what u get, and that is when u push your foot down, a runaway turbo reaction of sorts, more charge = more exhaust = even more charge = even more exhaust = rinse wash repeat (runaway reaction) aka un regulated... Unlike the Turbs of today.,

[justinca540i]

I want that red 993
I dispise you Auaq now it's the only thing I can think about

- - - Updated - - -

oh and for the record the 993 has RWB widebody kit, it is guard red and just sold recently for $175K

[auaq]

For me the 993 has the cleanest design. Inside and outside. Man do I miss my Need for Speed Porsche game.

[bostonaudi]

you know the 930 turbo is the realist of the Porsche turbos, it's "unregulated" meaning no waist gates, no limiting, what you give is what u get, and that is when u push your foot down, a runaway turbo reaction of sorts, more charge = more exhaust = even more charge = even more exhaust = rinse wash repeat (runaway reaction) aka un regulated... Unlike the Turbs of today.,

The 930 has a waste gate, as do all turbocharged cars, otherwise as you said it would be a runaway over boost.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[XAlt]

For me the 993 has the cleanest design. Inside and outside. Man do I miss my Need for Speed Porsche game.NFS2 was easily the best, that menu theme.


996 is one of the best lookers IMO and drives like a dream, dunno why it gets so much hate. Awful interior across the board though, straight out of a 1994 Ford Taurus.

586401



993 for sure tho... AIR COOLED TURBO! I mean how could it get much better? No coolant explosions and cooling system malfunctions.... The cooling system is one big turbo fan jet engine sounding fan...
HELP! MY CAR IS LEAKING OIL AND IT CAUGHT ON FIRE!!!!!!

[auaq]

Favorite nfs for me in order:

- NFS SE II
- NFS V Porsche
- NFS III Hot Pursuit
-
-
-
-
- NFS Underground II
-NFS Underground I
-
-
-
-
-
- Didn't care anything that came after Underground II.

[angeleye540i]

The 930 has a waste gate, as do all turbocharged cars, otherwise as you said it would be a runaway over boost. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk I saw an episode of "what's my car worth" that led me to think otherwise but I believe you... Keith kept saying how insane the power delivery was due to the "un regulated" turbos... I guess I "miss diagnosed" what he was saying

[geargrinder]

The 930 has a waste gate, as do all turbocharged cars, otherwise as you said it would be a runaway over boost.

Yep exactly. Can't practically run a car w no wastegate.

I'm sure the TV guy is a douche who doesn't actually know how motors work. Most are it seems.

Stock 930's are typical old school early turbo designs, slow spooling turbos that kick in suddenly and hard, more characteristic of the turbo design than the simplistic control system. If you update them with modern exhaust and turbos and IC's they can be quite a bit more modern... My buddy's just is a monster with lots of those mods... Man is that thing scary fast...

[angeleye540i]

It was Keith Martin on velo, but whatevs... He don't know errthang... And maybe it was an analogy and not fact... He was doing that little "a ok" and or "go f yourself" (depending on where in the world you are) ring with his fingers he always does while critiquing cars... Lol

[geargrinder]

It was Keith Martin on velo, but whatevs... He don't know errthang... And maybe it was an analogy and not fact... He was doing that little "a ok" and or "go f yourself" (depending on where in the world you are) ring with his fingers he always does while critiquing cars... Lol

Hmmm what's his background?


Martin brings an eclectic background to his passion for cars. His academic background includes the study of Intellectual History at Reed College, in Portland, Oregon, and study as a Dance Major at the Juilliard School in New York City. He founded the first professional ballet company in Oregon, Ballet Oregon, was awarded and Oregon Art’s Commission Individual Artist’s Fellowship for new choreography, and was director of dance for the Portland Opera..

{snicker}

Srsly I don't know anything about the guy but a ton of collector hobby guys that might be able to tell you every single detail about which model and year of 1963 Fiat Taillight is a perfect interchange to a Ferrari 250 GTO blah blah blah are really crap on the technical bits. Wouldn't be surprised. Even great race drivers etc. sometimes are crap on the technicals. Lookit Clarkson. Perfect example. He clearly could barely get past the basics of how a wastegate works. Likes to hear the first 5% of the tech details, then is bored and wants to move on to doing donuts and drifting corners. So this guy going on about "unregulated no wastegate"... easily plausible. And doesn't mean he doesn't know 1000x more than I do about valuing cars on the market by the way.

[angeleye540i]

Whatever his background is, it's bigger than mine... His job is to know as much possible about collector cars and he is a wealth of knowledge not particularly focused on any one aspect other than the wide most basic knowledge plus, and most importantly, the market value... Don't know what his background is in but if I had to guess automotive journalism... My point is he's been on this earth a good bit longer than I, living as gear-head... But That's the wonderful thing, together we all have a huge wealth of knowledge and can get to the nitty gritty whilst filtering out the bull$hit...

[Tampa 325ic]

Funny how these threads take there own direction.
I own a few 928's and a 88 924s a little 944 same motor and suspension but different front and rear.
The 928 is a great car one is super charged and I would describe it as a muscle car with an accent.

[memphoman]

I've really been looking into getting a 1985+ Porsche 944 now that my 750il is more or less sold, and I've found a few good examples that I'll be looking at. Should be an interesting experience, going from driving a big V12 to a small inline 4 haha. I'm gonna have a pretty interesting garage with a 944 and an M5 haha. I wonder which one will be more reliable :P

Try and find a 1988 turbo. You'll be smiling every day and tge car is light and will fly!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[memphoman]

Rear engine is the way! Miss my 86 911. Will own another


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[geargrinder]

Funny how these threads take there own direction.
I own a few 928's and a 88 924s a little 944 same motor and suspension but different front and rear.
The 928 is a great car one is super charged and I would describe it as a muscle car with an accent.

Have a buddy w/ a 928 GT and he loves it. Cockpit is awesome. Its' like sitting in a spaceship from a 1970's scifi movie you feel like you should be able to blast off into the stratosphere. Those cars seem to create fanatics - used to live near a guy who always had 3 in the driveway at any given time.

[justinca540i]

http://www.gasmonkeygarage.com/behind-the-scenes-ls-swapped-porsche-reveal/

[f355spider]

I've really been looking into getting a 1985+ Porsche 944 now that my 750il is more or less sold, and I've found a few good examples that I'll be looking at. Should be an interesting experience, going from driving a big V12 to a small inline 4 haha. I'm gonna have a pretty interesting garage with a 944 and an M5 haha. I wonder which one will be more reliable :P

Any updates? I've driven a couple 944s back in the day, and always liked the handling and the looks. They are really down on power (even the S and Turbo) by todays standards, but still a really fun car.

[XAlt]

Any updates? I've driven a couple 944s back in the day, and always liked the handling and the looks. They are really down on power (even the S and Turbo) by todays standards, but still a really fun car.The 3-sp auto NAs are such fun highway cars, and mindbogglingly slow.

[geargrinder]

I have at least 2 friends (maybe 3?) who bought 944's in the last 10 yrs with the same kind of interest... Both sold them after not long, finding them to be a bit dated and slow.

I think if you are buying one for:
- a major 'build' car w/ big turbo or even swap etc. etc.
- a semi-dedicated weekend track car
- a 3rd or 4th 'hobby' car in a bigger collection stable that's just for the occasional vintage fun drives

They are a great choice... but for - if not daily, at least 'regular street' driving - I know my buds found them to be a little disappointing over the longer haul. Both guys bought thinking it would be their main weekend sporting car but found them to be too slow in this day & age. One 951 was chipped and big-turbo'ed too, but they aren't exactly big power monsters without a lotta work.

That said I think they look fantastic, the styling has aged very well, and they're famously good for weekend track events.

[bostonaudi]

Too slow? My Turbo S with just some minor tweaks would clear 170 mph. What exactly is fast enough? The car would roast the tires even with an LSD.

[dannyzabolotny]

Any updates? I've driven a couple 944s back in the day, and always liked the handling and the looks. They are really down on power (even the S and Turbo) by todays standards, but still a really fun car.

I didn't buy it to be a power monster, haha. I still have it, it's been sitting in my friend's backyard for close to a year now. Now that I have the space to park it at my new place, I'm gonna bring it home and start working on it. I still love the way the 944 looks.


I have at least 2 friends (maybe 3?) who bought 944's in the last 10 yrs with the same kind of interest... Both sold them after not long, finding them to be a bit dated and slow.

I think if you are buying one for:
- a major 'build' car w/ big turbo or even swap etc. etc.
- a semi-dedicated weekend track car
- a 3rd or 4th 'hobby' car in a bigger collection stable that's just for the occasional vintage fun drives

They are a great choice... but for - if not daily, at least 'regular street' driving - I know my buds found them to be a little disappointing over the longer haul. Both guys bought thinking it would be their main weekend sporting car but found them to be too slow in this day & age. One 951 was chipped and big-turbo'ed too, but they aren't exactly big power monsters without a lotta work.

That said I think they look fantastic, the styling has aged very well, and they're famously good for weekend track events.

Yeah, I bought it as a car to mess around with. For $1000 I couldn't really go wrong, haha. I plan to get it running and fix it up bit by bit. Eventually I would like to restore it to looking nice, but that'll happen after I get it all sorted mechanically. I'll probably keep the stock engine for a while but I'm always tempted by the idea of an LS swap. Renegade Hybrids has a kit for $2100 that mates an LS to the stock transaxle which is pretty rad. I don't want to get ahead of myself though, so that's still just a thought. Even in stock form it should be a fun car according to all the 944 owners I've talked to. Plus it could be a fun little track toy while I learn the basics— it has only a little more power than a Miata so it's a good car to learn on.

I recently met a guy with a really nice red 928 that he fixed up, and he said he'd be down to help me get my 944 running, plus he has all the special belt tensioning tools for when I redo the 944's timing belt.

[geargrinder]

Thousand bux!? I'd LOVE a project track car 944 for a grand. (although there are some fright pig 944's out there - I used to scan CL for them from time to time...)

Got a bud who's a 928 nut too. Has a GT, it is very cool. Very much a small whacko fanatic community of dedicated maniacs for those. Seems like its almost all or nothing - always see guys with a couple in the driveway... Used to be a guy who had 3 or 4 around the corner from my old apartment.

[dannyzabolotny]

Thousand bux!? I'd LOVE a project track car 944 for a grand. (although there are some fright pig 944's out there - I used to scan CL for them from time to time...)

Got a bud who's a 928 nut too. Has a GT, it is very cool. Very much a small whacko fanatic community of dedicated maniacs for those. Seems like its almost all or nothing - always see guys with a couple in the driveway... Used to be a guy who had 3 or 4 around the corner from my old apartment.

Yeah, my 1987 Porsche 944S was only $1000. The previous owner bought it at an auction and couldn't get it running so it just sat until he sold it to me. The guy didn't even know he had the 944S model with the DOHC and more power. It's not in the worst shape compared to most of the 944's I've seen on Craigslist.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170408/721c4c960f2fccf908c3ff6cb15c7174.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170408/390c6e6c41dac9c5ef67c8bbc4988517.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170408/b00ea4e06259396cb4cddcc2355d4f49.jpg

It only has something like 114k miles on it. The last time it ran was in like 2010-2011.

[geargrinder]

Looks like a classic DannyDeal. Totally agreed. I've seen 944's for $5k on CL that are 1000x worse disasters, even with blown motors. At such a cheap entry you have nice options... if it turns out to have some huge lurking issues worst case you can even make money parting it, but short of that you could make it into a track car if it has too many 'luxury needs'. Or, looks like its decent enough (and you're in no-rust-land) it might just fix up to be a great real road driver...

[dannyzabolotny]

Looks like a classic DannyDeal. Totally agreed. I've seen 944's for $5k on CL that are 1000x worse disasters, even with blown motors. At such a cheap entry you have nice options... if it turns out to have some huge lurking issues worst case you can even make money parting it, but short of that you could make it into a track car if it has too many 'luxury needs'. Or, looks like its decent enough (and you're in no-rust-land) it might just fix up to be a great real road driver...

What's a DannyDeal? This one's a little different from my norm since it doesn't have chain guide issues (it has a timing belt lol).

It has zero rust and no real body damage so if I can get it running and driving nicely then I'll just fix it up and make it into a fun car for occasional driving. It has AC and a modern head unit so it would be a fine daily driver if I ever needed to take my touring off the road for an extensive repair/swap.

Plus it could be fun on the track since they handle really well but aren't fast enough to get a beginner into real trouble.

[geargrinder]

What's a DannyDeal? This one's a little different from my norm since it doesn't have chain guide issues (it has a timing belt lol).

I'd say you specialize in 'good deal fixer uppers'. Cars that wouldn't be a good deal for anybody who isn't ready to do some work, but when done, that fix up nice.

[dannyzabolotny]

I'd say you specialize in 'good deal fixer uppers'. Cars that wouldn't be a good deal for anybody who isn't ready to do some work, but when done, that fix up nice.

Ah, I see. Yeah that's what works for me. There are some people who just buy and flip cars without doing much, but that requires having cash laying around and being able to hop on a deal on a moment's notice, along with extreme lowballing. Like there was a guy locally that bought a clean 540i/6 for like $3000 and then resold it for like $6000 the same day. I feel like that's kinda lame though, I prefer to actually make a car better before selling it.

[Brucew]

I've really been looking into getting a 1985+ Porsche 944 now that my 750il is more or less sold, and I've found a few good examples that I'll be looking at. Should be an interesting experience, going from driving a big V12 to a small inline 4 haha. I'm gonna have a pretty interesting garage with a 944 and an M5 haha. I wonder which one will be more reliable :P



I had a 1990 944S2 a few years ago. Loved it - wish I hadn't sold it!
Totally reliable. Just make sure you change the cam belts regularly.
Good luck with your purchase

[OnTheFence]

Yeah, I bought it as a car to mess around with. For $1000 I couldn't really go wrong, haha. I plan to get it running and fix it up bit by bit.

You've had the car for over a year.
Have you actually started to work on it yet?
When you you plan to get it running?

[XAlt]

You've had the car for over a year.
Have you actually started to work on it yet?
When you you plan to get it running?How to get 944 running.

Step 1: Hire Teenager
Step 2: Have him\her turn keys
Step 3: Car will now start.

[dannyzabolotny]

You've had the car for over a year.
Have you actually started to work on it yet?
When you you plan to get it running?

So much pressure! It's sitting in my friend's backyard for now, once I fix my X5 4.6is I plan to tow it back over to my backyard so I can work on it. So it'll live again pretty soon.

[kevin3681]

I currently have an 87 400 HP 944 Turbo and a 91 944S2. I still have my 1998 528i as my daily driver. My advice to you would be to buy a 944 Turbo. My first 944 was a 1983 NA. You will get very bored of a non turbo car. Trust me on this one. The prices for 944 Turbos have gone up over 50% in just the last 3 years. Even if you find one that has super high mileage, I would still buy it because just a couple thousand bucks will get you a rebuilt short block. You will love them. Even I got bored with the stock 216 HP and $7000 later I have a very nice 400 HP that can be a daily driver. Even if you got the greatest deal ever on an NA, I would still save up for a Turbo (951)

[kevin3681]

The 930 has a waste gate. I know this because it was used at Lemans on the 944 Turbo GTR

[dannyzabolotny]

I currently have an 87 400 HP 944 Turbo and a 91 944S2. I still have my 1998 528i as my daily driver. My advice to you would be to buy a 944 Turbo. My first 944 was a 1983 NA. You will get very bored of a non turbo car. Trust me on this one. The prices for 944 Turbos have gone up over 50% in just the last 3 years. Even if you find one that has super high mileage, I would still buy it because just a couple thousand bucks will get you a rebuilt short block. You will love them. Even I got bored with the stock 216 HP and $7000 later I have a very nice 400 HP that can be a daily driver. Even if you got the greatest deal ever on an NA, I would still save up for a Turbo (951)

I already bought mine like a year ago, haha. It's a 1987 944S. Currently it's sitting in my friend's backyard, but now that the X5 4.6 is fixed I'm gonna tow it over to my house and start working on it. I paid $1000 for it, it has 114k miles. I know they're not super powerful in stock form, but the 16V S motor does make a bit more horsepower than the regular 8V. I'm going to fix it and enjoy it in stock form, and then after that I might think about LS swapping it. There are a lot of good LS swap kits out there and it's pretty cheap compared to getting more power out of a 951 engine. Why get only 400hp for $7k when I could get 500hp for less than that with an LS.

[dannyzabolotny]

Alright so the 944S is finally in my garage after (almost literally) digging it out from my friend's backyard where it sat for about a year. I took some pictures of it as it sits right now in its "barn find" condition.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4205/35518889015_7da2533e3b_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4216/35132592760_9421eec07a_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4240/35518889115_1b2b8e7d24_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4215/34709424683_517a41395c_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4284/35518891205_5bc509c75a_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4255/35479817666_9ebe57a846_b.jpg

I guess I'll keep this thread updated on the progress, since there's no real Porsche section on this forum, lol