School me on Porsche 944s

[Joe G]

This may have been covered in other threads, but I am lazy and in a bit of a time crunch. Anyway, I have the opportunity to pick up what seems to be a very clean 1984 Porsche 944. It has 47,000 original miles and has been garage kept and appears well maintained. Asking price is $6,000. What should I ask, what should I look for? Are these cars fun/quick/sporty? It will be my daily driver short term and will definitely see some Auto-X and track use.

What does R3v Think?

-Joe

[Wschnitz]

porsche priced parts, vw like performance

[slammin.e28]

porsche priced parts, vw like performance

This.

Unless you want to swap it. Very easy to put almost any engine into.

[tuddy]

is it a 944 or a 951?

they've been a track standard since their debut due to their transaxles.

it will be more expensive then an e30 but by no means is it a bad choice. you still see them on the street today and people still are die hards for them on the track, just that alone will let you know its not a horrible idea.

[Joe G]

It is a 944.

[audiquattrot]

My neighbor just picked one up last yr, 1985 non-turbo w/ 11K miles. He just finished the timing belt/wp stuff, clutch, and needs to fully flush the gas tank & lines (since it was sitting for 15yrs+)...but the car drives like a dream. Parts seem readily available...and not terribly expensive. He wants to resell it in mid-teens, so your price sounds good.

[2mAn]

951 is the 944 turbo.

A pretty damn good suspension setup can be had for ~2k, that price seems high unless its in mint condition. Most are in the 3k range, so it seems high priced. Ive been in contact with an original owner car thats been very well maintained and he wants 3. Water pump seems to be a nightmare job.

[Joe G]

Just learned the Odo is broken....So who knows what kind of mileage the car really has. It looks very very clean and is a 3 owner car. I think I'm going to check it out tonight. Only known issue is one of the electric cooling fans is 'loud'.

[tuddy]

the odo is kinda irrelevant, as long as it was maintained this late in its life time it doesnt really matter. cars want to be driven and last longer cause of that. especially with oil leaking porsches.

[ForcedFirebird]

We have an 86 turbo in the shop right now getting an engine replacement. They are a pain to work on, and $6k is high for a non-turbo. The number 2 rod bearings share the oil passages with the balance shafts and tend to spin bearings and ruin cranks. The nikasil blocks require special tooling to machine, often leading to people putting sleeves in them that tend to fall below deck.

On the plus side, they are very well balanced cars, but Spec 944 is a slower class than Spec e30, and the e30 isn't exactly a rocket.

Most soft parts are not expensive, but if you need a transmission/engine etc, they can be pricy.

The ECU is similar to the early eta, not so easy to diagnose issues and like the e30 often have failing mechanical electronics.


As mentioned, they have quite a cult following in the racing scene and are fun to drive, just be prepared.

[dnguyen1963]

Love the 944, but not the repair.

[nomansland92]

that's over priced for a 84 imo. There were two versions of the 944 early(81-85) and late (85.5-89) Theres a lot of major changes including most of the interior. Personally i would never buy an early but a low millage late are very nice cars. Just don't expect to make it fast... ever. they are what they are theres no (turbo kit) if you want power sell it and buy a 951. on that note that's why i sold mine. Go on 944online.com to get all the info you could need and theirs some really helpful guys there.

[Joe G]

I drove it today, and it was very tight, clean, and ran great. It was leaking a small amount of power steering fluid, but the current owner fixed that. The current owner informed me that prior to his purchase 1 year ago "The PO apparently spent $2,000 on the timing belt and whatever is associated with that."

The only other issue is a couple of poorly touched up rock chips, a 2 small dings that could be fixed with PDR on the hood, and the passenger window control does not work from the driver door switch. Aside from those things, this car is CLEAN. The interior looks like it is brand new. If I can sell my Jeep I am going to offer him $5,000. Thoughts?

[efficient]

needs pics and vids

[Shangsta]

still think 5 is too high