[Jeepin_XJ_101]

Im gonna buy my buddies 84' Porsche 944. Im getting a real good price on it. First of all though I have to rip the engine apart and fix something with the camshaft position and timing. In order to fix whats wrong I have to dig deep inside the engine. Anybody know what kind of mods I can do while its apart? I dont wanna spend a whole lot of money on it. I figured somethin like havin a shop bore out the head for me, throttle body modification, etc... but to be honest Ive never really done major engine modifying, just fixin. Im not sure what all I am gonna have to change if I was to bore out the head for example.

[Bgeddes]

I dont wanna spend a whole lot of money on it.

Run away now.

[MeCasa]

I've owned Porscshe's and they cost more to maintain than they do to buy. however they are fine automobiles and I hope to get another one someday, I think the 1996 993 is a beautiful car.



Many Volkswagon mechanics are more than capable of working on the cars but the parts are way overpriced, still, they are great cars and I think everybody should own one at least for awhile, it's a great experience

[Tdad]

Originally Posted by Bgeddes

Run away now.

What he said x2.

I had a 86 944. Nothing is cheap with them. If you have to do engine work....
Mine broke a ring & pinion pulling out (normally) from a stop sign.
I couldn't believe it broke. Mechanic said that's the tradeoff you have to be willing to make on Porsches - light weight = performance at the expense of reliability.
btw, that repair cost $150 for used parts, $1000 for labor. Needless to say, I sold it as soon as it was fixed.
Never again...

[70boss302]

I have 2 944's that I hope to make one out of. If you need any parts, I have them.

[stilltippin]

i had a '65 356 for awhile. how much are you spending on this 944- cuz they are cheap cars- dont let the name fool ya. i know my 356 had most parts interchangle w the vw

[98JEEPTJ]

Yeah the parts and labor are gonna be more htat the cost of the car. And liek the guy said the 944 really isn't that great. Don't let the name fool you....Prosche is a very nice car just not that one....

[MeCasa]

My first porsche was a 914, bought it in 71, ate up every TR4/TR6 I could find, but I've heard every VW/Porcshe joke there is to hear. But don't ever let anybody fool you, the basic design concepts are identical, why not, the concepts led to both the world's most dependable car and one the world's fastest. They share all the things that American cars eventually copied, rack and pinion independant suspension, disk brakes, fuel injection and a strange mixture of framed/unibody that both cut weight and distributed the rest

The difference in the porsche is the same difference as in a no options wrangler and an all performance optioned rub, is it the same vehicle, yes and no.

Point is that if they put the emblem on its a Porsche, that said thje 944 was not one of their best offers for dependability

[scottcha]

Originally Posted by Jeepin_XJ_101

... I dont wanna spend a whole lot of money on it. ...

I don't think that would be possible.

Porsche = $ to fix and maintain,

Older porsche = $$$ to fix and maintain

Good luck

[PigSteak]

the only 944 i would mess with would be the turbo. i drove one on the track and it was only modded with hks turbo timer, intake, chip, exhaust and it was decently fast for a crapbox

the 1996 993 is a beautful car. we had a black turbo and in 99 built it into a track car based on the gt2 factory car

600hp 4wd twin turbo full race car....very fun and very fast

[MeCasa]

I want the C4 but I can't afford a turbo, either the initial cost or the tickets. 95 - 96 Porsche used the same turbo flared fenderwells for both the Carrera and the Turbo

Cool huh

A non turbo 993 C4 runs $40,000 - $60,000, but the C4's are few and far between

Here's another



Damn I love that car, jeeps, motorcycles, snowmobiles, sex, bourbon, porterhouse steaks

In no particular order

[exc911ence]

The 944 engine is pretty maintenance-heavy so saving money, as others have mentioned, is hard to do. Actually, any of the water-cooled Porsches are expensive and even the normal timing belt/waterpump job (due every 2-3 years or so) can run upwards of $1000 at a reputable shop. That being said, the 2.5L NA 944 engine does respond nicely to a few regular shadetree hop-ups. Bigger throttle bodies/injectors, cold air kits and bolt-on superchargers work wonders as does a lowly NOS kit. The block itself cannot be over-bored AFAIK as its sleeved with a nickel/steel liner to protect the fragile aluminum alloy block but the head can be shaved slightly for more compression. I say slightly as the engine is already an interference design and tends to bend valves/hole pistons if the clearance is too tight. There may be cams available to help out the power but I don't have any experience with them. Check out the watercooled forums at www.rennlist.com for TONS of 944 info. Check out http://www.automotion.com and www.tweeks.com for performance parts and upgrades.

As for the air-cooled cars, maintenance is quite easy on the wallet as long as nothing major breaks. The flat 6s (and flat 4s for that matter) will run forever on frequent oil changes and tune-ups although the Webers will need attention at least annually on the carb'd versions. I ran a 75 911S as a daily driver for a year (while my 69 912 hid in the garage) and it never missed a beat.

In summary, the 944 will never be worth what you put in it so it had better be a labor of love. The best part is that the 944 can be.

[HawkeyeWJ]

I had an '85 944 back when it was only 3 years old and drove it for 4 years. Very cool/fun car back in the day but it was in the shop CONSTANTLY and I don't even want to think what I spent on that thing just keeping it on the road. My advice would be run away unless you have DEEP pockets and lots of patience. Good luck though either way!

[Torquemeister]

My son had a 1983 944, he ran that thing in the ground and it
would just keep on running.

[Jeepin_XJ_101]

The 944 runs great, but when the head gasket was replaced, my buddy didnt pay attention to the camshaft positioning so he completely threw off the timing or somethin like that. A guy on a Porsche forum was explainin it to me and what I had to do to fix it. The problem lies around this pic they showed me:



The marks in the pic are off, so the timing is thrown off. The marks on my 944 are WAY off. Apparently there lies the problem. We have already started rippin the engine apart to get to it and fix it. Oh Im also doin all my own work, so no labor prices are gonna be needed.

Im not gonna try and make it into a track car or even somethin thats amazingly fast, Im just buyin it because it was a blast to drive, and it gets around 30mpg. And the leg room was awesome and I thought it was pretty comfortable. 5spd/4cyl it was pretty quick though. Ive been 140mph in it and thats about the fastest Ive been. Im payin like $200-$300 for it because he moved down to mississippi and its sittin in his parents garage. I also need something cheap to drive around with good gas mileage that I like drivin so I can turn my Jeep into a trail rig. Though if something should happen to the 944, I will still have my Jeep to drive around and even the 78' F-150 my Dad has is up for grabs.