Acquiring 924S and 944 cars is a disease for which there is no known cure. We find parts cars, neglected cars and even good cars, but it seems that all of them have something that needs to be fixed or improved – thus the symptoms of the disease.
If applying the “theory of last touched,” the first place to start is to review whatever I did before – whatever I last touched on the car.
“But I want to do all of it.”
This is where the 944 shines. This is why the 944 is the perfect enthusiast’s car.
On Saturday you can go to the PCA autocross, and embarrass a Boxster or two. Sunday morning, you can go to Cars and Coffee, and park your classic Porsche up front.
On Monday, you can drive your 944 to and from work, read some forums when you get home, and order that coil-over kit you’ve been looking at. Next weekend you’ll embarrass three Boxsters.
When – especially when – you want to do all of it, the 944 has you covered.
A few weeks ago we had a 944S come into the shop with a leaky hatch – not at the top, but the owner complained about exhaust smell into the cockpit.
Acknowledging that the 924 doesn’t get a lot of love from the Porsche purists, he also mentions that the early cars were not “especially powerful.”
So in searching the internet for nuggets of 944 information, I stumble across forum posts where people talk about 1) the low power output of the 944 8v engine, 2) the desires to install forced induction and 3) the desire to dump their 944 Turbo due to high maintenance costs.
Among others, GT Racing has been making a kit of body parts that replicate the Carrera GT that was homologated and raced as a 924T (931) in the early 80’s. I had the opportunity to build one of these kits in 2001, using a 1988 924S as a base, and it turned out quite well.
Here at 924S944.com, we have a theory – there are no cores, so therefore no rebuilt calipers. Unfortunately, you cannot print out calipers on your 3-D printer – at least, not yet. Until that happens, there will be few calipers at the auto supply store.
So let’s look at this in a more realistic light. Porsche is definitely NOT bringing back the 944, and I cannot find anything definitive on a Panamera Coupe.
We made the trip up to the Porsche Werks Reunion in advance of the Amelia Island Concours last Friday. It was quite the thing with the “Outlaw 356” showcased and … Continue Reading Amelia Island: Werks Reunion
The sad fact is that our 924S and 944 cars are NOT Tri-Five Chevys or fifties Morgans. They will never attain “classic” levels, and we won’t see an ’84 944 with 320K on the odometer bring 2.1 Million at Barrett-Jackson. But these cars were made to be loved and driven, driven hard, driven at autocrosses and track days, and even in club racing. So make a list, prepare a budget and get to work.
The Porsche 944 cars out there are getting old – thirty years or so – and they require maintenance to keep them in good shape. Since they have been inexpensive to buy for many years, neglected maintenance is unfortunately typical for many of these cars. “
One of the biggest differences between the engines and therefore the two models is how the engine is mounted in the front subframe. The 944 engine mounts into an aluminum crossmember – the one that also mounts the front control arms and the steering rack. The 944 engine sits on top of the crossmember on two mounts.
VW employees actually built the 924 under Porsche supervision. Between 1976 and1982, 43,000 924 and 924 Turbos were sold in North America. Production continued for the rest of the world until 1985.
While this car will not be a concours winner, it will be a great, original-spec M030 as it was delivered.
We will be using our new facility for both storage and work. As a starting point for a new business, we will be doing restoration work on our “passion fruit,” 924S and 944 cars. We will also be storing various parts for these cars and offering parts for sale.