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88 944 Turbo In need of TLC and a half

S4osh

S4osh

New member
Hello there this is my first post here on. And it is a shocker.
Late last year I took this 944 from a friend as it needed a new sill and a patch on the wing, and on the look of it that was correct, and true to form things are much worse than originally thought to be.

imagejpg14_zps85051443.jpg


As you can see the wing bottom is knackered and so is the sill
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And the driver side sill is ok, but the wing bottom has has a terrible repair to it at some point
[Image]http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/s4osh/944/imagejpg19_zps535ebb1c.jpg[/Image]

This is the driver side sill, a bit of insight to what I am up against
[Image]http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/s4osh/944/imagejpg23_zps7668619d.jpg[/Image]
[Image]http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/s4osh/944/imagejpg22_zps51d2f1cc.jpg[/Image]

And the rear bumper is looking sorry for itself
[Image]http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/s4osh/944/imagejpg1_zpsc819eccd.jpg[/Image]
[Image]http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/s4osh/944/imagejpg5_zps4c3dbfc1.jpg[/Image]

And then I decided to check fluids and started with oil cap.....
[Image]http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/s4osh/944/imagejpg26_zpsa94a15dc.jpg[/Image]

The water seems clean but still I'm guessing I will be looking at a top end rebuild with lots of new seals.

Originally I took the car to fix the small problems and sell it on off a little cash in the back pocket, but I instantly fell in love with it and now want to keep it for my self, now if am not afraid of the work, but more afraid of the availability of parts. I have seen the sills on Design 911 bug not yet checked if they are in stock.

Please feel free to tell me through experience to walk away, it might be the reasonable way here..... But enthusiasts aren't reasonable right?
 
IMO - scrap it and start again. What did u pay for it? Or did he pay you to take it off his hands? (hopefully the latter). Probably £10k to fit that up. Be worth £5-6k max once done......... Up to you. I would just spend the£5-6k on a nice one to start with. Just looks too far gone to me. The rest of the mob will be along soon with plenty of thoughts I am sure ;)
 
Not paid for it we were looking to split the profit from the repair. But obviously profit no longer comes into this scene.
All the work bar the paint job will/would be carried out by myself depending on the outcome of course...
Cheers for your straight to the point talking.
 
Shame to see a car in such a state as that.

That is an awful case of sill rot. Have you checked the two rear quarters, the bins either side of the boot?
All possible to repair to a good standard, both sills now available again, but it will be a labour of love and not a profitable exercise.

 
Parts availability isn't a problem. You are going to need deep pockets though. Even doing all the work yourself, my bet is that your parts bill will be £5k+. Of course, it all depends on how far you want to take it and what you want from the car as a finished article but my guess is that that car is several grand away from even getting an MOT. How many miles has it done and do you have any service history? My 91 S2 when bought had done 126k with no service work in the last 5 years and basically every moviing part needs replacing. Pretty much all the bushes, bearings, dampers, mounts etc were all coco'd.

Might make a cheap track car? Have you checked if it's got any tasty options?
 
I'd suggest you don't spend anything on it and eBay it. You'll get someone buy it and part it out (unless you want to do it yourself).
 
Both sills are available from Porsche at about £160 per side, these are the best repair panel, however, I agree with my learned friends, if you have the 944 bug there's better cars available.
 
Thank you for taking time to respond to my misery, if I do stupidly decide to repair it will most certainly be a labour of love, and a long haul. Money is very slow coming in but I have most of the tools in hand ready to go as this isn't my first play with sills. Although the first was a ford Ka which is a million miles from this. Is the demand for parts decent as the interior isn't in pristine condition?
It has 136k on the clock with lots of history before the previous owner, the car was bought from an enthusiast and judging by what I have found it was just in the nick of time.
The wings are repairable with new steel, will take time to mould perfectly, and the sill is £180 ish from design 911. Between sealant and waxes and steel I'll be looking at £500 for body work.
It needs new pads all round, the disks were changed on the last brake service.
It seems that it has M030 suspension, there are dampening adjusters on thread under the bonnet which make me think this.
It has a slight bush deterioration when you go on then off the throttle, so presumably new mounts is needed all round
Then it's down to the engine and how much parts I'll need to replace whilst taking the head off.

If the price of dismantling is good then this looks the favourable option, plus it will help keep others on the road
 
I hate to say it but that's really not worth doing. You'll need a floor as well as two outer and inner sills and sill diaphram panels. then the bottom of the wings and the bottom of the rear quarters. Then as you dig in you'll find that the inner wings will be rotten and the bottom of the A pillars. I replaced all of these parts on my car and it was no where as bad looking as yours. You would be better to buy a good shell and start again. Or part the car out.
 
hey mate, so I guess you've had the brutal truth.

If this was going to be your car then I'd say it would almost be worth a shot but as its a dooer upper, its not!

You'll put a load of blood and sweat in for no return, certainly a loss!

Your best bet is trying to find one that is a bit better and start with that.

If the engine was a low mileage sub 100k it would have been better. They are prone to a bit of milkshake at the filler neck due to condensation, thats looks too much for that so either the oil cooler seals are away or the head gasket (comp test would check that). If its been ran on and off with water in the oil then it puts pressure on the engine and it will prob need a decent amount of work inc the bearings.
 
Cheers buddy, originally the plan was to do to sell, but I have fallen for it, so it would be a keeper. All the signs point towards a break up doesn't it.....
 
It all depends what you pay for the car and how much work you can do yourself. Wing bottoms are an easy repair, you know you can get a pair of sills for around £350. What are the rear suspension mounts like as they are not an easy fix if rotten. I rebuilt my top end for around £500 doing it myself. My respray was £2000 doing all the prep myself. To make it worthwhile you're going to have to be handy with a mig welder and the rest of the car has to be good or the cost will get out of control.
 
It's only one sill that's gone, surprisingly the driver side is near perfect, there is a small patch on the rear bottom, and the wing bottom of course. Welding is no worry, already have the tools and skill and on top.... Balls to get stuck in but a head to not get balls deep
 
Ahhhhh, I cannot let it go to scrap heaven, I'm going to man up, I have time on my side and the box section is pretty much unsaved, the floor will need 24 inch long by 6 inch deep then it needs the intermediate making up then simply the outer sill. Positive mental attitude. I cannot let it rot sat next to a ford in the scrap pile.

Question... Do people replace the plastic trim that runs the length of the car? Presumably it helps with stability on high speeds and a little aesthetic appearance.
 
S4osh, I like your car for its honest originality, its average condition for a 944 that has been used.

I'm surprised at how much encouragement you have been given to break her, it suits me, one less adds to the value of whats left, but I have to say given your DIY skills, you would be mad to break her.

The engines are bulletproof if not thrashed to death. Mayonaise is normal - it may need a Head Gasket if the old one is rotten. Quite normal again.

I'd say:
Sheel Metal, Argoshield 5 & wire (£150) - 40 HRS (seats / carpets out, mask dash)
OE Sill (£200)
Fuel lines (£200) - 15 HRS
Brake Lines (£200) - 15 HRS
Brake Calliper rebuild (£200) - 15 HRS
Gear selection knuckle (£100) - 8 HRS
Belts & water pump (£300) - 15 HRS
Cometic Gasket (£250) - 25 HRS
6 Litres of Paint at £70/L incl consumables (£420) - 25 HRS
Misc Waxoyl, Clips, Fasteners etc (£200)

There are areas that will seem dire when you get to them, think fuel pump and rear beam area, and it you struggle to change a set of brake pads, steer well clear.

But, a bit over £2000 spend probably and about 150 HRS work, and you could have a very nice turbo. Value finished £5k today and rising - like mine, yours will never be a £20k car, but it could be a really nice daily driver and very enjoyable with a Promax L2 kit fitted [;)]

They only made 25,000 turbos, and they are fast disappearing, I personally think this one is far too good to break.

This forum is great for helping with all the quirky faults you would encounter, if they don't condemn the thing [&:]

Good luck either way
George
944t

 
George this is exactly the reason I'm here on this forum is constructive encouragement. I had an audi S4 not so long ago, so again mechanical work I got quite intimate with and that's when you really get to know the car,
Everything works as it should on the car, all electrics are good, it just needs working through slowly and it will be as you said a great drivers car,

The only thing I haven't got is a compressor and obviously the painting gear. This will be the expensive part but it will make the car beautiful once more. By getting a professional to do the finish
 
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