924 or 944 ??? First Porsche....

[Spannerhead]

So I'm thinking about a Porsche as my next 'fun' car. I've built a couple of kit cars and am used to tinkering with and maintaining older cars. I'm after a car for up to £3k purely as a car to have some fun in. The 'fun' will include the odd track day, long distance classic endurance rallying, and generally smoking about on nice sunny days.

So, for my budget, am I better with a 924 or 944? And which models are prefered for reliability and driving pleasure?

I thought I would ask on here first, as my last venture into classic motoring ended up as a bit of a disaster when I decided to buy a classic Mini and opted for what I thought would be the best option - the latest incarnation the Rover Cooper Sport, only to find out afterwards they were the worst made and most prone to rust.

Thanks

 

[JamesBall]

If you want a project, the chap who owns/runs the Watford branch of Hertz has a 924 Turbo that he needs rid of. It is currently off the road but was on the road until recently apparently.

More generally, I would have thought for £3k a 944 Lux would be perfect. That said, I went for a 944 Turbo for only another £500 which will cost me money to make "perfect" but it is a decent car as-is and I can take my time doing any work to it.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Try them out, as both models are very different, and the varients within each model are also poles apart.

£3K will be pushing it to get a reasonable late 944 S2 or turbo. It'll buy you the best Lux or S, and the best 924 or 924S. In fact, if you're happy to work on it yourself half that budget could find you a good one. The main thing to look for is bodywork, unless you are happy to do more complicated welding and paintwork.

The 924 is lighter than a 944, and in "S" form has the same 2.5 Porsche engine as the 944 Lux. One thing to decide on is the interior: some people just don't like the early dash found in the 924 and the 944 up to mid-1985. The last 944 Luxes have the benefit of ABS and a slightly bigger 2.7 engine. Early cars didn't have PAS, again this might be fine for you, or even a plus.

If you like it, the 944 S is a bargain. With a 2.5 16V engine it's a bit of a marmite car, needing loads of revs to get going, but it's great fun and much cheaper than the S2.

 

[punkassmofo]

ive heard that there is a nice cheap 944S for sale for £1500....

 

[Gavin944s2]

Take your time, look at a few, save the ££ & buy the best you can afford.

 

[Spannerhead]

Thanks guys, maybe the lighter 924s would be better then for track work, and cheap enough for some let over cash to do it up. I think I need to get to a porsche get together and have a look at a few.