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944 advice

bamberjim

New member
hi,

I have been offered a 944 and was wondering if someone could put me straight.. the owners has told me the car is a 1989 pre s2 with a 2.9l engine.. said it was a crossover.. can anyone confirm if there are infact crossovers... and any info/links would be great


Many thanks Jim
 
never heard of a 2.9! If its a pre S2 it's either a 2.5 S or a 2.7 Lux. I think that needs a bit more checking out.
 
ORIGINAL: bamberjim hi, I have been offered a 944 and was wondering if someone could put me straight.. the owners has told me the car is a 1989 pre s2 with a 2.9l engine.. said it was a crossover.. can anyone confirm if there are infact crossovers... and any info/links would be great Many thanks Jim
Erm.... Possibly don't part with any money until you've at least checked what you might be buying! [:eek:] Very brief summary: Lux, 1982 until 1985 halfway though model year had 2.5 NA engine. Old 924 interior. Later cars got new oval dash interior. Few runout 2.7 lt models for last year. 16 valve cars, a few early "S" models with the 2.5 engine, most are S2 badged with the 3.0 lt 16-v engine. Turbos, all 2.5. As for links, ask anything you want here as there are thousands of owners who know pretty much everything.
 
ORIGINAL: bamberjim hi, I have been offered a 944 and was wondering if someone could put me straight.. the owners has told me the car is a 1989 pre s2 with a 2.9l engine..  said it was a crossover.. can anyone confirm if there are infact crossovers... and any info/links would be great Many thanks Jim
At the very least he has no idea what he is talking about. Its more likely that he has a 2.7l 944. This is essentially the same as a 1988 2.5l 944 with a slightly different engine, which has a larger capacity. It (the cylinder block, actually) does have something in common with the S2 engine, but as Ive already said, the car is otherwise similar to other eight valve 944s.
 
The 2.7 was the last of the Lux in 1989 model year. The S2 arrived in 1989 so he could be sort of right in that it is a pre S2. He is obviously confused over the capacity but, just because the current owner is a bit confused, doesn't make it a bad car. Do all the normal checks, rust especially now, and read up on everything you can find. Establish if he is asking a fair price and remember that just because you are only paying a couple thousand to buy doesn't make it any less a Porsche. Parts and servicing costs are the same for a 944 as a 911. Allow £1,000 over the purchase cost for the first raft of things to address.
 
The first 944 I ever went to view was at 'Thunder Road' in Colingham, and was an S2 in white. They told me it was supercharged. And they deal in Porsche...
 
Thanks for the advice... my fisrt venture in porsche ownership.. I have spoken to the owner and he is going to check the log book to confirm the engine.. the car has been stood for 2 years! but had FSh before that..it also has the later s2/Turbo bumpers and bridge spoiler.. Will keep you updated
 
Its more than likely to be an S2 then. Youre going to take what he says with a pinch of salt though, even if its a good car. The later 968-type spoiler was only found on the very last 944s mind, and not on 1989 cars.
 
Hi bamberjim. Have you got a pic / link? Is it on eBay / Pistonheads etc? Any more info would be useful to be able to help more!
 
No its not on ebay, the guy is getting me some pics over soon so will update you all.. will try to get a chassis number and work from that i suppose.. Once again thanks for the help strangley getting excited.. are my Aircooled vdub days coming to an end LOL,
 
Is it a private sale then Jim? Take a look on Pistonheads as well - theres usually loads on there. I'm not sggesting that a private purchase is a bad one, just that having a full descrition on the PC screen may make something stand out to the guys here. [link=http://www.pistonheads.com/SALES/list.asp?s=81]http://www.pistonheads.com/SALES/list.asp?s=81[/link]
 
Yes it will be a private sale, i do not have details yet as its not been advertised, it came from a friend of a friend etc.. have only spoken to the owner today... and he is going to email more info so will post as i get it and any pics..
 
Should have some pics the weekend, owner has now confirmed its a 2.7... waiting to see if its a 8 or 16v.. should have some pics at the weekend to post What would be the pitfalls engine wise if it has not been run for a year, (owner said he started it up about 12 months ago and was fine).. battery will need sorting.. anything else i should be asking him about before i go to view as its a 250 mile round trip Not worried about the brakes as i have rebuilt 944 calipers before on my beetle, and know to look for rust in the sills and arches Thanks again for the comments
 
If it is a 2.7 then it is an eight calve, there is no question about that. To all intents and purposes a 1989 model year car is the same as the 2.5l from 1987 & 1988. The only practical difference is that the engine shares its block with the S2 and 968: the cylinder head is of an 8v design though, and outwardly similar to preceding 8v heads. In every other practical respect the car is identical the the 1988 2479cc model that preceded it.
 
I'm sure you can tell from the above but just to highlight. The S2 is a more valuable model, the 2.7 is still the base model (lux) just one of the last ones. Don't pay more than lux money for it. Also 944's don't like sitting around, they keep better if used. Other than that it should be fine. Where abouts are yo in the world? Maybe a local 944 enthusiast would accompany you on a visit to help check? If its near Northampton I'd be happy to go with and offer advice?
 
Thanks, I am based in Surrey but the car is in Tamworth (Midlands) if anyone in tamworth area wants to to earn a few quid drop me a PM The guy is looking for £900, is that reasonable for a 2.7lux with later bumpers 1989, been stood for 2 years (outside in a fairly sheltered place), but engine started about 12 months ago.. with 141k on the clock Will need minimum Major service Brakes sorting out Poss exhaust A proper clean and mouldy interior sorting out.. Had budgeted about £1000 for the work, parts etc.. Am i dreaming or is this possible..
 
Unless you particularly want a non-runner and enjoy bringing cars back from the dead, I would suggest that your £1900 should give you a good chance of getting a decent Lux that is already on the road and not mouldy. Maybe a better bet ?
 
Does it start? If so his value for the car seems perfectly reasonable but his valuation of what it would cost to put right is erm.. optimistic! It depends a lot on how much you can do yourself but things I had trouble with on a 944 I bought with no mot were.. Handbrake - cables and drum internals rusted and seised, not cheap parts say £300min plus £300min labour if you cant do it yourself because it goes behind EVERYTING and I seem to remember it was about 4-6hours labour with getting all the rusty bolts loose. The mechanism in the drums WILL be seised or well on the way. Rusted cills etc - will need inspection but mine had to be cut out and fresh metal added in to pass the MOT because of their proximity to the seat belt fixing point allow £200min. ALSO check hard around the number plate and in the rear boot wells behind the rear wheels. Mine was ok but these are areas for rust and not easy or cheap to fix! Also if its been messed with to fit later bodywork there may be other areas of rust to look for. Be careful. Brakes - I'm pretty sure that the 2.7 lux still uses sliding calipers like the 2.5 lux if so lucky you! These are far less problematic and much cheaper to fix. Allow £400-500 for disks, pads and fluid plus labour if you cant do it of another say £300. Wipers - expect to have to do something. Mine luckily only needed a new relay (£10), new hoses for the washer jets and the normal fix to the ball joint (which is free and easy to do) Headlights - do they work on dip and main beam properly? Check hard because the wiring is crap and breaks mine needed patching in with new wire where it bends. Also the earth point rusts to buggery and on mine needed cleaning up with acid and wire wool. Again cheap so long as the mechanism works ok. ARB's and bushes generally - expect to replace a few bits here. Varies car to car but there'll be something failed if its been sitting around. Allow £200-400 Tires - may seem minor but its still a big cost! I paid about £600 for the 4 new ones required on the one I bought (but that was a turbo) Rubber seals - like the boot, doors and roof one will be worn/perished but don't go to Porsche. Buy standard door seal by the meter from somewhere like halfords and it'll cost you very little allow £40 Service - you'll almost definately need a set of HT leads as well as plugs maybe a rotor arm and obviously an oil change (I recommend mobil 1 15/50. Also given its situation you'd really need to do the belts. Get the parts yourself and find a good local its a simple car and doesn't need anyone special to do this kind of work. Allow £500 for this lot of £300 if you do the work yourself. Steering - the power steering hoses will be leaking.. don't worry about that just put a pot under the fluid tank remove the hose and take the rusted jubilee clip off. Cut the first 10mm or so off the hose, clean the whole lot up and re fit tightly with a fresh clip. So long as the pumps not leaking it'll be fine. Allow £10 inc fluid. Basically with a couple of unforseens (like maybe a cracked radiator which is a weak point, clutch cylinder, leaking hose, failed temperature sensor, failed relay) which I've had on the two cheaper 944's I've bought your probably looking at more like £2000 over the first 3 months of ownership. I hate saying it because I would really really hate to put you off buying a car you'll NEVER regret owning but you've got to know the truth of it's cost because it just WILL be that one way or another. All I can say to finish is if the engine is ok and the basic mechanicals aren't too worn, once you've got it up to scratch it won't let you down. These cars are REALLY built to last and are fantastic to own and drive. I can't tell you enough how much you need one of these in your life. It's no more expensive to keep a good Porsche running than a mk2 Golf. You've just got to get it up to scratch.
 
p.s. the man above is right. This probably will be more expensive but I like saving cars and its nice to know its been done. You could pay £2000 and find after buying it another £1000 that needs spending. p.p.s. If it a weekend I could probably help Tamworth isn't too far and I wouldn't want paying. I'm not an expert though.. just an owner who's had a few and seen a fair bit of what can go wrong.
 

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