944 owners and their cars

[Guest]

Just thought it would be nice for us all to saw a little about ourselves and wgat porsches we own or have owned.

My name is marcus and im 29, i became a Porsche owner for the first time last October when i purchased a 1982 924 (I was on my way to buy a Celica and just spotted it sat dusty at the back of a car dealers).

Although the car was a bit on the rough side with problem after problem, it was my pride and joy and i was happy to put it in the garage every month to fix whatever went wrong (£1000 spent in 8 months).

I then spotted a 944 for sale and after spending ages convincing the wife, was allowed to buy it. Its a 1983/4 model lux, needs a bit of work, but again i just have to look at it to bring a smile to my face.

I will be attending the cotswold rally as my first event for the 944 so hopefully will see a few of u there.

 

[Guest]

At the risk of sounding like an intro at Porsche' s Annonymous - my name is Debbie and I own a 944 S2. I am also married to Diver 944 so I also own a 944 Turbo - if he behaves himself I sometimes let him drive it! []

We have owned the S2 for nearly 5 years - don' t know how we moved on from looking at Rover Coupes - decided against this coz there were only 2 seats in the back! [] Then looked at " sensible" family cars - 2 sons now aged 10 and 13 - saw an S2 in a local garage (not this one), took it for a test drive, and the rest is history. Three months later we' d found the Porsche of our dreams! [8D]

We bought the Turbo last year for track days, meaning to sell the S2, but I didn' t like driving it, so the S2 became mine!! []

We' ve became members of the PCGB before we bought the S2, but as you can see from the number of posts, I' m new to the forum! The discussion tends to be a bit too techie for me - I just like to drive mine!! (fast!) []

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: Debra Smith
I just like to drive mine!! (fast!) []

[][][]

That' s my girl []

 

[Guest]

My name is Mike Evans and I have been an, an, alcoholic since.....

Oh, sorry, wrong forum. Sorry.

Anyway - new to Porsche ownership and loving the car that I bought for next to nothing but shi**ng myself about running costs having taken part in the Titanic forum for a while. Oh well, when it breaks it can just go in the garage until I can fix it. Was going to get the belts done but it got pressed into early service when one of my other cars temporarily expired (I operate " bangernomics" ). Used daily at the moment by my wife for work, the school run and general posing until the first car is fixed.

Very early 1983 944 in a silvery gold colour with 17" Turbo alloys and a (turbo I think) valance round the back. No sunroof and Manual steering - (can you remember that!) - wonderfully weighted and responsive at anything over 5mph, like a bus below. It' s not even worth trying to turn the steering wheel unless the car is rolling. High miles (145k) but doesnt look it from a distance, certainly does not feel like it and it goes like stink with a wonderful deep throated, hard edged roar, hardening even more at 4000rpm as it comes on cam (does everyone' s do that or might mine have a trick cam in it?) Incredible torque (green permanent air filter) and a lovely gearchange, something that according to Titanic the 944s arent known for, but it does have a quickshift. Of course I have nothing to compare it to but all I can say is that mine is short throw, postive and mechanical feeling.

Fixed the inoperable heated rear screen, windscreen wiper, electric wing mirrors and seized cooling fan. Also fixed the electric window switches and lubed the mechanisms (only the drivers one worked) but now the switches only work when the drivers door is open! Maybe a trapped wire or funny earth somewhere when I put the door trim back together.

To do: Belts, Headlamp lift mech sometimes reluctant, Handbrake only works when the car is facing downhill, losing coolant somewhere (but not into the oil, maybe radiator) and it seems to run a little warm - thermostat perhaps? Headlamp washers. All help and advice gratefully received.

For those in my locality who work on their own cars too, I have 4 poster lift in my garage which makes working under any car considerably less scary, let alone possible given how low to the ground the 944 is! If you want to use it you we can make arrangements off forum. But not for a couple of weeks ' cos it is full of dead Mercedes-Benz! (the new engine arrived yesterday).

Have not done anything with the club yet. Would I be out of place at the Hereford and Worcester monthly meet? I' m worried it might be a bit polo necked shirts, " when does your Cayenne come?" , Porsche sunglasses and matching pants.

Well, that is me and my car. Now I need a drink.

 

[Fen]

OK, I' m Fen Coull and I' m an IT Consultant fast approaching 35 (where did the last 10 years go?).

I bought my first Porker as a 26th Birthday present to myself - an ' 85 Carrera 3.2 Sport. Soon after, I met my (now) wife and my wallet started to suffer from the weekly East Scotland - Dorset round trip that I found myself doing, so I sold it after 18 months.

Six months of Porschelessness (and a rented flat in Poole) had me buying an ' 86 944 Turbo. I didn' t like it though - it was too ' normal' after a 911 - so I sold it to a mate' s father. The mate now owns it and it was the white car involved in the French supermarket / mountain bike incident on the way to last years Le Mans that some of you will have heard about.

Fast-forward about another year (and three other cars [8|] ) and I bought a ' 76 Carrera 3.0 Targa. I didn' t really have enough cash for a nice one, so I ended up with a slightly ropey car that I kept for another 18 months, most of which time it was for sale.

I spent another 9 months (and 2 more cars) without a Porsche and then bought an ' 89 944 Turbo unseen from an auction. I knew it would be rough, but it wasn' t worth resurrecting so I sold it on (for a £50 profit!) and bought a ' 90 LHD S2 in Baltic blue. I then changed job and quickly handed back the company car I had inherited and started to use the S2 for 1,000 miles a week - a task it handled beautifully.

When the summer started to arrive (2 years ago) and I spent a couple of sticky journeys on the M25 I started to want either air-con or a cabrio and ended up buying ' The Sex Beast' , a ' 90 Turbo in Glacier blue. I used this car for my business miles until November 2001 when its head gasket failed. Not a great believer in standard parts I took it to Bob Watson and he threw my money at it for 3 months until I picked it up with the mods listed in my signature. I holed the sump 3 1/2 weeks later and it has been in bits in my garage for the past 15 months, hopefully to be back on the road (and track) this year.

I flirted with various cars from then until a couple of weeks ago when I bought a ' 92 S2 Cabrio in Glacier blue (no points for originality) to use every day. So far it' s standard (and was supposed to stay that way), but I' ve had it for 2 whole weeks now and I' ve just been out in one with a K&N and an H&S decat system, so my wallet is twitching...

That' s it then, 7 Porsches over 9 years with a score of 911' s 2 - 5 944' s. No wonder I haven' t got any money [8|]

 

[wedgepilot]

I' m Alan Cole, 30, Software Engineer, and I just recently lost my Porsche virginity by buying the 944 S pictured on the left. I' d owned TR7 convertibles for many years, but a new arrival in the family meant that 2 seaters weren' t an option any more [].

Realising that 924/944' s were within my budget, and having lusted after one when they were new, I went looking and found a few ropey ones before I saw this one - 81k miles, Stone Grey metallic, linen leather, PAS, electrics, cat 1, garaged, lots of receipts, and obviously well cared for by the elderly owner who wanted it to go to a good home as he couldn' t drive it any more. During the test drive, he suggested I try redlining it through the gears to fully appreciate the 16v engine, and I was hooked []. The only work it needed was a new battery, thermostat and oil pressure sender.

Plus points for me are that that fabulous twin-cam engine, impeccable handling, comfort and practicality. The only minus point is being able to watch the fuel gauge drop when I keep my foot in!

I keep it as a classic, which means limited mileage insurance (i.e. cheap), although it' s very difficult not to use it every day. I' m now in the strange position that my ' classic' is younger, better equiped, better rust-proofed, etc, than my ' everyday' car! I do intend to get along to a few PCGB events this summer, work and family commitments allowing, so I might see you all sometime, somewhere. Do come and say hello.

 

[Guest]

Hi Guys

My name is Phil Mansfield, 32 years old, lease cars for a living, am a professional DJ (www.phatphildj.com) and I am a member of R8 East Midlands.

Summer last year saw me looking for a fun car, due to the rising company car taxation and the fact that I didn' t want to be paying the earth in tax for a decent one (I used to have a 2.5 V6 Vectra GSi).

I was looking at an MGB Roadster, as I had one at the age of 18, but couldn' t afford the running costs.

With a copy of the Autotrader in hand, I started scouring for a sports convertible, as there were no decent MGB Roadsters and I saw my S2 Cabriolet. To say I fell in love with it is an understatement! So I rang, went to see it and paid the guy £1,000 cash deposit there and then. I got the car in July of last year.

The electric mirrors didn' t work (sorted by getting a new one from Porschapart which made them both work?????) The Guards Red paintwork was quite jaded, but after respraying a wing and using coloured polish, it is great.

ONE MAJOR BUMMER!!!! Previous owners had thrashed it when cold and made the engine a bit noisy. I thought it was the head, but to my alarm, it isn' t!! The pistons have gouged out lines on all 4 cylinders, resulting in either a new short engine, new engine, or a re-bore. I have got to sort it out next week, but to say you have to be prepared for expensive running and maintenance costs is an understatement, but I will be there at Le Mans in my baby, even if I have to re-mortgage the house (ha ha ha).

I' ll keep you all informed about what is happening.

I have bought a short engine from Porschapart, delivered today, and it cost just over a grand!!! My mechanis is in the process of rebuilding the head after de-coking it and he is going to look to replace all the valve guides and gring in the new valves, also replace all 16 of the hydrolic lifters, this coupled with the engine rebuild and steam cleaning (which will also be dome the the engine bay) plus parts, is going to cost in excess of 2grand!!! So I would say, if you look to buy a 944, make sure that the engine is not noisy, cos otherwise, it is likely to cost you a small fortune to put right!!

BUT I WOULDN' T GIVE HER BACK FOR ANYTHING!!

Speak to you all soon

Phil