My new (2nd!) 944 :)

[Outrun944]

Hi chaps!

Some of you may remember my disastrous topic back in April (I'll not comment on the outcome of that for now ... an interesting story for a later day....)
Well I'm back with a brand new 944!

Apart from the cracks in the dash, conditional visually is probably the best I've seen (at least all the 944s I've gone out looking at to buy) by a long shot ... the previous owners really taken care of this one. Full leather red seats must be near brand new, along with brand new carpets, not a scratch on them, interior wise is in near mint condition! New arms in the boot and bonnet means this time I'm not balancing it on my head or with a borrowed pole []
Huuuuuge amount of service history, I spy with my little eye a complete new engine has been put in in the last 5 years for example ...

With all the good points, there must be negatives of course! There's a lot of what I would say 'general wear and tear' to sort out which might come costly (shock absorber looks like it's leaking, needs new top suspension mounts, central exhaust box has a hole, power steering feels quite heavy, some minor oil leaks, etc) - I'll come to parts in another post - and more worryingly there's a petrol-y smell in the car and the gear stick is very flappy. Anyway I'll come into more detail after the shiny pics below, maybe some of you can help me out here

 

[Outrun944]

 

[jasonp]

hiya mate,congrats and she looks lovely, hope you have better luck this time and enjoy your driving, love the interior! regards jason p

 

[Mike_Pollock]

Looks good, hope you have better experience this time.
Sure its got power steering - not standard till 85 I think.
If you want a run out theres a cuppa available just off M1 J21 Leicester - I'm stuck here with a bad back!

Mike

 

[Diver944]

Looks very, very nice and I love the interior [8D]

Hope this one brings you much more joy than the last [:'(]

 

[Outrun944]

ORIGINAL: A9XXC

Looks good, hope you have better experience this time.
Sure its got power steering - not standard till 85 I think.
If you want a run out theres a cuppa available just off M1 J21 Leicester - I'm stuck here with a bad back!

Mike

Hi Mike! Might just have to take you up on that! []
Yea deffo got power steering, I know because the reservoir tank and tube is leaking power steering fluid
You're right about it coming standard from 1985, actually it was the latter half of 1984 from what I read. This one is actually a 1985 model anyway, the last one was '84 but had power steering.

 

[pauljmcnulty]

Looks great, I do like the early cars a lot. []

 

[Outrun944]

PARTS !

Hey guys I need to source the following parts -[FONT=courier new"]

Both shock absorbers

Both front suspension top mounts + bearings

Exhaust central rubber mount

For steering ...

2 x Universal Joints
Top bearing (steering column)

Cables for accelerator pedal and front bonnet release

Lastly...

There's an oil leak from the engine housing on the drivers side - which
I believe requires a new 'seal' And also the 'bung' above it. I hope you know what I mean by this.

I've rang Porsche and gave them the list, but they've said they're struggling to get all of that - calling me back Monday.
Eurocarparts have been no joy.

Can anyone help me out or recommend anywhere?

 

[Mike_Pollock]

Always worth calling in at PH Sportscars Shardlow J2 (I think) on the A50 so pretty close.
My phone nos in the sig
Mike

 

[alwigley]

Good choice & looks lovely - leaking power steering can't be any worse than my '83 without power steering........

 

[944Turbo]

congrats - hope this is much more pleasurable!

Front struts - think early cars can have inserts which are cheaper

Top mounts - if the same as oval dash cars V expensive, I got KLA fixed top mounts, they are not brilliant but ok for the money and you could go for higher quality sphericals easily - still mine lasted about 50k before I replaced them. (from KLA in the states or Simon here http://www.essentialstyling.com/ ) I used neoprene from an old mouse mat to make protection underneath.

Rubber mount - try local exhaust place for something suitable.

Cables - if stretched look at reterminating - throttle one is fairly model specific I think onnet release may be more generic.


Drivers side of engine is often oily from the filter, clean it and observe - post picture to aid identification!

power steering reservoir tank sometimes just needs a re termination.

 

[JM1962]

Car looks great, very red, good luck with this one.

 

[edh]

Looks lovely - I hope you have better luck with this one

The petrol smell - a couple of things to try.
It could be exhaust fumes being sucked in through the rear hatch or possibly a light. If it is, it will be worse with the sunroof open.
If not, try looking at the fuel filler & breather pipes - under the carpet in the boot, and under a metal cover. Check the hoses & the tightness of the clips.

Gearstick sloppiness can be fixed with a re-bushed stick and a new mechanism (on the top of the box so a bit fiddly) JM garage probably a good place to try for new, ph sportscars might have some good s/h bits.

 

[homesea]

That looks great, the rear lights look different, if you have any info on them can you let me know.

 

[wolfie308]

The S.2/turbo rear diffuser sets it off a treat, love the wheels and the interior works well on an early car.

I was going to ask the same question about the rear light clusters, they haven't been fitted with clear indicator lenses - looks like they've got some sort of opaque cover which goes over the reverse lenses as well? [&:]

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I was going to ask the same question about the rear light clusters, they haven't been fitted with clear indicator lenses - looks like they've got some sort of opaque cover which goes over the reverse lenses as well?

Looks like stick-on tape to me? [8|]

 

[Outrun944]

ORIGINAL: pauljmcnulty

I was going to ask the same question about the rear light clusters, they haven't been fitted with clear indicator lenses - looks like they've got some sort of opaque cover which goes over the reverse lenses as well?

Looks like stick-on tape to me? [8|]

Ha! I've been wondering this myself ... and Paul wins the prize for the closest guess! Yes, it looks like some weird plastic based tape has been put *on* the exterior of the lights ... god knows why and what purpose it serves. Maybe it's some bizarre cosmetic choice a previous owner had - where you even get that I have no idea! Some of it is coming away, I just took a very small chunk off with my nail - I think I'd rather it off than on but it's going to be a pig to do and will probably leave some stick residue there []

 

[Outrun944]

ORIGINAL: edh
The petrol smell - a couple of things to try.
It could be exhaust fumes being sucked in through the rear hatch or possibly a light. If it is, it will be worse with the sunroof open.
If not, try looking at the fuel filler & breather pipes - under the carpet in the boot, and under a metal cover. Check the hoses & the tightness of the clips.

Now that is interesting. There is a small hole in what I would describe the 'central exhaust box' which probably has a better more specific name, in the middle of the car. It is really small, but could it actually be that? I don't have a sun roof (thank god, as I don't use them and less leaks and seals to worry about) but yes I think the smell is stronger when either the air vents are full open and on or when I open the window for a bit ... could be creating some suction up then...

 

[david924s]

944s have a habit of pulling in the exhaust fumes from the rear through the hatch seals, something to do with the effect the hatch and spolier have on the air when travelling, my 924S use to do this until I changed th ehatch seal and put new locks and pins in to hold the hatch down tightly.

 

[Frenchy]

Looks very straight and shiny, i love the early cars especially the dash, hope it serves you well and keep plenty of quality wax on it to keep that deep red look, as opposed to pink !