New...need help!

zeb · Jul 11, 2005

Hello folks
just about to embark on the joys of porsche ownership and have looked and looked and read all the buyers guides etc. I have seen 944 lux (FH ??) model over the weekend which looks straight has full SH and every mot etc. Pardon my ignorance but am i correct in asuming that an 88 2.7 would have abs (if not how can i tell?) also if it had aircon also where would i need to look?
BTW forum looks darn good and informative too..is club worth joining? Am based 5 miles outside Blackpool (exiled yorkshireman...ooooh the shame[

]) is there a group local to me.

cheers any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Fen · Jul 11, 2005

Simplest way to check for aircon is if it has a snowflake button at the side of the heater sliders in the middle of the dash. I'd suggest it's very unlikely.

I think it will probably have ABS but I'm not sure as '87 was the first ABS year and I'm not sure how long it took for all cars after that to actually have it rather than just the hubs that it could be used with. If it does then there is an "antilock" light on the dash that should illuminate when you start it then go out.

944turboS · Jul 11, 2005

Also if the car has ABS when you first move off & reach about 5mph you will hear a whirr from under the dash as the system does a self test.

Guest · Jul 11, 2005

put your hand up under the dash between the glovebox and the a-pillar. Just under the carpet there is a great big ABS control box. If you have it........

John Sims · Jul 12, 2005

ORIGINAL: pikey7

put your hand up under the dash between the glovebox and the a-pillar. Just under the carpet there is a great big ABS control box. If you have it........

Well sort of Mike, but your steering wheel is on the wrong side [

] On a car with the steering wheel on the proper side the control box is up on the right in the drivers footwell. It looks like a pair of coils of about 2" diameter and it gets pretty darn hot so don't touch it after a bit of a run as you will burn yourself.

Another way to check is to lift the bonnet and see if you have the cylindrical connection plug blocks up on the wings by the suspension towers.

Oh, and welcome to the forum Zeb. Of course the Club is worth joining, you get 10% off parts from your OPC for a start, discounts on insurance, a monthly magazine and more club events then you could ever attend. [

]

mik_ok · Jul 12, 2005

Another way to check is to get it up to 50mph and stomp on the brakes...... [&:]

This will confirm:-
1. Whether it has ABS
2. Whether the ABS is working (can be expensive to repair if it isn't)
3. That the car pulls up straight.

You'd want to do this as part of the buying process anyway (?)

944Turbo · Jul 12, 2005

ORIGINAL: John Sims

ORIGINAL: pikey7

put your hand up under the dash between the glovebox and the a-pillar. Just under the carpet there is a great big ABS control box. If you have it........

Click to expand...

Well sort of Mike, but your steering wheel is on the wrong side [] On a car with the steering wheel on the proper side the control box is up on the right in the drivers footwell. It looks like a pair of coils of about 2" diameter and it gets pretty darn hot so don't touch it after a bit of a run as you will burn yourself.

Not sure what those round things do (forgotton again), but the ABS ECU is behind the carpet, its metal like the the engine managment boxes has a multiway plug on it and bosch written on the side.

Tony

chris_boyle33 · Jul 12, 2005

As I got £50 off my insurance for being in the club, and it cost £50 to join, i'd say it paid for itself before the discounts, help fixing things etc etc.

If you got an '87 one could you still get sillily cheap insurance? A few companies
asked me whether the car is over 20 years old, but you'd no doubt find somewhere.

zeb · Jul 12, 2005

Thanks folks
Fen- i noticed the snowflake emblem which is what tipped me off in the first place so i'll check once again. Thanks mik, i of course will do the 50 mph stomp routine but was trying to work out if there was anything more obvious in case it had been disabled/not working etc,etc.
Is anyone in lancs & cumbria area nearer to me to give advice and where do you all meet in this region. Also ,hartech aside , are there any other independants in my area?

Alpine · Jul 13, 2005

ORIGINAL: zeb

Thanks folks
Fen- i noticed the snowflake emblem which is what tipped me off in the first place so i'll check once again. Thanks mik, i of course will do the 50 mph stomp routine but was trying to work out if there was anything more obvious in case it had been disabled/not working etc,etc.
Is anyone in lancs & cumbria area nearer to me to give advice and where do you all meet in this region. Also ,hartech aside , are there any other independants in my area?

Hartech are very good - you are lucky to be close to them !

I'd get them to give it the once over before you buy.

951Torqing · Jul 13, 2005

Wholly concurr, dead lucky, I travelled from Lincoln to get my S2 Cab Cat C Serviced (+ other bits sorted) & will be doing so again to get the belts adjusted in a few weeks.