Thinking about a 944

[t5_monkey]

After seeing the Top gear Feature on the 944 Turbo many moons ago, I think I'd like to buy one at some point.

'Reminds me of a Cosworth' is high praise indeed by Jeremy Clarkson, I'd buy a Sierra but I already have one rapid saloon.

I have a few questions though to get me kicked off:

1 - is there a definitive buying guide available online.

2 - How much to pay, what milage, service history and age should I look for.

3 - How easy and expensive will it be to crack 280bhp at the wheels (current car has 230 at the wheels so want it to be a bit quicker.)

4 - How can i get to drive a few prior to buying.

5 - Are there any good specialists in or around Glasgow I can talk to, and deal with once I get one?

Many thanks Ben

 

[deafasapost]

hi dood newbie here as well just about to delve in 944 ownership. for all your q's, have a look at the buyers guide here, or ask here what to look for. i think for bhp at the wheels, i wouldnt go on to much on how much it can produce, but how the power is delivered, esp torque and mid range power. like i said, newbie myself, but over 20 years of driving high bhp cars esp in my yoof, more power doesn't nec mean a better, more thrilling drive. i drive a turbo diesel now as the hack, and only 90 odd bhp, but over 170 lb of torque. not fast off the line, but for overtaking and mid range pull, its ace!!!

 

[t5_monkey]

ORIGINAL: deafasapost hi dood newbie here as well just about to delve in 944 ownership. for all your q's, have a look at the buyers guide here, or ask here what to look for. i think for bhp at the wheels, i wouldnt go on to much on how much it can produce, but how the power is delivered, esp torque and mid range power. like i said, newbie myself, but over 20 years of driving high bhp cars esp in my yoof, more power doesn't nec mean a better, more thrilling drive. i drive a turbo diesel now as the hack, and only 90 odd bhp, but over 170 lb of torque. not fast off the line, but for overtaking and mid range pull, its ace!!!

Hey - thanks for the reply - was beginning to wonder if anyone would. I quoted 280bhp at the wheels as the current unit (Volvo S40 T5, is a tuned stage 3 and has about 320lb-ft of torque (dyno proven) from 2000rpm to 4500rpm - and I'd really hate for my porsche to be my slow car!) I figured if it's a turbo the midrange should be good even if there's some Lag there. You seen any good examples floating around for sale?? Cheers - Ben

 

[deafasapost]

i dont think you'll be disappointed with the 944 turbo, for what i've read and heard about them, they seem a cracking car. have a look on pistonheads site for cars for sale. there are quite a few on there

 

[robwright]

A dual port wastegate and manual boost controller can quite easily add 50-70 BHP to the standard 220HP car for under £500. It's always been the biggest bang for buck you can get for the turbo. I have the Tial 38mm wastegate fitted to mine and it doesn't disappoint [] and bolts straight in. Lynsey Racing also do a bolt on based on the stock wastegate. You will also need to run a 3 bar fuel pressur regulator at around £30 and remapped DME and KLR chips. There are guys acheiving 400+ BHP quite successfully with bigger turbos, MAFs and bigger injectors etc, etc, etc. It is quite widely accepted that 300 HP is quite safe for the turbo on with stock injectors and standard head gasket.

 

[DivineE]

Good name[] Good choice to start thinking about a 944 I hope for you that you will fall in love with them like I have. The best person in the world to speak to would be the previous owner of my current car called 'east ender' on here. He was seriously into his Cosworths, both the touring cars and his own 560hp example. Getting a 944 turbo that feels/is quicker than your current car shouldn't be a problem. I can think of one currently for sale producing I think about 300hp and 350ft/lb torque at the wheels. Going very reasonably and looking for a good home. Speak to Barry at Hartech about that one. If you google Hartech Porsche they should come straight up. There's definitely more to it than just the power though. The 944 feels like only a Porsche can to drive, it makes every long journey a memory and rolling down a country road off boost at 60mph can be just as pleasurable as giving it full throttle. There is a reason these cars are thought of so highly in the track day world, they are fabulous cars to own and drive. I wish you all the luck in finding a good one. Don't be afraid to ask questions here. One piece of advise you'll always hear and usually ignore is don't try to penny pinch on the purchase price.. But these cars are 20-25years old now and I PROMISE you it will save you a world of misery if you start on a solid foundation. Mileage is almost irrelevant now, rust on cars that have sat is a big problem, they were galvanised well on the outside but can rot from the inside if when moisture sits inside the rear arch wells and sills. Driving the car gets air through those areas and dries them. They are built exceptionally solidly and a well maintained car with 250k on the clock can be a lot nicer than an average car with 100k on the clock.

 

[Suffolk944]

Its a very good thought to have ! To try and answer your questions. 1) Some good buying guides here on the forum as previously mentioned. 2) How much to pay ? Well you can get them for £3500 but the really nice ones tend to be somewhat more - anything up to £7000 - £8000 in the current market for the very good ones. Anything over that is overpriced at present (unless its really special in condition or modifications) and good ones can be be found for £5000-£6000 for sure. Some claim to have found good ones for less than that but the chances diminish IMHO. The engines themselves will cope with alot of mileage though clutches and turbos will, obviously need looking at as the miles rack up. A good recent service history is a must and hopefully evidence that the belts have been replaced within the last three years. Would say that age doesn't matter, they are all old now, though something to bear in mind that the standard power increased from 220 to 250 in 1988 (I think !) and like most Porsches the 951 went through quite alot of development durings its lifetime with things such as ABS, bigger brakes, LSD's, sports suspension being introduced over the years. 3) Adding 50 odd HP at the flywheel is easy enough as well as reducing the old skool lag somewhat. Beyond that the amout of £'s expended per extra BHP increases considerably. They are quick cars anyway and if in good fettle handle superbly so any mods will only add to their already considerable abilities. 4) Other than the usual test drives maybe pop along to a club event and talk to owners who will no doubt be happy to take you out for a spin if you ask nicely. 5) Pass.

 

[Lowtimer]

ORIGINAL: DivineE. I can think of one currently for sale producing I think about 300hp and 350ft/lb torque at the wheels. Going very reasonably and looking for a good home. Speak to Barry at Hartech about that one. If you google Hartech Porsche they should come straight up.

Barry's large-capacity engine is by all accounts a peach, but I thought the 300 bhp and 350 lb ft were flywheel rather than rear-wheels figures. It's on the standard turbo, after all. Either way, it has a huge area under both the torque curve and the power curve, all of which falls into the "everyday driving" rev range of 2500 - 5500 rpm, which will make it much quicker in everyday driving than a peaky 300 bhp engine that is dead from the neck down and delivers all its stuff in one thump.I think it's fabulous but I really can't justify having two Turbos... In terms of values, I think there are a number of genuinely very good cars around that the owners would not sell for anything like £8,000, because getting even a pretty good basic car into "spot on" condition can be very expensive unless you have the skills, equipment, facilities and know-how to do all the work yourself. So to get one that really is perfect you can't just expect to go out into the market waving £8K: you have to be lucky enough to find someone with a perfect car that thay absolutely need to sell at a significant loss.

 

[t5_monkey]

Excellent - thanks for all the posts some really useful information. I intend to get along to a club meeting at some point to meet some Porsche owners, and start looking to see what's on the Market. Need to sell my house and buy another one first - if that doesn't kill me with stress I'll be hunting in earnest after then.

 

[sulzeruk]

The TIPEC meet is next Wednesday at the motor museum at Bo'ness, there were 9 944s there last month so well worth popping along for a look. One of the guys (Roy) has a modded turbo there usually. Alasdair

 

[t5_monkey]

ORIGINAL: sulzeruk The TIPEC meet is next Wednesday at the motor museum at Bo'ness, there were 9 944s there last month so well worth popping along for a look. One of the guys (Roy) has a modded turbo there usually. Alasdair

would love to make the Wed meet - Might be able to now actually due to a cancellation at work, what time does it kick off usually?

 

[DivineE]

ORIGINAL: Lowtimer I thought the 300 bhp and 350 lb ft were flywheel rather than rear-wheels figures. It's on the standard turbo, after all.

I think a lot of people made that mistake when they read the article. Those figures are at the wheels. A pretty impressive achievement with nothing but standard factory parts and a standard boost level. Just shows what a difference it makes going from 2.5 to 3.0. On a different note you might expect to pay a bit more than that £8k figure for a car like the Hartech car. It's worth a phone call to see but I sold my 3.2 for £13,250 and there have been a few cars down south known to go for similar figures.

 

[sulzeruk]

From 7.30 onwards, Alasdair

 

[Lowtimer]

ORIGINAL: DivineE

ORIGINAL: Lowtimer I thought the 300 bhp and 350 lb ft were flywheel rather than rear-wheels figures. It's on the standard turbo, after all.

I think a lot of people made that mistake when they read the article. Those figures are at the wheels

That's not the implication of Barry's own power and torque charts which also show the flywheel figures for the 250 Turbo, S2 and 968, nor would it tie up with the conversation I had with him about it yesterday. He's always said that at 6000 rpm it is putting out the same as a 250 Turbo, having produced a lot more than that on the way up there. However, the main point is that it's a great engine in any terms.

 

[JamesBall]

I agree that there is probably no such thing as a cheap car. I bought my 220bhp for £3500 but it has cost me £1800 in the first couple of months of ownership plus will cost me a bit more over the next year to get it where I want it, and that doesn't include refreshing the suspension. I didn't want to splash £7k+ on the car upfront so I am happy with my purchase but if you have the cash lying around, finding one with the sort of work done that you want is definitely (and obviously) cheaper.

 

[DivineE]

ORIGINAL: Lowtimer That's not the implication of Barry's own power and torque charts which also show the flywheel figures for the 250 Turbo, S2 and 968, nor would it tie up with the conversation I had with him about it yesterday. He's always said that at 6000 rpm it is putting out the same as a 250 Turbo, having produced a lot more than that on the way up there.

Interesting spot but Barry is naturally conservative, perhaps the wisdom of a few years experience. I can assure you the figures were taken from a road dyno and so can only measure the actual power at the wheels. I think he's tested it against a regular dyno and its within a few percent, tends to under read slightly if anything.

 

[peacher]

Interested in this post as I am also on the look out for a porsche 944 and was going to ask the same sort of questions. I am also based in Central Scotland and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many 944s for sale locally within my budget (about £3.5K). From what I have seen, I think that my budget will stretch to a late model 2.7 lux and wondered if they were still a good buy and if there is any specific I should look out for with that model? Cheers, Peter

 

[Suffolk944]

ORIGINAL: peacher Interested in this post as I am also on the look out for a porsche 944 and was going to ask the same sort of questions. I am also based in Central Scotland and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many 944s for sale locally within my budget (about £3.5K). From what I have seen, I think that my budget will stretch to a late model 2.7 lux and wondered if they were still a good buy and if there is any specific I should look out for with that model? Cheers, Peter

Yes they are still an excellent buy. Nothing specific in terms of issues just the normal ones - However the 2.7 does have a few engine parts specific to it (valves I think are one) and as they are relatively rare those parts are rather more expensive than the 2.5 equivalent.

 

[DavidL]

There seems to be an indie called Motortune at Shotts who people like. PM a chap called Poprock here or on Tipec - he likes them.

 

[jasonp]

hiya peacher, if you are looking a forum member "ant b" has a lovely lux up for sale ,if you search his previous posts you will see even has working air con! a luvly car, regards jason p