What would you do ?

[Fen]

I'd echo out esteemed leader's view - you wanted it when you bought it and it's probably better the Devil you know now. Certainly in comparison to selling it and buying another I'd probably advise sticking with it as there are virtually no perfect cars for sale and you might find you are looking at similar money to bring another up to standard by the time you have lost money selling yours and paid more for another that will almost certainly have its faults.

I'd say a good S2 coupe sells for approaching £6k and as Paul Mc said I'd counsel having a 4-figure sum available to address issues you uncover even on such a car, so you're quickly north of £7k which is not so far off your estimate, especially if you lost another bag of sand in the changeover.

 

[andymorris]

Thanks everyone I appreciate all the input. The answers are No I wouldnt want to live without it, in the week I havent had it I've missed it and as many of you have pointed out, the money I would have spent to get a "good" one wouldnt have been much different. This way I know that I have a sorted car that is going to give me loads of enjoyment.
Will keep you posted on the progress.

Andy

 

[andymorris]

Not sure wether I should have started another thread for this question.

Is there any additional work on the engine that I should consider while the Cams are being done and its in bits, I presume it would be more cost effective this way.?

 

[Fen]

When you get the cams done you will get a new chain also, and I'd hope a complete new tensioner assembly. You should also have the belt pulleys replaced if necessary and possibly the water pump - you will get new belts as nobody refits old ones regardless of how few miles they have done. It might be worth having the oil seals replaced down the front of the engine at the same time if any are weeping.

With all that done you're in good shape - the next level of work is head off and refurbed or a full rebuild. You're nowhere near the clutch so there is no mileage in getting that replaced at the same time as it won't save any labour.

 

[andymorris]

Thanks Fen . It was my intention to get the chain done in the first place when they came across the other issues. Ollie at RPM has the car , so i am sure its in good hands as I have seen other Forum members cars there.

 

[zcacogp]

Fen is quite correct, but if you have a bit of spare cash sloshing around in the bank account looking for something to be spent on, you may want to go to that next level of work:

ORIGINAL: Fen

With all that done you're in good shape - the next level of work is head off and refurbed or a full rebuild.

If you are at the stage where the cams are being changed, getting the head off is a case of removing the manifolds, some sensors and the head bolts. Once the head is off you can have it cleaned up and the valves re-seated. This would be well worth doing, as it will almost certainly renew any pep your engine has lost over the last 20-odd years.

But, as has already been discussed many times, it's all money, and you may not choose to go to his next level.


Oli.

 

[andymorris]

Thanks for the advice Oli - Ball park, any idea how much I would be looking at for that , no need to be accurate. Something worth considering before I touch base with the mechanic again. I figure I may aswell get the car totally perfect.

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: andymorris

Thanks for the advice Oli - Ball park, any idea how much I would be looking at for that , no need to be accurate. Something worth considering before I touch base with the mechanic again. I figure I may aswell get the car totally perfect.

Andy,

Finger right in the air ... probably another 8 hours labour on top of the other costs. So, 8 x whatever your indie's hourly rate is.

And the cost of a gasket set, which will probably be between £50 and £100.

All plus VAT.

Talk to the guy doing the work. He will be able to be much more accurate.


Oli.

 

[stevep2000]

I've had something similar done one mine when a valve spring broke - new cams, valves springs, cam followers, head gasket & skim, in total not far short of £3k @ £50ph.

 

[andymorris]

Thanks guys will have a chat with him.

One suggestion that was made to me was to replace the cams with high lift as apparently this maybe no more costly than standard porsche ones. I,m no engineer or mechanic but I beleive this allows more air to be sucked in which would give a higher torque, is this correct and would it be worth considering? If that is the case does that then mean that the engine needs to tick over at a higher rate and would therefore be less economic / Green ?
[8|]

 

[Hilux]

Hi Andy

I can understand your dissapointment so far. 1) sell it and move on, you may lose money I`m afraid but you will have learned 2) selling it costs money so bite the bullet and list in order of priority what to do.

Look and search re cam tooth wear. They may be worn but an interim measure `might` repeat `might` be to ensure at least the cam chain tensioner is renewed as the catastrophic failures are a) tensioner collapse b) teeth stripping (I may be corrected)

The welding should not be an issue if (for now) you forgo the respray required. I am assuming the rust is in the cills and looking at a 944 I cannot believe that welding new in is more expensive than any other car (I stand to be corrected) eg: my son has just had a whole cill/rear wing/floor pan welded/patched including a cheap `blow` in with paint for £450 on his money pit (my words [&o]) of a Mk 1 Golf. He supplied the parts for about £100 on top The `blow` in is so its lasts until he can have a full respray. However he absolutely adores the car so I cant argue can I?

If you ask here you`ll find a list of people recommended by forum members.

Most of us enthusiasts are at the stage where the car owes us money just like a 60`s 70`s classic these 80`s classics are only worth what you think they are so enjoy the car if you feel you can or sell it if you feel it is not right in your view. You must treat them as an ongoing project and NEVER tell the wife how much they really cost, believe me we`ve all been there.

Good luck and keep posting []

 

[andymorris]

Thanks Paul, I am definately keeping it, all I need to decide now is how much of my hard earned to throw at it and what improvements or extras I should consider whilst all the work is being done.

And of course the other half knows nothing about []

 

[sawood12]

I agree with Paul on his comments about replacing sills on 944's. I queried the bodyshop that worked on my car when I was rear-ended questioning if rumours i've heard about £1000 a side were true. He looked shocked at that figure and said it would be no-where near that. I don't really want to find out for sure though.

 

[andymorris]

I should have a figure on the body work ( sills and bottom rear of front wings ) tomorrow. Will let you know the damage[]

 

[pauljmcnulty]

When I looked at a car that 911 Virgin had in, they were allowing £900 per side for sills. By the time you take the vat off, that's about £750 per side actual cost. And - that's M25 labour rates. By the time you take out the parts and wurthing/painting cost, that's not many hours to do the work.....

He did say that it would be an "as new" repair, not a patch-up and blow over repair to sell the car. They reckoned that, as they'd waxoyl it, the repair would last longer than the original sill. Over a 20-year-plus period it didn't sound so bad, and better than needing to re-do the repair after a couple of years.

Did put me off, as the other car had no sign of corrosion although more money. I wasn't best pleased to see the first bubble a year later, though []

 

[edh]

ORIGINAL: sawood12

I agree with Paul on his comments about replacing sills on 944's. I queried the bodyshop that worked on my car when I was rear-ended questioning if rumours i've heard about £1000 a side were true. He looked shocked at that figure and said it would be no-where near that. I don't really want to find out for sure though.

That's interesting Scott - Selbys are Porsche approved and not cheap (about 2 x the price ph sportscars quoted me) - they did a fantastic job on the rear of my turbo & I wouldn't go anywhere else now. They also look after MarkK's car & that looks like new!

 

[sawood12]

It wasn't PH I was using, it was Zentrums man, who I believe Nottingham OPC also uses. They did a sterling job on my rear end though! and gave me an all over machine polish.

 

[edh]

sorry - maybe I wasn't clear enough

I got mine done through Zentrum also