one of my hidden car fantasies has always been a Porsche 944.. i own one and wanted to share with my fellow RX-7 enthusiasts, one of my hidden secrets.. bear in mind, its a work in progress.. and when i start working on the car a little more here and there i'll post more pics. the car was originally sold in TN and spent a lot of its life in AL. i am the 4th owner. it has 119k miles and has a 5spd. it really needs seats and a dash recovering..all of which is in the saving $ process.

coming out of storage, dirty and musty:



all washed up:











i have original window sticker with the epa paper and another strange option paper that brings the total higher than the window sticker states:







all tucked away for the night:

 

Nice! Congrats.

According to some, this was the design inspiration for the FC.

 

I like the MPG dial above the tach. I wonder how accurate it is.

 

Damn we think alike!! Both Ex Military, Both into Law Enforcement, Both into
RX-7's, and now I find out you "have a thing for" 944's!!

The reason I always loved widebody FB's is because they resemble
a 944/911 hybrid.

For weeks now I've actually thought about getting a 944S2 or Turbo, and putting my engine in it, or a 2JZ

Damn Trans-axle and narrow tranny tunnel though..

There's always the LS powered ones.

Congrats on your purchase. I AM JEALOUS.

 

thanks for the compliments! the mpg meter is kinda hoaky and moves based on throttle input..even at idle..so i don't know accurate it really is..

Directfreak, we do have a ot in common! i didn't know u were in the military and law enforecemnt! that practically makes us brothers! i had been debating the purchase since i saw this particular car..and i maybe paid a little too much for it when i bought it...but i wanted this color..and around these parts, its extremely difficult to find a running 944..even a 924. but i LOVE the widebody look and the handling is outstanding. i do intend to replace the wheels with a set of Fuchs or 944 turbo phone dials. for now i'm gonna try and clean the brake dust off thats imbedded in and deal with the clearcoat peel by stripping the clear and polishing the aluminum and waxing it..then i'll repaint the center's the oem black.

 

So Dave, how much? And are you planning to plant a 13B in there?

 

LOL..I thought rotary guys always said it was the other way around...

 

lol, yeah its kind of funny in the car magazines from the 80's they imply the FC is like a cheap 944, but fast forward 20 years and the 944 looks so much more dated, than the FC does. november 27th 1984 is a cool date though....

nice car dave! i like the colors, its the tornado silver and off black 85 you've always wanted

 

The mgp meter is a vacuum gauge. Just exchange HG for some arbitrary miles per gallon unit of measurement and there you go.

 

I love it Dave! No need to be ashamed! I've always had a thing for the 944s also, but unfortunately have never owned one. Came very close a couple of times. I especially like the 1984-1985 models. I had a friend in high school that had a black 1984. It was a really nice looking car when he got it. Unfortunately he didn't care for it very well. It was my first real exposure to a sports car, and it really got me hooked.

 

Why are there two door locks on the driver's side door? That's weird....

 

If this is confession time....I too must admit....I've always wanted a 944

 

Car Alarm?

 

^I think they all have the dual locks, not sure why. A local shop specializes in race prepping porsches (and other Euro stuf) and always 944's in there getting all the race goodies installed in them. The shop I used to work out was right down the road and we got to check out quite of a few of them, very cool stuff!
Glad you made it back home with that heap Dave Looking forward to check it out in person in a few weeks when I'm out.
Guess its my turn to "confess" and post pics of the non 7's that I own lol....

 

its german! its probably for the glovebox or something

 

ok to answer some questions.

Ray, i paid $2200 for the car. no 13B will go in there as i wouldn't put a V8 in a 7..kinda distrubs the whole car. but friends have suggested i do a 13Brew swap, lol

Jamie, the second lock behind the driver's door is the alarm..its a really hoaky unit in that there's a special ket that must be used to actuate the alarm. of course i don't have that particular key..

Mike, the glovebox lock...funny that you mention it. there is also a special key for that as well.. and its behind a small Porsche emblem on the glove box latch. the latch rotates counterclockwise to expose the lock. not as hoaky but neat.

 

re the engine swap thing, if the original engine is COOL like a 240Z, any mazda rotary, my Tr3, fill in the blank, it should stay. for example, with a Z engine, they SOUND great, and you can make plenty of HP with one, why change? same for the Tr3, or the Rx7's

but if you have a 960 volvo with a boat anchor 6 cylinder? the LS1, almost lieterally drops in...

its been a couple decades since i was in a 944, so i don't know. if you're happy with the stock engine, its fine, but if you want more power, um its not gonna happen with the stock engine....

re glovebox, moving emblem, THAT is cool!

 

So does it run good? Got any videos? I'm still thinking a 13B would be better.

 

original engine will stay. it really helps make the car and give it a raw character. i will eventually restore the car to 100% oem specs. you guys know how i have to have oem everything.. i'm a nut.. it runs great and idles smoothly. it pulls to redline without fuss. i don't have any videos as of yet. i'll take some after i get it in the air and replace the rear wheel bearings and check the trans mounts. i'll post more pics tomorrow of the interior and the engine bay and such!

 

So Dave comes out of the Closet??!

They ARE a cool looking rig. Gawd knows by Porsche-standards they are just about Free$ compared to their then-air-cooled counterparts. Think you might be in for a shock when it comes to Porsche parts prices, from what I have heard. Tough nut on a car that may never have a strong resale. (Sez me with some $10K+ worth of spares for my Highly-Collectible SA!). DID hear rumors that you _really_ need to keep on top of Cam-belt changes!!! As in, pop one and you basically have a nice German Planter....
Dave, all these cars AND Kids?? where DO yo find the time???

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

Stu, the timing belt job and the chain guides are BIG maitanance items that, according to Porsche, MUST be replaced every 30k miles. so when i start digging into the car more, i'll perform that necessary maitenance. but you are very correct in that if those parts fail, you will have a very large piece of non mobile german metal.

as for parts, i've been using www.pelicanparts.com. they are VERY reasonable. if you insist on oem parts you will go broke on the first order. a set of oem brake pads run $244 and change.. so i got some bendix pads for like $35. a good quality part at a fraction of the oem parts cost.

finding time between the kids and cars is a constant imbalance of time vs want, challanged by necessity. basically i have only a few hours per week to put into my cars. this is why you guys see les and less restoration threads by me and see me posting less and less. the kids suck up my soul. they're worth it but they are some expensive pets thats for sure. and with this third edition of dave jr. v3.0 (thanks Sean lol) i am going to be selling my red GSL-SE, my 92 Camry SE V6 with a 5spd, and MAYBE my black 85 GSL. i just don't have the time to give the cars that they deserve. another reason why i came out of the closet with my 944. never shared that part of my car lust with you guys. but i do plan to keep my 85 GS with the 13B and my 88 10AE. and i will continue to remain fully active here and moderate and post threads and replies and such. i just need to cut down on the amount of cars i have. here is a list of cars that i own:
-1963 Ford Falcon
-1992 Camry SE V6
-1988 F-150
-2010 Toyota Sienna
-1985 Porsche 944
-1985 GS
-1985 GSL
-1984 GSL-SE
-1988 10AE
-2005 RX-8
my wife says it would be wise for me to sell some cars. i agree, hence selling the LS and paying on some credit card debt we owe for home imporvements we made..

 

IMO, i agree, if you don't have time, maybe its time to cut down, i'd keep the SA over the FC though

oh and 2k for that porsche seems like a good deal!

 

as promised, here are a couple more pics of the car. i'll get a couple more tomorrow. as you can see, i need seats very badly. there is silver and black duct tape on them. i also plan on getting new leather for the shifter and a nice set of Porsche script floor mats. i also need to get some newly used rear speaker covers. mine are completelt wasted:



luckily my daughter (who just happened to have finished a chocolate oce cream cone) highly approves of the 944:

 

All is forgiven Dave - tho I promise not to post secret Lust (well, in the winter) of my 1986 Saab 9000 Turbo here...

Stu Aull
80GS
Alaska

 

Car looks good. Kid looks good. Shoot even the seats look good for $2,200.

And I have to admit that Porsches do have the edge in a beauty contest with a 1986 Saab 9000 Turbo:

http://www.carlustblog.com/2008/12/saab-9000-turbo.html



What was Saab thinking? Probably wanted to make a car that could go where no Porsche dare - like Alaska.

(Just kidding Stu, I have total respect for the Saab brand, I even worked on a Saab 96 or two in my time, back when Saabs looked pretty cool).



Nice find Dave!