ive been interested in hearing opinions about driving and owning a n/a 944 2.5 or 2.7

I much prefer the NA cars over the turbo, but ours was a S2, so it was a 3.0 liter 16 valve car... As they always say, get the newest one you can afford that has been well maintained. There are maintenance issues to be aware of (timing belt/water pump) but overall, they run very well and are fairly worry free. Very well balanced and very fun to drive.

what about 924s?

The only car more maligned in the eyes of the mainstream Porsche owner than a 914 is a 924.

I raced in a friends 924S once. I felt like I could get out and run faster, not to mention that with the narrow body you get smaller tires that have no grip..which didn't matter much because it wasn't going fast enough to lose grip...

Personally, not a fan. If I was given a 924, I would give it away. If I was given a 944, I would keep it...

I loved the 951 for the 4 years I drove my dads.

I have always thought a NA 944 stripped out would just be a hoot and a half for a street legal low $$$ race car.

don't get me wrong, I love the power of a turbo...but with a chip, the S2 has the same power at the turbo with no lag...I hated the turbo lag...almost got me killed the few times I drove one.

I had a 88 944 NA for a few years. Like others will say find the best one you can with repair history. Timing belt / water pump, sun roof gears, rear hatch leaks, clogged sun roof drains, CV Joints click, Clutch and torque tube issues are all things to look for when looking to purchase.

Over all a great car that was fun to drive. Is it a rocket, no, but still for the year it was made it is not to bad. Also I disagree with the comments about a 86 -87 924S. They are the SAME car as a 944 just with a narrow body and older style dash.

My 88 and my 70 914

Turbo power is a downshift or a clutch kick away

prices are going up on 944,turbos have already gone out sight.944 n/a in good shape are still low ,but increasing. im going to drive a 924s tommorow,ill have a better ideas what its all about.i like flares on 944,not wild about 924 body.

with Garold...

I owned a 1987 944 2.5 NA 5spd model and drove it as a daily driver for a number of years. I was the second owner... both of us had kept up the maintenance.
It drove just fine and was a great car for a daily driver vehicle....hey it had AC that worked..It was fun to drive and reliable. As much fun as a 911 or 914 yes and no... but it beat the heck out of driving a 4 door sedan to work and it was much more comfortable than my 914 or 911. A good street car for driving around town and highway...
Had friends that raced 944 Turbo on the track....fast and fun car...
As with all car purchases you have to inspect very well and get a good reliable mechanic inspection. Service History is always very important with a Porsche...
Do your Do Diligence and you can have a reliable fun car....The prices on the 944 NA are very reasonable now....Do your home work...go drive a few and you will find the right one.

Had an 87 924s liked the car didnt like working on it. the 924 S is a little quicker than the 944 as it has the same engine in it but i think the 944 has better brakes but not sure....

Ive owned 2 944s and loved the Bothe of them. My first one was a 83 next 85.5 which was at the first change on the 944 mostly interior larger very nice car. the turbo is great though never had one as some of the maintenance is much more $$ though if collecting for future value surly will be the better. the S 2 is the next good one though if I was looking I would go for the 968 which is when the engine was refined with much better breath more power!

I had an early '83 n/a 944; I thought it was a great car. Light, a/c worked well, good driving position. Handled great with 50/50 weight dist; went through snow well with a set of Blizzaks. Could use more power, just like a 914.

You know what they say about it being more fun to drive a slow car fast, than drive a fast car slow...

I was debating making this same topic... I've been looking and thinking about getting one.

Nothing in my price range is going to have professional maintenance records, so I figure on replacing the timing belt and water pump on day 1. And an AC system overhall the next weekend. What else would I need to count on doing that first week?

I've also heard that minor oil leaks can be catasrophic and extremely labor intensive on a 944, how bad are we talking?

Drove a 1983 944 for years as a DD. It wasn't fast, but I enjoyed driving it. It certainly stacked up well to the other "sports" cars available at the time.

Finally let it go with 148K miles on the odometer.

Gary

I've had an '83 NA and a '86 951, both were great, reliable cars. The turbo was much more fun to drive and there are cheap ways to increase horsepower and lower the boost rpm so there is less lag. Had the NA for 8 plus years and the 951 for 12. Sold the 951 with 212K miles for what I paid for it, so not a bad daily driver/autocross/DE investment (it was a rare non sunroof car). Some of my local PCA friends have bought 944's in the last year or so just because they are cheap (at least the NA's), fun to drive, and reliable. The earlier advice on newest, best shape, best records car you can find is what to get.

My kid owns a very nice one and frankly, I'm about to take it away from him and sell it. (in reality, I bought it, it's in my name). We have some problems listening and doing what we are told and when it comes to a car, you can't do that.

I've got an 83 for sale... Has a few minor issues, but runs. Even if someone needed a parts car!

That said, I've enjoyed driving it... Too busy fixing my little beast all the time to put the time and money into the 44 as well.

Loved my '84!

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Anyone here have a 928? Opinions?

I just bought a 1988 924 SE last week. Love it so far. Great driver, plenty (not tons) of power...... and a lighter feel than my previous 944.

I owned a 944S2 before..... LOVED the motor! The only thing I didn't love about the car was that it was a convertible.

I always liked the narrow, simple 924 body, but had thought that they only came with the Audi smaller motor. When I was offered my newest car with the 944 motor, it only took a test drive to decide to buy it.

BTW - I looked for a 944 for a while.... could not find one (in my budget of $5K-$7) that had the maintenance history that I wanted..... good luck. Prices are rising quickly.

My son bought an 86 as his first car last summer.
just before winter it developed a massive "valve cover" oil leak.
There is no valve cover it is the cam tower and it handles pressurized oil.

Sooo if you go far enough to remove the timing belt, it isn't that much more work to replace the cam tower gasket.

I've owned 3 944's and loved them. They can be a bit of a PITA to work on but thats just part of owning one unless you want to pay someone to which isn't cheap. All the other posts have good info. The timing/balance shaft belts, waterpump and related parts clutch and torque tube can and will be issues at some point. Having done all those repairs before I can say they are involved and time consuming. Those repairs alone at a shop can exceed the cost of a cheap car. I would stay with an 85.5 and later car as the interior and suspension is a big improvement over the early cars. The wheel offset changed in 87 so later wheels can fit without 1"spacers.
Of the 3 I owned (85.5, 87turbo, and 89S2) the S2 was my favorite. It did everything well. Such a great daily driver and surprisingly practical. You can haul alot of stuff in a 944! Fun on the track, very balanced and easy to drive fast. Comfortable for commuting too.
Not much you can do for power increase on the na cars other than the typical chip/intake/exhaust but the gains are small. If you want more hp a turbo can make tons of it, like anything if you have a fat wallet. 300hp isn't too hard to pull out of a 951 within reason though.
I would buy...
85.5-89 944/944S
89-91 S2
92-95 968
Here's my Baltic blue 89 S2, 17"cup 2's on adj.Koni susp.
Loved it...miss it.
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The other car I'm thinking about is an early 90s MR2, not Porsche, but it is a mid-engine... I had friends in college with each and remember them both being fun with good mpg.

Which would you prefer in the same ($2-3k) price range?

This would be my wife and I's 2nd car until the 914 is done. (no kids yet, she works from home, and I mostly walk to work)

My wife has 86. I unfortunately spun a bearing on it running it on track with race tires, didn't realize that there was an oiling issue with sticky tires and sustained corners. So I had to replace the motor which was no fun to remove. It has to come out the bottom but there is a lot more stuff to get out of the way than on a 914 or 911. As far as driving, it was a great balanced car, not a lot of HP with the 2.5 but enough to be fun. You certainly have to be proactive with the timing belt and water pump as well as watch the coolant tank for signs of oil mixing from the water to oil cooler seals leaking. Dashes tend to crack if parked outside and rear hatch glass can seperate from the hatch frame.

I've owned both,the 2.7 motor ended up in the 85 2.5,they have a little more power and torque and in the lighter early car go pretty well.
I personally think the 2.7 has a better c/belt tention system on it.
Buy the best and latest you can ,not big money and they are great daily drivers.
By the way you can replace the motor from the top....I did.

Yea, but I bet he could post a picture in the correct orientation

For some odd reason I like the looks of the 924 better...if I had to commute by myself I always thought one could be built that gets killer gas mileage yet still be a blast to drive.

Hah,the powersteering hoses leak and people think its the motor because it gets blown back all over the engine,both my cars did it ,fixed hoses and cleaned the mess and all was good in 44 world

I drove a friends S2 a few years ago for a day and I couldnt get over how nose heavy it felt. Also tested a fellow porsche club sweden members 944 turbo which puts out 400+ hp....that was plain scary.
Felt like the car was attached to a bungee cord with the other end attached to the horizon....yikes...

Another friend of mine just swapped an S2 motor into his 924S and is very happy with the results. I Think that car would be my perfect front engine porsche.

Raced one - reminded me of a more modern 914

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I guess I should have been more specific. You can remove/replace the motor from the top, I did it that way the first time I pulled it. The second time I did it I did it from the bottom, despite having to unbolt more stuff like the engine support, it was actually easier to take it out from below. I did have a lift to work with so moving it up and down as required was simple. In any case, compared to removing the 914 or a 911 motor, it is way more of a pain.

..... the guy I just bought my 924S from was considering the same S2 swap. I agree that it would be the ideal motor for the car.

i just test drove a924s,in reasonable shape.hated it.im glad im over that curiosity.

it felt like an american car of that era.

no match for the 914.not even close

I had a 78 924, 82 924, and a 83 944 when I was a kid. They are all great fun, but not too quick. Kind of like the 914 !

I liked the 944 as it was the most refined at that time.

All 944s are incredibly well-balanced cars, with great handling. That said, the only ones I would consider are:

944S2

or the evil stepchild, the 968 coupe.

The 968 has that delicious low-end torque to help you propel out of a turn, while the S2 has the spirited high-end horsepower. They are both superb cars, but the 968 coupe is the bargain performance Porsche of the moment. They are also extremely rare and poised to increase or maintain their value, along with the S2.

Like others have said, buy the best you can afford. Don't buy a beater thinking you can slowly put money into it. The $5K 968 will bleed you dry, while the $10K with records will give you years of tail out enjoyment. Check for the timing belt, tensioners, rear hatch glass, and other known issues.

Have fun and drive it.

i dont think 10k gets u a 968 or s2 anymore

I sold my S2 Coupe 10 years ago for $14K. They are just as rare if not more rare than the 944 Turbo. Very satisfying car to drive too.

Lol! My son put mine into a guard rail 10 days after I gave him the keys. He didn't appreciate it.
It was an 87. Sweet car. I paid $2800 for it. Tune up, tires, and a few other projects made it really sweet. Loved that car. In the end it needed a clutch and that's a big expensive job, even for a DYI mechanic. I wouldn't fear digging into any repair on one myself.
I'll have another..... Soon