is (on Sunday of all days) this abomination:
Porsche 944

What? Never watched Monster Garage? I'd be curious to see how much it goes for.

I thought they destroyed all the Moster garage projects.
Those things (944) sucked to begin with dressing it up in 5 days on TV certainly won't help.

I owned a 944. It was great, reliable, daily transportation. It never failed to start. Never left me stranded... and the best part was that it wasn't a generic pick-um-up truck or rice-burner.

The car on that link... well... if someone is going to destroy it, I hope they save the wheels!

The 944 was a terrible car. Almost 50/50 weight distribution, fully galvanized body, very-well engineered engine and overall design. Ahead of it's time when it was introduced in the early 80s and stayed around (in some form or another) until 1994. Yeah, just a terrible car...

I agree, Ben. Horrible, simply horrible.

One of the worst things about that car is how easily you can find parts for it! I'd hate to have a car that I didn't have to scrape and scrounge for parts to keep it running.

I think its kinda cool. This guy agrees:



Zach

I've owned a couple of 944s...terribly heavy...some service issues in certain models, some issues in all models...too much electronics for my taste...a product of it's era to be sure...

but, it has awesome handling, is easy to drive, responds well to modification (especially a diet), and still looks good after all these years!

Now these cars are 20 +/- years old, they seem prone to continual electrical gremlins....as well as the regular stuff....I suppose if you changed every sensor with a NEW one they would be reliable again.

I think its a love it or hate it car...
2 gen Mazda RX7 (copy of 944) might be a better car...IMHO

Sean

There's a Humongous among us!

a 944 may be my son's first car and porsche!

That had to be an improvement. The one I had was the worst car I ever owned and I've had over a hundred cars. crap interior, worst electricals, leaked water from every seal, ill handling, heavy sluggish, no low end torque. I intensionally lost money on the sale to avoid and ill will with the new owner. Nice wheels though..

You could say that the 944 sucks but before you do you should drive the S2 or the Turbo... now they were fun cars to drive. I would put one in my driveway anyday.

My 944S2 was definitely a love hate relationship. In general it was a great car. 50/50 weight, 210hp, good brakes, factory LSD, Cold AC, warm Heat. I don't think Porsche really saw past the warranty period with them though. I suffered a clutch failure and a timing belt failure. The 2 worst nightmares for a 944 owner. I'm glad I owned it. I don't think I would buy another one. If I did, it wouldn't be less than an S2 or a turbo. Probably, I would want a 968.

Maybe, in 30 years when we fondly reminisce about Monster Garage, those creations could be valuable?

Also.... I keep laughing at this guy. He started this car at $14800!!!!

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/car/523041900.html

Why laugh? If he would put that car on ebay he would probley end up getting more than that even. That is in very nice condition and is rather rare. I don't really like the 944s myself, but they are fun to drive. I have AXed a few very well preped cars that were amazing. They're also a great ITS car.

Because I can get a 968 convertible built in Stuttgart by Porsche with 100 more HP, more brakes, more cowbell, less miles, less problems for the same price or less. I can get an S2 convertible for $8k.

That abomination has 180k miles, and its a unibody car missing its roof, so its anyones guess how safe it is. That car is worth $6k max and thats a high estimate.

My old boss had a 951 with 400 HP with track suspension and 928s brakes. That was a real drag to run around in picking up parts and dropping off customers. Sorry I had to be seen in it.

I was always told that something is only worth what the next guy will pay. I have seen people drop a lot of money on these 944s. Like I said, if he put it on ebay I would be willing to bet he would get what he wants. Mind you that I would not be the one buying it as I don't like them enough to want one.

You can get a 968 built by Porsche? Who else would make it?

Ugly as hell and radiator laden....

Don't ever do a clutch job on one of those bastards!

Didn't they have a nasty tensioner problem?

Gotta love the flames.

Seriously. I just did an engine job on one. I hated every second of it. I also hate coolant .

Several comments were made about the clutch for the 944. A friend of mines wife has a 944. She doesn't drive if because the clutch is going out. Is this really a bad job? If so why?

i know they destroy any monster garage cars that fail, but the ones that dont are saved...i saw a bunch of them at a car show. i think they take them around and show them off and donate the money to charity

Book time is like 11 hours. I did 20 of them and I don't think that I ever got one done in less than 11 hours. They're bad because you have to remove 1/2 of the car to get to it and there's not good access to many of the parts.

I guess you didnt see the 1977 911 with a smokey yunick 350 c.i.
chevy with nitrous the back

Like everything else there's a lot of uninformed and biased bashing going on here. Drive one and make up your own mind.

Tensioner issues are not neccesarily a design problem as much as a lousy repair issue. These cars when properly taken care of by a knowledgable mechanic are very trustworthy and GREAT cars. Even the N/A is a good everyday car. N/A is low on power compared to todays ricers but it is still a fun car. ALL cars have their problems even the coveted and pamperd 914 !! I have been very fortunate and have been able to werk on a lot of higher end classic cars and can promise you NONE of them are perfect. Bash what you don't know, all you want. I'll pass your 914 in my 944 every time........well except for Rick

I have often bandied about getting a 944 as my daily. I've come close to pulling the trigger twice now. Heck, the NA models even get pretty good gas mileage, high 20s to even 30 if you can keep you foot off the floor and the car tuned. Thats about as well as my subaru gets.

But when it comes right down to it, I have always decided that my subaru is just too practical to get rid of - and it has NEVER let me down.

Still, I have always thought they were cool cars. I'd be happy to own one, but its not very high on my list.

Zach

Yep, that's the rub. How do you know this when buying one? The cost of the repair exceeds the "value" of the car.

The unfortunate thing is that a lot of trouble areas require special tools which might be a problem for your regular shade tree mechanic.

[quote name='KaptKaos' date='Dec 31 2007, 06:08 PM' post='981886']
--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scotty b @ Dec 31 2007, 01:20 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
Tensioner issues are not neccesarily a design problem as much as a lousy repair issue. These cars when properly taken care of by a knowledgable mechanic are very trustworthy and GREAT cars.
[/quote]

Yep, that's the rub. How do you know this when buying one? The cost of the repair exceeds the "value" of the car.

The unfortunate thing is that a lot of trouble areas require special tools which might be a problem for your regular shade tree mechanic.
[/quote]

If it runs well when you look at it, IMMEDIATLY do the water pump/ belt job after purchase. If it doesn't run ( or turn over smoothly )when you look at it, walk away or be prepared for the worst. As for special tools the only thing that is necessary AND $$$ is the tensioner. They have gone down in price lately, about 650.00 now compared to 1500.00 a few years ago. The other 944 tools are relatively inexpensive. The pump/belt job isn't for the new mechanic though. While the belts can be and have been done without the tensioning tool it is not at all a wise idea. Also don't be fooled by thinking you can buy an '87 or later car and not need the tool. You still need it for the balance shaft belt. It too can be set to tight and cause a chatostrophic failure. I did a complete head job last year for a customer. Total cost was around 2600.00 that includes machine shop time and materials to replace ALL of the valves and seats. 7 out of 8 bent! Fortunately for him the valves never hit the pistons, THAT is where you need to consider what the car is werth to you.Like I said the cars have a bad rap because of bad repairs

What a cool car! I wouldn't buy it myself, but can see why Barrett-Jackson would run it across their stage. Good humor. And somebody will buy it for the TV history at the very minimum. Pretty clever!

You will save a lot of $ by spending the $ to this when you get one. I have seen my share of them come through that people didn't do it when we suggested. They paid dearly.

Yup. Gotta agree with the timing belt/water pump stuff.

Unless you've got a receipt for work done (not merely parts purchased), it's gotta be done. Oh, and timing belts need to be replaced every 60-90k, depending on how bold you are.

Mine was done not long before I bought the car - verifiable receipt along with some head work - it was obvious what happened. 50k trouble free miles later, I sold the car and duly warned the new buyer.

I would say you should do the belt at 40-45k. I bought my 944S2 from a 25+ year Porsche Mechanic. He got the car from the original owner, and he had serviced the car for the prior 10 years for that original owner. I had a folder 3 or 4 inches thick full of docs showing everything that was done for the last 10 years. Including a cam chain tensioner failure that warranted a replacement head and cams ($$$$$). My belt had about 40k on it when it stripped a bunch of teeth and wiped out all 8 exhaust valves. And, I had documented mileage on a rubber centered clutch that failed during my ownership too.

I bought that car as smart as you can buy one, and I still got burned pretty good.

With those cars, there is no such thing as a "Cheap" 944. Buy the most car you can. And, I'm not going to say they are bad cars. They just require committed owners. I actually loved driving mine and even with the headaches, I am glad I owned it.

The guy I sold it to, bought it for a DE car. Other than some leaky front seals (which should probably be done every other belt change), I don't think he has had any problems.

I have an 83' as a daily driver. Great mileage, handles well and has never left me stranded. I don't have the passion for it as I do for the 914, but I look at it as something reliable and it's a Porsche.
The worst thing I have experienced is the dreaded clutch job. Now that pissed me off.
I recently put a completely stock 70' that I bought back on road. If this car had been my first impression of a 914 I would of left them a long time ago. Tail shifters suck! Thankfully though, I know better.

Wow, a teener crowd throwing rocks. Are memories so short? Given what we've put up with from the 911 purists you'd think there'd be a little more slack.

My early '85 944 was a huge improvement over my '91 CRX in most every respect except fuel economy. Later cars offer small but steady improvements in power, suspension, etc even in the base model. Not to mention the interior update mid-85, for those not stripping it out for the track. The 968 finally made that clutch job a more reasonable undertaking, as I understand it -- don't ask me why that took so long, any more than why it took the factory so long to release the side-shifting 901 tranny.

If I want a Porsche that I don't mind leaving out in the rain, I'll take an '87+ 944.

My 944 turbo is one of the best cars I've owned. I bought it for $1000. It had a blown head gasket and some cosmetic body work that needed to be done. The engine is just a big Audi inline 4. Nothing to intimidating. There are balance shaft belts that can be set up 180 degrees off (ask me how I know). But easy to work on (other than the clutch).
28-35 mpg on the highway, but can get 22-25 if your really getting on it.
Wouldn't buy one if you can't work on it yourself, but if you work on a 914 you can probably figure it out.

My 944 turbo is one of the best cars I've owned. I bought it for $1000. It had a blown head gasket and some cosmetic body work that needed to be done. The engine is just a big Audi inline 4. Nothing to intimidating. There are balance shaft belts that can be set up 180 degrees off (ask me how I know). But easy to work on (other than the clutch).
28-35 mpg on the highway, but can get 22-25 if your really getting on it.
Wouldn't buy one if you can't work on it yourself, but if you work on a 914 you can probably figure it out.

I also own a 88 944 NA. Bought it with 62K miles in March of 07, just turned 70.5K today. I drive it every day sun, rain, or snow. I did have the timing belt done right after I bought the car. I have spent close to $1k in repairs & tires during this time. All stuff that I am sure I could have waited on, but I feel better knowing everything is current on it.

It makes agreat daily driver. Has great heat and working AC. Is it the fastest thing on the road, hell no, but I didn't buy it for that. It's was well priced, right color, had most of the need work already done to it and it gets 14 mpg better than my quad cab Dodge Ram truck, and it is a Porsche.

If something major happens to it will the cost to repair it be more than the value of the car? chances are sure, but the same could be said for my 914(s). The only thing a really don't like is having to run 93 octane in it, but it is still cheaper than driving my truck.

Come spring time when everyone in my neck of the woods has car fever I will try and sell it. I might look for a older Jeep Wrangler or 1st Gen RX7 or? to replace it. In the mean time I will just keep driving it.

Hmmm... May be my turn to look dumb, but I used 87 octane regular unleaded for years in my non-Turbo 944s with no complaints from my mechanics. Premium might result in a little better MPG, I can't recall what I found when I compared, but from my experience it won't do any damage to the motor.

Plenty of other ways to damage a motor though. "Ask me how!"

One of my favorite cars. I owned an '87 944S, 16 valve 2.5 liter- something less than 200bhp. Fully optioned, it was rather heavy-2900lbish. You pretty much had to use it all to be quick onthe low end of the speedometer but damn that car had marvelous high speed manners! It would pull redline in 5th and could eat miles on road trips- 1st car I ever had that you could engag cruise control @100mph and just let her go!
I'd have to say too that it was the best handling I've ever driven. Very forgiving. Had scary high adhesion/handling limits but when you exceeded them it almost seemed "self-correcting." Had the 2 main driveline components at opposite ends of the car, engine up front and transaxle at the rear. Major contribution to the near perfect weight distribution. Very collectable from a handling standpoint. And also as a keeper, they only made the 944S in '87 and '88-importing about 8700 cars to the US.
The cam belt has a rather odd configuration. Belt drives the exhaust cam directly with a chain that looped to and turned the intake cam. Broke mine twice, but I drive hard. My wife hated it but loved to drive it!!lol
I clutched it once. Very labor intensive. You have to start at the rear of the car and basically remove everything and work your way up to the clutch. Took my Dad and I about twice as long to dismantle as it did to reassemble but then it was our 1st time, we did it in a weekend.
Because of the driveline it is very susceptible to rear end collisions, that's what happened to mine. with the transaxle at the back end any serious lick transfers all the energy up to the engine. Cracked both bell housings.