Should I give into the cheap porsche meme? I've seen a few cheap 944 but will it just be a money pit in the end...

Should I give into the cheap porsche meme? I've seen a few cheap 944 but will it just be a money pit in the end. All the good ones are NA and I want to build on it but could I just hold out a little longer and find a better turbo/S chassis.
>pic related

Turbos are the only 944 that's worthwhile. The rest are shit and not worth the expense of owning.

944s are massive potential moneypits, a sorted NA will cost you at least 5k. Anything cheaper, assume it's fucked and needs at least the difference in repairs, if not more.

Save up a few thousand more for a Boxster, those are much more reliable and easier to work on than you might expect.

would the power steering being rekt and the cooling fan be a problem too be worth the 1k-1.5k I could haggle for this car

Get a 968 instead

Look up what the repair involves and decide for yourself if it's worth it.
Still, it's very likely that's not the only thing that needs fixing. A 944 is fun when it works, but keeping it working takes effort. You're buying a project either way.

none for sale nearby, feelsbad

Seems like they're some weekend fixes, it be cool to work on it too since this would be my project car. Would taking a NA suspension and brakes up to turbo spec just cost the same as buying a turbo

...

Depends on the year iirc. There are significant differences between early and late model 944s in terms of suspension and such.

The late 80s is when Porsche starting rolling out the 951 and 944 S, would a 86/85.5 944 base model be a little more beefed up than the early 80s one

'87 is when they introduced the new suspension, I think. It is possible to swap in the new suspension components, but you need EVERYTHING, control arms, uprights, spindles, tie rods, struts, rotors, hubs, calipers, wheels and camber plates, unless you're willing to seriously modify the existing parts.

>buying a 944
It would be cheaper to buy a jet and faster to walk. Don't be a dumb faggot.

that's a pretty reasonable swap
jets don't come with pop ups

Miatas come with pop ups
MR2s come with pop ups

both make better DD's than a 944

nice dubs and both have been a radar but the prestige to own a porsche always interested me. That and getting a solid 50/50 power weight and this will just be something to drive around for fun not a DD why not

I never understood the appeal with these cars... The pop-ups aren't even that appealing, they're kinda misshapen and awkward-looking.

>jets don't come with pop ups
Yes they do ya spaz. WTF did you think flaps were?

>barely a porsche
>slow
>weird age, not really a modern not really a classic
>can't even use the porsche badge as bragging rights because women don't know enough about cars to recognise it as an actual porsche

Don't bother. Buy an actual porsche or do something else with your money.

the 944 being unreliable thing is a meme. dad owns one, no issues. I think he replaced his dash cluster recently. lol

>the prestige to own a porsche always interested me.
There's really nothing prestigious about the 944. They were the poor man's Porsche even back when they were new.

I bought this when I was 19. One of the only good decisions I've made in my life and it lasted for 5 years and I treated it like shit. Nothing major broke (until the end, the water pump died and I was done with having an old car as my DD) on it minus the clutch, was 400 bucks to replace cause it had a s2 engine swap and trans swap and didn't use any special tools like people like to meme. I snapped 3 cv joints on it by being a dumbass (launching it at redline), you do need a special star bit allen wrench thing for those.

On n/a, the S and S2 can be pretty peppy if you get a 87 (88+ have a lot more weight and S was only made in 87 and 88). I dynod mine at 230whp with just a tune up. Unfortunately even base 944s have shot up in price over the past few years, I bought mine in 2010 with 80k miles on the body (probably less on the engine due to the swap) for 3k, I'd imagine S/S2 go for 6k now in decent shape so it might be worth saving a bit more for a clean turbo. Expect a lot of turbo lag though.

anyone done the water pump on one of these? I am getting ready to do mine and wondering if one of the kits from 944online was my best option.

I just like that they move

seems the S is the best bet

>my single anecdotal experience invalidates everyone else's

If anyone has any questions for an *actual* owner, im here

Not the easiest job but also not the hardest on the car.

Your bolts are rusted and you have to squeeze into ratholes to get them.

...

would koni shocks on a NA be better than the turbo's stock setup

Used to be owner of a 944. Don't bother touching anything Porsche and expect not to put less than $5k into repairs to keep it in running condition. Fuck them and fuck porsche for making their cars so shittly unreliable.

If you're in the US, it might be a bit hard to find a S. Iirc there was only 4k made in 87 for the US and 4k more in 88. If you come across one, definitely check it out tho.

They'll be the same

Yea I figure it is going to be a PITA since it has probably been decades since it was done last. It has been starting to make a grinding/screeching noise when the pump kicks in that I think is likely due to the bearing starting to seize. So I want to do the whole belt + pump + rollers and seals while I am in there.

944online has a kit with everything for 5 something do you think that is a reasonable deal?

Amazon sometimes have kits for half of what part stores do. What about pelicanparts?

Also check your local scrapyard to see if they have a 944 so you're not eating the cost of a new water pump (if you're buying new)

I've seen only a 87 924S so far, same drivetrain though
seems cheaper to just get a NA swap the motor and upgrade the shocks, brakes and call it a day. The only weak link is the trans and i've heard it holds up p good

Similar price on new pumps at pelican parts. They do have a rebuilt one for about half, what is the disadvantage of going that route?

Nothing really, rebuilt is quite close to new quality and proven to be good.

If you want to put in the work, yea

How different are 968s compared to 944s? Do they still have weak timing belts and water pumps? Any other mechanical gremlins? I used to have a 944, found a cheap 968 nearby that I'm considering jumping on, but I really don't know what to look for.