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I purchased a 1988 non "s" 944. It has been sitting for five years and I'm in the process of renewing the engine. The interior is excellent, no rips tears or unusual wear, no fading etc. Exterior was faded but polished back to excellent shape as well. It was parked due to a non-start condition that I traced to the crank sensor and needed all PMs done.
I'm not sure what I'll find with regards to the turbo, but I see where some dried coolant is showing on the cool side when I look downpipe. So I'll be pulling it to have it rebuilt.
Question: Should I upgrade the turbo and possibly a Lindsey 340 RWHP kit since I will be swapping out the turbo anyway? Or, should I try to preserve this otherwise low-mileage well preserved survivor as is?
Looking for some words from the collective Rennlist wisdom.
If you are going to try and “preserve” it then leave it stock, store it somewhere safe and don’t drive it too much. Maybe in 5-10 years prices will be considerably more, or maybe they won’t, who knows.
If you are an enthusiast, modify away, use it as much as you can and drive it like you stole it. Money isn’t everything, you only live once and you can’t take it with you.
I'd modify it as long as your mods don't include anything super expensive or anything that would make the car unreliable. What you are suggesting sounds like a good idea to me. If you want to hedge your bets you could hang onto the original parts.
I wouldn't consider 60k miles 'low'. Maybe 'sorta low' or 'not high'. Low for me is below 20k.
The 944 isn't a 'rare' car. "Sorta low" mile examples are pretty common.
I don't know about the Lindsay kit, but simply changing the turbo isn't a big mod. Sure, it's not a super easy job to reverse (like, say, seats or wheels), but it isn't drastic or irreversible
I typically favor performance improvements, but I'd drive it for awhile in stock form first. You might determine that it's fast enough for your liking, and that the money is better spent elsewhere.
You'll get as many opinions on here as posts that you will receive :-)
I second the thought that its your car so do as you like. At this point I would definitely consider a 60k mile car a "lower" mileage car, considering it's 31 years old. I'm in the middle of selling my '89 with 77k on it and all the guys that have contacted me about my car refer to it as "low or lower" mileage so I think yours is right there. Of course there are lower and those I'd probably say no to modifying that LOL.
Either way keep us posted on your progress. Also we would love to see some pictures of your car in its current state!
Go ahead and make these modifications and more. Keep all of the original parts and make sure you don't do something that can't be changed back to stock or replaced with a stock part from another car.
It looks like everything in the 340 hp kit is bolt on and you can go completely back to stock if and when you want to. Keeping the exhaust system is the hardest part to store for an extended period.
I have added most of these parts on my 1989 Turbo years ago. The only original part that I didn't keep is the exhaust. I was in the Army and just couldn't justify hanging on to it since I moved every few years.
You're looking for a vintage Beetle and come across a mint 1962 that looks completely stock but has modded 1600 engine. The original 1200 motor is part of the package though.
How does that sound to you? Soon, 944s will be old enough that a car like that will be gold
get a MAF/MAP conversion at a minimum.
even with otherwise stock exhaust and turbo etc, it'll make a big difference in response and output. you'll like it a lot.
and if you need to go back to stock to sell, it's just a few wires to undo.
Thanks for the great feedback and response. All comments are appreciated. I think the direction I’ll head in is that I’ll mod the car and retain the parts removed. I have plenty of storage.
The car will be enjoyed for a few years and then sold on to the next owner better than I found it.
I hope to have the engine back together in a few days.
As suggested, here are some pics. I just bolted up the wheels I picked up this morning from Craigslist and am working on the timing belt and balance belt and “while I’m at it” PMs such as seals and gaskets.
That's a pretty decent looking 951;
it would be hard to make any changes here that could NOT be reversed.
What happened to the side trim pieces ?
FYI, when they were last available a few years ago, a set was over 500 bucks from Porsche. WITH a discount. I believe they are NLA as of the present.
Best wishes with whatever direction you take; it's yours. Just keep in mind in resale terms, the real value lies in originality. Most people don't buy other guy's car dreams without some reservation or without thoughts in mind for their own personalizations, whether those be 'stock' or 'altered'.
Could it have come from the factory without the M418 Side Moldings option? I see on one of my cars that those were not a stock item and are listed as an option.
No, I'm in South Florida (Stuart, FL for those that want to grab a beer and talk Porsche restoration) and the heat is hell on German plastic. It appears that they fell off after years of service or that they turned to dust, like many of the underhood connectors. I can order a set of OEM moldings for ~$350 primed and ready to paint. I just have other priorities... like hearing it run first. It pains me seeing the adhesive residue, but it is so embedded that I am not risking paint damage. The new trim will hide the adhesive and really finish the look of the car.
My options sticker for anyone interested is attached below. My VIN ends with 944, which I thought was pretty cool.
04-05-2019, 04:04 PM
60K mile 1988 944 Turbo - Should I modify?
