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Sorry for the late reply. I emailed the prior Omer and coordinated to take the car to the prior owner's house the first weekend in June.
Not sure he will allow me to post pics of him online, but I will try to take some unidentifiable pics and post them on this thread.
Car is running great.
Searching for that little clip to hold the hood shock bolt in place.
I got that clip for a car I bought which was missing, right over the parts counter at a Porsche dealership. It was really a cheap item..... like about a buck.
All those little decals and rubber pieces which go missing are still available as well. It's amazing what Porsche keeps in stock for these cars.
Does your owner's manual show a month ? Mine has a printed date on it with month and year. There were many revisions as progress on the cars unfolded.
AS to the PET numbers..... this is great info.
Did you notice the weird looking steel wheel with hubcap for snow / winter use ? I thought it was a 6 inch, but the PET shows it as a 5 1/2 inch by 15.
Wonder how many of those they sold and if they are even still available (-: With that bizarre looking hubcap......
As to the FUCHS wheels, notice how they only list the 7x16 inch for series one ( made for the '82 and '83 cars ) and the 7 and 8 x 15 inch FUCHS wheels as available ( appearing on the '84 and '85.1 cars )...... and this is where things get a bit muddled I fear. The 8x16 normally on 911s were available over the parts counter on an upgrade for the 944 series one cars. Correct me if I am wrong, but they do carry a slightly different offset if memory serves me. The first staggered 16 inch FUCHS wheels available for our 944s as an optional 'build out' from the factory, came along with the 85.2 model. Because Porsche had just built the turbo variant late '85 as an '86 car, and needed to put the iconic FUCHS on as an identifier of brand imaging, but they wouldn't fit over the new larger brakes and the later appearing ABS. Hence the one year model offering of the '86 car with what ended up having the hard to find 'shallow' face 16 inch wheel. Then, they (FUCHS) disappeared entirely from our waterpumpers and were available only on 911s up to the end of '89 cars in that model range.
All we could then get for the series 2- 944 was the phone dial with new ET in 15 inch, the new ET phone dial in 16 inch - 7 and 8, the forged FUCHS disc wheels, (manhole covers, pie-plates, "gullydoeckels") of the 928 wheel, the cast D-90, and the Cup 1 and 2s which were on 968s. The 'cut out' seven spoke FUCHS which are known as Club Sports and are a variation on the seven slot pie plates.
Or, the later appearing and ultra rare magnesium cast phonedials which came on Cup turbos and could be special ordered for track use on other '44s. ( I do not believe these were a DOT accepted wheel for street use due to vulnerability of cracking, flammability, etc. )
With many of these wheels interchanging with simple additions of spacers, I wonder why so many have chosen to 'upgrade' to the Boxster wheels other than for 17 or 18 inch sizings. It sure cannot be for the looks, as I feel it is all wrong in model identification or styling.
Just to note - I have an 83 and the factory option sticker has the 15 inch fuchs option on the white sticker in the wheel well. I also have the original sales brochure and the 16 inch fuchs where also an option. So, to confirm both 15 and 16 where option on the 83 model. There is no detail on the offset, but I think Clarks Garage has that detail correct.
I am going to go out on a limb here and guess yours is a very late build '83 model, with a late build date in calendar year 1983..... maybe as late as May or June of 1983 ? Right before the changeover to constructing the model year 1984 cars.
What does your build code on the firewall tell us when it was constructed ?
( as an aside, my 944 was made in July of '82, with white code sticker showing the 16s and owner's book relating the corresponding info which matches the tire sticker on the passenger door jamb.)
One thing I have learned about Porsche, there are always exceptions to the rules.....
Last edited by mrgreenjeans; 05-28-2016 at 01:14 AM.
Qualified museum find. Very nice. Prices that they're always is another Bugatti waiting to be found in some barn in some little pasture or in the clutter of a forgotten building nestled in some overgrown city.
I met with the prior owner of my Porsche 944 a few weekends ago. It was a blisteringly hot day and I was a little worried that the 944 may have a hard time handling the heat. However, the 944 handled the heat just fine and the coolant and oil stayed pinned at normal temperatures.
I took the prior owner for a brief ride in the car as I needed to stop to get water for myself!
When I started this thread I sent a link to the prior owner so that he could follow the progress. And he did. So, when we met, he seemed completely up to speed and was familiar with all of the 944 restoration details.
I asked him if he wanted to drive the 944 and he didn't seem much interest. However, I think he had more interest in riding in my 997.2 GTS!
I have a few minor details left to do on the 944 such as adding new wiper blades front and rear and I ordered a locking washer for the front hood strut. That's all it needs.
The car starts right up, idles as it should, the manual shifter is firm and mechanical and the car is really nice to drive.
There is only one problem....I view the 944 as a museum piece and I've become careful not to drive it too much.
Since buying it last year I have put about 50 miles on it and the rest of the time it stays covered on a battery maintainer in my parents garage as I am out of garage space and have been working a lot and have little time to drive it. I daily drive my GTS and my weekend car is a minivan. So, now that the car is restored and museum quality, I am not sure what to do with the 944.
I think you should drive it a few thousand miles a year. Don't let it end up dormant again.
I have a similar opportunity to acquire a a low mileage 83 from a friend. His dad bought the car in 1991 when we were in college. 2nd owner with all records back to the window sticker. 42K miles on it. It was a concours/garage queen. His dad passed away and he doesn't want to keep it because he said if he does, he would never be able to part with it. If I do grab it, I intend on driving it in nice weather as much as possible
I am glad the prior owner has gotten to enjoy it with you once again. It's beautiful he found a relationship with the car in the beginning, gave you opportunity to purchase it, then enjoy this thread , re-uniting with it again........ this is more than heartwarming. It is all about the joy of owning a Porsche.
Porsche referred to it as "Lieb zu ihm" ( or something very close ). I have seen it on Porsche advertising as well, in relating the stories of Ferdinand and Ferry's journey thru time. Producing for us some of the greatest sports cars of all time.
Personally I truly believe in preserving the past but also enjoying the present. I kind of am faced with similar issues of trying to keep the miles within reason, but still driving with the excitement Porsche wished us to find in their product. I believe it's possible to have it both ways having seen an early Carrera RS this weekend that Porsche took thru their restoration facilities over a 3 year span of time. Twenty years ago.
And that car has only travelled 600 miles since ...... it was driven the day of that show and sounded, LOOKED spectacular. THAT owner respected and enjoyed his car, and in ways perhaps closer to your situation.
Some of these great finds deserve to be held for posterity, not only at the Factory but in private hands, so we know what they look and feel like. So we don't forget. I can appreciate that, as all too often well sorted, patina clad examples seem everywhere; junkyard dogs rest in backyards, garages, and street corner. We KNOW what worn out looks like in abundance. And sometimes try to relive greatness by spending absurd amounts of money to bring 'worn out' back.
Then there are finds like this.
Thank YOU for sharing your great story and bringing it into your fold.
I would keep it all cost.
Just so we have examples like this for the future. And love it and enjoy it to the maximum. These opportunities are all too bittersweet to look back upon with regret after moving them on...........
FWIW a few things to consider. First let me say I've owned museum quality vehicles and they have their own special care requirements such as excellent storage, full value insurance, regular appraisals and the stress associated with it. If course if you're worth $100MM then I am wasting air.
We're not talking about an ultra rare car but it is a unique snapshot in time. I would buy a carbon copy of this car, mothball this car and drive the other knowing you have a nice little investment. Then find the next and is carbon copy to drive and so on.
---- and I remember when these were fairly new and available for under 20,000. Back in 1974 when this longhood Carrera was a year old. This one was restored 20 years ago.... @ the factory over a 3 year window of time and has had only 600 miles put on since. They weren't particularly rare back in the day as over 1500 were built, but have gained value significantly because of their importance in time, character, lightness, and raw sporting exuberance. Demand worldwide. Great ones like Adam Levine's RS and perhaps this example as well now exceed 1 M.
Our 944s will never reach this plateau, granted, but don't you think pristine low mileage examples will command a desirability far exceeding the normally seen, daily driven machine?
I think they will. And with any of the rarer options, lower mileage cars with originality oozing from every pore, these seldom seen 'greats' will gain their positions; their pecking order.
I have always believed to buy the best and maintain it the best and it will forever pay you back in smiles and value. And yes, when it's time to move it on to the next caretaker, these will be the easiest to sell despite their higher value.
Enjoy this car, drive it and show it off now and then to help keep it young. The S2 that I drive a good bit is a nice car, but not so nice that I worry about a stone chip or a deer like in my 84. In the six years of my care I have raised the mileage on my 84 from 22,8xx to 25,2xx, mostly driving to shows and on nice Fall and Spring Sundays. Watch the "Chasing Classic Cars" episode where a widow sells a nice 1960 Chevy Impala her husband kept in the garage and would only sit in so as not to devalue it. The small amount of return made though it's non use is a good lesson, drive it some, money be damned.
05-20-2016, 11:25 PM
