bp944

Hello,
So here's my premise. I am a college student with a very small budget and an expensive taste in cars. For the longest time I've been trying to save up for my dream project which is to put a 500hp ls1 in a 944. The idea being that I wouldn't have to bother with the problems I've heard the 944 engine has and get cheap horsepower. Unfortunately, being a college kid and all, money gets harder to come by.
My question is this: How much money will it take to get a working 944 that won't be a fortune to upkeep and repair? Is this even feasible? I figure I can get the 944 and just work on the body and the car itself. Then I can drop the ls1 in when I have the money to afford the conversion kit. I would love to hear any opinions or other options I would have.

Thanks,
Ben

john durdin

THEY ARE EXPENSIVE , WAIT UNTILL YOU HAVE GOOD FULLTIME JOB ,YOU WILL BE A LOT BETTER OFF . JOHN

pnbell

Yup, Any Old Sports Car will take up all your FreeTime and Free Money (if you have no Free Money; you will wake up a year later paying 18% interest on several thousand dollars in Credit Card Debt...)

These are Not the answers you wanted: So with that said:

If you have Tools, Jack/Jack Stands, Can Work on Cars/Not afraid to Learn, and Have a Place Where you can tear a car apart... Don't let us stop you... I'm 29 and wouldn't mind seeing more young guys appreciate actual sports cars, not Loud Honda's, or "pimp" Grand Prix's...

If you do Get a 944, be very careful with what you buy. Do not Buy a car without maintenance records. Spend all you time, on this website! Not sure where you live but there are probably people in you area that will help you find a decent 944. A Decent 944na with few issues will be $5,000

laneskelton

I drove a 944 all through college and loved every minute of it.

God_Bot

I bought mine over a year ago during my third year of college. Granted it's not my daily driver so when it is broken I can still get by thanks to my other car or my pickup. I paid $2750 for mine in drivable condition but in need of a timing belt change soon (50k miles on it). Did the job myself and so far still have under $3500 in the car.

I do love driving it, it's the most fun car I've driven, but I still consider it a project car. If you have something else to rely on and somewhere to keep it when it's down I'd say it's not difficult. It will depend on your situation and location.

Edit: The other car and pickup are not the ones in my avatar. I have an '06 Monte Carlo for everyday/winter driving and a '90 F150 for any hauling/offroad duties.

rickb20

I'll second what pnbell said...

I had and drove an N/A while in college/grad school, and could not have done so without a second vehicle. I had 3 or 4 instances in a 5 year period where the car failed on me for one reason or another.

Because I was not very mechanically inclined at the time and had very little free time to learn (school and work) and almost no $, I was always worried about whether I was going to break down. If I had it to do over again I wouldn't have wanted to deal with the issues.

Excelerate

I've had a great time with my 951 in college, but one of the perks of my house is the nearly fully stocked garage. Minus a lift, I have every tool I could need at my disposal - without this I wouldn't be able to have any kind of sports car, but especially not this. It's been very reliable (aside from the clutch going out), but only because I've kept up on all the scheduled maintenance to the letter.

Rudeboy42

I too am a college student and I find mine to be expensive but nothing I can't handle. If you can't do most of the work yourself and you don't have another car to use definitely don't get one. But if you can work on it yourself and you can have another car or can borrow your parents for a week or two every once and a while, go for it.

I bought mine about a year and a half ago at the beginning of my senior year of high school and didn't have much money or knowledge but I had time and space to work on it and I've been getting along fine so far. I've learned A LOT about how cars work and how to fix things. Before I bought my car I had never even changed the oil in a car but now I'm rebuilding the top end of my engine with little to no problem.

Just keep in mind that these are old cars and they will need some amount of work no matter what.

Also don't try to burn the candle at both ends, if you're the kind of kid who likes to go out and party every weekend and spend a lot of money on it a 944 won't fit into your life. That's not to say you have to just sit on your hands in your room every friday night but just expect to spend some time with your car in the garage some weekends.

Feppas

I got my '83 944 at the end of my senior year in HS. I've used my car as a DD every spring/summer/fall for the last 4 years and now I am driving it out to Colorado as I start my PhD. When I started, I knew virtually nothing about cars but was determined to learn. This car is an excellent 'learner' because it's orders of magnitude easier to wrench on and trouble shoot than a newer car. That being said, in my sophmore year of my undergrad I bought a WRX as a back up car in the warm months and an excellent 'get my *** to Jay Peak fast' in the winter months. Truthfully, owning both of these awesome cars has repeatedly drained my bank account, but I honestly think it's worth it. FWIW I don't have a credit card either ;-p. I just work my *** off in the summer.

It comes down to this: your car is going to break down. Not catastrophically, but something will happen (wheel bearings, anyone?) When it happens you have two options. Pay some idiot mechanic 1000$ because he thinks he knows what he's doing or pay 50$ in parts (again, wheel bearings) and do it yourself. Fixing these cars and getting in afterwards for a drive is one of the most rewarding feelings ever. And believe me, saving 1000s of dollars by doing it yourself is satisfying as hell.

Lastly, I guess I'll address your LS1 dreams. I too was fascinated by the renegade porsche conversion kits, but at the end of the day I decided that I do not have the tools and fab-shop access to pull this one off, at least right now. I enjoy my 2.5 N/A block a lot, in fact. Sure, a honda accord will smoke me off the line, but I don't race the car ever. I simply enjoy it. In fact, if I do change the setup of the car around, I'll dive in head first and personally build myself a nice turbo block.

Hope I didn't rant too much, but I think it's funny that there are a few of us in the same boat.

Jscaramella

Head to the N/A versions, service records and finding a knowledgeable shop thats fairly priced.
Expect to have to learn about the cars mechanical workings in detail in order to be a educated customer at your shop of choice. Tackling minor service items is well within reach of a novice.

I've owned many p-cars they all require service, however when you think that most of the parts that you will need to service have gone many, many miles or endured 20+ years of use you have to admire what you have.

My current 944T is a daily driver and for 191K miles it still gets 21MPG, not bad imo.

petei

hey i'm in a similar in situation and plan on abuying next year (after my coop work term).

you think i can get something good for a round 5-6 k Canadian.
and does any one know someone from montreal, Canada you would b wiling to help me look. i'm willing to learn and i have a year to find a car. advice?

Voith

944s are rock solid if you take care that belt is not as old as car is.

VirginiaF1

HI BP...
I see you've bought a head gasket issue '87 for $800 already so Congrats and hope the repair goes smoothly..

As a reference to other new lurkers considering 944 ownership, I wanted to re-post my Pelican post from a moment ago..

"I totalled all of my receipts since 1990 for a grand total of $14,165..
Does not include the fluid/flushes or oil changes which totalled $3,205..
(40% dealer vs 60% local Euro shops)
I saw no clutch receipt so I called all 5 shops that have worked on this car. ( Texas, Maryland, Virginia)
NO clutch work in their records so seems Still on factory clutch..
Window shows plate has used 26mm of the 34mm avail.
(rev-matching / no racing / never over 4500 rpm.)


Last week, P-Dealer quoted me $2950 P & L for a full clutch kit / inclu Release Bearing.
Locals quote $2100 for same using OEM.

So from Houston, TX in July 1990 to Annapolis, MD in 1995 to Richmond, VA in 2008 this Porsche costs less than $69/mo in total care..... Awesome.
( If a clutch receipt is missing from an unknown wrench then add $10/mo..)

Still amazing..
NO Substitute..