Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

hi all, just got myself a 944. It's a bit of a project but after having a quick look over it shouldn't be too epic to start with ( although I have plans for a full strip down and refurb eventually) I bought it from the third owner who was left it by her late father who bought it in 1985, so fairly low owners and 96000 ish miles but nice and original and lots of documented history. Five years ago it developed an ECU fault, this was rectified but a year or so later it failed to start, was towed to the local garage and it sat in their yard until yesterday when I towed it home. It will be a long drawn out affair with plenty of pics along the way... hope it of interest.

Few more pics before I start cleaning or removing anything.

Nice little project, good number plate too.

No sunroof....nice

Washed 4 years of grime off it yesterday and it came up really good considering, with a good machine polish it'll be decent enough.

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Few bits of rubber needs changed though, mainly the door scraper seals and rear quarter window seals. Put some oil down the bores and turned it over by hand then put a battery on and cranked it over until oil pressure was up, plugs back in and tried to start it... won't fire up so after a quick check of the basics I noticed the fuse box was very damp and has had a small leak onto it from the battery tray area. DME relay is very corroded so waiting for a new one.
I'm hoping with this replaced it will fire up.. it that would be too easy wouldn't it!!!

hopefully its something as simple as that

Hope the rest of the fuse box is in better condition and the water has not gone down as far as the ECU below

I am glad your attempt to save it and the best of luck hope it all.goes well,

Hi Lawso, well done on taking this project on - I wish you all the best. I have done a 944S and currently have a 924S that I am (very slowly) working on as a full restoration...so I know what you are getting into!

One word of advice (others will chip in I am sure), do not try to fire the engine up, or crank it too much until you change the cam belt. Looking at what is written on the inner wing, the belt is 10 years old, and has been probably sitting in the same position for about 4 of those years. The teeth will possibly have perished and cracked, so can easily strip (I know..it happened to me ). I know you really want to get it running, but a set of bent valves will hurt...

There is plenty of advice about how to do the belt change on this forum, on Pelican Part in the USA, Clarkes Garage and good videos on YouTube, so do some 'cramming' on the subject and get it done ASAP. Once that is dealt with, you can then breathe a sigh of relief and start the resto work and sorting out the inevitable electrical gremlins. Also, the fuel pump will probably be seized, and the tank have old stale fuel in it, so some attention there would be prudent.

This really is the start of a long-term relationship with the car...have fun!!!

BTW - think about changing your name to Vin Diesel, it would match that rather nice plate you have...

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! Took the fuel pump off today to test it and drain the tank at the same time, as suggested it was seized so I'll order a new one as well as a cam belt kit. Took the ecu off and it all seems dry enough but under the dash is quite damp so I really need to get some cars shifted around to get it in the garage and dried out. I've a free day tomorrow so I'm going to inspect and free off the brakes to make it easier to move around until it runs under its own steam.

Oh and the number plate has gone back to the previous owner she wanted to keep it for sentimental reasons but it's probably worth x5 what I paid for the car so I don't mind.

Full black Pasha interior including door cards, which looks in remarkably good nick (apart from needing re-attaching onto the bolster - a common issue). That's brilliant. I love Pasha interiors! Sooooo period. Worth saving just for that interior.

I always thought if I ever get an old Porsche I'd want the Pasha trim, I love it! eventually I'll get the interior retrimed in new pasha material and leather but it's good enough for now. My main objective is to get the car good enough to drive and use reliably for 6 months, then it'll come off the road for a full strip down/ paint/ trim/ refurb.

I got a bit more done over the last week, first I cleaned all the earth points around the car, then I removed all the fuses and cleaned the tops of them and the fuse holders.


Removed the ecu and looked inside, it was dry so I cleaned the connector plug and refitted if. The fuel pump was seized so that along with the filter have been replaced.
Today I tried getting it running, the fuel pump didn't seem to be running so after fiddling with the relay plug it started working, the engine sounded like it wanted to fire but was only firing on a couple of cylinders, eventually I traced it to sticking injectors, after a tap with a screwdriver it fired up and seems to run sweet. I've ran it up to temp, drove it up and down the driveway and all seems good. There's still some electrical gremlins to sort with the heater not blowing, elec windows not working and indicators not working, I suspect the fuse box needs removed and all plugs cleaned. I'm so pleased it starts and runs well as I feel more comfortable spending money and time on it now.

good to hear, good progress!

I would refrain from running and driving until the belts are done, you don't want a belt to bust after all your efforts