Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

I'm aware this may have been covered elsewhere, and I've missed it, so please re-direct me/delete this if so...

But: had my 1987 944s since end of May. It's done 92,000 miles, no problems at all (except handbrake freezing in January). Was planning on getting it serviced in a few weeks, knowing that the cam belt was the achilles heel of the car.

However, I had to drive up to West Cumbria on short notice for a family event. No problems getting there, all good. However, three days later when I get to go, I reverse it a few yards and it cuts out and won't start. Mechanic is brought out - he says the cam belt has gone.

Question is - I've been told getting it repaired could cost more than I paid for the car itself (£3000). Do I have any real options here? Bear in mind, I'm back in Manchester and the car is locked up in a garage three hours away.

Any help to aliviate loss-of-car blues appreciated...

I have PM'd you.

Stuart

It will be a head off job for sure. Will be bent valves for sure. Won't be a cheap repair as you have 16 valves to replace if they are all bent, 16V heads are also a bit rare as well due to only being made for 18 months and also having a habit of grenading the tensioner and breaking belts!
Alasdair

If I were you I'd get the engine changed for a known working replacement. If the pistons are fine then you may get away with the head, but assuming you buy a good a engine, it will still work out cheaper to get another engine.

For the engines You can try:
PH Sportscars in Derby
Porsch Apart in Huddersfield
JNH Autos in Huddersfield (the car had quite a bit of work done from them before I bought it).
FrazerPart outside Liverpool
PorkerParts (Elliot Newman off this Forum) in Lincolnshire (it's where I got my engine from)
Sulzeruk
JMG down in Bournemouth
Pro9 down in Stratford
EMC Motorsport in Birmingham (They currently have my old engine, but I don't think S2 heads are compatible with S engines).

IMO I reckon it will come to probably £2k easily with the head being redone and that's assuming the bottom end is ok (i.e Pistons are ok etc.)

Out of those lot I'd call EMC (say Chas sent you), PH Sportscars and probably JNH Autos (Say Chas with Nethan's Blue 944 sent you) to see what they quote you on a head rebuild. A swap with a good working engine could be done for around £1k, maybe less, maybe more. That's based on a £400-600 fitting. With the engine on the bench, the cambelt could also be changed also.

Stick a 3.0 in it maybe?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Porsche-944S2-944 ... 2a0548b554

Thanks for the replies. I'll ask around to see what prices I'm quoted, but to be honest, anything around the grand (or higher) price range is going to be tricky with current funds.

Kind of sums up the luck I've been having recently...

Are you on Retro Rides or is it a coincidence that two Matt's have blown S?

Not me. The other Matt has my sympathy, though.

Matty,

3 hours from Manchester in what direction? This might help narrow down the best option.

The car is in Whitehaven, West Cumbria. I would hazard a guess that would make options very limited, as it's pretty much the a*** end of the country.

Shiply Trailers will take it anywhere in the country for a reasonable fee in the past I have found (www.shiply.com).

Take head off & have a look. That won't cost you anything if you DIY & what have you to lose? If the bores are ok & the head casting is good it depends how many bent valves you have. You might be lucky & not have bent any. Sounds like your belt went at low speed so it may not be so bad! Start by checking your cam sprockets for wear by removing your rocker cover. You could alway just drop a good 8v engine in but I wouldn't give up yet. (mobile mechanic shouldn't rip you for more than an hour to do this if you can't) Then report back.

Not sure on geography up in the land of whippets & pigeons but I suspect Hartech is your best option. What Bazzer doesn't know about 944s isn't worth knowing. Website here:- http://www.hartech.org/car_service.html

Thanks for that. I'll pass it on to my dad (whose garage it is locked away in), who will hopefully know someone with a little car know-how who will understand all that. Can't get up there till Easter myself (not that I would probably trust myself with anything too technical).

And yeah, it went at about 2mph, if that, so I was hoping that the damage wouldn't do too horrific.

I'd rather be lucky than good