Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Ive always like the shape of 944's (And many 80's cars in general) and i stumbled across an 1986 on a D guards red 944 2.5 lux in a salvage auction looking sorry for itself, so i decided to have a cheeky bid - and i won!

This is how it looked when i first got it : -



As you can see it suffered damage to the front panel, bumper insert , foglight drivers front wing and headlight was also cracked. The radiator was leaking also so i replaced that with a genuine item.

It did have teledials on at first but another lucky bid on ebay got me a set of s2/turbo staggered alloys with michelin pilot tyres - and they are nearly mint All for £98!!!

The other parts were obtained by trawling through ebay and other auction sites (ive tried to keep costs down where possible)and then replaced (only the damaged drivers front wing remains untill i make sure its been serviced inc belts changed and mechanically sound then its going for a front end respray). Its passed an mot with nothing needed (brake pad sensor needs replacing).

The car has covered 125,000 odd miles and seems to run very well with no smoke and the oil pressure is 3.5 ish on the gauge when warm. Everything works as it should and apart from age related wear and tear to the bodywork (more later) it seems i got a pretty good buy.

The only slight concern at the moment is a slight tap from the rear when moving (wheel bearing , driveshaft or gearbox?) and the heaters are now cold since swapping radiators - ive tried bleeding the system and someones suggested trying it on a slope to allow the air to escape easier so i'll try that soon.

The cars just been sat in my backyard since the mot untill i get round to getting the belts changed then a planned part respray and the other day while off work i decided to have a go a cutting the faded paint back and polishing it.

After a rummage around the shed i attacked the car with some "G3" cutting compound by hand (ive burned through the paintwork on a old vauxhall nova with a machine polisher just before i was due to sell it so i'll leave it to someone more carefull than me from now on).

The pic shows my attempt of cutting the drivers wings paint back - it came up really well compared to the faded area! P



Pleased with that i carried on to do the roof, doors , rear arches and tailgate area.

Around 6 hours and endless cups of tea later i ended up with this :-







And thats how it looks at the moment, but is going in to my m8's garage on friday to check on that tapping noise and to check the belts etc.

If everything gets sorted out ok then i'll be booking it in for the front end to have both front wings replaced (already got a good pair from ebay for £40) and a front respray.

Who knows , then i might get chance to drive it!

That's looking good, well done. Better to have saved it than it going for spares.

PS The wheels are known as D90's in Porsche circles.

looking good so far. where are you based?

Looks like you've been about as lucky as I have with mine, although mine probably needs more work for it. Oh and I still don't have it

Top work, I grew up with this model car, same age. A definite worthwhile project. Keep us posted on the next chapter in restoration!

well done, another rescued 944, keep us all updated on the progress

Looking good so far.

Recognise the car from pistonheads.
Any idea how it came to end up at auction? I'm guessing insurance co. sent it there?

Are you planning to keep the wheels?

Adam

Scunthorpe , north lincs.

I travel to manchester airport a lot with work and the first chance i get i'll try the 944 out on the snake pass from sheffield to manchester - its a great road as long as there's no artics or caravans around

Yes, the insurance deemed it uneconomical to repair due to the cost of replacment parts etc and the car is now classed as a cat C.

This doesnt put me off the car as i know the original damage ,how it will be repaired and that it will be safe after its all done. Ive bought quite a few damaged cars like this and the only downside seems to be obtaining replacment parts can sometimes be tricky for older cars (ebay and forums etc helps a lot though).

And after winning the auction paying for the car inc fees and collection from their yard, buying the replacment parts, mot'ing and buying the d90 wheels + tyres it now stands me the grand total of £450!

I would only advise buying a cat C or D classed car as long as you buy it in a damaged state and get it repaired yourself -thats the only real way of knowing the car be will safe and repaired correctly.

And you will save a lot of money in the process!

Which alloys were you asking about the d90's or the teledials?

Sounds like a bloody bargain! nice one.

Oh yes, welcome to TIPEC too

I was just wondering what you plan to do with the D90s..

Well, if you mean sell them i think i wouldnt get another set in their condition for the money they cost and the teledials are not in the best condition and would need a tyre replacing so im going to hold on to them for the meantime.

They dont seem to be the right offset however (i thought they should fit straight onto a 86 car) so i will need spacers at some point, perhaps someone with some 30 -31 mm spacers would like to swap for some teledials?

looks really nice and at a good price think i jumped in to quick when i bought mine but i love it and will get it sorted over time.
Dave

What a bargain

Im from Sheffield as well and have done a few runs over the snake in my turbo since i bought it. Superb road. But they have now dropped the speed limit to 50mph And the last time i came across there were 3 speed camera vans parked at strategic places(the fastest overtaking parts ) The only reason they dropped the limit from 60 to 50 was so they could rape the motorist of some cash. I cant think of any other reason. Thankfully i was stuck behind traffic at all the camera sites otherwise id have been doing bannable speeds to be quite honest.

Anyway nice car and i hope you get it sorted soon.

Stu