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Early midlife crisis 944s

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  • Early midlife crisis 944s

    Last year I sold my Underdog Suzuki Swift mk1 GTi and I was back in the market for something else.

    I've always said, if the Suzuki goes, something RWD and coupe will take it's place. Also I wanted something that can last, something worthy of the name, something to enjoy with my sons, no more project but a hobby.

    So I ended up with the Porsche 944 and I even managed to score a 944S type 2! Enough plans, but they are multi-year-plans.



    Old project: Suzuki Swift mk1 GTi carbs '86
    New Project: Porsche 944 S '87
    Follow me: Whiteknuckleride
    My band on Spotify: Edison Road

  • #2
    looks tidy! 944's in general aren't that common here in the UK, there's just over 1k registered according to howmanyleft.co.uk, so a 944S is unseen here
    Gruz

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    • #3
      had a neighbor that owned a 944. sat in his garage for years. a few years later i see him pull it out of the garage.


      he took it for a drive around the neighborhood and brought it back. tried to do the same later but the fuel pump went out so he dropped the tank to remove the fuel and replace the pump, put it all back together. saw that he needed gas so he found a gas can in his garage ,put it in and started it up. ruined the new fuel pump because it was the same old fuel that was in it when the first one went out.



      said fuck it and shoved it back in his garage and its been there since i moved away.
      69390016 by giallo, on Flickr





      " man up,take your family out to lunch'

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      • #4
        was not a big of these, but they have started growing on me recently. this one look clean. can wait to see what you do to it

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        • #5
          So I have the car for two weeks now.

          Drives good, here with my youngest boy in the front


          Did the following:
          - oil and filter
          - fuelfilter
          - brake fluid
          - spark plugs
          - transmission fluid
          - new battery
          - general lookover

          All looked good, but we did find some small issues, mostly eletrical:
          - non working interiorlights
          - non working dashboardlights
          - small rusthole in the rear silencer
          - small leaks from the power sterring reservoir
          - leaky valve cover gasket
          - timing belt is due next year

          So overal I was happy. In the meanwhile I wanted to check how the camshaft-chain and plates looked. They are an issue point on these cars. Then I found this:


          Yes, teeth broken and bended on the camshaft gears... ****
          Old project: Suzuki Swift mk1 GTi carbs '86
          New Project: Porsche 944 S '87
          Follow me: Whiteknuckleride
          My band on Spotify: Edison Road

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          • #6
            Tensioner pad doesn't look too bad, but replace while there. Really odd failure, have never seen one like it in either 16v 944s or 32v 928s.


            OZ, MSW, ABT, Carlsson, etc 10 point bolt tools info

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            • #7
              Yeah, this wasn't what I'd hope to expect...

              Anyway, the show must go on. I've asked around for some quotes and I made a budget.

              Here's the plan:
              - clean and powdercoat valvecover and distributorcap
              - have the car towed to my garage
              - mount new sportcams (if I like the quote)
              - new timing belts etc
              - new tensioner plates
              - new cam chain
              - polish the valve cover bolts and apply new seals
              - new gaskets were I'm working on
              - new oil seals in places I can reach whyle I'm at it...
              - new valve tappet? Dunno yet...
              Old project: Suzuki Swift mk1 GTi carbs '86
              New Project: Porsche 944 S '87
              Follow me: Whiteknuckleride
              My band on Spotify: Edison Road

              Comment


              • #8
                The 16v valve cover is magnesium(make sure your PC shop knows this), dist cap is plastic.
                The vc bolts are zinc plated, if the finish is removed for polishing they will eventually rust. You could just order new bolts and washers if appearance is a priority


                OZ, MSW, ABT, Carlsson, etc 10 point bolt tools info

                Comment


                • #9
                  Well, I’ve got a lot of things done in the meantime.

                  - Got my hands on good condition second hand camshafts
                  - Bought new bushings, seals, o-rings, chains, belts, slide pads, gaskets for everything we need to do when replacing the camshafts
                  - Fixed the interior lighting, everything is back in good working order
                  - Fixed the digital clock
                  - Bought a rear hatch with working heating, my current one has the pins broken off. Also got a cap for the rear wiper delete
                  - Got hold on a turbo/S2 rear diffuser, lets see if I can make the deal, if so it needs to be painted first
                  - Bought new Magnecor sparkplugs, new Bosch rotor and distributor
                  - New floormats placed (the car came with none)
                  - Had the valve cover blasted and painted it myself. Due to being magnesium, I didn’t dare to had it powdercoated (my coater also)

                  In 1,5 week we’re gonna start on the cam swap, new distribution etc etc. After removing the old belts, I will blast and paint the distribution covers as well

                  It's a bit more work then I expected, but then again it's hobby and I love it. Got a deadline though, my wedding on the 10th of august.
                  Old project: Suzuki Swift mk1 GTi carbs '86
                  New Project: Porsche 944 S '87
                  Follow me: Whiteknuckleride
                  My band on Spotify: Edison Road

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    looking good. cant wait to see more

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Geez, never noticed you are on this forum. Shame I never saw your Swift in RL, looking forward to seeing what you will do with the porsch.
                      Originally posted by aLaFleur

                      I've decided the best way to deal with rust is to just embrace it.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Did some work last weekend

                        - changed the camshafts
                        - new camchain, tensioner pads and camseal
                        - changed the bush and seals of the bottom balansshaft

                        I have some parts to clean and paint, will continue this thursday. Built it back up with new distribution parts.

                        The damage was big, I'm lucky though that I spotted this in time.

                        Broken tensionerpad:


                        Six broken teeth on the intake and 3,5 broken teeth on the exhaustside:
                        Old project: Suzuki Swift mk1 GTi carbs '86
                        New Project: Porsche 944 S '87
                        Follow me: Whiteknuckleride
                        My band on Spotify: Edison Road

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Finished everything last night. Car drives beautifull again.

                          - new belts and tensioners
                          - new distributorcap and rotor

                          Some pics of the last month:







                          Airhose for the alternator cooling was shot, so replaced it:


                          Had my valve cover and distributor caps blasted, then painted it myself. Bought the wrong color though, but it's looking fresh again.

                          I can now monitor how the paint holds on the magnesium. And then redo it in the right color with the next belt change.



                          Before:


                          After (Still have lots of cleaning to do underneath the bonnet and new Magnecor spark plug wires are on the way)


                          Dashlights working again (fixed the reflectors and changed the bulbs):


                          New floormats (weren't in the car when I bought it):
                          Old project: Suzuki Swift mk1 GTi carbs '86
                          New Project: Porsche 944 S '87
                          Follow me: Whiteknuckleride
                          My band on Spotify: Edison Road

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            So I got married last week. It was bloody hot, but it was a perfect day! Ofcourse we've used the 944 as our weddingcar!







                            What else did I do? Placed a new temp-switch, the old one was leaking for a long time. And I found a turbo/S2 rear diffuser, just need to pick it up and paint it.
                            Old project: Suzuki Swift mk1 GTi carbs '86
                            New Project: Porsche 944 S '87
                            Follow me: Whiteknuckleride
                            My band on Spotify: Edison Road

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Congrats on getting married! Car looks correct, happy you used it on your wedding day
                              "You could roll an E30 in a BMW showroom today and people would think:
                              Well, they finally got the 1 series right!"

                              3.0 L e30 ground up build

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