Rebirth of an icon--killer: '86 944 Turbo(Typ:951)

[ANORXIC_'51]

Decided to introduce the new car after selling the old car, as I was venturing into getting a MKIV Supra. Went for a ride in a 566 rwhp/500 ish rwtq, 2,600 lbs, stock bottom end, daily drivable 951...and well, I'm back in another one

Finally picked up another black '86 to combat the withdrawl after selling my old one back in March. This one is completely unmolested, exterior and interior are near-flawless(the dash doesn't even have any cracks...which is BEYOND rare).
Maintence/repair records since birth came with the car. The best thing is that it seems it was waiting for me to find it, as it already has rear wiper delete, no cruise control, no door bumper strips, and clutch was done less than 30,000 miles ago(which, I have already done a clutch change on jack stands. With the engine in front and the transaxle in the rear, it makes for a very NOT fun job.) Being an '86...its the only year of the turbo that they came without ABS or air bags...meaning less things for me to take off
Build plans are going to be extensive as, given the condition of the car, I want to make this one of the nicest 951's in the country. Suspension, braking, wider wheels, safety and instrumentation will be addressed first alongside modern aesthetic upgrades as well as minor performance bolt ons to get it past specs of the 951 S.

Then will be a staged attack as I do breathing/ exhaust, fuel/ignition, turbo upgrade, cooling, drivetrain(hopefully adding a 968 6-speed tranny to the mix), top end, and ending with a 3.0L build based on the factory 2.5L block with turbo upgrade.
Currently in storage for the winter as that time of year is coming and I am on the road 4-5 wks at a time anyway. I look forward to giving updates as I'm excited to get started.

[-The Stig-]

Very Clean... nice find.

[Polygon]

I was thinking about getting one for my next car.

Nice find!

[turtlecrxsi]

Sweet 951. I like the phone dial rims. My 944 had the same wheels. I miss my 85.5 even though it was naturally aspirated and a bitch to work on...

GL with the 951!

[drunken monkey]

it's too easy to forget just how good looking these front engined porsches are, especially with the typical media obssession with the 911s.

[CassiesMan]

Ah, my favorite Porsches...

The 911 cars may be icons, great handling, and fast, but they are just so...boring. The look has hardly changed, and while I'm not looking for a complete Bangleization, or pulling off what Subaru did to the WRX, they could at least make it a bit more special. Tiff Neddle said something along those lines, and being a journalist, he put it far better than I did.

Good find, I wouldn't mind one of those in a project garage.

[93rollaracer]

That car is as old as me and the interior looks perfect...amazing.

[VR43000GT]

Very nice car. I have actually looked at some of these. The thing that concerns me is if they break I am sure they are plenty spendy to fix. How are they for reliability. I know if it is taken car of it will last longer, but comparatively, how are they?

[ANORXIC_'51]

Thanks all for the replies, I'm excited about the upcoming transformation from stock into a GT2 humbler...yet anxious for taking it away from stock.

Ah well, whats a car guy to do

Originally Posted by SL3000gt

Very nice car. I have actually looked at some of these. The thing that concerns me is if they break I am sure they are plenty spendy to fix. How are they for reliability. I know if it is taken car of it will last longer, but comparatively, how are they?

Thats the common misconception of them, just because they are P-cars. Yes some parts are more expensive than say, a Toyota, obviously...but its the LABOR that rears its ugly head. For the clutch, its a 22 hr book rate job on a Turbo. That's $2,200 (if you're lucky) in labor, ALONE. When the clutch kit is less than $400...that's quite a bit to chew for such a small priced part. The money I saved by doing it myself allowed me to get a clutch that would hold more tq than I planned on that car, plus some other goodies.

And that is where the lure of this car comes in. You have the prestige(though not really as, since its not a 911 variant...it must not be a Porsche in some people's eyes) of the marquee, yet...its a car you can fix and upgrade yourself. I've done both the headgasket,(which you can see by the engine pic what all needs to come out just get to the head) and clutch. I feel more in tune with these cars than I could a Chevy, Dodge or whatever.

Bonding at its finest.

"Don't fix it if it ain't broke" does NOT apply to these cars, since the youngest Turbo is still 17 yrs old.

These can be reliable...but its much better to replace things you don't know the history of before it goes out at an inoppertune time.

[VR43000GT]

^^ Yeah it sounds like the car I have now. 3/s's are not a fix it when it is broken car at all. They require maintenance all the time and run great when the are properly maintained.......however, parts for 3/s's are expensive to say the least.

[turtlecrxsi]

I can testify to the labor being expensive even though parts aren't really that expensive if you know where to look... Rennlist, Pelican, etc.

I took my car to a guy who worked on "sports cars" to do a clutch job, t-belt and waterpump. Total cost was like $2500. I said do it, but the guy wanted money up front because he couldn't cover the parts. I was like bs. That t-belt broke 8 months later for no apparent reason and I simply sold the car for $875. But the car was a beater and I beat on it. Before I let it go, I had a bunch of stuff replaced by my wife's ex (vw/porsche guy) and then I had some Porsche/BMW tech look at some issue I kept running into. He raped me in labor and the problem was simply a coil reference wire or something. The car sat for years before I bought it from a scheister used car dealer that sold German cars. The car was a blast with some mods (even N/A) but then after that t-belt snapped I had to cut my losses. It was a sad day. The car was towed away the same day I flew to NJ to pick up my rice machine crx. Since I couldn't get shop time to keep up with the 944 the crx seemed more appropriate for my situation. Now I have a garage and there is an empty space in it begging for something.... something I can't afford

[RACER D12]

Damn thats a clean one, nice find.