1986 Porsche 944 Turbo. Worth a revisit?
Discussion
I had a 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo with the telephone dial alloys back in 1987 and it was truly awesome. A 911 of the time couldn't get anywhere near it.
One of the fastest and most capable cars ive had.
Or was it?
Have I forgotten how much cars have come on and today it would be, well, not that quick or exciting at all?
I still think about it and often wonder about finding one.
Well I have, I was driving home 2 days ago and 5 mins from my house I see a 1986
944 Turbo in exactly the same silver/champagne colour that I had with the turbo telephone dial alloys and a for sale sign.
I ring the guy and he has had the car 18 years.
He bought it with full Porsche dealer history at 77K miles back in 1995.
Since then he has covered 1000 miles per year on average.
He has it had maintained by his "mate" ever since who does just happen to be a local Competition Ford engine builder of some repute for the last 30 years. I never seen a Porsche at his place in all that time though.
Car runs well and everything works, paint is ok but has had a bit over the years.
Whats a good price to pay for it?
Or should I just forget the whole thing and enjoy the memories from the late 80's?
One of the fastest and most capable cars ive had.
Or was it?
Have I forgotten how much cars have come on and today it would be, well, not that quick or exciting at all?
I still think about it and often wonder about finding one.
Well I have, I was driving home 2 days ago and 5 mins from my house I see a 1986
944 Turbo in exactly the same silver/champagne colour that I had with the turbo telephone dial alloys and a for sale sign.
I ring the guy and he has had the car 18 years.
He bought it with full Porsche dealer history at 77K miles back in 1995.
Since then he has covered 1000 miles per year on average.
He has it had maintained by his "mate" ever since who does just happen to be a local Competition Ford engine builder of some repute for the last 30 years. I never seen a Porsche at his place in all that time though.
Car runs well and everything works, paint is ok but has had a bit over the years.
Whats a good price to pay for it?
Or should I just forget the whole thing and enjoy the memories from the late 80's?
I helped a friend buy one about 3 years ago. It had been owned by a neighbour of mine and was bought from his widow. He'd bought it from the Porsche auction at the 2008 Silverstone Classic and I remembered seeing it there. It was a very nice car, extremely sound and ran and drove nicely. I would say it appeared comfortably well above average for these. However, Nick wanted it just so so initially it had new dampers all round, belts, tensioners etc (brakes and tyres were already new), aircon made to work and quite a few other bits (bluetooth JVC stereo but also new speakers as the paper had turned to dust) - the initial bill came to around £3k from memory, at Unit 11 Porsche who are very reasonably priced.
He wanted to have it mapped and was told to do the head gasket first (as there was no record of it being done) - this turned into a £1600 job as the valve guides were worn etc, but it ran much better afterwards, and even more so after Wayne from Chipwizards worked his magic (tuning for torque and driveability rather than outright power, so 275bhp rather than 300).
He ended up with a stunning car that ticked all the boxes that the aficionados all know and ask about but it did cost around £8000 or so (on top of the purchase price, which to be fair was a lot less). It was also very quick indeed and incredibly impressive - to look at or travel in it really didn't seem like a 23 year old car. The one you're looking at may have the potential to match it, but don't underestimate the potential cost in getting it perfect.
Album here
He wanted to have it mapped and was told to do the head gasket first (as there was no record of it being done) - this turned into a £1600 job as the valve guides were worn etc, but it ran much better afterwards, and even more so after Wayne from Chipwizards worked his magic (tuning for torque and driveability rather than outright power, so 275bhp rather than 300).
He ended up with a stunning car that ticked all the boxes that the aficionados all know and ask about but it did cost around £8000 or so (on top of the purchase price, which to be fair was a lot less). It was also very quick indeed and incredibly impressive - to look at or travel in it really didn't seem like a 23 year old car. The one you're looking at may have the potential to match it, but don't underestimate the potential cost in getting it perfect.
Album here
I would say that a std 86 car running 220hp would not feel particularly impressive, but these cars are easy to tune, particularly the later 250hp cars. Once they get closer to 300hp, then yes, they start to become a much more serious proposition on the road and are unlikely to be embarassed by quickish modern cars. I can see why a lot of journos rate the 944S2 as more complete package than a standard turbo, but once you take a turbo to Wayne Schofield there is a whole other dimension of performance to discover.
Is the value going up? Maybe. There are certainly a few cars testing the £12k+ waters in the pistonheads classifieds at the moment (in the interests of disclosure, I am one of them). There is a strong dividing line between really good cars though and those with a few issues. Rust is certainly an issue.
Is the value going up? Maybe. There are certainly a few cars testing the £12k+ waters in the pistonheads classifieds at the moment (in the interests of disclosure, I am one of them). There is a strong dividing line between really good cars though and those with a few issues. Rust is certainly an issue.
911-32 said:
There is a strong dividing line between really good cars though and those with a few issues. Rust is certainly an issue.
Sure is, took me a long time to find a car I was happy with before I bought one 5 years ago. There are cars around worth £10k+ but not usually the ones dealers are trying it on with.My 24 year old 944 Turbo was no rustier than my 11 year old XK8 is proving to be :¬(
My 220 had the Promax treatment which gave it a more linear power delivery so that on the motorway, above 50mph, you didn't have to drop from 5th to leave the majority of the eurogrotboxes behind, and if something a bit tasty like a Focus RS or similar came flying up behind, I would pull over, let them pass and then just sit on their rear bumper to their surprise.
I found it a very usable car on modern roads (did 18,000 in it in the 3rd year I had it)
My 220 had the Promax treatment which gave it a more linear power delivery so that on the motorway, above 50mph, you didn't have to drop from 5th to leave the majority of the eurogrotboxes behind, and if something a bit tasty like a Focus RS or similar came flying up behind, I would pull over, let them pass and then just sit on their rear bumper to their surprise.
I found it a very usable car on modern roads (did 18,000 in it in the 3rd year I had it)
Fat Albert said:
My 24 year old 944 Turbo was no rustier than my 11 year old XK8 is proving to be :¬(
My 220 had the Promax treatment which gave it a more linear power delivery so that on the motorway, above 50mph, you didn't have to drop from 5th to leave the majority of the eurogrotboxes behind, and if something a bit tasty like a Focus RS or similar came flying up behind, I would pull over, let them pass and then just sit on their rear bumper to their surprise.
I found it a very usable car on modern roads (did 18,000 in it in the 3rd year I had it)
I love this car! My 220 had the Promax treatment which gave it a more linear power delivery so that on the motorway, above 50mph, you didn't have to drop from 5th to leave the majority of the eurogrotboxes behind, and if something a bit tasty like a Focus RS or similar came flying up behind, I would pull over, let them pass and then just sit on their rear bumper to their surprise.
I found it a very usable car on modern roads (did 18,000 in it in the 3rd year I had it)
GC8 said:
Fat Albert said:
My 24 year old 944 Turbo was no rustier than my 11 year old XK8 is proving to be :¬(
My 220 had the Promax treatment which gave it a more linear power delivery so that on the motorway, above 50mph, you didn't have to drop from 5th to leave the majority of the eurogrotboxes behind, and if something a bit tasty like a Focus RS or similar came flying up behind, I would pull over, let them pass and then just sit on their rear bumper to their surprise.
I found it a very usable car on modern roads (did 18,000 in it in the 3rd year I had it)
I love this car! My 220 had the Promax treatment which gave it a more linear power delivery so that on the motorway, above 50mph, you didn't have to drop from 5th to leave the majority of the eurogrotboxes behind, and if something a bit tasty like a Focus RS or similar came flying up behind, I would pull over, let them pass and then just sit on their rear bumper to their surprise.
I found it a very usable car on modern roads (did 18,000 in it in the 3rd year I had it)
.Id have agreed once, going from a 951 to a 968, but the reality was that it was simply an almost new car and better by virtue of being less worn.
Move forward twenty years and a worn out 968 wont handle any better than a worn out 944.
Lets not shatter the 968CS myth though, because a lot of people have a vested interest in seeing it grow...
Move forward twenty years and a worn out 968 wont handle any better than a worn out 944.
Lets not shatter the 968CS myth though, because a lot of people have a vested interest in seeing it grow...
And in Jeremy's (Fat Albert) defence, had he been driving my Turbo then he would have crashed more. If he had missed the Lotus it would only have been because the crash was bigger, taking him higher up the banking in a different place!
That 968 was in very, very clean and fresh condition.
That 968 was in very, very clean and fresh condition.
Edited by GC8 on Thursday 28th February 14:14
I still can't reconcile how it happened, I had 3 years of leery tail-sliding happiness in the 944T and the 968 had better suspension, better tyres and was 120,000 miles fresher.
In flying we talk of how a number of little insignificant things can add up to one big thing, we call it 'The holes in the swiss sheese lining up'
Deep puddle/lake, rear tyres at 2mm (was due to change them in a couple of weeks), a lot of weight in the boot, a gentle right-hand curve, light traffic (so people weren't braking or slowing for it in front) and driving slowly because of the conditions probably meant I wasn't as alert. Any one of those on their own would not have resulted in accident...but put them together...
In flying we talk of how a number of little insignificant things can add up to one big thing, we call it 'The holes in the swiss sheese lining up'
Deep puddle/lake, rear tyres at 2mm (was due to change them in a couple of weeks), a lot of weight in the boot, a gentle right-hand curve, light traffic (so people weren't braking or slowing for it in front) and driving slowly because of the conditions probably meant I wasn't as alert. Any one of those on their own would not have resulted in accident...but put them together...
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