Oh, how I miss my 944...

[SlowToady]

It's been awhile since I had to get part with my dear 944, almost 2 years, but driving through the country late last night I realized how much I really, really miss it. The other day, the girl I bought it from, who happens to be a good friend of mine, called to tell me that she "saw another blue 944 driving through Gurnee. It was like seeing a ghost..." I didn't think much of it at the time, except for "hmm, blue 944s are relatively rare.." But, like I said, on my drive last night...

I'm driving a 2.0 Golf GL. Not an inspiring drive, by any stretch of the imagination, which makes it all the worse. It's not like I went from a 944 to a 968, or a 911, or a hopped up GTI. I went from a quickish car to a car that has trouble moving out of it's own way. One of the things I loved most about the 944 was the way the doors closed. You can tell a lot, I think, about a car by the way the doors close. They weren't heavy, but they weren't light..and that lovely "thunk" when they shut....Made me feel good everyday to open and close those doors.

Don't even get me started on the chairs. For a few days I entertained fabricating brackets to put 944 chairs in the Golf. My chairs were even nicer than usual, since the girl's father (his car originally) replaced the entire when he quit smoking. Getting into the 944 was like sliding into a glove. Getting into the Golf makes me want a sex change operation.

On the driving side of things, I'm sure the Golf gearbox is technically leaps and bounds better, although there was something slightly more magical about shifting the Porsche box. Probably just rose-colored glasses though, the linkage was getting loose, the first gear synchro was slightly worn. Ironically, a few days before the accident I studied up on repairing the linkage and had plans for that Saturday to fix it.

Handling isn't even a fair comparison.

Braking? HAH! I had just put new Cyro frozen Frozen Rotors on, coupled with Hawk HPS pads and I rebuilt the calipers. One of the first hard stops I made after the brakes were broken in, I almost put my face through the windshield. WooHoo!! THAT'S how a vehicle should brake! I ended up selling the car for less than I spent on the brakes alone.

Driving the 944 just had a slightly more magical air to it. From hearing the big 4 kick over to 4-3 downshifts to make it through the local red light:-D to how planted it felt in the corners. It's hard to even enjoy driving the Golf, it's more like utility, something I have to do. In 40,000 miles and 2 years, I have one memorable drive in the Golf (that doesn't involve sex). I only put 10,000 miles on my little 944, but oh the memories....!

There truly is a specialness to driving a Porsche that other vehicles just don't have. I've driven plenty of faster cars, but few as enjoyable.

When I get out of University, I'm buying a 911. Maybe a 944/968 to go with it:-D

[pwd72s]

Possibly rose colored glasses, possibly not. In many ways, I miss my 911. In many other ways, I'm not missing it at all. One part of my life has changed. Some changes aren't totally good or totally bad.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Get the 911. You'll never look back.

[tabs]

well PWD why don'tcha look for a 356, 912 or maybe a 914 to putz around in. U got Porsche in the blood...how can U NOT give in to it?

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by tabs

well PWD why don'tcha look for a 356, 912 or maybe a 914 to putz around in. U got Porsche in the blood...how can U NOT give in to it?

Pretty simple to me Tabby...I had the best, one of the most desired 911 cars on the planet. It was my 4th Porsche. Two of the previous ones were then new 912's...a '66 and a '69. Why would I want to go back to a 4 banger after this?





Nope...I'm done with P-cars.

[thamlin000]

I agree that the door "chink" is really cool. You can always get another 944, they sure are cheap enough.

I'll never sell my 944. I'm really attached and everything about it feels so right. It's my car soul-mate.

My 993 is a mistress, a fling. And I enjoy every minute with it. Same with my previous 912. And so was the 260Z before that.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Pretty simple to me Tabby...I had the best, one of the most desired 911 cars on the planet. It was my 4th Porsche. Two of the previous ones were then new 912's...a '66 and a '69. Why would I want to go back to a 4 banger after this?

Nope...I'm done with P-cars.

Why? You sound like a woman who's been dumped. But still hanging around the singles bar.


A 1972 911 is hardly one of the most desired 911 cars on the planet in 2007. Don't see that many in Excellence or other magazines. It's a small subset of a small subset of car enthusiasts that are after the longhoods. So you sold your "special" car because you couldn't take car of it the way you wanted to. So what? Buy an SC or Carerra. One that's already roughed up for $14K, no emotional attachment. Quit grousing.

[pwd72s]

Steve, I don't figure I'm grousing...Done with P-cars doesn't mean I'll never have another car I enjoy...it just means I'm done with P-cars. IF I buy another "fun" car, it just won't be a Porsche, that's all...

[gprsh924]

SlowToday i know exactly how you feel. I started driving my 924 when i got my license, but now that I have a car at school, I drive my dad's 93 525i. Still a great driver but its an automatic and it feels soulless when i compare it to the p-car. I am home for the weekend so I got to drive it again and ill be very sad tomorrow in the 5 hour drive back to school in the bmw because i will be wishing that i was driving the porsche the whole time.

[CJFusco]

This might be an aside, but did you ever notice that people who aren't used to Porsche doors ALWAYS slam them? It drives me nuts.

[dewolf]

Originally Posted by CJFusco

This might be an aside, but did you ever notice that people who aren't used to Porsche doors ALWAYS slam them? It drives me nuts.

+1 That pisses me off to no end.

[K9Torro]

Hey Slow -

I have been having the same exact feelings lately, I really really miss my 951, it was one of the most fun, low cost bang for the buck cars I have ever owned, I got mine from the original owner and it was completely stock and well cared for with just over 60K miles, I kept it and put another 125K miles on it, it was my everyday run to town, work and whatever car. I did some stuff along the way like chip/bov/exhaust which made it even quicker than it was.

I have my P-Cars sitting in the garage right now and none of them are quite the same, I never got over the feeling of ripping by some guy leaving a stop light in a mustang/vette or ricer in that little turbo 4.

Todd

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Steve, I don't figure I'm grousing...Done with P-cars doesn't mean I'll never have another car I enjoy...it just means I'm done with P-cars. IF I buy another "fun" car, it just won't be a Porsche, that's all...

Yeah, but why make that declaration? There's a lot of nice Porsches out there. To have 4 (and the same one for 30 years) seems like a silly statement to make unless you missed out on having a Pinto or something. Maybe you're just concerned about your image in a newer Porsche!

[SlowToady]

I'm seriously thinking about looking into a 996 C2S or C4S after I graduate and get settled into real life. I also want to buy property at a youngish age, so I'm not sure how a 996 is going to fit into that. The big plus is that they're pretty affordable to get into used.

Thamlin, that's a pretty 993 you've got...the 944 looks pretty good, too! There's a 951 in that same color (I think) that runs around Lexington/UK Campus. Kind of curious as to whether it's a Pelican or not. I would like to pick up another 944 series car, just for an inexpensive fun car. It's too bad they're getting so old.

+100 on the door slam. I made that mistake one time, let someone close their own door. Now, it's force of habit that I get the door, open and close, for every single girl that gets in. Not to gender-type, but it generally seems that girls do it. I guess the SUV doors are heavier? Guys get a firm "DON'T SLAM MY DOOR!" Sometimes I even went outside at night, and opened and closed the door just to hear "that sound."

GP, my dad felt compelled to let me drive his Z3 during the T-belt change on the 944, since he helped the other kids with all their car repairs (financial and work wise) and I was doing it myself, on my own dime. Got to drive it for 3, maybe 4 days, and sure was a spot of fun! It was stick, though, and not nearly as big as that 525, so I guess that added a touch of "soul." I like BMWs...fun cars. I hear you on that drive back to school...8 hours in the Golf to school isn't exactly the most enjoyable way to spend my day. The longest trip I ever took the 944 on was a spur of the moment road trip to see a Pelican for parts. From North Chicago suburbs out to Findlay, OH. What a drive that was!! I found the 944 to be a pleasurable road tripping car. It was more comfortable over a few hour span than I would have imagined, and did I mention the chairs? The door arm rests were at just the right height and everything. My only complaint was my ankle got sore from holding the loud pedal down....way down Got my first, and only, ticket in that car, on that road trip, coming back from seeing friends at ValPo in Indiana.

Todd that's a nice stable of machinery! You know what would look good in there? A 968 Turbo S:-P Sounds like you had a top notch 951, what year and how long did you have it? I considered one originally, but then decided it might be too fast for a 17 year old kid. Now that I'm older (but no wiser) I feel like I could justify it with the age excuse. Aha...If you have any pics of your 951, you should post em!

[legion]

Wanna buy a 951?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Or a 944 - I'd even consider selling all the Callaway turbo conversion parts at this point.

[CJFusco]

Originally Posted by SlowToady

+100 on the door slam. I made that mistake one time, let someone close their own door. Now, it's force of habit that I get the door, open and close, for every single girl that gets in. Not to gender-type, but it generally seems that girls do it. I guess the SUV doors are heavier? Guys get a firm "DON'T SLAM MY DOOR!" Sometimes I even went outside at night, and opened and closed the door just to hear "that sound."

I've actually demonstrated to people that if you just close it lightly, it clacks shut like a vault door. You can actually feel the mechanisms through the door handle. I've explained it a million times to people, and it just doesn't seem to sink in; my most recent ex-GF, who drove a Grand Cherokee, slammed it every time, and gave a bashful "sorry" right away (she was the kind of girl that found acts of chivalry, like opening doors for her and ordering for her at a restaurant, to be archaic and sexist).

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by VaSteve

Yeah, but why make that declaration? There's a lot of nice Porsches out there. To have 4 (and the same one for 30 years) seems like a silly statement to make unless you missed out on having a Pinto or something. Maybe you're just concerned about your image in a newer Porsche!

Yeah...a pinto or something...I plan on test driving one of these when/if mopar makes them:




Before I was into Porsches, I was into muscle...had a couple of Pontiac GTO's...with 425 V-8 horsepower, combined with decent suspension and brakes, the nostalgia Challenger might be a fun ride. Time will tell...

A biggie for me now is service location. This eliminates most euro luxury brands, including Porsche, from my list. 200 mile round trips on I-5 for service in Portland OR has become a royal PITA these days. You need to drive it to understand.

Tell ya what, Steve...buy what you want, I'll do the same. I'm done with Porsches...gave away all the magazine back issues, workshop manuals, books, special tools, etc. Cindy would shoot me if I even joked about getting another. She's mad at me for selling the S, she begged me not to do it.

Ahhh yes...I'll miss the sound of a Porsche door closing.

But there are a lot of things about Porsche ownership that I don't miss...okay??

[SlowToady]

Ahaha don't even joke like that:-P I've admired your car on several occasions, it's pretty Has a pretty decent list of mods, too, doesn't it?

At this point, I'm having trouble scraping up money to make the payment on my Golf every month. A new (to me) toy isn't going to be in my future for quite some time.

POP, when I was shopping originally a few years back, I found an 84' Calloway Turbo conversion for almost the same money as a regular 944. Thought about pulling the trigger on it, but wasn't sure how it would hold up compared to either a 944 or 951. Yours isn't put together, correct? Any thoughts on the quality/design?

Originally Posted by legion

Wanna buy a 951?

[K9Torro]

Hey Slow - I had a 86 for many years, it was " kinda " rare in that it did not have the sun roof, but I hated that burgandy interior, it was really hard to get parts for it, I have a ton of pic's around here, I am also fortunate to live near the 944/951 guru of the East coast who has a shop in Jax. you can check him out at http://www.autosportfl.com/

Todd

PS... I am out of room right now n the garage, might have to build another addition hahaha