I got some rainwater in my ECU on the '88 and fried it. $2000 for a new one because all the club racers snap up the more aggressive timing map of the '88.

There is an aviation product called Corrosion-X. Buy some in aerosol form and liberally spray inside the control unit box to displace any water and fix any corrosion that may be bridging the circuit board.

My guess is you will probably need a new control unit. Yes, no spark = bad ECU.

If you need a new control box, contact Loren at www.systemsc.com. He knows his stuff and will take good care of you!

Thanks everyone for all the advice - everything you've said makes sense - I was able to bring the ECU over to the local Porsche mechanic yesterday - he swapped it into another Carrera - no start. So the conclusion is it's bad. Shopping for a replacement .....

Call Loren...he'll take care of you.

Got a new (used) ECU from an 87, plugged it in, charged up the battery, Had to spit a little water out of the muffler, but after idling for awhile the engine seems to be running fine. Thanks, everyone, for all the help.

Now for the rest of the cleanup job ...

Excellent!! Congrats!

If you haven't already, replace the tranny and engine oil.