1984 Porsche 944 - White Smoke

[WalkerTwoFour]

Hi All! First time posting on the forums here, thank you for having such a wonderful resource for me to research on, it is much appreciated with everyone's feedback and contributions.

Myself and my buddy are currently resurrecting my 1984 Porsche 944 that I have had for the past 20 years (The poor thing sat outside and garage deteriorating over the past 10 - 15 years) so needless to say that is needs some work.

I have replaced most of the usual components that need replacing to get it going. Recently we have replaced both the crank/reference sensors. Then on our attempt to start it, it idled (rather roughly) but then all of a sudden there was a cloud of white smoke and smell like something electrical went poof. We shut the vehicle off waited for the smoke to clear. We removed the sensors and checked them and they seemed to be fine.

Upon re-installing the sensors and checking the surrounding wiring we did not note there was not anything had visibility had been visibly damaged, as the smoke came from the where the sensors are located. We tried to start the car again. However, this time there was nothing, no sound from the starter or anything from the car.

Does it sound like the starter gave out from trying too many starts? As we had been trying to start the previous with each part replacement and perhaps the, most likely, the original starter gave out.

Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated!