New project 89

[rufrob]

Hi. I picked up this abandoned 944 needing everything
First can someone here tell me the seat material from code KD KL C7.
The paint needs work
The AT damper needs repair or swap to static clutch or manual conversion
The dash needs dashing
Brakes need unseizing


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[Monkey Wrench]

what year is it? there were changes in early 85, I think about the second month.
The automatics suffer from needing that rubber damper plate and it maybe around $1000 for a new one unless you can find some alternative. If you wanted to switch to manual you might look for one that comes with a manual transmission. some later models had limited slip and 16 valve turbo engines and some other changes , larger brakes, some suspension changes, and they made about another 100 HP.
the rusty calipers might be sandblasted. I got the seals and hoses recently for mine , aftermarket ones. Many here say you should change all the fuel lines particularily any that run overtop the exhaust manifold. Mine had a rotted hose between the tank and the pump, this is inexpensive. the pump is about 200 give or take a bit for a bosche one. you can get cheapos. I bought about 1000 in aftermarket parts just getting started. cap rotor most of the hoses rad hoses etc, my side mirrors ( glass) fell out they were not expensive. You will want to change at least the timing belt, and I'd do the balance belt, there are some seals in there too and a water pump you can consider. the metal tanks can rust so that can be looked at if you remove the transaxle. these are interference engines so if it breaks the timing belt the valves can hit the pistons and cause a lot of expensive damage.

if you look near the license plate, inside the hatch, under the carpet there will be an options code sticker, unbutton the carpet a bit. not sure what the codes translate to but that info will be available. an OEM dash is probably pricey, you can consider the cheapo replica covers. Id consider stretching leather over when it's wet, and make it take the form then when dry glue it in place but there are better alternatives if you want it closer to OEM.

mine was cheap at 1000 and in nice shape but it will still cost about 2k before I'm even close to being on the road. tires are too old to be safe and that's probably an additional thousand just for that. some stuff you can only find as OEM and may be pricey.

on the good side they seem to have fairly decent galvanized metal so they dont rust out too easily.

I'd start making a list and finding suppliers and start with the stuff that isn't too high but be prepared for the stuff that will need to be OEM. try to see if you can keep the cost within reason before you buy loads of parts and delve in too deep and get surprised with the cost of finishing the project.

some have the optional sports seats that hold the driver in a bit better and they may have some resale value. I think those are not the sport seats so I'd consider others as if you are not set upon sports seats ( or racing seats) you can likely find better OEM ones from someone doing the seat upgrade. in some cases you may find that a vinyl dye can be used to go black or perhaps blue.

I think the likelihood of finding parts is better than the average grocery-getter of the era as they do have a following of people who like working on their own cars so there are people wrecking them and doing restorations. they also have roots in race circles so some parts are carried with race applications.

paint isn't any different from any other car really but I'd ask what you think is a reasonable cost of parts before you start and see if you can find the parts to keep within that before you order anything. you might find you are going to be in 3K minimum for parts plus paint as a wild guess, but you can spend more if your objective is to end up with a more finished specimen. lots of it is your own labor of love of course.

I hope you take it all on but I'd also suggest looking and pricing parts because you can end up in so deep that you may wish you started with a better car to begin with after you spend lets say 5K or similar on parts and pieces.

I'd suggest doing a compression check I think the mileage may wrap at 100,000 so the mileage can be mistakenly high. If it reads 20,000 it may be 220k and not 120K for example. If it has low compression then that may mean you just have to expect to do more as then you are likely doing the engine, pistons rings bearings etc too.

you may be able to change the damper by removing the engine or by removing the transaxle so id' decide upon your mode of attack with that before pulling the trans only to then realize you are going to do an engine rebuild too. If you pull the engine it probably has to be dropped not lifted but perhaps you can do either. you might do both if your motive is to change every bearing etc.

[rufrob]

Hi. Thanks for your detailed reply. It’s an 89 ROW 944 2.7 in Japan.
I’ve lost count how many 944/951s I’ve had. My first one was 30 years ago. My last was about 5 years ago.
I know them all too well.
After freeing up the brakes with a hammer and pry bar I was able the get it rolling and dragged home. I spent the first 3 day just cleaning and removing the brakes. Got them sandblasted and painted. Waiting for new hoses and seals.


Removed, marine vinyl wrapped the dash
4 hours wet sanding roof and hood, let the primer sit for 4 days then painted


Reattached the right mirror
And put the correct sized new to me tires after repainting the rims

The PO told me it ran 3 years ago and that he did the tbelt and pump. I’ll do it again to be sure.
Parts here in Japan are few and stupid expensive but shipping from the US ain’t cheap either. I’ve done an auto to manually conversion before and countless clutches so I prefer to do it from the back. Don’t have an engine hoist.

Regarding the seat. The sticker in the boot has been removed. I called the dealer and he gave me the codes mentioned above.
Before I buy Madras Karo blue as what I think it is, could I be wrong about the fabric type? Are there any other similar and cheaper options?
With shipping I’m looking at close to $300 for the OEM material. $400 can get leather seat covers from LSeat.
It’s not a 911 and with 165,000km I doubt it will be with big money anytime soon. So I don’t want to sink too much into it.
I’m into it for 1500 plus what I’ve done so far. I think another 1500 should get me a decent reliable 944.


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[rufrob]

Forgot to mention it runs perfectly. One of the reference sensors connector crumbled and came out.


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[kdjones2000]

The fabric is from the '89 "Special Edition", I think it's a Pasha, but not sure which color. Maybe one of the options in the lower right of this:



I have not seen those seat color codes, but you can look things up in PET - there is a special PET just for seats and interiors that you can download.

I would do the fuel lines if they have not been redone yet, especially the ones going over the exhaust manifolds. I brought an '87 944S back from the dead, and I was ~$6k into it to make it nice, and that was not even redoing the seats and interior bits.

Good luck and enjoy it

[rufrob]

Thanks.
I’ll definitely be doing all the rubber hoses.


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[Monkey Wrench]

It looks like you are doing fine and making good progress! The cost of the hoses can run into lots if they are all going to be OEM and each ordered as a separate item. Im in Canada and some parts distributors wont ship outside the US. there are some silicone kits, I didn't seem to find a hose kit for the whole car otherwise but mine is a bit older. I got some, I guess most of what I need from the rock place that were reasonable, some might need to be OEM.

It seems like there is an option to go OEM on the fuel lines, or there is a guy that can make up nice ones that are close to OEM in look and quality, or you can use shark fittings and line that is rated for fuel which might be a bit different in appearance. some may like the fancy colors of the fittings and the silicone hoses but it sort of leads away from the original look if you care about that. It seems like one might choose red or blue fittings and hoses and maybe paint the rocker cover and sort of start a custom color theme.

looking forward to seeing updates. I'm going to be doing a lot of similar things as mine was off the road a long time and I've been itching to get going with work and other car repairs stalling my start but that's life. It doesn't need to be a race against time for me. I feel I have benefited from reading other posts and learning before I start in and from all the great advice here. My brakes also seem a bit locked so Ill disassemble all that and free stuff up , change the seals, flex hoses, bleed etc.

I think it's just a fact that some have the ability to drop a lot on new parts and some need to scrimp a bit more to avoid it getting too expensive for everything to be practical while balancing things. It sounds like you know the car quite well from past experiences and we all learn from each other here.

Interesting that you are in Japan. we see lots of neat little cars that get imported here. lots are right hand drive. Ive heard there are some restrictions on older vehicles in Japan. a lot of them are around 10 years old. , maybe it just plays into insurance costs. Its not too unusual to see guys driving right hand drive foreign import cars from Japan, and they are a little out of place but it's legal.
It must be a head turner on the road over there.

What some here do is set up a post office box or a similar shipping service. Some have a friend in the US forward stuff so they can order from places that only want to ship within the US and that might help open up more options if that is restricting parts sources.

Here Ive been watching on the roads hoping to see other 944's and I actually dont see many on the road very often. lots of new ones. all my cars are from around the late 80' and usually mine is the oldest in the lot if I park in some random place. I'm seeing a lot of new Teslas here. It rains lots so we do have a lot of neat custom and vintage cars that come out in the nicer weather and get put away during winter.

Last weekend I saw a guy driving a tiny old school Austin mini with a blower stuck through the hood, it looked like fun. What a combination!

[rufrob]

I’m from Toronto. My first Porsche was a 944 back in 1997. Sold it after I moved to Japan. I was the first guy to import European cars from Japan to Canada. Then everyone started doing it and the market grew and matured.
I used to get cars like this for free because parts here are about 3-5 times more expensive than the rest of the world. And Japanese are not a DIY people, repair shops charge a hefty price and Japanese tax rules only allow depreciation for about 7 years. These and increasing taxes for used cars create a huge market for used cars.
I bought this car to flip it. I need to cash and the PO also has a 951 which I really want to keep.
I want to make it most marketable without spending too much money. Do I do the manual conversion?
Do I get the OEM seat fabric or replace the inserts with vinyl?


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[rufrob]

Checked the tbelt. It was loose and not putting sufficient tension on the water pump. I could turn it by hand. That explains why the PO said it was running hot and couldn’t bleed the coolant.


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[rufrob]

The seat appears to be badly faded Madras Karo blue. Either new fabric or vinyl either way I’ll have to do all the seats or try to dye the remaining seat blue. Any suggestions?


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[Monkey Wrench]

my suggestion is to put he word out, advertise in FS wanted, look on craigsist or FB marketplace for people wrecking 944's find someone wrecking a car and willing to send just the upholstery since shipping seats will be expensive. If its the wrong color dye it black or similar. make it nice if you want to flip it , without being too fussy about everything being perfectly OEM. I wouldn't try to change it from being an Auto either, just fix it so it works. I doubt you will gain by the conversion if it's cash you are after. Some like Automatics, nicer in heavy traffic, I know the resale value will likely be a little lower but that's what you got.

if foam is cracked Ive used contact cement and old jeans to patch the foam back together then pulled the covers overtop. cheap and worked fine.

[rufrob]

Found the correct material. But it will cost the same plus sewing as L Seat leather upholstery so in total the fabric will cost more.
If it were a low mileage garage queen or a 911 maybe. But sadly not for this high mileage quite neglected 944.
Pulled the timing belt and water pump. Surprisingly the impeller separated from the shaft. All the idler pulleys were noisy but the tensioner pulleys were not.
The small 8mm nut on the starter was completely rusted. Very surprisingly the AT damper looks really good. No cracks.
But I found all the transmission fluid lines from exhaust manifold to the rear of the engine are not secured. Just floating.
I hope that was the source of the intermittent rattle.




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[kdjones2000]

I guess that's why it was overheating for the PO...

Looking good so far

[rufrob]

Got a lot done today.
Completed the timing belt and water pump. Cleaned and painted the starter motor.
New brake hoses and brake overhaul kit.
Disappointingly the right rear brake line sprung a terrible leak. Ran of of day light so I’ll check it on the weekend.



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[rufrob]

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[kdjones2000]

I thought only the Turbo cars had a hose coming out of the water pump for that plastic bit, and that the NA's had that plugged up.

Where does that smaller hose in your last picture go to?

[rufrob]

All later 944 the small hose goes between the water pump and the reservoir


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[rufrob]

Found the leak at the rear brake T junction.
Worst possible place.
Hear the death rattle.

https://youtu.be/exK9bszOm60


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[kdjones2000]

Not good. Sounds like it's time to give up?

[rufrob]

i anticipated this. Ill turn it around and drop the tranny and rear subframe tomorrow. just want to get it done before the rainy season.