Is it me or is the number of 944's for sale dropping?

overkill · 09-25-2002, 06:52 AM

I just did a quick search at porche-classifieds.com and it hardly returned any hits. When do you guyz think 944's are going to die out as in hard to find parts and stuff like that? Also, whats a good year for a 951? I heard 87 is prime. What is wrong with 86? I see mostly 86 951's for sale.

AFJuvat · 09-25-2002, 07:05 AM

There probably just aren't many for sale right now - lord knows they made a ton of them - try looking through other classified sources.

AFJuvat

overkill · 09-25-2002, 07:17 AM

What about the 86 turbo? Good or Bad? Whats the difference between the 86 and the 87?

jakell · 09-25-2002, 07:40 AM

I am new to this board but have had my 87 951 for 2 years now. I have a good friend with an 86 and I will try to capture some of the differences. The 87 and later cars had dual airbags, driver and passenger, while the 86 does not. The 87 and later models had abs as an option although mine does not have it. Also, the 87+ models have an automatic spring tensioner for the timing belt, although there are debates about its usefulness. Another difference is on the small pipe leading from the wastegate to the crossover pipe. The 87 and later cars have a 2-piece design while 86's have a one-piece design that requires more labor when removing. Many of the 86's were updated to the 2-piece design, but not all of them. I also believe that there were far less 87,88,89 951's imported than the 86. That is why there are more 86's for sale. That is all I can think of off of the top of my head. Feel free to ask me anything else about the 951. I have pretty much rebuilt my entire car from the ground up.

Nabeel · 09-25-2002, 08:12 AM

Also, the '87 and up had the different wheel offset that allowed them to run pretty much any new Porsche wheel without spacers.

overkill · 09-25-2002, 08:16 AM

Ok, but you can get spacers for the car to fit the newer wheels. Anything major, as in can't be updated to 87 standards or you can but it will be a pain in the arse to do? I dont really care if it has ABS or airbags. Engine, drive train, electrical, etc,...

jakell · 09-25-2002, 08:32 AM

Of course the 89 951 and the 88 turbo S have bigger turbos and I believe there was also a small change to the head for these years. Also, I don't know if power locks were available on the 86's. Other than that, there are not many other differences, they are all good cars. If you don't care about the airbags, abs, or wheel spacing, I would go for the best 951 you can afford. I bought a low-end car and ended up pouring money into it for about 18 months. In the end I am happy because I learned all about the car, but it cost more to do it this way. Good luck. The 951 is a great car.

overkill · 09-25-2002, 08:46 AM

Hmmm, I think Ill duke it out for an 87+. I know I wont be happy if I dont have an 87+, I kinda have my mind set on it. Thanks for the help

pearldrum · 09-25-2002, 08:51 AM

from what I've seen the number of 944s on ebay have almost doubled since back when I was shopping for one a little over a year ago.

kenny · 09-25-2002, 01:38 PM

the trick is finding a GOOD one!

951carter · 09-25-2002, 05:02 PM

It is subjective but alot of people prefer the 86 w/out all the extra crap. My 86 is the ONE that i will never sell. Everything can be updated on the 86, even the T-belt tensioner, as i did on mine.

IMO the ABS is not necessary, i never lock my brakes up on the 86 and stop just as well. I would also prefer NOT to have 1st gen airbags blowing up in my face =)

You see more 86s for sale because there were more 86s sold here than all of the other years combined.

I find that wheel availability is not a problem for any year

overkill · 09-25-2002, 05:31 PM

Yeah, I dont want all the extra stuff on the car, its just extra weight to me. 951carter was there a modification to the head for the 87+'s? Its stuff like that, that bothers me. I mean if if its all stupid minor stuff that i can update then Ill consider the 86. but if there was major mods done then I would perfer the 87+.

951carter · 09-25-2002, 07:26 PM

There are no updates to worry about. They changed the ceramic coating a little bit to try and keep it from coming off but i have seen both versions flake off, so it didn't work too well.

There is lots of little silly stuff, like the oil level indicator light: that would be good for your mom =)

The 86 is actually the only year that is sure to have forged rods, which IMO outweighs the silly little stuff

overkill · 09-25-2002, 09:23 PM

Ok, cool i'll consider the 86 too. I plan on doing ALOT of work to the car but I think I'm going to go to school first. So I want to find a good one that wont give me to many problems. I'll probably do some minor stuff to the car to "FRESHIN" it up a bit.