Apparence mode on a 944

[Ernie944]

In a periode of over 20 years I did some app mods on my 83-944,will like to share them with new members on the forum has well has the old one.Those rea all app mods not perfomance except for the side pic where you can see that the car has been lower front & rear.no1 shave front bumper with Bosche Pilot clear lens driving ligths. no2 Rear side view of the AIR fiberglass bumper.
No 3 Side view.
No 4 Rear view with the 4'' exhaust tips & embossed 944 checker flag badge Notice the alluminum plate shielding the bumper from the exhaust heat.No 5 Fuchs polish wheels with painted centers& polish wheels nuts & painted calipers.No 6 Now some interior shots.Dino steering wheels with flat face gauges.No 7 Gas ,brakes ,clutch pedal + alluminum foot rest.No 8 944 embossed carpets & Porsche logo side sills.No 9 embossed Porsche shifter logo.

[Ernie944]

General view of the front & rear .
Notice removal of the rear seats belts.Will like to know what you guys think of those mods,every one has his own taste so don't be to hard
on the old man from the great White North

[pfarah]

I admit that some of them look like the factory should have consulted with you during the design stage. The bumpers are fantastic! I also removed the rear seat belts a few months ago to achieve a cleaner look as NOBODY is going sit sit back there!

[PHillary]

Where did you get those door sills...Car looks fantastic btw!!!

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by PHillary

Where did you get those door sills...Car looks fantastic btw!!!

Took the mesurements & got them printed at a decals shop,Thanks for the positive respond about the car look ....Ernie.

[SilverLined]

Looks great! How long ago was the car painted?

Also, interesting choice on the 5Zigen belt pads... that's a rather obscure Japanese tuning brand that I remember from my Subaru tuning days. Did you have a JDM car as well?

[Ernie944]

Ok folks will keep on going with both apparences & some mild performance mods done on that 944.Like mention car was lowered front & rear ,lowering the front was acheive by modifying the stock OE springs,Old folks here will know what I'm talking about,Boge Sport insert were use front,Boge Sport shocks were use in the rear,really don't know if they are still available today those Boge Sport shock.For bushings I went with new rubber all around since I wanted to keep a decent ride yet firm enough around corners ,torsion bars were already larger front & rear.Then a short shifter kit was install ,car was riding on Falken tires , wheels were offset rear front & beleive me will hold the road like glue set as such.Now the exhaust a HONDA SS catalectic couple with a 4''tail pipe was then install + a K&N cone air filter...see the air entry for the air filter.... will make noise when push hard.For quiker respond a came tower & an Accell electronic coil was doing the job.Now back to the interior . Extra speakers two in the rear wheels well ,one in the glove compartement + two sub woofers in the doors produce enough sounds for me lol.Notice in the ashtray cover there is an orange switch.pic no 6...what is it?...simple a manual back up fans switch in case something happen to the automatic one.Will send details later on.Anyone of you can tell me I was crazy doing such mods ,but remember this was over a long periode of time,& now what is left at my age is beatifull memories working on my 944 ,driving it like hell on twisty roads ,maybe not a Ferrari but one hell of a car that for sure.

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by SilverLined

Looks great! How long ago was the car painted?

Also, interesting choice on the 5Zigen belt pads... that's a rather obscure Japanese tuning brand that I remember from my Subaru tuning days. Did you have a JDM car as well?

The car was never repainted ,except for the modified front & rear fiberglass bumpers.Yes I did like the 5Zigen pads & think it when well with my car interior .What is a JDM car? The other car that I own among severals Porsches was a 93-968 _the best Porsche I've ever own ,see my garage for more details that one was a beauty ,did a minimum off mods to it but did want to keep it OE as possible.BTW thanks for the nice responde ,take care Ernie

[Ernie944]

Manual fans switch details as promise,don't ask me how I did it was to long ago but swear it does work remember folks most of them mods were not done by the book but by instinc ....trial & errors was the norm.

[SilverLined]

That's a trick fan setup, I'm planning something similar for mine.

Originally Posted by Ernie944

The car was never repainted

Forgive me, I'm browsing on a phone. To my eye those look like tape lines on your door jambs. Also, that 944 badge has been moved, and the paint looks perfect where the badge should be.

Not trying to take your car apart, was just curious about the paint job as I've gone through the process. Nothing wrong with nice paint!

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by SilverLined

That's a trick fan setup, I'm planning something similar for mine.



Forgive me, I'm browsing on a phone. To my eye those look like tape lines on your door jambs. Also, that 944 badge has been moved, and the paint looks perfect where the badge should be.

Not trying to take your car apart, was just curious about the paint job as I've gone through the process. Nothing wrong with nice paint!

???? what do you mean by tape mark on the door jams,to my knowlege like I said the car was never repaint excepted for the front bumper & rear one, btw way I was the second owner of that car & if the PO repainted it he did an awfull good job because when first inspected you could not find any traces of overspray anywhere, the badge with the checker flags cover the OE 944 badge location completly ,btw nerve wrecking job to get it done rigth had to buff the paint where the old one was ,one location I've forgot to mention a repaint are the rocker panels which was treated against rock chips then repainted..

[SilverLined]

Originally Posted by Ernie944

???? what do you mean by tape mark on the door jams,to my knowlege like I said the car was never repaint excepted for the front bumper & rear one, btw way I was the second owner of that car & if the PO repainted it he did an awfull good job because when first inspected you could not find any traces of overspray anywhere, the badge with the checker flags cover the OE 944 badge location completly ,btw nerve wrecking job to get it done rigth had to buff the paint where the old one was ,one location I've forgot to mention a repaint are the rocker panels which was treated against rock chips then repainted..

A tape mark is where they would have stopped painting, so to speak. I noticed first in the 5Zigen pic. Slight color difference where the fender meets the door jamb. The lower sill also looks to be a little darker on the inside, and lighter outside.

Check closely where your sill meets the inner jamb, by those cool Porsche sill covers. Look for slight color differences, and run your fingers over to feel any difference in level.

Again man, that paint is gorgeous so whether it's original, or 20 years old, it's looking great, and it's clear you take care of it!

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by SilverLined

A tape mark is where they would have stopped painting, so to speak. I noticed first in the 5Zigen pic. Slight color difference where the fender meets the door jamb. The lower sill also looks to be a little darker on the inside, and lighter outside.

Check closely where your sill meets the inner jamb, by those cool Porsche sill covers. Look for slight color differences, and run your fingers over to feel any difference in level.

Again man, that paint is gorgeous so whether it's original, or 20 years old, it's looking great, and it's clear you take care of it!

Lol be pretty hard for me to check since I sold the car a long time ago,but like I said the most important things about my ex 944 was not perfection but fun I had over the years working on it keeping the mechanical in tip top shape plus spending hours rubbing & polishing the in & out & driving the hell out of it.Plus learning a lot about the 924-944-968 since most of my experiences with Porsches had been the 911 type.

[Ernie944]

Three very important parts I forgot to mention that was add to my 944 ,I think they will go under perfomance.....A turbo style water pump .....
A Sachs springs loaded clutch disc ,worth every pennies spend,after looking at different brakes pads I choose the Axxis deluxe one ,good grab cold or hot + lot less dust residue meaning cleaner wheels.

[911tracker85]

very nice car.

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by 911tracker85

very nice car.

Thank you man ,appreciate it.

[Ernie944]

Now that I cover the 944 apparences & performance,will like to move on to the best Porsche I did own over the years my ex 93-968.This one was chosen over 3 Porsche a Siver Rose turbo..a 944S2 & a Japaness import CS 968. Won't go over the details or how I found this 968 just that it was a low mileage BARN Find.Color Amazone Pearl Green OE paint never repainted & accident Free,will change color from green to blue depending on the ligths reflextion on it.Ext Apperances..No1 Row turn & signals ligths, removal of the front rubber bumper..... Bumperettes. No2 personalize licence plate & black exhaust tip.That was about it for the exterior since I wanted to keep the look as OE as possible.Now the interior Mods ,CS steering wheel,matching shifter with embossed Porsche crest,doors sill 968 embossed crest ,,,,map light....hidden cups holder,Alpine cd changer car came with the 10 speakers option from the factory....seat belts pads.PicsInterior pics...

[Ernie944]

Couple more pics of the interior.....Then will move on to the prformance mods
.

[Ernie944]

The car was bougth as a plain Jane 968 brand new by a Doctor who decided he wanted something more road worthy ,so he send it to a to a Porsche dealer & tuner,here is what they did install Bilstein adjustable strut inside 968 VA springs,then add a M030 torsion bar front ....rear was Bilstein HD shock with the OE bar,then they lowered the car front & rear.This set up migth not have been a race car one but it will hold the road like clue even at very high speed, couple with the rigth tires it will not brake your back bones.My mods.....First I change the tires & install Falken 452... 225-45-17 ZR front on 17X8 Cup & 255-40-17 ZR rear on 17.9.5 rear.In the mean time all regular maintenance was done to the car Belts,brakes,even done the wheels bearings all around ect.Then I mod the air boxe & add a chip couple to a K&N filter. Painted the spark plugs shroud...APP. Has you will see in the last pics the car was very stable & road worthy at High speed the pic was taken with one hand on the wheel & a small camera in the other

OE Tow Eye......General view of the engin compartement.

[Ernie944]

Two more pics ,will like your comments either goods or bads,don't be shy I have tough skin
One of those high speed run I did enjoy so much.
....But won't suggest it to anyboby ,first your car has to be in A1 shape mechanically & you have to know your driving skill limites.But yet on the authoban in Germany speed of three digits is a normal daily occurance .