help out a newbie real quickly?

[EuroDrivenUS]

EDIT: Not only my first porsche, but one of my first more in depth projects. Ill be posting pictures along the way of my progress so don't be afraid to scroll, its not all newbie questions

bout to purchase my first Porsche. its a 1986 944 n/a 5 speed. low miles. the head is off to fix what seems from my searching the very common problem of timing. interior is okay. paint is okay. not a beauty but im going to try my best. my questions are as follows and im sorry I don't know much yet...

I understand performance wise there isn't much to be gained with an N/A but...

since the head is off would a port and polish help?

if I replace the head altogether is a 951 head better?

any worth while aftermarket valves or valve springs or just get oem?

and lastly I plan on repainting it, would a color change devalue it?

thank you very much to those that help. sorry I don't know much yet.

[mytrplseven]

Welcome to "herd", so to speak. You're right about the fact that there's precious little you can do to improve the performance out of the 2.5L motor. All the stuff that we as former "hot rodders" used to do, i.e. porting, polishing, head mods won't get you much of anything. I can't speak for the 951 head but I'm sure someone will jump in here with more specific info based on their personal experiences. One thing for sure, there's a company called Roguetuning.com that replaces the AFM with a MAF and performance chip and an optional 4 degree cam key that gives significant performance improvement as well as a small bump in HP and torque. Look into some of the RogueAnt posts on this and the Rennlist forum for more details.

I'd stay with OEM on valves and springs if you decide you actually need to change them. How many miles on the car and since you mentioned valves, did you have a timing belt break that bent some of the valves?

What color is the car? If you change the color and don't do everything (engine compartment, door and hatch jambs, etc) It'll look good to anyone except the purists. Since these cars are so cheap, a good paint job is a good investment only if you're planning on keeping the car. Otherwise, if you're planning on flipping it down the road, keep your money (unless the paint's a real pig).

If you want to fix things to make the car more fun, IMHO I'd put $80 into a short shifter from "only944.com" and necessary stuff like belts, water pump and oil seals if there's any leaks. Another $520 plus a DME upgreade to accept the performance ship from Rogue will make the car run so much better. Also tackle the issue of possible vacuum leaks. There's a few posts on how to easily check for them. Also, ignition plugs, Bosch rotor and cap and new plugs. You might consider sending your injectors to WitchHunter in Bellingham for a rebuild. He charges around $100 and he's quick and documents everything.

[EuroDrivenUS]

thankyou for all the information. the car so I'm told has 60k miles, timing belt went and the guy has pretty much everything for it to be fixed except the valves/head. the car is the tan/gold color (not sure what it specifically is) and it needs some work. I'm getting it for cheap and have always wanted one so i can't pass it up. i figure if worse comes to worse i can part it out but i feel the vehicle really has some potential. I'm mainly just looking for advice on anything i should be doing while the head is off / while the motor is out (if i decide to paint it I'm doing jams/bay/etc)

[Arizona_928]

It ain't worth the money to invest in a 951 head, as it is coated and has better valves for heat of forced induction.

Best bang for the buck, throw it back together, paint it the original color. Then sell it, and buy a 951. The difference is night and day..

[mytrplseven]

since he changed everything but the head when the timing belt went, I'd suggest going to autozone and borrowing a compression tester to see if the valves were, in fact, bent. You should know right away. I see replacement heads available on ebay frequently and also you could ask guys on the forums if they have an extra one they're willing to part with.

[EuroDrivenUS]

the timing belt went, it was sold to who has it now (a buddy of mine), he got the majority of whats needed to fix it, pulled it apart, and gave up on the project. he said valves were bent and youd need the head either machined or buy a used one. so thats why i say id need valves and a head. no piston damage or anything. i just didnt know if before i get a head and put it back together if there was anything else i should be doing like what i said, a port and polish, or anything else worth while. im picking it up this coming weekend and ill post pictures in this thread of the vehicle for those who are interested. thankyou for all the advice. i was thinking of repaint it a teal color (jams / bay / etc) but after thiniking some more i may keep it original. again thankyou for everyones help so far.

[Arizona_928]

Straying away from original color will hurt resale value, if you're looking for anything more then a 3,000$ resale for the car, even if you jam it. As soon as you open the bonnet it's extremely obvious...

[EuroDrivenUS]

thankyou porsche kid. i will most likely stick with original color in the end, if i did do a color change though it would be complete, jams/engine bay/etc. I'm very excited to pick the car up and all the help everyone has given to me so far is great. hopefully i can get it fixed and back on the road!

[Arizona_928]

From now on just deposit your checks straight into the car. It'll love you in the end... err something like that.

[16vCorey]

Originally Posted by mytrplseven

...porting, polishing, head mods won't get you much of anything.

I'm about to test that theory. They are cast pretty well from the factory, but there's only so much casting and machining can do. I've never seen a factory cyl. head that couldn't be improved by hand. Although I haven't started porting it yet, I do have the head off and stripped, and there is room for improvement.

[PorscheChef]

Look up a guy on here by the name of Plyhammer. He has a lot of parts for sale. I'd bet he will have the head ready to install. He has the best prices around. Where are you located?
I bought an 87 n/a that sounds like this for $300. Make sure before you invest too much money, keep in mind that some colors are more desirable than others and you just won't get as much money for them.

[EuroDrivenUS]

the vehicle is like a gold color. fairly complete except no passenger seat or rear seat and like i said needs head/valves. I'm getting it for $500 it comes with the head gasket and timing stuff and some other misc new parts he got for the car. i figure worst comes to worst i can part it out. I've seen porsche phone dials selling in the VW community for around $300 so there is most of my money back. again thank you very much for the help guys i can't wait to pick it up and snap a few pics

[EuroDrivenUS]

Few pics. Looks worse than she is cause its already begun to be torn down. Not a gem at all though, but I hope to learn things and get it going eventually.













Lets say I found a mug shot, and some substances.... Lmao



Pics of misc parts and after some time cleaning.