The Porsche 924 we featured recently drove a good deal of conversation about whether a 924 or 944 is a better candidate for a project car. Well, this 1984 Porsche 944 here on eBay is at the far, far end of the opposite spectrum price-wise, available in non-running condition for a mere $750. It’s located in Vermont and sounds like the seller just wants to be free of it, despite tackling a bunch of maintenance while he’s owned it.
While the car will start, it stalls after a few minutes. The seller has already drained all the fuel, and installed a new fuel pump, regulator, plugs and vacuum lines. I’m assuming the regulator is a fuel pressure regulator given his issues with keeping the car running, but that’s just a guess. Either way, you’re at least starting with a platform that’s received some attention mechanically.
You have to love single-stage paint. The seller attempted some level of compounding and buffing to bring the luster back, which shows that underneath its hazy exterior, there might actually be some original, shiny Guard’s Red paint. Overall, the ownership of this car gives me the feeling the seller really did have good intentions for getting it road-worthy but the story he tells for why he is selling it rings all too familiar to me: lack of proximity to where the Porsche is stored. This makes getting projects done quite tedious if you have to factor in drive-time to the car itself.
The interior looks presentable but the seller has removed some pieces for creating better access to the computer and dash wiring. That doesn’t tell us just how bad the seating surfaces might be or if there are issues with the various electrical systems and control modules, but for the price, I guess you should expect the worst and hope for the best. So which one is the better buy: the pricey but complete 924 or a rough but cheap 944?
$750 sounds like a real bargain if this is for real.
i see more then the asking price in parts. interesting find.
Great price for a fun car. Friend of mind used to drive these in the 90’s. I remember them being fairly simple mechanically.
given the way prices for other junky porsches are heading, this is probably one to buy and put away for a few years and then reap the benefits . . .
I’d be on my way to get it if it was on this side of the continent. 300 mile drive doesn’t quite make it worthwhile. Drat!!
If it was local it would be mine already.
I’ll just put this here;
http://m.ebay.com/itm/161952694425?rmvSB=true&_mwBanner=1
The AutoCheck history report says there may be a lien on it, be careful!
Looks like a lot of fun for the money. The 944 cabriolets are already expensive.
I had one of each: a 1978 924 and a 1984 944. The 944 was a considerably better car, with a much smoother, Porsche-designed and -built engine.
Edit: Looks like it’s been sold.
Dang,
I had an 86 944s. Drove it head on into a full size Ford pickup. Pretty tough little cars. It was mashed like beer can of course. No air bag. 27 broken bones including my but I survived. Plan another someday and don’t plan to nod off driving ever again. If I were closer and sure it had no liens I’d be all over this one.