[cockerpunk]

Hello everyone. I am buying an NA miata, but have not taken delivery of it yet, but figured i'd post some of my other automotive toys. my 2zz spyder is more a project, but i like this car far more.

this is my pride and joy, my one true love, and simply my favorite car ever made. this car is a 1986 944 Turbo (porsche development code 951). bought it 4 years ago with a 115k miles on it, now will be put into storage for the winter with about 144k miles. a lot of folks esp now that im make a lot more money than when i bought have wondered why i odnt trade it in a for a 911. and yes, i do want a 911, that is true, they are unique and amazing to drive, but the 944 is stuck in me. don't think i can ever sell it.

1986 944 Turbo:

autothority stage 2 chips
3 inch exhaust and cat-bypass pipe
lindsey boost enhancer
koni yellows
16x8 square setup phonedials

dynoed 240 rwhp on 12 lbs of boost, now runs 15 lbs, so its for sure over 250 rwhp.

























as you can see, i have driven this car across the country, i've autocrossed it, i've helped poeple move with it, i've even driven in the winter time, with summer tires. i've done everything a person can do with a car with this one, and she keeps on pluggin. very reliable actually, even making double the stock boost, and 130k+ miles on it. put my toyota to shame in terms of reliably and cost of running, though that is more my toyotas fault, then this car being amazing. its expensive to own, don't get me wrong. averages at least a grand in maintenance a year.

 

[jpatrick]

IIRC correctly, the 944s always did better on the skidpads than the 911s...

Either way, welcome to CR.

 

[poo_head]

944 is to that era what the Cayman is to this.

Classic thinking:
So much potential to crush the 911 if they could admit that it was the better platform.

Romantic thinking:
Will never be as beautiful as the 911.

 

[cockerpunk]

yeah there are quite a few design .... quirks that porsche put into these to make them slower the 911 turbo. stock for stock, these are faster in every way than the 3.2 liter carreras at the time, but the 911 turbo was still king in the porsche lineup. so they added a few things to make sure the 944 turbo wasn't quicker. for example, there is a line running from the post-intercooler piping, directly to the the waste gate. why? so that whenever the car made boost, it would open the waste gate slightly, or slightly earlier, so that it had worse turbo lag. there are some other funny caymanization issues as well, mostly been sorted out by the aftermarket. thats basically what the lindsey boost enhancer does actually.

dont get me wrong, i will own a 911, it just wasnt the car for me when i was shopping 4 years ago. and this car has been amazing for me:

in the snow (on rivals ... eeek):





helping a friend move:





yup thats a bookcase and a nightstand in there .... hahaha

so it has not lived the life of a garage queen, but i think of her that way

 

[06tiburonofdoom]

Very nice! '86 Guards Red 951s are the only way to go. Non-airbag dash and non-ABS! I live like 15 minutes from Lindsey Racing. Haha

We had a non-sunroof (SO rare...), non-cruise control one that we got super cheap, fixed a few things on, and sold last year, and I LOVED that thing. It just needed a lot to be a really clean car. I'm on the hunt for a super clean one to keep, now.

Car looks great, man! Any more big plans for it, or just keeping it clean and reliable?

 

[cockerpunk]

good question. im not sure yet. my mr2 is undoubtedly the better autocross car, which is what i use it for. its sprung to the point of discomfort (im 27 and healthy), smaller, lighter, and mid engined. so this car no longer really needs to be built for speed anymore.

i think im going to at least put the 968 M030 anti-roll bars on it. then i might leave the suspension alone. this car is an epicly good grand touring car, and i don't want to overly spring it and kill that about it.

as far as the engine, that is a concern. im coming up on the clutch going (stock ...) and if there is a nightmare service in these cars, its the clutch. its been really reliable for me so far, and im happy with the power, it is pretty damn fast honestly. when the clutch goes, the temptation would be to put in a renagade hybrids LS swap. this would be great for reliability and power. you can build the 2.5 liter in this to make 400+ bhp, but it will pop head gaskets faster than a crack whore will get on her knees for another rock. LS swapping it solves both problems at once. the question is money and time. frankly, im happy with the engine as it is, so ill probably just keep it reliable for a while.

im house shopping too, so that could change my situation as far as the ability to do swaps etc

 

[cockerpunk]

i do wish it had ABS though, haha. flat spots on your front tires = teh suckage

 

[06tiburonofdoom]

good question. im not sure yet. my mr2 is undoubtedly the better autocross car, which is what i use it for. its sprung to the point of discomfort (im 27 and healthy), smaller, lighter, and mid engined. so this car no longer really needs to be built for speed anymore.

i think im going to at least put the 968 M030 anti-roll bars on it. then i might leave the suspension alone. this car is an epicly good grand touring car, and i don't want to overly spring it and kill that about it.

as far as the engine, that is a concern. im coming up on the clutch going (stock ...) and if there is a nightmare service in these cars, its the clutch. its been really reliable for me so far, and im happy with the power, it is pretty damn fast honestly. when the clutch goes, the temptation would be to put in a renagade hybrids LS swap. this would be great for reliability and power. you can build the 2.5 liter in this to make 400+ bhp, but it will pop head gaskets faster than a crack whore will get on her knees for another rock. LS swapping it solves both problems at once. the question is money and time. frankly, im happy with the engine as it is, so ill probably just keep it reliable for a while.

im house shopping too, so that could change my situation as far as the ability to do swaps etc

That'd definitely be a good all-purpose suspension setup.
Wow! I'm surprised the stock clutch has lasted so long, especially with the track days and extra power.

Ahh, not an LS! Leave that to the base 944s. Haha
I had to talk my dad out of doing the Renegade setup in his '76 911. Just do the tried-and-true Cup clutch setup, bump it to around 300 whp and rep the 2.5 proudly. hillyb:

Good luck with the house shopping, too! I know how that goes.

 

[cockerpunk]

i know, im somewhat of a purist too, id like to keep the 2.5. if i put another clutch in it, im sure ill end up MAFing the engine (probably M tune), maybe slightly larger turbo/intercooler to match, yeah, about 300rwhp would be more than enough in this car. i mean is already about 5 seconds flat 0-60, and they take your license away at 100 ... haha. its quick enough.

LS is always tempting though ....

 

[BOOTZ]

Some crazy Mojo goin on here, his Porsche a reliable honey, his Toyota a crazy engine eater. Hard to credit.

 

[j-radvw]

Welcome from another P-car owner! You will love the miata. I'm currently resto modding a 1970 911E.

 

[sellinger18]

I approve of this

 

[cockerpunk]

halloween costume for this years last autocross.

yes, they are googly eyes.

 

[cockerpunk]

bought a Vitesse racing MAF kit for this. very excited to have some half decent engine management in this car. and a set of new flow matched injectors. plans are for M030 bars, and a new set of 225/50/16 Z2SS or RE71Rs.

then she will probably sit and wait until the clutch finally goes. i'd love to get some recovered seats, and an LSD transaxle, but life would have to go pretty good for me for a while for that to happen.

 

[cockerpunk]

very excited. ordered the M030 968 bars today for this car. and think i decided im going with the RE71R on it.

gonna be a nice driver ...

 

[cockerpunk]

first start on the new MAF kit ... some plumbing not officially attached ...

 

[brontosaurus]

You sure you don't want my old BOV?

Sounds nice dude. Excited to cruise.

 

[Rudy]

Holy cow, it's a small world after all. I remember you from the mcarterbrown forums.

 

[KJR50]

Nice ride. 944T was faster around the track than 911T from the same period.