1985 Porsche 944

[jim]

It was a fun afternoon working on the 944 and great to see how much it has changed since I saw it before it went away for paint.

I hope you've not ruined my hard work on those lights I lovingly cleaned up!

[deanpompey]

Loving this build thread!

Level of detail is great, Bookmarked and cant wait to see the finished result!

[jiggawhat2k]

Your dedication to making things look right is guilting me into doing a better job with my projects. Love it!

[broady]

Aug 1, 2022 12:22:14 GMT jim said:

It was a fun afternoon working on the 944 and great to see how much it has changed since I saw it before it went away for paint.

I hope you've not ruined my hard work on those lights I lovingly cleaned up!

I wouldnt dare! The weather might have other ideas though.

Aug 1, 2022 16:03:19 GMT deanpompey said:

Loving this build thread!

Level of detail is great, Bookmarked and cant wait to see the finished result!

Much appreciated, ill press on with the updates then.

Aug 2, 2022 19:18:12 GMT jiggawhat2k said:

Your dedication to making things look right is guilting me into doing a better job with my projects. Love it!

This I like, always worth doing the best job you can. It'll last longer. My otherhalf is fairly sure I'm either autistic and/or have ADHD. A large part of what drives me and means I cant leave things alone.

Something id been looking forward to for a while, rebuilding the doors. I don't know why, but its something I enjoy doing.

All the wiring needed some attention, previous snips and crimps ect would not stand. Also the plugs were too large to fit though the hinge of the wing mirror. I managed to get hold of some molex pin tools.



To get these suckers out.



Weirdly I decided to realise my door pillars should have been black, rather than body colour at this stage. I masked off a lot, cut the surface and put a few coats on.



While it was curing, I mounted the mirror body. Having bought new screws, these went on much better than the F'ing countersunk wood screws the PO had used.

I started fitting seals, most of these are the originals. Not a great deal wrong with them, other than needing a clean. The door seals are brand new genuine Porsche items. Prices were very strong, but reviews of aftermarket stuff were terrible and still £100 a side. I must say that I couldnt be happier to have bought these. No trimming, fighting or gluing required, they just press in with your thumb and 2 minutes later you have a perfectly sealing door.



The next step was to slip some glass in and the regulators. Can you guess whats wrong here? And what F1 weekend was I watching?



Obviously that wasnt going back in the car like that. Id looked on the bay, but £50 seemed a bit much for something that may be just as tired as mine. A repair was in order.

The cog is held on ny flaring the end of the shaft, I gently ground this down and removed the cog.



I had to drill out these 4 ally rivets.



I could then measure the hole and the shaft to give me the dimentions of the required bush.





I made it a touch oversize so that it would be a good interferance fit.



I dropped the gear in, it was supported but turned freely, unlike before. Having removed those rivets on the otherside which were integral, I opted to drill and tapped the posts that remained. I had some M4 screws sitting idle. I coated them with loctite and crossed my fingers. The end result was this



Final piece of the puzzle was the large cog, I pushed it back on and added a few dots of weld.



I also pulled the motors out of the gearboxes for both windows, cleaned and lubricated.



Both regulators were fitted to the doors with the cleaned glass. All moving parts lubricated and the windows now go up as well as they do down. Previously they were slow to raise. They also seal when closed, so there is no wind noise.

Door handles next then, New seals and guff.





One of the few inccorect parts on the car, scripted handles. I managed to get these for peanuts some years ago. They need a proper strip and repaint. But thats now a job for winter. I will get more pleasure from driving the car now. I gave them a quick rub down and a repaint to see the summer out.



The legend that is jim once again produced the goods, I found the lock barrel seal on thingiverse. He printed me a few off in a rubber material.





I also cleaned up the escution plates as these were black and flakey. But should have been bare metal.



Last one for today then, I deep cleaned the mirror motor assemblies, reblacked them and fitted with new hardware.



And if you are interested, this is my brake bleeder hooked up to my compressor.

[Brigsy]

Great updates, looks like its coming together really well.

[jjeffries]

What exquisite work you’re doing here. You’ll have high-end dealers begging to sell it to them.

John

[philmillwright]

I’m a new member here.
Today is a special day because I just bought a 85 944 from a friend. It hasn’t been on the road for about 17 years. He had starting troubles and it sat and then this year the gas leaked out.
Despite being outside in rainy Vancouver it doesn’t seem bad for rust
I’ll tow it home in a day or two and start going through it obviously it needs all the regular maintenance stuff and most of the rubber things that are important will need replacement,

I don’t know if it’s an interference engine so I’m curious if a broken timing belt can cause a piston and valve collision..

Your thread gave me a lot of detail. It looks like you spent tons of time. Previously I’ve been mostly into old Volvos but it seems to share some of the simplicity that I always loved in older Volvos and it’s nice to get something from a time when electrical over complication an plastic clips had not yet prevented owner repairs.

I just joined the forum and thanks again for all your effort in sharing all the info you did I’ll hope to post some detail as I delve in

Phil

[broady]

Aug 4, 2022 4:31:59 GMT philmillwright said:

I’m a new member here.
Today is a special day because I just bought a 85 944 from a friend. It hasn’t been on the road for about 17 years. He had starting troubles and it sat and then this year the gas leaked out.
Despite being outside in rainy Vancouver it doesn’t seem bad for rust
I’ll tow it home in a day or two and start going through it obviously it needs all the regular maintenance stuff and most of the rubber things that are important will need replacement,

I don’t know if it’s an interference engine so I’m curious if a broken timing belt can cause a piston and valve collision..

Your thread gave me a lot of detail. It looks like you spent tons of time. Previously I’ve been mostly into old Volvos but it seems to share some of the simplicity that I always loved in older Volvos and it’s nice to get something from a time when electrical over complication an plastic clips had not yet prevented owner repairs.

I just joined the forum and thanks again for all your effort in sharing all the info you did I’ll hope to post some detail as I delve in

Phil

Just a quick reply, welcome and yet. The pistons and valves can get up close and personal. Ive had to change bent valves on a friends engine.

If you are changing belts, change all the tensioners and the water pump, they are recommended. Belts every 4 years, everything else 8 to 10 years.

[Alpina99]

Aug 4, 2022 4:31:59 GMT philmillwright said:

I’m a new member here.
Today is a special day because I just bought a 85 944 from a friend. It hasn’t been on the road for about 17 years. He had starting troubles and it sat and then this year the gas leaked out.
Despite being outside in rainy Vancouver it doesn’t seem bad for rust
I’ll tow it home in a day or two and start going through it obviously it needs all the regular maintenance stuff and most of the rubber things that are important will need replacement,

I don’t know if it’s an interference engine so I’m curious if a broken timing belt can cause a piston and valve collision..

Your thread gave me a lot of detail. It looks like you spent tons of time. Previously I’ve been mostly into old Volvos but it seems to share some of the simplicity that I always loved in older Volvos and it’s nice to get something from a time when electrical over complication an plastic clips had not yet prevented owner repairs.

I just joined the forum and thanks again for all your effort in sharing all the info you did I’ll hope to post some detail as I delve in

Phil

Welcome Phil,

You'll find this is probably the best forum out there,

Little or no pretentiousness but lots of very skilful people happy to share their knowledge,

Hoping you start a thread on your 944, (you can never have too many 944 threads, lol,)

Nigel

[broady]

Aug 3, 2022 21:58:05 GMT jjeffries said:

What exquisite work you’re doing here. You’ll have high-end dealers begging to sell it to them.

John

I must have a catch up on your thread, ive not checked since the start of June!

[apm944]

Hi, I've lurked on here for many many years without signing up and posting. This thread has finally got me to make the effort to sign up and post!

Your build both inspires me and horrifies me at the same time, as I have an 85 944 like yours, but red. (many reds!)
I thought of this thread earlier as I was taking chunks of filler out of the rear of my sills and also finding sills welded over the original sills!

I can only hope that I can get mine done to a fraction of the standard that your one is getting finished to. So much time, effort and skill has gone in to unbodging your car to make it one of the best out there.

[broady]

Aug 4, 2022 4:31:59 GMT philmillwright said:

I’m a new member here.
Today is a special day because I just bought a 85 944 from a friend. It hasn’t been on the road for about 17 years. He had starting troubles and it sat and then this year the gas leaked out.
Despite being outside in rainy Vancouver it doesn’t seem bad for rust
I’ll tow it home in a day or two and start going through it obviously it needs all the regular maintenance stuff and most of the rubber things that are important will need replacement,

I don’t know if it’s an interference engine so I’m curious if a broken timing belt can cause a piston and valve collision..

Your thread gave me a lot of detail. It looks like you spent tons of time. Previously I’ve been mostly into old Volvos but it seems to share some of the simplicity that I always loved in older Volvos and it’s nice to get something from a time when electrical over complication an plastic clips had not yet prevented owner repairs.

I just joined the forum and thanks again for all your effort in sharing all the info you did I’ll hope to post some detail as I delve in

Phil

A little follow up, they are very sensative to fuel pressure. With you saying "all the petrol leaked out" I assume this leak has been there for years and simply got worse, it would be enought to upset the system and stop it running. The other thing to check is the DME relay. Top row, 2nd from the left. These are a fairly common fail. You can bridge 3 terminal (have a google). Its a get you home fix, but will prove if it works or not. If its dead its probably worth replacing it with a modern solid state item.

Aug 5, 2022 21:32:41 GMT apm944 said:

Hi, I've lurked on here for many many years without signing up and posting. This thread has finally got me to make the effort to sign up and post!

Your build both inspires me and horrifies me at the same time, as I have an 85 944 like yours, but red. (many reds!)
I thought of this thread earlier as I was taking chunks of filler out of the rear of my sills and also finding sills welded over the original sills!

I can only hope that I can get mine done to a fraction of the standard that your one is getting finished to. So much time, effort and skill has gone in to unbodging your car to make it one of the best out there.

Ah the joy, I highly recommend making friends with your local Offical Porsche Center, parts are no more than the average family car. didnt ask about panels. But its worth a try, and if you didnt wantto ask them. I use these repair panels

www.classiccarpartsandpanels.co.uk/shop/porsche-944-sill/

I spoke to them a few times, very helpful people. I also offered some ways to improve the panels. The introduction of the drains which I had to chase in myself. As you saw. They were very much open to the feedback, so maybe the panels have been modified by now.

Thanks for the compliments, there are of course lots of areas I'm not happy with. But I expect most will never notice them! I look forward to seeing your build.

[broady]

A further build up date, some front end assembly. As is common on these, the front fog lights were in poor condition. Steel screws into brass inserts, low down and salty means that the screws often swell up in the plastic and refuse to come out. Luckily I have a few lights to choose from, to try and make a good pair. Ive seen how much new items cost and there are better ways to spend that sort of cash at the minute.

New M4 screws and some inserts.



The oldinserts drilled out.







I set those new inserts boding in. And then looked at the other half. My best pair of glasses, well 1 of them was no longer boneded to the plastic body.

I cleaned this up and then ran a bead of tiger seal around it.





Just like a night on the drink, some scenes are missing here. I got stuck into fitting the front bumper. So stuck in I didnt take a single photo. Mainly because this was never properly fitted, I had to spend a couple of hours working out exactly how it attached and then gather the correct hardware to make it stay fitted.

Afterwards I gave it some refreshed fog lights too.



I nice straight front splitter, unlike the pre paint job.



If you look at some early photos of the car, you will see the dent and wobbles.

One final step today, cleaned out and up the airfilter. Fitted to the AFM, fitted the rubber mounted brackets and installed.

[Alpina99]

That is definitely going to be a beautiful 944 when it's finished,
Nigel

[broady]

That previous photo was taken 22/07/22. I had decided this car would drive before the month was out. I was missing out on far too much good weather and it was now over a year since I had initially thought id have completed the car. So this was it, one more hell for leather push or death.

In order to drive it I was going to need somewhere to sit. And of course something to listen too. To change the rear speakers, half the car has to be taken apart. As a result, now was as good of a time as any to change them.





Then a job id been putting off for a long time, but it could wait no more. The head liner and various bits of trim had been pulled back for the repaint. This needed a clean, stretch and glue. I waited for a stinking hot day. It was over 30c from memory, not long after the 40c day. The record was set local to me.





While its not 100% perfect, its original to the car, and once its had a wipe with a damp cloth it wont look out of place. Its rarely seen anyway in this car, as its a sunroofless model.



The rear side cards also contain the front seat, seatbelts. And they also needed a damn good clean.



I gave them a wet wipe and then installed them, with a final clean to come later. Things always get marks on them when youre installing them.



Rear side window in, this holds a large part of the side card in. Which is a ball ache if you ever need to change that speaker!



Freshly painted rear seat mounts.



A boring but important detail, I cleaned up all of these bungs. The split items were binned and new ones will be sourced. I put them in the ultra sonic cleaner, this softened and pealed the paint on them. Then with a sharp blade I got the rest of it off.





More sealing and padding of the HVAC system.



Time for some carpet, to pop this in I needed to lay some sound proofing. Originally this was fitted. I have removed the bulk of it. Thick and weighty



My weapon of choice is Dodo liner and dynamat.



Then with some jiggling and shuffling, the front carpet slid in.



Next up is my peas of resistance. A just about perfect original square dash.





At this point, end of the month pressures crept in and I didnt take many photos. But I booked and MOT for the saturday morning. 30/7/22. I threw the gauges in, a pair of seats and bolted up the belts. Steering wheel on and a full functional check.

I let it sit and idle, one warm all the air rises to the top as the thermostat opens and its much easier to bleed. I reversed up the driveway to bleed the system.



And then disaster stuck. 72 hours before test the bleed banjo sheared off.




Being M8x1, a convetional bolt to fill the hole wasnt going to work. As luck would have it a found a bag with some 10x1 banjo bolts in the loft (ive no idea why I have them). The only trouble was, they were quite tall. A quick call to OPC hull got me a replacement part on order, due in 36 hours. But I still wanted a back up plan, so I turned a bit of bar to have nice flush ends. Used two copper washers and the banjo bolt. It isnt pretty but it was functional and would at least mean test day could go a head if there were any delays with the new bit.



But as ever all my work wasnt required, as Hull came up trumps again. Part arrived and fitted with a day to spare!



Following on from this I gave it a run up and down the lane next to my house to check everything was working and I had a decent brake pedal. The windscreen washer pump was a bit poorly, so that needed a strip and clean. Which it duely got, once the pipes were nipped up it was firing jets of water like super soaker. All my glitches fixed, I made my way to the test station on the saturday morning.

She was running a little lumpy, but having done nothing for nearly 2 years, and only been at idle in the garage I put this down to grottly plugs ect. I figured a good run out would sort it.

When I arrived the first thing we did was a headlight alignment, I had made no effort with this at home, as they have kit at the test station, so it makes most sense to set them up there. With that done we set about the test.

Here she is at the test station during the emissions test.



And I'm please to report the end result was a pass. No advisories, and the emssions were well with in the margins, which was an even greater relief!

Did I spend all weekend driving around to celebrate then? No, the test was on 30/7/22. And like hell I was going to pay a full months tax for 1 and a half days driving. So I took her back home, popped her in the garage and did a little more work. Monday morning would see her taxed and then I would get some miles covered. But thats all for next time.

[bstardchild]

Congratulations on the Pass - small reward for all your efforts

[motardman]

Fantastic news, congratumalations!

I am making the assumption here that this good news will not indicate a slowing down, or worse, cessation of this thread?
I really look forward to the update notifications.

[Alpina99]

A well deserved pass for all the excellent work you've put into the project,
Looking forward to (hopefully now it's finished,) seeing future updates on this thread,
Nigel

[broady]

Aug 15, 2022 10:27:51 GMT Alpina99 said:

A well deserved pass for all the excellent work you've put into the project,
Looking forward to (hopefully now it's finished,) seeing future updates on this thread,
Nigel

Thank you very much, its far from finished. Only part of the interior was thrown in. That got it road legal, the proper interior fit and shakedown is yet to come.

Aug 15, 2022 9:14:27 GMT motardman said:

Fantastic news, congratumalations!

I am making the assumption here that this good news will not indicate a slowing down, or worse, cessation of this thread?
I really look forward to the update notifications.

You are partly right, it will indicate a slowing down. It simply isnt sustainable to keep working at the pace I was. Nor was it enjoyable. And I only do things like this for the enjoyment, so I will continue to improve and update. But as my own pace, because at least when I get fed up I can go for a flog in the old girl now!

Aug 14, 2022 16:36:06 GMT bstardchild said:

Congratulations on the Pass - small reward for all your efforts

Ta very much, it was nice to get a second opinion and a clean bill of health

[motardman]

I'm not sure where you are in the country, but I'd love to see the car. Blag a cheeky ride in it maybe?