Can you ever have enough Porsches? I went and looked at this today and I'm 90% sure I'm going to acquire it. It needs body work and paint, but I have a guy for that. Mechanically it seems pretty good needing new shocks and probably lots of rubber. The 16V 3.0 L drives way better than any 2.5L 8V 944 I've ever driven.


I loved my 87 944s.
Always wanted a turbo or s2 but the prices were always wrong for me
docwyte
UberDork
12/29/19 8:55 p.m.
S2 is a 3 liter 16v motor. If you don't have a receipt showing the belts being replaced in the last 30k miles and 4 years do them immediately!
Also it'd be nice if the clutch has been done along with the oil pan gasket.
no rear hatch rattles too, if it is that means the glass has debonded
docwyte said:
S2 is a 3 liter 16v motor. If you don't have a receipt showing the belts being replaced in the last 30k miles and 4 years do them immediately!
Also it'd be nice if the clutch has been done along with the oil pan gasket.
no rear hatch rattles too, if it is that means the glass has debonded
Car comes with 13k in receipts since 2013, but does not include clutch. Rear hatch has not debonded. Interior and maintenance are where money was spent. It is a real S2, which is what makes it tempting. Probably picking it up Friday or Saturday.
It will join my 996 C2 and my 986 S as my hobby cars. The Miata sells in March and the challenge car sells post challenge.
Cotton
PowerDork
12/29/19 10:54 p.m.
Very nice. I've owned a couple of 87 944 turbos over the years. Occasionally I hunt for another one....really like the platform.

I've read all the 924 / 944 build threads I've found on GRM, and I really want to get this car. Part of me is dreading the cost of the body work and repaint, but the S2 is rare.... only 1929 S2 coupes were brought into the US over 3 years. The US got 14235 turbos and how often do you see those? The least expensive restrored S2 I've seen is at 18k, so the car is probably worth rescuing. The interior is very nice with reupholstered seats.
There is vibration from idle to 2,000 rpm making me think thr motor mounts are gone, but 4s vibrate.... naturally. And its a big 4. The car drives effortlessly compared to the single cam 2.5s which have to be beat on to go.



Looks to be a nice driver. Have it detailed and use it.
jr02518 said:
Looks to be a nice driver. Have it detailed and use it.
It's a lot rougher than the 10 fter photos suggest. It's also a mix of factory single stage (body) and aftermarket two stage (roof) now peeling paint.
I will have to make a decision when I get it.... track car or restore. This one could honestly go both ways. Of course track to me is just autoX and hpde, so I could kind of do both.
I really need to decide for HPDEs this car, the Boxster or 996. I only want to do race sests and harnesses in one of them.
Well it turns out this year's end of year bonus is larger than last years by the price of this car..... meant to be?
Its density, I mean destiny...
Got 1st round of cash today and carfax. Picking it up Friday. I'm going to drive truck to Austin with wife and drive 944 back. We can get a trailer if thing go to E36 M3.
Car needs bumper mounts (shocks) due to 5mpher, one foglight, and new engine mounts. It probably needs suspension rubber and shocks too.
She ain't much but she's all mine. I wish the PO would've left the steering wheel in it.... I have the factory one.
Now the decision:
To decide: 1). restore? 2). Mild mod into autoX, HPDE, nice driver? 3). Track dedicated build but still street legal. This car could go any direction.
We make the trip home tomorrow. 20 miles in heavy traffic today revealed more big gotchas.

Love it!
The steering wheel is not expensive if you want to swap it, I paid less than $200 for my Prototipo.

Looks like you have a good s2 starting point. I’d be planning to bring the car back to stock specs and drive it. In my experience if you build a track car out of it the value of the car will diminish especially a s2 being so rare. Many don’t care about that and I’m kinda in the middle on it. I have a 89 turbo so I know a little about the 944. In addition to the recommendations above this would be my first step unless you have receipts proving replacements. Replacement of your cam chain and cam chain tensioner pads. This is as I understand it the weak point of failure for the twin camshaft S, S2 & 968 engines. Best of luck.
Make sure you check the cam chain tensioner pads - if they go on the twin cam cars it will destroy the head, which are apparently made of Unobtanium (the price of rarity). And echo the advice about the timing belt. Nice find, you'll fall in love with the pull of the 3.0.
In reply to ToplesS2 :
Have receipts for timing belt in 2013. No receipt for timing tensioner pads or chain. I need to do these and motor mounts this year.
AAZCD
HalfDork
1/4/20 10:17 a.m.
I can understand the quandary over which direction to go with the car. My thought is not to worry so much about where you'll end up with it, but first take care of making it a refreshed reliable driver.
If the interior is still in nice shape, as it appears, it would be a shame to go all-in as a track purpose car. There's plenty of ratty ones still on the market that you can strip out and build for track. (A 4th P-Car?). Fix what needs fixin', get to know it's character, then make you choice of where to take it?
AAZCD said:
I can understand the quandary over which direction to go with the car. My thought is not to worry so much about where you'll end up with it, but first take care of making it a refreshed reliable driver.
If the interior is still in nice shape, as it appears, it would be a shame to go all-in as a track purpose car. There's plenty of ratty ones still on the market that you can strip out and build for track. (A 4th P-Car?). Fix what needs fixin', get to know it's character, then make you choice of where to take it?
I agree but I can still autoX it once a year or so. The PO spent his money on the interior. He redid the seats and dash. It does need some attention, but nothing major. The major item is paint which I can hire out later this year.
If the last receipt for timing belts was 2013, you get to redo those, as well as the cam chain tensioners. I'd do some simple suspension mods and leave it alone after that. A set of bilstein escort cup coilovers are great on these.
docwyte said:
If the last receipt for timing belts was 2013, you get to redo those, as well as the cam chain tensioners. I'd do some simple suspension mods and leave it alone after that. A set of bilstein escort cup coilovers are great on these.
I hear ya. I'm thinking along these lines. Heck I may just inspect and replace all bushings that need it and go Koni yellow too. I know the timimg belt is due and the tensioners. I will make a punch list soon and prioritize it. The motor mounts need to be done ASAP too. That idle to 2k rpm shake shake shake drives me nuts and makes things buzz. At speed on the highway she is quite and smooth. I love the power delivery of the 3.0 compared to my 87 2.5 or my 86 951. Yes the 951 was faster but waiting for boost to pour in was wierd.
Teaser photo of wheels I just had to have.....

I love it, looks great!! The S2 was one of the, if not THE, best looking 944 IMO. My vote is option 2 you listed. A nice driver you can take to the track. Maybe we can meet somewhere in the middle, like NOLA and do an HPDE day. I've got this Mustang some dude sold me that I can bring....