What to do?

"It's a "Porch-uh"" (ikazuchi)
07/28/2014 at 12:48 • Filed to: 944

So I've been off and on about selling my 944 race car. I put it up for sale on the 944Spec forum a while back and only got a few nibbles, all of them low-balls. The car has a fresh motor, but needs a few things to be race-legal (master shut off, new seat & belts), though it's all good for track days.

The poor car has been sitting for the past 4 months and I need to do something with it before it rots or critters start to make it a home. Do I sell it for whatever I can get (was told that $7K is reasonable, but now I'll let it go for $5K) or do I keep it and ruin it as a 944Spec car, but build something awesome with it?

My plan since I decided to sell was to put the money towards a LS build. Buy a junkyard motor, strip it down, and rebuild with super-solid parts. Then I'd buy a shell (s-chassis, 2nd gen RX7, or something else...), strip it, cage it, and build it up. That all sounds fun, but it will be expensive and a long-term project (especially long since I have two small kids to distract me).

If I keep the 944 it would go like this: strip out the Autopower bolt-in cage and get a custom one installed (more room and safety). Start doing track days with it again. Maybe blow the motor (again) or transaxle and either spend a bunch of money fixing it (again) or spend a bunch of money transplanting a LS-motor (POWWER!!). The downside of the LS-swap on this particular car would be that it would mean a lot of work on a platform that's not really great for it. I'd need to replace the transaxle with a turbo version (LSD and better ratios) and upgrade all the brakes and bigger wheels to fit the bigger brakes. The concern with the swap is always the transaxle grenading (can "grenade" be a verb?) under the torque and those aren't cheap.

Either way, if it doesn't sell by October, I'm going to run it at Cal Speedway so it at least gets to move.

What do y'all think?

DISCUSSION (7)

Jeremy H formerly Kalakaboooom > It's a "Porch-uh"
07/28/2014 at 12:53

I've been throwing around the notion of putting an LS engine in mine, but it just comes down to the fact that, that motor will eventually blow up any 944 transmission, and last time I looked a 951 tranny runs in the neighborhood of around 3k. I know it sucks, because I've been wrestling with the decision myself but I think you would just be happier if you got something else. 944's are amazing cars, I love mine, but unless you have some serious cash, you are pretty limited in what you can do with it.

E92M3 > It's a "Porch-uh"
07/28/2014 at 13:14

I would keep it and enjoy it for what it is. Doesn't sound like you have time for Spec racing, so why not just do trackdays? Go to a track you've not been on before.

Dusty Ventures > It's a "Porch-uh"
07/28/2014 at 14:23

Sell it to Stef

It's a "Porch-uh" > Dusty Ventures
07/28/2014 at 16:23

I think she's on the other side of the country from me. But she's more than welcome to come get it.

It's a "Porch-uh" > E92M3
07/28/2014 at 16:26

My only dissatisfaction with the car (besides chewing through motors) is the lack of power. My daily driver has more power (and will probably clock faster lap times) and that cuts down on the "fun" I get out of it.

E92M3 > It's a "Porch-uh"
07/28/2014 at 17:17

Really? The Spec 944 cars that attended the trackdays I've been too were pretty quick. They ARE on slicks usually though.

It's a "Porch-uh" > E92M3
07/29/2014 at 13:18

Oh, I'm not saying it's not fast and I'm not passing people, it just doesn't give me that tingle down below any more. I need that feeling of getting pressed back into my seat when the throttle goes down. I've also been racing (relatively) low-powered cars most of the time and looking to push my driving skills.