The sketchiest ride of my life: The story of my Porsche 944 S

"Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez" (apidaonline)
02/20/2014 at 19:57 • Filed to: art of the flip

I bought this car sight unseen on ebay, 3 hours away. Nearly crapped my pants on the ride home. Item was significantly not as described, but I didn't back down and made her the performer she deserved to be. I'm definitely having one of these in my collection in the future. Every gear/petrolhead should own one at some point.

I wrote the full story on my site with detailed pics of everything:

http://apidaonline.com/index.php/arti…

As always, let me know what you guys think!

DISCUSSION (33)

jkm7680 > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 19:59

That second picture looks great! Those seats look sort of like Recaros. I think you made a good buy though!

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > jkm7680
02/20/2014 at 20:01

Thanks! They're actually OEM Mazda 3 seats.

jkm7680 > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 20:02

Wow! I never would have guessed that, they really suit the car

Cynical > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 20:13

Mmm. Once upon a time, I worked in a shop. In this shop, since long before I started working there, was a lovely, brown, Porsche 944. Naturally aspirated. Why had this car been sitting? Well, it seems the owner had attempted to do some home repair to the electrical system, which resulted in the entire interior wiring harness melting itself. He didn't quite have the money to fix it, and only kept it due to sentimental value. One day, during my tenure, a package arrives containing a used interior wiring harness from the junkyard for a 944. To no one's surprise, being the least senior tech on staff, I got stuck with the totally easy and not hard or frustrating at all job of replacing said wiring harness. Now, this may come as a shock, but this 944 was old. Really old. And it had the interior to match. Brittle plastic to break everywhere, foam insulation that becomes choking dust at the slightest disturbance, and a smell. Not a terrible smell, but a distinctly old, musty smell. It took months of procrastination and fiddling, and removing half the interior of the car, but I did finally finish the replacement. It even fired up! Something no one at the shop had ever dreamed to see. I never drove that 944, but I have driven others. If you buy one, be prepared to have an adversarial, yet loving relationship with it. It get's a bad rap as a "poor man's Porsche", but they drive just fine, well even, and you won't find your poor self wrapped around a tree like the bougie 930 drivers. Shine on you crazy Porsche diamond.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Cynical
02/20/2014 at 20:20

I could not agree more. I felt like I was there with your colorful description.

Cynical > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 20:23

Thank you! I enjoyed the read on your website as well.

Jayhawk Jake > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 20:26

Excellent article! That looked fantastic at the end

Christopher Keach > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 20:29

Loved the write-up on your site. Nice work!

AthomSfere > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 20:35

I love the 944, for reasons I can't describe. And this one looks great! Great article too.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > AthomSfere
02/20/2014 at 20:38

Thanks! The car is quirky as hell and above all else, surprising.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Christopher Keach
02/20/2014 at 20:39

Thanks, I appreciate it!

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Jayhawk Jake
02/20/2014 at 20:39

The bumper was a little off, but it's a very common issue on these cars. Other than that, it was in pretty awesome shape for a car that was nearly 3 decades old.

Kailand09 > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 21:02

This was an absolutely great read. Again, I'm not a big reader, and you and Demuro are part of the few people who written a lengthy story I've actually read.

Do you flip often?

*Edit: I see you've written about a few other flips. What background do you have in fixing up cars? Just learned on your own?

Louros > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 21:07

Good stuff. Enjoyed the other posts on your site, as coincidentally I'm also in NJ and always looking for cars to flip... Most recently I scored an E21 320i for $600 and sold it for $1700 after some minor fixes.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Louros
02/20/2014 at 21:15

Wow, sounds great! Keep me in mind if you ever want to go in on a car together :)

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Kailand09
02/20/2014 at 21:18

I flip when I find something interesting enough that I'd buy. I try to do it once or twice a month to give myself enough time to do everything right. I don't really have a formal background with cars, other than working on my own car and having a small side business for about a year working on forum members' cars, after years of doing unique mods to my own projects. I played with a lot of Legos as a kid and I love cool cars. That pretty much sums it up. :)

Jayhawk Jake > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 21:28

Considering how it looked when you got it, it's fantastic. The new owner certainly has a nice car for a good price now.

Kailand09 > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 21:38

Very awesome. I'd really love to try and pick up a few at some point in my life when I'm financially stable/have the room to work on it. Even if you break even, you get the chance to learn how to fix different cars and also have the chance to drive them a bit.

Lets Just Drive > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 21:38

You know I want to give you all the cars, all the internets and drive, drive, drive in your world.

Seriously though, I can read this like a dozen times.

I can't +1 and upvote your work enough.

Kailand09 > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 21:39

Also, I loved that you included the products you used, and the tutorials you used online. That's really transparent and pretty cool to help other people restore their own cars.

I will have to try that glass cleaner, windex is terrible.

Big Bubba Ray > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 21:43

That interior looks fantastic. Well done!

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Kailand09
02/20/2014 at 21:47

Thanks! I'm trying to be an asset to the community with this site, because I really do love wrenching on cars, every time I get a car is like Christmas morning. Invisible Glass is a good cleaner. Anything ammonia-free is good on cars and don't have weird reactions and streaks. Use short pile microfiber to clean instead of newspaper.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Big Bubba Ray
02/20/2014 at 21:47

I think it really came together well, I'm really proud of it. Thank you!

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Kailand09
02/20/2014 at 21:50

Exactly. Even if everything ended up where I ate the entire cost of the car, I'd still be gaining an awesome experience. Just think - some people pay $1500 to rent a Ferrari. I got paid that much to drive a Porsche that has way more personality.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Lets Just Drive
02/20/2014 at 21:51

Thanks a lot, dude. It means a lot!

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Big Bubba Ray
02/20/2014 at 21:51

Thank you!

Lets Just Drive > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 22:01

There'll come a time in, oh about a year (maybe year and a half) or so, when I'll be looking for a change. I'll have a budget and a goal. Now, I know we're pretty far apart and all but if the opportunity avails itself and works within budget (into Canadaland) I would absolutely buy.

Like, 100% reality if it's a potential reality.

Anyway, I just wanted to say.

Kailand09 > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 22:06

Exactly that. Heck, most of my projects cost me money, so breaking even would be great.

I should probably start a blog with all the things I try to build haha. I even recently made a knife. The learning experience is worth it, and because I can talk about applying the heat treating and materials I learned about making the knife, I have a leg up against competition for a job I'm interviewing for soon.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Lets Just Drive
02/20/2014 at 22:06

Sounds great. I will definitely help in any way that I can. My not so secret plan is to get an Aston Martin V8 Vantage by the end of the year. I nearly bought one late last year from Canada, it had a ton of miles, but the price was ridiculous. I figured I'll just save up some more money and buy one I really like. I passed on a '94 Viper about a week ago for the same reason. I nearly pulled the trigger but decided against it and regretted it for days later. But my wallet thanks me.

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Kailand09
02/20/2014 at 22:09

Anytime you put your thoughts into words, you enter a world that you and only you create. It's an amazing feeling and when you can show it to others and have that benefit your life, go for it.

Lets Just Drive > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 22:09

But... would you do four doors ? Or a wagon, God forbid?

Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez > Lets Just Drive
02/20/2014 at 22:12

Yup. My next two articles will be 4 door cars. I've done a wagon, but I don't think I have enough pictures.

Lets Just Drive > Freddy "Tavarish" Hernandez
02/20/2014 at 22:17

In the future, we'll talk. :)