Parts only. Not operable. No title.

Naturally aspirated tech and talk
jsheradin
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Joined: Thu Sep 12, 2024 6:34 am
Location: USA
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Idly browsing auction sites carries with it serious risk: In September I became the proud(?) owner of a "1985 Porsche" being sold by a nearby trade school. I purchased it sight unseen based on a terse 6 word description and five blurry photos. After that sank in I made the pickup arrangements, roped in a couple friends, borrowed a trailer, and went to claim my prize. Despite the tow rig topping out at 9 PSI of oil pressure and a few rain clouds, the car was now in hand.
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Upon further inspection I now owned a sun-baked early 1985 944, 8V, 5 speed, clocking in at 138k miles. It has option code M456 meaning Koni shocks and big swaybars from factory. Running the VIN showed it was last registered around 2003. The chassis is seemingly straight, the car is virtually rust free, and all the mechanicals look to be intact. The car was originally Zermatt silver, then it was black, and now it's white. The student's masking job left a little to be desired but the paint job is overall fine.
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The engine had oil so we of course popped it on the charger and tried to fire it up. Amazingly the engine ran but only on the fumes of brake cleaner. Some percussion brought the fuel pump back to life but the injectors were totally unresponsive. Taking a closer look revealed they were plugged solid with mystery brown crystals. Draining the fuel tank seemed to corroborate a vehicle that had not run in 20 years.
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I let the injectors buzz in an ultrasonic bath for a few hours with a noxious brew of solvents, force fed a square wave driver signal, smacked some sense into them, and eventually they all freed up. Popping them back in and hitting the key let the car idle for the first time in seemingly two decades. The coolant system was bone dry and filling it revealed a small radiator leak. Despite that the car had no problem putting up and down the street.
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When someone buys a car they must always get the title - or so the title office man tells me. Having just a bill of sale left me in a tough spot with only a few routes out. If you ask very nicely the title office will give you a super secret instruction packet describing how to persue a 'court ordered title'. The process varies state to state and even county to county but the general idea is that you need to:
  • Prove you now have possession of the car, that it has no leans, wasn't supposed to have been crushed, and isn't reported stolen
  • Prove you tried to contact the last title holder on record
  • Prove that it's a road legal and roadworthy car
  • Beg a common pleas court judge to sign off on everything
Most of the steps are just legwork: printing receipts, going to various offices, filling out forms, sending letters via certified mail, and getting things notarized. The road legal part involves having it inspected by the state highway patrol which meant I actually needed to make the damn thing road legal.

The closest inspection station is about 2 hours away via twisty backroads. You're technically allowed to trailer it there but, as part of the inspection appointment, they give you a day pass to drive it without registration. The choice was obvious. So how does one take an old sportscar that hasn't run properly in two decades and make a 4 hour road trip? No clue. I've never even seen a 944 up close until now. The following describes the past 8 weekends of my life.

After skimming Clark's Garage and watching some NC944er, I assumed the service interval for everything had lapsed and decided to dive straight in. The first item on the list was new gas struts for the hood and trunk so I can stop bonking my head. Following that, the timing and balance shaft belts were dry and cracked so I did a whole overhaul - new belts, tensioners, rollers, etc. While I was in there I popped on a new turbo style water pump and carved out the plastic cover to fit. The electrical connectors for the engine position sensors had disintegrated so I installed two fresh units and set the spacing.

The O2 sensor was in a sorry state and attempting to remove it destroyed my bunghole. It was a pretty quick job to drop the exhaust and weld in a fresh one.
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The tires on the car were a bit past their prime so they were replaced with the cheapest ones available. I took the opportunity to scrub off the rest of the flaking clearcoat. Hopefully the bare alu doesn't corrode.
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The AC system was dry and the compressor roared at an impressive decibel so I decided to just rip it off. The alternator was relocated with the help of a non-AC bracket and the belt size changed accordingly.

An eBay aluminum radiator was installed with a couple new coolant hoses. I burped the system a couple times but I don't have any fancy vacuum bleeder. The fans kick on and off and all seems perfectly happy but the gauge consistently reads between 1/2 and 3/4 temp. Is that a normal temperature reading on these things?

I changed the engine oil, gearbox oil, and topped off the power steering fluid. This revealed a leaky steering rack which I decided to ignore. The brake fluid is very dark so I decided to flush the system. After immediately snapping off a bleeder I decided to worry about that later.

Although the engine certainly ran it was quite unhappy at idle. Taking a closer look revealed every last vacuum line was cracked and split. I decided to bite the bullet and overhaul the whole vacuum system with a nice silicone replacement kit. With all that sorted it purrs beautifully.
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The interior was aromatic and the seats did not move no matter how much you scooted your butt. I traced these issues down to a leaky sunroof seal and a gaping hole in the battery tray. One day I'll come back in and fix it properly (or so I tell myself). Given the amount of moisture I decided to rip out the carpet and see what I was in for. Amazingly there's just a whiff of surface rust. A hammer and some penetrating oil was enough to free up the seat sliders.
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Last edited by jsheradin on Wed Nov 20, 2024 4:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.


#1

jsheradin
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I now set my sights on the infamous German electrical systems. The car had a handful of unrelated issues which I tackled one at a time with the help of the service manual schematics and patience. No running lights on the left side of the car was caused by a blown fuse, the result of a pinched wire. No reverse light was caused by a bad switch on the transmission. The car had no high beams which was caused by a shattered high/low beam switch on the steering column. After replacing this switch the car only had a right high beam. The horn also did not work. Both of these ended up being the result of broken pins within the fuse box. I repaired it by threading through some wire and soldering it up. Various other small issues were the result of crusty switches and connectors. All-in I strategically applied full can of Deoxit contact cleaner and wore out a few toothbrushes but everything came back to life. Even the Blaupunkt radio works.
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A buddy and I put a few shakedown miles onto it prior to the big day. I treated it to a full tank of premium with a can of Berryman for good measure before swinging through the pay & spray wash. The voyage was a success but revealed a groaning wheel bearing and a sticking caliper. The caliper turned out to be the result of some crusty hardware. A quick treatment with the wire wheel got it all freed up. Amazingly NAPA had the wheel bearings in stock so the left rear got a new inner, outer, and a repacked CV. A few more shakedown miles were put on with several hard stops to clean up the crusty rotors. A few flat out rips made sure the whole speedometer works.
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The day finally came to make the 4 hour round trip journey. A good buddy tailed me in his JDM WRX swapped wagon packed with tools and fluids. Despite being off the road for two whole decades it made the trek with absolutely zero hiccups. The Highway Patrol officer snooped and inspected, scrubbing for various serial numbers, working their way through a checklist. After yet more paperwork and a couple raised eyebrows I was given the thumbs up - inspection passed.
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The 944 was running so well that on the way back my buddy decided to go and break the Subaru's clutch fork just for fun. Two hours of gear grinding later and both cars were back to home base. She did not skip a beat the whole trip. The ol' girl was officially alive again.
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The final step in the title process involves actually asking the judge to issue a court order. Paperwork for everything leading up to this gets itemized, summarized, and notarized into an affidavit. This gets attached to a petition where I basically beg for the judge to sign the order. After paying $3.25 for parking at the courthouse, I was assigned a case number and told to wait.

Two weeks later I get a call. Order issued - come pick it up.

What happened next is a bit of a blur. I ditched work early, went to the courthouse, collected the certified order, and took it straight to the title office where the clerk issued me a CLEAN title! I then went on to get plates and registration. The 944 was officially, legally, wholly, and completely mine. Nine weeks start to finish - barn find to running and driving car.
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So what's next? Well the suspension is definitely 40 years old, front bumper is cracked and warped beyond repair, brake fluid is suspiciously dark, power steering fluid dribbles out, carpet and door cards are gone, clutch bite point is way up there, transmission has a speed related whine, engine mounts are shot, cabin blower squeaks, power windows are really slow, and the car smells vaguely of old camping gear.

I'm not sure what to tackle first. All I know is that it's mine.


#2

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J-Dub
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What an epic start to your adventure with this car! What is that saying, no risk no reward. Seems like the car is much better than you expected and the car has lucked out to be in your capable hands.

Looking forward to hearing about the next chapters.


1957 VW Beetle
2004 VW R32
2021 Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0

#3

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blueline
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Epic story indeed! Enjoyed following the summary of your journey but what's most impressive is that you actually got it done!! Color me massively awed - congrats! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

Oh yeah, welcome to Carpokes! :D


Tim
'24 Cayenne S - Algarve Blue Metallic
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#4

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J-Dub
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The pictures of the pins in the fusebox is fascinating me, I have never worked with a fusebox of that style. Nice that it can be repaired with common tools.


1957 VW Beetle
2004 VW R32
2021 Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0

#5

944er
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Wow. That car owes you. But... she will pay you back with miles of smiles.


#6

WillyDaP
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Not sure how I missed this but what an epic story and I know like many others, further installments of this love affair will be required reading. Congrats and thanks for sharing.


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#7

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zooklm1
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Thank you for sharing your story. Awesome accomplishment and welcome to Carpokes!


#8

jsheradin
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Now that I can legally drive the thing I didn't feel too bad shelling out on some fancy stuff. I took advantage of the holiday and:
  • Fixed broken door stop
  • Replaced power steering rack with a rebuilt unit, new tie rod ends, boots, mounts, reservoir, etc.
  • New engine mounts
  • New lower control arm bushings and ball joints
  • New upper strut mount rubber inserts
  • New Koni struts and matching rear shocks
  • Replaced all brake rubber hoses with braided stainless
  • Made new trailing arm hard lines - old ones didn't come off without a fight
  • Replaced the snapped brake bleeder
  • Flushed the brakes and clutch
  • Installed some fiberglass door cards
  • Slid it around in the snow

Door stop was shattered.
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Managed to get the old bleeder out by welding a nut to it. Took a few attempts but it finally came free.
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Wonder how the new ones will fair over the next 40 years.
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Took quite a bit of flushing for everything to bleed clear. This made a huge improvement to the clutch feel but the brakes are still a little spongy.
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Ended up going with some gel-coated fiberglass door cards. They were a bit DIY and I'm not too experienced trimming and fitting fiberglass but I think they turned out presentable.
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The combination of snow and tape measure alignment makes this thing quite an experience to drive. Heater works great thankfully.


#9

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