Tomorrow I may be purchasing a 1985.5 red with black interior. 100% stock, leather seats and the whole works. The seats come with a red trim all around, not sure if that's factory? Can anybody tell me how many 1985.5 we're made in red? Thanks in advance.

 

How many cars were guards red in 1985.....A lot. Probably the most common color produced.

I haven't ever seen a 944 with factory red piping, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have been specially ordered. Or, the seats have been transplanted in out of a 911 of similar vintage, of which I have seen red piping on.

 

How are they realiably? Performance? Cheap maintence. I read somebody dropped clutch at 2k rpm and screwed their car up, can the 944 seriously not handle such a small dump?

 

No, they can't, they are a track car, not a drag car.
If you dump the clutch both the R&P and clutch will fail....expensive to fix.

 

I'm not a expert on cars, but 2k isn't that high... I had cars falling apart that could easily handle 2k and wasn't near a drag car. Brings me to a question, being a base model, bottom line Porsche, is it poorly put together for a 1985 car?

 

From my experiences working in the industry, usually when people say 2k drop, they eventually fess up and say they did it around 4k. A 944 can handle a 2k drop if your clutch is fresh and transaxle is in good shape. Again, they are not meant to be drag cars, but rather road racing cars. A modern day minivan will beat a 944NA in the quarter mile, so there really isn't any point it try to drag race the car. A turbo on the other hand is a different story, but again, you need to launch gently.

Upgrades for NA powerwise: Not going to happen without spending 15-20k on the motor. Lots of suspension upgrades to make the car very fast on the track.
Upgrades for a turbo: The sky is the limit. If you want power, buy a turbo.

Reliability? If the previous owner has a good stack of maintenance records, with the major items done (waterpump/timingbelt/clutch,etc), then they are usually fairly reliable if taken care of. They are NOT cheap to maintain, and you do need to maintain them well. The little stuff will nickle and dime you to death. I usually tell people to expect $1k in parts (not including labor) a year for the first few years just to keep the car on the road. Once you get up on the maintenance, then that number should go down.

 

Thanks a lot Doc, your post helped me a lot in finding the information I needed.

 

Yah, Doc, it's the same at the track:

"I stayed on line and he chopped me in the corner"
When the video is reviewed, it turns out just the opposite and the driver finally admits he was the chopper and not the chopee.

If you blow the R&P dumping the clutch, it was never at 4500 rpm, it was at 2000 rpm and the 944 drivetrain is a piece of junk.

Any Porsche that you treat like a drag car will bite you back....some now, some the fifth time you do it. 944 Cars are extremely reliable if you treat them right.

 

Remember that 1985 was a transitional year for the 944. Also, all used car prices are down, some 40% from just a year ago. Not trying to scare you away from the 1985.5, but you can probably get anewer 944 for much less than you may think. Shop around my friend. I suggest you look for an S or S2 shouldyou want a normally aspirated car. These later gen cars have much more zip without themaintenance costs associated with the 951 (turbo).

 

I do have to say that I cannot disagree with prior postings. What I will say is that I have talked to more thanone Porsche scrap yard and they have seen, and sell more than their fare share of drivetrain bits. Each vehicle if you listen speaksit's own language, and this vehicle if you listen to it will talk to you once the clutch is fully engaged (not aggresively I might add). The 944 is an excellent car, but don't abuse it off of the light, and it will give you much enjoyment.....
Buy the car, and enjoy.....
Paul
P.S 2000 R.P.M iswhat I said, and thats what I mean't.....