chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 At the start of 2012 I decided my next car would be a 944. There was something about it’s muscular wedge shape, boxed guards and mix of 70’s, 80’s and 90’s design elements. The perfect weight balance, relatively low weight and ability to take a corner ticked the boxes too. After test driving a few turbos and very nearly pulling the trigger on one, I decided in favour of natural aspiration. The instant on/off throttle response and linear power delivery of the s2 won me over. Outright power and kick-in-the-pants acceleration lost out to smooth and predictable (boring?) so I started looking for an s2. By october 2012, after spending way too much time on Carsales I had finally found an s2 in black. As a bonus it had the RUF Speedline wheels I was looking for too. The car was in Victoria and after negotiating on the price decided it was worth bringing it up to Brisbane. Naively, I took the word of the owner and a local workshop to determine the condition of the car and had it trucked up. The initial plan? Drive it and enjoy it as a daily driver, fix up a few little things as needed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 This is not the first thing you want to see: The rust was contained to the front fenders and the rear battery tray but they would have to be replaced. The RUF wheels were in great condition structurally with only minor kerb rash but were losing their clear coat and looking tatty. They actually look pretty good in this photo.. worse in reality. Can’t say I was a fan of the droopy bumper either… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 One of the previous owners had the car repainted. It was a poor job... crows feet, orange peel, bubbles, overspray…[im]http://s10.postimg.org/ogjdo85c9/IMG_9783.jpg Missed a spot...The trim was flapping in the breeze…The sunroof seal had seen better days Obviously it used to be silver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 The interior could have been worse..But it could have been better.. some of the interior panels were warped and peeling away. The obligatory cracked dash: At this stage my plans for the car had changed.. I decided to give it a fresh lease on life by having the rust repaired/removed, new seals and a repaint.New seals Originally I wanted the car to be black.. but after seeing Porsche black grey on the GT3 RS, I decided to go half way in between. The colour is Porsche black grey with half of the white content removed from the mix. You can see it here on the old fender next to black: By early 2013 the car was looking like this... and clearly some of my mates thought I was a dick head Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 it wasn't a bare metal respray, but the guys took their time with the prep Could turn it into an SS ute? I also had the wheels finished with gloss black centers and satin black lips. Still a bit dusty in these shots, but I was happy with the way the colour turned out. Not a very accurate representation under the fluorescent lights though.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 The day I picked it up from the paint shop... Was really happy with the finish, no bubbles or orange peel. I drove the car for a few months before moving to Sydney and deciding to leave it in Brisbane.. at this point it was just a desktop wallpaper.. 2014 was a busy year so the car sat un-driven.. I realised it was never going to be my daily driver and with the non-factory paint was never going to be a truly OEM-spec car ever again. So I started hatching plans for the LS1 conversion and some other personal touches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboT Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Fast forward to the end and am I guessing you spent three times what you paid for the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Fast forward to the end and am I guessing you spent three times what you paid for the car? haha, yeah about that.. and the car is still off the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboT Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 haha, yeah about that.. and the car is still off the road still, the price is so low you kind of expect to be throwing a little cash at these cars. Probably been unloved for a while. Good to see you and Magnus are championing the 944! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vl gra Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 She looked good in the 1st pic. Look forward to seeing the end result Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
9fan Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Your'e stripping her and showing the LOVE, that means she's a Keeper ! Heart wil be an LS 1, there's the number plate LVESIC . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 still, the price is so low you kind of expect to be throwing a little cash at these cars. Probably been unloved for a while. Good to see you and Magnus are championing the 944! very true, it's a lot of car for little money... the equation has to balance out eventually. Hope to see more of them being built /restored She looked good in the 1st pic. Look forward to seeing the end result Looked good from a distance! Your'e stripping her and showing the LOVE, that means she's a Keeper ! Heart wil be an LS 1, there's the number plate LVESIC . She is... haha, I like it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clutch-monkey Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 watching with interest.. will be a ripper with the V8! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pauly Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 nice build! can't wait to see how she turns out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corki944 Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Coming along nicely Chris...... It's been alot of work but certainly going to be worth it in the end.... Can't wait to join you on the road for a drive when yours and mine are both finished.... Certainly is a keeper and am enjoying the love and attention you are giving her.... Keep us updated mate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberpunky Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Wow, no doubt you would have been gutted when you saw the issues, when car arrived. Glad you stuck it out and while I am not a fan of the LS conversion(i see the logic of it and) I still respect the work needed to do it right, The results though would no doubt have me giggling like a school girl, as it will be a complete beast. Can't wait to see this project progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 This is awesome! Following with interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzieman Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Great work and dedication to the cause. Was that a UK car? Rust is somewhat unusual. The end result will annoy a few ricers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Coming along nicely Chris...... It's been alot of work but certainly going to be worth it in the end.... Can't wait to join you on the road for a drive when yours and mine are both finished.... Certainly is a keeper and am enjoying the love and attention you are giving her.... Keep us updated mate... Itching to get it on the road - a road trip is definitely in order at the end Wow, no doubt you would have been gutted when you saw the issues, when car arrived. Glad you stuck it out and while I am not a fan of the LS conversion(i see the logic of it and) I still respect the work needed to do it right, The results though would no doubt have me giggling like a school girl, as it will be a complete beast. Can't wait to see this project progress Yeah, it was so dissapointing... but hey, had the car been in better condition the build and LS1 may never have happened. Fair enough too the swap isn't to everyone's taste.. it will be a bit of fun Great work and dedication to the cause. Was that a UK car? Rust is somewhat unusual. The end result will annoy a few ricers. The previous owner told me the car was from Singapore, but who knows how much truth there was to that. I was surprised to see the rust too... On this car the rust in the battery tray was from a leaking battery and the front fenders seem to trap a bit of water - I don't think it was garaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D'Silva Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Who did the paint? It looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 9May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Paint was by CDR - they just recently closed down.. a shame, they were doing good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JV911 Posted 9May, 2015 Report Share Posted 9May, 2015 Is the LS conversion difficult, can you tell us what is involved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_f Posted 10May, 2015 Author Report Share Posted 10May, 2015 Is the LS conversion difficult, can you tell us what is involved? Short answer: It's not as straight forward as I'd hoped...Long answer: There are a couple of well known 944 LS conversion shops in the states that can supply parts:http://www.texasperformanceconcepts.com/ (this is the one I used, after hearing good reviews and customer feedback on the parts) andhttp://www.renegadehybrids.com/ There is also a wealth of information on the 944 hybrid forums. They even have a wiki which is essentially an online conversion manual:http://944hybrids.forumotion.com/ Doing a bit of reading on it, I was almost convinced to give it a go with the help of a family friend. The kits you can buy are much closer to 'bolt in' for a LHD car. After receiving the parts list from Texas Performance Concepts (TPC), I knew we'd be out of our depth - the exhaust manifolds definitely wouldn't fit a RHD and there were a few other uncertainties. If you're interested in the parts list TPC put together for me, I can email you a PDF. In the end I took the project to the guys at MR Tuning for their combined porsche / v8 supercar / time attack car experiencehttp://www.mr-tuning.com.au/ Some of the complexities involved in the swap for a RHD car: - Custom made exhaust manifolds (clearances are very, very tight on a RHD car) - Conversion to hydro boost brakes which requires firewall modification and new lines. - Steering shaft extension - (I'll update the list as they come to mind) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzieman Posted 10May, 2015 Report Share Posted 10May, 2015 The previous owner told me the car was from Singapore, but who knows how much truth there was to that. I was surprised to see the rust too... On this car the rust in the battery tray was from a leaking battery and the front fenders seem to trap a bit of water - I don't think it was garaged. Singapore and Hong Kong are essentially "maritime environments". Regard as UK cars for all intents and purposes - and probably only driven short distances into the bargain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboT Posted 10May, 2015 Report Share Posted 10May, 2015 Singapore and Hong Kong are essentially "maritime environments". Regard as UK cars for all intents and purposes - and probably only driven short distances into the bargain. Interesting point. As probably 50% of all Aussie p-car owners live near the beach should we fear Clovely Carreras and Bondi Boxters? I once lived in Dover Heights in Sydney. Great ocean views, but also fierce sea spay when the wind was up. A barbecue left outside on the deck could rust through in 12 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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