If you’ve been following our blog, you’ll know that we’re working on a restoration project, bringing a 944 Turbo back to its former glory. We’ve already done several articles talking about the restoration project and the 944 Turbo in greater detail, but this one is more to bring you up to date on what’s been done and to see how the build is progressing.
Why choose a 944 Turbo?
Why would you not choose a 944? It’s one of Porsche’s greatest models ever built, right up there with the iconic air-cooled 911s. It was Porsche’s attempt at designing a sportscar which would also be a great GT cruiser, and they’ve done exactly that. The 944 Turbo is a rear-wheel drive front-engined sportscar, with some very unique and interesting features.
Instead of using a traditional layout, the 944 has what’s called a transaxle. It’s essentially a mechanical device combining an axle and a transmission into one housing, for both more reliability and less weight. Because of how compact the transaxle is, Porsche was able to mount it at the back, offsetting the weight of the engine in the front and creating a nearly perfect 50-50 weight distribution.
The restoration process in detail
Although our 944 Turbo was already in great shape before we started working on it, any restoration project still needs a great plan of attack to keep things on schedule. Nhu Nguyen, Porsche Certified Silver Technician provided the following summary:
“We took a few days to fully inspect the car and put together a list of recommendations. We did a compression test, a leak-down test, and we found that the engine is in really good condition, just like the transmission. The major things needing an overhaul were the steering rack and the electronics, as we had a lot of exposed, broken, and crumbly wires. That’s what we’ve been focusing on, as well as freshening up the suspension. Anything that can’t be repaired has been or will be replaced with brand new parts".
If you want to keep up with the project make sure to follow our blog and give us a like on social media. We’ve got great things in store for this 944 Turbo, and we can’t wait to share it with all of you.
Date Posted: June 24, 2019