I bought a cheap, forgotten Porsche and I'm TAKING IT RACING! Project Weekend Racer, Ep 1

[@boffam00]

Love it! I actually was alive in ‘83 when the 944 came out and I majorly lusted after it. Watching the Rothmans’s Challenge race series cemented my love for the car, and eventually I came to own an ‘89 944S2.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

That’s awesome!! I’d love to get my hands on a 944 S2 someday. Seems like that’d be one of the best all around setups.

[@GC-kp7lo]

Congrats. The 944 is a great car. Durable as he'll. Handles beautifully. I see them every PCA track day. But you are right, you don't see many on the road today.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Thanks, and thank you for watching! I'm quite excited to get this one back up to snuff and back out on the road.

[@erwindumay9143]

Nice addition to the garage! Here in the Netherlands the 944 cup is probably the most popular amateur race event. Cars handle great, are fairly cheap to maintain and are a blast when driven hard. Have fun!

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Thanks Erwin! That's awesome that the 944 is still so prevalent in the Netherlands. Clearly lots of smart car enthusiasts over there!

[@ThatCaymanGuy]

Dude congrats! I grew up in the 80's and the 944 has always been my dream car, i'm working on getting one myself.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Thanks Dave!! And thank you for watching along. It’s a pretty frickin sweet car; you should definitely get one!

[@ThatCaymanGuy]

@@FunAhead_TV_Official great cars, i owned a 928 in the 90's and that was a fantastic car. working on a couple of things to make it happen and one of them is making room in the garage!

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Nice nice! I think it’d be a lot of fun to get a 928 someday. Also, I absolutely feel ya about the need to make room in the garage… I’m always thinking I need a bigger shop, then I think… well, maybe the problem is the number of cars in it haha.

[@boffam00]

One thing you might want to check for the purposes of keeping it in stock class is the offset of those wheels…don’t look stock to me.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Good to know and thank you for pointing that out! I’ll double check the offset to make sure.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Sooo you absolutely nailed it… great eye!! For whatever reason, the front / rear wheels were flipped on the car, making the fronts look WAY more offset than they should be, and the rears set super far in. After looking it up, i guess the rear track width of a 944 is 1” less than the front, so the wheels account for that somewhat. The car looks normal now after putting the wheels in their correct spots. Thank you for calling that out!

[@Bookman11702]

So excited!!!! 😮💪💪

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Thanks Booker!! Me too!

[@JustinBekkerCanada]

Good purchase. An '84 was my first Porsche. It actually looks like the same colour as yours, but mine was repainted and wasn't a Porsche colour.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Thanks Justin! Interesting you say that. Mine is a repaint too, at least partially, but I believe put back to its original color. Could be wrong though. That being said, I haven’t yet looked to see what the factory color is called.

[@JustinBekkerCanada]

@@FunAhead_TV_Official I think mine was guard's red originally. I can't remember for sure if I could see any of the original colour. I definitely wondered when I first saw yours if it could be my old one. I'm quite confident mine was 1984.5 and I owned it in BC, Canada.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

That’d be amazing if it was! As far as I know, it has lived its entire life in Ohio, and I have it on good authority that’s the case. But you never know! That’d be so cool if this is your car haha

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Update! My car is for sure in its original color according to the build sticker. Granite red.

[@julioirizarry4262]

One of my old times favorite! Great addition. Whatever happened to the 911 engine rebuild? I recently sold my 996/1999. Currently looking for a 2009 to 2012 Cayman base , which has proven to be quite the challenge given the few out there with reasonable mileage and prices… no more IMS and scoring worries I figured. Anyway, looking to see this new Porsche looking great again. Julio

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Thanks Julio!! I agree, I love the 944!! Oh nooo, you sold it??! Bummer, but I'm glad you're looking to get back into the Porsche game with a Cayman. Yea, that year range is hard to find, but will be worth the challenge! The 911 didn't go anywhere! There is a really long lead time on getting the case halves fitted with the Nikasil liners, hence the gap in videos on that car. Expect more 911 content to show up in the next few weeks! Thanks for continuing to be an avid viewer of the channel; I appreciate you!

[@anthonydietmeier6524]

Hate to be "that guy" but the 944 specs shown don't do them any favors. For instance, an early low options US market car weighs 2660-2680lbs. Euro cars are 2600 flat with fiberglass bumpers and no cat. Also, Porsche official numbers say 8.3 0-60, but period magazine reviews and my stopwatch say low 7's are more realistic.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

You’re being one of the most reasonable “that guys” there ever was, so thanks! Haha and yes, I came across those kinds of stats too when making the table. Was trying to give each model its own benefit of the doubt since they all have variations, and some level of manufacturer “padding” on performance stats. Nonetheless, you nailed it… I think there’s way more performance in a 944 than the initial stats show. From one guy to another, thanks for being “that guy.”

[@anthonydietmeier6524]

@Fun_Ahead_TV_Official yup, I'm sure the other cars listed have some numbers gray areas too, but I gotta root for the home team since I've got the 944 ownership bias lol.. My 944 is slowly creeping up on the performance of my nearly stock MK6 GTI, which is a solidly zippy car. So there is some potential in the ancient German sports car.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

I hope you know we’re on the same home team!! My full intention is to prove the 944 is still a relevant force to be reckoned with.

[@anthonydietmeier6524]

@Fun_Ahead_TV_Official hell yeah! Not sure how hard-core you're wanting to go but weight loss is your friend. I'm down to about 2400lbs while keeping a full interior and looking stock-ish, with no fiberglass or lexan yet. 2300lbs will be achievable in the next phase, 2200lbs is my dream but the last 50lbs is gonna cost a fortune. Would be cheaper if I didn't want to retain the interior and stock aesthetics.

[@FunAhead_TV_Official]

Wow, that’s awesome!! I’m sure those couple hundred pounds have made a huge difference in the driving feel. I plan to keep it stock for now, but might be fun to venture into a lightweighting project someday for sure