Considering selling the turbo

[TTM]

I think I have reached the dreaded point that I now feel overwhelmed by the car each time I drive it.
Either it has become impossibly fast or I am getting old quicker than I expected.

For those who did not have the opportunity to follow this saga in the Engine Buil Progress thread, I have spent significant amounts to develop it, bigger engine, custom turbo, aftermarket ECU, etc, yet I feel it doesn't quite roll my ball anymore.

Maybe the standard gearing is just too long for the country roads I mostly use it on these days and actually makes the car more difficult to manage than it should, or should I just pull the curtains on this project, knowing that I will hardly recover even half of what I have spent?
I still enjoy the driving dynamics when I take it out, and I have driven some exotic machinery but none ever made me feel as much "at home"...

Or am I just being silly because it's been a hard week at work and am usually having negative thoughts when I'm tired?

Any thoughts?

 

[ukmastiff]

I get bored with any hobby and any car eventually its the way i am.
I'd suggest you have had enough of the car , it stands out a mile in your tone.
Move on and enjoy the memories i'd say

 

[robwright]

Being so specialist might it prove hard to shift if you do decide to though? Especially in this market?

 

[ukmastiff]

Any car has a price it will sell at though dont you think rob

 

[robwright]

Obviously yes but I think the market for such a car is very niche. To take it to the extreme how many buyers could you line up for WUF? I think if you do have to sell it would be a shame as you have invested so much in the car. I have invested a lot in my own Turbo. Less in terms of cash than others because I do all my own work (barring bodywork) but that to me would make it even harder to let it go as without meaning to sound cliched I have invested my sweat in it and yes even a little blood and tears!!! I do agree with Mas though your tone did sound pretty damning. Maybe you should sleep on it after a few long cold ones and see what a new week brings. PS post a link to the rebuild and good luck with which ever route you take []

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: TTM

I think I have reached the dreaded point that I now feel overwhelmed by the car each time I drive it.
Either it has become impossibly fast or I am getting old quicker than I expected.

Any thoughts?

Thoughts? Yes. Don't buy an S2. [] >RunsAndHides<

Ummm, you'll regret it if you do sell. You may find that other things outweigh the regret but you will regret it. That car is too much 'yours' for you to ever have another one like it. (Or, for that matter, for you to get the amount of money back out of it that you put into it.)

Think long and hard. Don't rush into a decision. Make sure that you think about it at the end of a bad week when you are feeling down, but also make sure you think about it when you have just had a drive in it, and are feeling at one with the world. Make sure you are happy with the decision, and don't feel pressured to do anything.

And ... ummm ... maybe think about an S2 instead. Yes they are devastatingly powerful (much more so than any turbo), but they are easier to drive, deliver their power in a very linear and smooth manner, and offer exactly the same driving dynamics as the turbo (the aspect of the car which you say you like). On country lanes they will deliver their thump lower down the rev range, and have shorter gearing as well. You may find that one makes a really good replacement for your turbo.

If you ever leave fechtez la vache and visit London then you'd be more than welcome to have a drive in mine. And I'm sure that a similar offer would be extended by many many other forum members.


Oli.

 

[Ewan]

For those of us unfamiliar with your particular car, could you give us a quick overview?

 

[pauljmcnulty]

I've banged on for years now that a Lux, on cheap tyres and modified only with a rapid-response throttle cam to replace the economy-based version, is all the 944 you can realistically use at it's limits (as in having maximum fun) on UK roads.

My S2 is a step forward in refinement, and is obviously "faster". But, let's face it. How much over 30 do you want drive in a 30 limit? Are you really confident that there isn't a mobile camera over the next crest? Just how fast do you need to be going to break the rear end on an S2, and drift through that roundabout?

I really enjoyed my cheap old Lux on it's P6000s, it was like a Caterham with a boot and a roof. 200-odd BHP and larger tyres doesn't add anything to the experience for me, it's more likely to get me a few points at some time, and in the real world it's not going to get me anywhere faster. I've spent many hours behind a 400 BHP turbo, and we always got to the event at the same time....

To me, you build a seriously modified car for one of two reasons. Either it's a track car, or you want to enjoy the build process and then move on to another project. You sound as if you've built a car you don't really get the most out of, so perhaps it's better to move on and start again? I guess that some of the guys with the highly-modified turbos would be able to add something here, but from what I've seen they've mostly been projects that have been great fun to build, but ultimately gone nowhere. [&o]

 

[Copperman05]

Perhaps an example that more bhp doesnt aways = happiness or improve the driving experience, perhaps you could try scaling down some of that power to give a more usable B road attack weapon? I'm sure its possible, a quick car is great but if your always losing traction or finding it a handful it can become tiresome (and dangerous). How much power is the car producing at present?


Edd

 

[Pastry]

i'd sleep on it and think again when you're in a more positive frame of mind.

its the wrong time of year to have fun in cars anyway. even my lux has been a handful recently, astonished how little grip there is when the roads are cold and wet. and up here thats pretty much all the time.

 

[Hilux]

For what its worth.............

I have owned/built/restored many cars and thouroughly enjoyed them all.

Once you get to a stage where you simply look at it, wash it and drive it just because its there and you feel you should the novelty wears off for it sounds to me that it is the project and the journey you enjoy.

Thats the case with me.

I sold the 944T with some regret but when I hancker after it I remember that (I am fortunate in that mine was a hobby car) it used to sit there near on immaculate and a planned run out would not take place if it was pouring with rain because I couldnt be *rsed to wash it (again)

Also, like you I worried that I was nowhere near its limits on public roads and did push it I must say but worried more about it so the thrill lessened when I drove it. My only regret is that I should have kept the 944T for comfortable jollies but still put my enthusiasm elsewhere so try that for a scenario.

I now have a slighly scruffy little Mk1 Golf which was a box of bits when my son abondoned the project as girls and faster more reliable, more modern cars came up above his horizon.

The fun is in researching, the huge learning curve, new friendships, new knowledge and new expertise. Its still being fettled and each weekend I relish working on it and driving the sum of all the bits and fabrications and alterations I have put together. In particular its cheap to fix and run, fantastic fun and I now have a smile on my face each time I take it out and if I bin it its on classic insurance with an agreed value. My aim is to do it for as little money as possible but the smile factor is huge as there is no willy waving.

Methinks its not the car you have an issue with but you need a new challenge.

 

[Diver944]

ORIGINAL: TTM

Or am I just being silly because it's been a hard week at work and am usually having negative thoughts when I'm tired?

Yes, now just pull yourself together man []

Like any project it's taken a long time to get this far and I know like everyone you've hit problems along the way. I thought everything was ironed out now so I wonder if in fact it is the challenge of the build that you enjoy. If you want a new challenge may I respectfully suggest a 16v conversion [8D]

Ultimately if it doesn't tick all the boxes anymore then you know the time has come. What is the market for 3.0L 944T's like in France?

Oh btw Oli - he already has an S2 as well []

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: Diver944

Oh btw Oli - he already has an S2 as well []

Ah, thanks.

He's clearly a sensible lad.


Oli.

 

[TTM]

ORIGINAL: Hilux
The fun is in researching, the huge learning curve, new friendships, new knowledge and new expertise [...]
Methinks its not the car you have an issue with but you need a new challenge.

You have certainly put the nail on the head.

Last year I have been lucky enough to meet an incredibly skilled engineer. Among others, he does his own intake & exhaust manifolds design, he showed me an intake he just designed and made for a turbocharged E39 BMW M5, ranks right up there with the most expensive stuff we see advertised here and there. His P&J is a self-built 1200bhp twin-turbocharged Chevy Chevelle... Great guy to chat with, very technically-minded who makes sound simple and straightforward most technical aspect. Today he showed me a flow bench he just finished making, we flowed some GM LS1 head...
He helped me out today setting parameters for the boost control, which I was beginning to be a bit bored with, and always keeps encouraging me on how a good job I have done on the car and how much more power I could get from it, just a quick intake manifold here, GT35 turbo there, water injection this, custom exhaust that, all of which made me enjoy the drive home in a way I hardly feel these days.
Anyway, just makes the point that the social part has now widely taken over the now almost gone solitary enjoyment of driving the car, which I didn't expect would happen with what is basically a rather selfish, single-minded hobby. My mate Sly is about to build a 3.0T 16V engine and I'm far more thrilled about it than I am with my own car at the moment.

As sugggested ealier I would still certainly regret selling it, not only because it would somewhat cut me from some enjoyable connections I have made throughout the years, but also because simply no other car has so far ticked all the right boxes.

The car does need some more fettling, such as a long-awaited set of KW V3 and new rubber bushings for the rear axle, as at 190k miles I'm sure they could all supremely improve the handling and comfort over 20 year old bushings and half-knackered M030 shocks. Money is not the problem as I sold my set of Moton last Summer so this is virtually all paid for, but I just do not feel like tinkering with my own car whatsoever at the moment.

Paul, I can't comment on the market in France. People around here seem to be mostly having intellectual w**ks on half-bent Cup cars and still talk about now long-gone Guru Racing chips as if they still were state-of-the-art, so I am hoping that I would find a buyer from a foreign country who is open-minded and knowledgeable enough to appreciate how I developed this car. Many Germans folks know my car and might pay good money for it, but I am not totally resolved on getting rid of it yet. Obviously I see no British folk mad enough to spend any money at all on a LHD 944T.

Thanks for everyone's input on here, this forum remains one of the most enjoyable place on the Internet to read from - to still read sometimes from people who have moved onto other cars gives it a depth that spares it from some of the narrow-minded approach sometimes seen on single-model forums.

Oli, I will be happy to offer you a pint one day for defending with as much confidence what I have been aware of since the beginning - the S2 is the better car []

 

[zcacogp]

ORIGINAL: TTM

Oli, I will be happy to offer you a pint one day for defending with as much confidence what I have been aware of since the beginning - the S2 is the better car []

Quoted, should you try and change your mind about either the beer or the superiority of the S2! []


Oli.

 

[colin944]

Are you sure youv'e not just hit the wall in car building terms.I have been building mine for 4 years now and would have to admit to wanting to scrap it a few times since I started.I didn't touch it for over a year as I couldn't be bothered to do the next job and dreaded it. But now I have a renewed passion for it and am on the big push to finnish. But then again sometimes I wonder what I am going to do with it when it's done.You see for me it's the building that is my hobby and when its done I will drive it on high days and holidays but as soon as it is done I will be straight on the look for a new project.
Really what I am saying is that we all get hacked off with projects at times but a few months later you fall in love again and away you go.If the car doesn't owe you money then put it in the garage and leave it for a while then go back to it when your feelings towards it improve.

 

[Hilux]

You have certainly put the nail on the head.

Thought so.........................

Look up on Google and watch Berg Cup..............

Then you`ll see what I see.

Fantastic stuff, very Retro.

I subscribe to Retro Cars now its back and love old cars (especially 80`s cars) with modern running gear.

Simple to work on and cheap to run and improve and done well has the potential to run rings (on the ring) around 911 beetles

Stick to under 900kg cars (as I do) and the bang per buck is amazing

Whatever, keep us informed and good luck