Rapsey0909 said:
Hi all I’m new to the forum and have just got myself a 1986 944 in sapphire met, I’ve already found a bunch of things that i need to do to but i thought that i would start a thread about little mods people have done that would benefit the car in different ways.
I’m not sure if there is already a thread for this but I’m sure if we can throw a million pounds at our cars they would all be perfect in every way but I’m talking about affordable upgrades that make a difference too daily driving if its comfort, power, economy whatever.
Let’s see what we can share………
They generally benefit from being bought back to full health / service items etc. / shocks / rubber bushes /seals (engine and bodywork (sunroof and boot usually the worse). Plug leads can be stunningly leaky and the engine still run (open the bonnet in the dark to check, mine were like a firework display before attention).
However what is your aim? the best standard car, the best performance from that set up, the best performance regardless of cost etc?
It can be made a bit quicker all round by adding lightness and it will have a lovely flow down a winding road - it won't be quick in a straight line compared to relatively modest modern metal, more fun to drive than most
If you want to go much faster sell it and buy a Turbo or S2.
I had an 86 lux and it felt like it could handle another 100BHP easily, once it had new (standard) shocks etc. So I bought a late turbo with c100Hp more - Porsche had improved everything else, so it still felt like it could easily handle another 100BHP. Over time it did develop around that and it was enjoyable if little fragile (without spending £10K +). I still own it 20+ years later and added another fairly standard one albeit without a metal roof about 10 years ago.
I enjoy they way they were engineered and built and come apart / go back together (mostly there are some annoyances, the rear number plate light fixings are crazy, the distributor cap can be awkward on a 2.5 and the turbocharger can be very tricky to extract as can the clutch). I would like some time to get my coupe back as a 400BHP tool.
They are all (assuming half decent bushes / shocks) great to drive and very satisfying compared to modern / electric stuff.
So my top 'upgrades' for your car would be to make it work reliably and drive as it did when new (maybe slightly better, Bilstein B6 could be a consideration if shocks need changing anyway)
Tony