944 revival after sitting for 16 years

[Teapurist12]

Hi all just posting an update on the continued revival of my 1987 944 2.5 8v

I bought this car in January 2024 after it had sat in various garages around the south coast of England for 16 years , in that time it had had the rotten sills characteristic of anything that touches British roads during winter welded and that was about it. after purchasing it I towed it 170 miles to my work where it has been in a state of slow restoration between other projects and waiting for parts.
so far I have redone the front brake callipers hoses and lines , new timing belt and balance shaft belt , all of the fuel lines have been replaced with AN6 lines front to rear, and a full service .
before it gets back on the road I have got to : rebuild the rear callipers (including redoing the rather dodgy front to rear brake line that somebody has created), find the fault with the fuel pump not fuel pumping ( I suspect that the original 1987 DME relay may have something to do with that ) ,at some point in time paint ,and a new set of tyres .

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the journey back from picking the car up

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restoration of the front brakes (featuring some uncharacteristically good weather for the UK )

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new timing belt installed

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The old fuel system was way very corroded and most fittings leaked instantly when power was applied to the pump manually

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the new stainless steel over braid AN6 Lines all in the correct place ready for some 3D printed clamps to hold the breather and brake lines to them ( I will be designing and making these in the coming months and will make the files available )

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the probable cause of the lack of fuel pump an original 1987 DME relay !

Thanks for looking
James .

[blueline]

Progress! Great to have you here James and great that you're sharing the revival with all here. Lots of support at Carpokes!

[Tom]

Love to see old cars like this get a new lease on life. Great work. Hard to look at those poor fuel lines covered in rust! And looking forward to your 3D printed fuel line clips! I replaced mine a while ago and would say there is plenty of room for improvement. Curious if you changed the strainer in the fuel tank? Even well preserved cars have pretty gummed up strainers after all these years. I can only imagine how yours must look! That can mess up the pump too...

[Teapurist12]

Hi tom , yes I replaced the filter pump and strainer along with the rubber connecting pipe , the strainer was in surprisingly good condition considering the fuel that came out of it was similar colour to a dark bitter but I decided to do it while I was in there anyway

[RDMcG]

Love to see this sort of resto. Please keep posting and I look forward to the day when you finally get it back on the road! All the best for the rest of the journey.

[Tom]

Hi tom , yes I replaced the filter pump and strainer along with the rubber connecting pipe , the strainer was in surprisingly good condition considering the fuel that came out of it was similar colour to a dark bitter but I decided to do it while I was in there anyway

Good to hear. I've heard other people from Europe say the same, which makes me wonder if the E10 fuel they sell here in California contributes to the problem. My 944 strainer looked like a jello mold (as did the one on my 79 Mercedes). Am I right to think you have pure petrol (gasoline) with no ethanol?

[Teapurist12]

Good to hear. I've heard other people from Europe say the same, which makes me wonder if the E10 fuel they sell here in California contributes to the problem. My 944 strainer looked like a jello mold (as did the one on my 79 Mercedes). Am I right to think you have pure petrol (gasoline) with no ethanol?

Unfortunately a couple of years ago The Uk has moved to e10 as standard but E5 is still readily available in 98/ 99 octane guise so older and higher performance cars are usually spared all the frilly lines and ruined filters , we have had many classic cars at work that have been ruined by E10( they also run much worse ) . I have not come upon ethanol free fuel in a while bar in racing applications where it is very common .

[blueline]

Good to hear. I've heard other people from Europe say the same, which makes me wonder if the E10 fuel they sell here in California contributes to the problem. My 944 strainer looked like a jello mold (as did the one on my 79 Mercedes). Am I right to think you have pure petrol (gasoline) with no ethanol?

Unfortunately a couple of years ago The Uk has moved to e10 as standard but E5 is still readily available in 98/ 99 octane guise so older and higher performance cars are usually spared all the frilly lines and ruined filters , we have had many classic cars at work that have been ruined by E10( they also run much worse ) . I have not come upon ethanol free fuel in a while bar in racing applications where it is very common .

We still have some ethanol free here in Tennessee (mostly regular grades) at a small number of stations but you have to search for them or know where they are. There are even a few places further out from metro areas offering premium grade ethanol free fuel but sadly that's getting rarer.

[Teapurist12]

Quick update on the 944 pt 1

Today it passed its MOT (annual inspection) for the first time in almost 17 years !

since the last update I have : Rebuilt and painted the rear calipers , replaced all of the brake hard-lines ,replaced the fuel pressure regulator ( this was the main reason it would not start ), painted the exposed primer on the sills and rear valance, replaced sunroof seal , and repaired the blowing exhaust.
I have also designed some 3D printed fuel and brake line clamps, these are ok for now but I am not entirely happy with the strength of the outer fixing , this may have to be made of metal or I may make an updated and stronger clamp .

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The faulty Regulator

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rebuilt rear brakes

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one of the new brake hardlines

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My 3D printed clamps shown both off the car and attached the central grey inserts are made of a rubberised TPU filament to ensure that the hoses are clamped well enough the outer clamps are PLA-CF reinforced but still flex too much allowing movement when the hoses are under load .

[Teapurist12]

quick update on the 944 part 2

among the other things I have done include ,refurbishing the wheels , a new set of tyres , new brake backing plates , restored the fuel pump cover guard , new fuel tank straps , replaced the speakers and head unit, and finally reinstalling and refurbishing the turbo rear splitter

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new brake backing plates

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new sunroof seal

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refurbished wheels and new tyres

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paint on the sills

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painting the rear valance

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home after the drive back from the MOT

Thanks for looking
James