Dec/02 - After being out of the driver seat of a Porsche for nearly 1 1/2 years, I finally purchased a black 1987 944S at the end of 2002. The supportive seats, firm suspension, and responsive, communicative steering were a welcome change from the '91 BMW325i I was used to driving.
The first month of ownership of this 117,000 mile car was spent replacing the timing belt and tensioners; fluid, filter, and plug changes; and general cleaning, waxing and trim restoration. I eventually installed a Momo steering wheel, Weltmeister DME chip, and white face gauges with brighter dash light bulbs for better visibility.
March/03 - my plan to autocross with the local SCCA and PCA were temporarily put on hold by the failure of the cam chain tensioner, considered to be the achilles heel of the 16 valve engine. The head was damaged, and required repair with two new camshafts, tensioner, and a new intake valve. The repair was finally completed in June/03. I have documented some photos of the removal and repair process on this page.
July/03 - I barely had the car back a month when I had a small crash while autocrossing. The front spoiler was pushed in and the radiator, fans, and A/C condensor were destroyed. I limped the car back home and once again my mechanical ability was challenged. Over the next two months I had to fabricate the radiator mounting brackets, replace the radiator/fan assembly and hoses, and repair and repaint the front spoiler and foglights. |
