Learn me Porsche 968

Looking for something a little different. I have always liked the styling of these, kind of like a 944 crossed with a 993, and I figure it would be easier to work on then a boxster. How are they to drive around town? Autocross? track day? I know you need to stay on top of the timing belt? Any other weaknesses?

I have had several m3's in the past and I know that is the easy button, but I want to try a porsche again and I can't justify the money for a 911 or a Cayman S as a toy. I am thinking of selling my B13 SE-R and replacing it with something that I can take to a track day, auto cross or take out on the weekend with my wife.

Some inspiration...

I've always thought these were the most beautiful RWD car Porsche ever made. I'd love one, but the cost of entry relative to their performance still seems kind of high, especially when you consider that dreadful timing belt service. I'll be watching this thread, though...

Timing belts are simple. Hell I would rather do a 944 timing belt before I go a transfers mounted moter. Just keep spreading the word that they are horrible keeps more around for us 944 owners.

Its a facelifted 944 with a bigger engine. 3.0 4 clyinder, has anyone used this big a 4 in "modern" car? I think they are neat, but not a lot of them out there. Oddly I see more convertibles than coupes.

Found this on another forum, interesting food for thought...

" Dimensionally, the 968 Coupe is probably closest to the Honda S2000 than any other car sold today. That is interesting because the two cars look very different in person. The S2000 seems so much smaller, but it really isn't.

Wheelbase: Porsche 94.5 in., Honda 94.5 in.

Height: Porsche 50.2 in., Honda 50.0 in.

Width: Porsche 68.3 in., Honda 68.9 in.

Weight: Porsche 3086 lb., Honda 2864 lb.

The Porsche does win in overall length at 170.1 inches vs.162.2, and the front and rear tracks differ significantly between the two cars due to different philosophies in drivetrain placement and suspension configuration"

2008 S2000 237 hp,167 lb/ft, 1995 Porsche 968 236 hp, 225 lb/ft.

Obviously they make power completely differently....

Jeez, not the timing belt nonsense again. Read up on the Balance shaft and cam timing belt here: http://clarks-garage.com/shop-manual/repair-procedure-index4.htm

Timing belt is fairly easy actually. The Balance shaft belt is a PITA in comparison, but even that wasn't any harder than any of the transverse engines I've done in SITU. Just stupid easy to get one or more teeth off and then the engine vibrates at idle and you have to dive back into it again.

The 968 even has a hydraulic belt tensioner which is even easier than the older engines.

I'm not a huge fan of the 968's styling, but they are nice cars and take well to mods, they aren't too bad to maintain either, just don't buy a cheap one without any service history or plan on doing a lot of maintenance to bring it up to snuff again.

Great cars. Don't be scared by the timing belt stories. Just plan on changing it as soon as you get it home and do the plastic guide thing while you have it open.

They are fantastic to drive, although they feel a little heavier than the older cars. You'll get that going from early car to a turbo as well.

Speaking of turbos, they were turbo models available in Europe. There were also club sports. This means there are suspension upgrades available from the factory.

Still not as pretty as a 944.

I prefer the 968 looks over the 944. I've owned two 944 turbos and always wished they had put the turbo engine in the 968. I'd like to find a 968 with a bad engine and do the swap myself.

I didn't want one before. Now I do.

In reply to Cotton:

My buddy just finished building a 968 turbo. He said it was relatively easy with a decent donor other than some of the work to add the intercooler to the 968 nose.

He's running the 2.5L motor for the first iteration since the 3.0 blocks aren't easy to come by.

He's building a 3.0 for it though.

I have seen someone autocross one a few times, it did very well, especially for how old it is.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Still not as pretty as a 944.

I agree. Always liked 968s but compared to a 944, the proportions look a little "off".

My first Porsche was a Guards Red 968. Loved it. Beautiful car, nice driving, all the attributes of a 944 but a little smoother, faster and more modern-looking. I migrated over to the similar 944 S2 mostly because they were a lot less money at the time, also because our 968's lack of a limited slip diff hampered it in autocrosses. Only the 968 came with a six-speed transmission, good to have but easy to get "R" instead of "1". Today, you can buy an early Boxster for less than a 968, giving you mid-engined agility, but you wouldn't have the 968's comfort or utility. You rarely see a 968 these days, even at Porsche functions. I think many of the coupes became race cars so there do seem to be more cabs available today.

I would get an s2 and not a 968 but it is strictly a looks preference on my part. Both are great cars

If someone is interested in a 951 instead, mine is available:

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/open-classifieds/1988-porsche-944-turbo-s-silver-rose-8k-obo-115k-portland-or/101637/page1/

I thought this was the one with the small V8, but that must be the 928?

Petrolburner wrote: I thought this was the one with the small V8, but that must be the 928?

Yes, the 928 was the V8. I don't know about "small" though. The early cars were 4.5L and I believe they grew to 5.0L in the later cars.

WilD wrote:

Petrolburner wrote: I thought this was the one with the small V8, but that must be the 928?

Yes, the 928 was the V8. I don't know about "small" though. The early cars were 4.5L I believe and they grew to 5.0L in the later cars.

Not too mention they were all OHC motors, with the later ones getting a DOHC option, so yeah it was bigger in dimension than your typical pushrod motor of similar displacement.

The 968 was styled to bring it closer to the styling of the 928 and the 911.

My friend has a 968, I just talked to him and he is going to let me drive it to see what I think. I will give some impressions after I get to drive it.

I had a 968 for a couple months in the summer of 01, awesome car. It replace a triple blue S2 convertible so it didn't fill my expectations. Looking back I should still own that car.

Hope it works out for you.

They're fun cars, but as with any Porsche, it all comes down to how the car was maintained. These are getting old and are fairly maintenance intensive as well as being fickle about demanding WORK NOW!

Porsche also builds their cars ala carte, so you'd be surprised how many 968's don't have a LSD or the M030 upgraded suspension/brake package. I wouldn't buy a 968 that didn't have either.

Make sure it's been well cared for and has lots of service records...

If I remember the numbers of 968's that came with the M030 option is actually VERY low. Most were ordered more as touring cars.

I don't know how easily they are upgraded. I read some there that even though the design of a 968 is the same as the older 944's so many parts and pieces have been re engineered that there is very little interchange between 968's and the preceding 944's.

This is one reason why I would want at an S2.

However if you want a tiptronic transmission this was only available in the 968 and not the S2 although they share the same motor.

Because of this I was actually seriously considering making a tiptronic S2 but it was just so much of a pita it would probably be easier to transplant a front clip on to a 968 than get all the electronics to work with a 968 tiptronic trans in a 944 S2.

You can bolt the M030 brakes/suspension on,but it's not cheap to do so, even with used parts...

I would only be looking at manuals.

It's funny my buddy with the 968 is actually replacing the head gasket on his so I won't be able to drive it for two weeks or so. He loves the car but reiterated staying current on maintenance. His car is a 1992 with 160k that he has had since 2006.