This $550 Porsche 944 Makes The Ultimate Daily Beater

By Max Holder Mar 15, 2019

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By Max Holder Mar 15, 2019

Having spent the last 15 years drowning in mould, this 944 has been revived in the coolest way possible

We all know it, the Porsche 944 was never really that spectacular. With an inline four, and fairly conservative styling, it was never going to be taking pride of place on the bedroom wall. With a city boy image in its day for those who simply wanted to put a Porsche on their driveway, it was never a bad car, although it simultaneously wasn’t exciting enough to really wow us. It even had pinstripe upholstery - so Wall Street.

Times do change, however, and although its 924 forefather certainly didn’t contribute anything useful in the gene pool, the 944 is seen as something rather different 30 years on. By different we actually mean pretty epic. Everyone and his mate knows that pop up headlights are simply the best, especially Tina Turner. Fortunately in 2019, that’s just the beginning of this cars merits, let us explain.

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It’s a lesser known feature of the 944 that it has a transaxle setup, meaning that weight distribution is pretty close to 50:50. Add in its greenhouse esque rear hatch and folding rear seats, and the 944 is actually a pretty good Econoline alternative. All pretty raunchy stuff, but it’s a Porsche, so none of us can buy one. Or can we?

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YouTuber ECS Tuning proves the exact opposite by procuring this careworn early 944 for just $550. If you can believe it, that is the same amount as a return flight from JFK to London. It didn’t take long for the 944 to find its way back to the asphalt after a 15 year hiatus. The owner quickly found a whole host of issues with his latest purchase so decided to undertake a thorough mechanical recommission.

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The timing belt, water pump, brakes, suspension and fuel pump were all replaced along with a full service. Once complete the wee Porsche sang like a canary, but it could be more fun couldn’t it?

The standard differential setup is an open unit, which of course is simply no fun if you want some sideways action. The diff was promptly welded which led to a set of Grabber off road tyres and some coilovers. The result? One badass quasi rally car that somehow doubles as a daily beater. We want one, now.