1983 944 vs later years for conversion?

There is a good deal on an 83 near me now, so I'm considering it. Other than the older interior, is there much else that makes the earlier cars not as good as the later cars? One advantage would be the manual steering in the 83... Is the suspension much different through the years? Would it be difficult to change?

The updated interior is supposed to be nice for taller people as well I hear, is this true? I'm 6'3"...

Thanks!

I converted an 84, and love it! There is no structural reason not to do a conversion on an early car. If anything, the transaxle mount is far superior, the fuel lines are on the correct side, and the cars are lighter. I replaced the front and rear suspension and brakes with S2 pieces, except I retained the steel front control arms. The only real disadvantage is the loss of the speedometer when updating the front hubs, but there are several solutions for this.

Go for it! You'll love it!

Gord.

Is it a mechanical speedo in the early cars?

Thanks for the info! Seems like parts cars always pop up, so it wouldn't be too hard to update the suspension.

I heard somewhere that the 83 doesn't have many sway bar options though?

Mechanical speedo that runs off the front left hub.

All of the sway bars are interchangable, the end links on the front require the bushings to be bored out if you run the later style bars.

Ya, its mechanical, driven off the front hub (VW bug style!). You lose it if you replace the front spindle with a later one, which you really should do. Options include stepper motor drivers to spin the cable (google is your friend), or replace the round mechanical speedometer with an electric one from a 911 (84-89 911 Carrera 3.2 I think) and drive it from the VSS sensor.
All swaybars will fit all 944's, just be sure you get all the hardware with them, as the bushings and links are different.
My 84, and your 83 should be identical underneath, and all the 89 S2 parts fit my car.

Awesome, thanks for the info guys!

I just finished a 1984 conversion and the car is just fantastic!

Very fast and very fun!!!