Which chassis to start with?

If you guys had a choice for your conversion between a 1985.5 944 N/A and a 1988 944S, which would you choose and why? Both bodies and interiors are in comparable shape, similar mileage, everything will get gone through, ignore transaxles.

Does the 944S have the ABS braking system option?

944convert wrote:Does the 944S have the ABS braking system option?

No

id do the 88 s. the 88 has the wider suspension and better spindles. also should have the brembo brakes on it.

Wheel choices with the 88 are going to be more abundant if you want to run wider wheels. Easier/cheaper than running spacers.

As mentioned earlier the spindles are also stronger and more desirable.

What about speedometers, VSS etc.?

Both the '85.5 and '88 speedo is run off a sender on the transmission. VSS can be hooked up with the kit from TPC that puts a pickup ring on the CV joint.

Neither. I'd rather start with an 88 Turbo S or 89 Turbo. After that I'd go with an S2 that has the M030 option, than an 87 Turbo than an S...

Does anybody know if an ABS stub axle will fit the ’85 trailing arm? In other words, is the length the same?

docwyte wrote:Neither.  I'd rather start with an 88 Turbo S or 89 Turbo.  After that I'd go with an S2 that has the M030 option, than an 87 Turbo than an S...

Why?

docwyte wrote:Neither.  I'd rather start with an 88 Turbo S or 89 Turbo.  After that I'd go with an S2 that has the M030 option, than an 87 Turbo than an S...

sure, start with the best ones they made. when money isnt a concern thats ideal, however where i am those cars are in the $15-20k range (canadian dollars) in decent shape. a typical 85.5+ n/a car is $3-5k.

Better brakes, better suspension, better transmission. Saves you money in the long run.

Why buy a "cheap" car that you then have to spend thousands more on to upgrade everything on?

You should be able to find a decent one with a bad motor for less....

it really depends on what you can buy one of them for. yes, you wouldnt have to do a brake upgrade on one of those cars, and you do start with a better transmission. to me, the suspension is a wash, odds are your going to have to have struts rebuilt/replaced on a car of this age, and will end up wanting different spring rates.

i know that with my swap, which includes a brake upgrade, total cost thus far leaves me money left over for an AOR transaxle and a half decent set of coil overs compared to just the cost of buying any of the turbo s cars i looked at in my area

You start out with a cheap car because all you really need is a good body to do a ground up build. The turbo models might have better parts but they’re still inadequate parts for my liking so they would also get replaced. That leaves way too high a starting point unless you already own one or find a super good deal on one equipped with LSD and big sway bars. I gave $800 for the ‘85.5 and $900 for the ’88 equipped with LSD. I’ll be OK in the long run.

My plan was to repair the 85 and build the 88, in the process I discovered the 85 was locked up. Now I’m simply rethinking the plan.