Classic cars require maintenance, but eventually they also demand some recovery from the simple effects of time. This summer was that opportunity.
Despite the large hatch and seal area, 944s are pretty water tight. Though in recent years, owners are finding the adhesive between the glass and trim (which includes the hinge) are beginning to fail, leading to misalignment and leaks. After avoiding this project for some time, we finally bit the bullet. About the time we removed the hatch we learned of a local classic car glass specialist who offers a 944 hatch rebuild service. Accepting that he could do a much better job in a fraction of time, the decision was easy. A week later we had the nicest looking hatch I have seen in years.
We also pulled the transaxle to replace the mounts to the chassis and investigate a starting problem. That was a perfect opportunity to replace aged exhaust hangers and seals and to give a good cleaning to some hard to access spots.
In the process of checking out the car we discovered an ill-fitting water hose being slowly eroded by the power steering pump and we used the opportunity to flush the cooling system and all the hyraulics.
The starting problem turned out to be a faulty starter. Despite having been recently replaced, the solenoid was intermittent and would occasionally partially disengage during starting. Our lesson (which others have also told me) is to not trust big box autoparts store starter rebuilds - they are hit and miss. Our choice of replacements was a modern gear reduction starter.
Finally, the starter worked revealed some aged high-current wiring. This was a welcome excuse to pick up a large gauge terminal crimper to replace the leads.
None of this is wear, just age and not on anyones maintenance schedule. And now all these items are fine for some number of decades. We celebrated with a fresh set of Conti Extremes all around.
Replaced or renewed:
- hatch seal
- exhaust hangers & seals
- transaxle to chassis mount
- cooling lines
- hydraulic, cooling, and driveshaft fluids
- speedometer sensor
- tires
