I had a '72 Ford station wagon as a winter rat while I was in college. It was so rusted that there was nothing left behind the rear wheels so the snow and ice would get thrown off the rear tires and collect on the wiring for the taillights and pull the bulbs out of the housings. I went to the drug store and bought two "Mini Boggan" plastic sleds and bolted them behind the rear wheels to act as mud/snow flaps. They worked well to protect the wiring for the rest of the winter. I had some old Pontiac cylinder heads in the rear of the Ford wagon to help with traction. I was doing a slide by my friend's house and bounced the car off of the snowbank and heard the sound of plastic breaking. I didn't think much about it but I later noticed that one of the cylinder heads was missing. We found the cylinder head in my friend's front yard when the snow melted in the spring! Those were the days when my friends and I all had winter rats. We drove them in the winter, figured out ways to destroy them in the spring, and then had them hauled to the crusher. ... View more

There are two sides to powder coating. It is hard and relatively cheap but it is also a thick coating. Most of the powder coated parts I have put back into service required drilling out any holes and tapping all of the threads to remove the coating in order to assemble them. Thick coatings will also chip easier than thinner ones. Spraymax are excellent two stage urethane and epoxy products in a spray can that perform and look as good as any two component product sprayed out of a spray gun. 2K spray cans are a game changer. Kyle, your frame will look great for a long time. You made the right choice to paint it rather than powder coat it. ... View more

I have an '88 944 that I bought for $400 and pieced it together with spare parts that my son and I had laying around the garage. I found some turbo S brakes and sway bars at a swap meet to increase stopping power and improve handling. The last modification was to install a 5.3 LS V8 in it. It really pisses off the old guard at PCA club events. Is this cool? ... View more

You can take a lab scope and look at the pattern when the fuel pump is running to determine its state of health. The pattern will show the condition of the armature, brushes, and bushings. If it is drawing excessive amperage, this may reveal a clogged filter. A lab scope is a very powerful tool for diagnosing problems with modern vehicles. ... View more

I have owned several 944s including two Turbos and an S2. I enjoyed all of them but I also had to endure the stigma that they were not "real Porsches". They were the only Porsches that I could afford. I solved the lack of power problem on my 1988 944 by tossing the four cylinder engine and installing an aluminum 5.3 LS V8 out of a Chevy Trail Blazer. The aluminum 5.3 weighs within 20 pounds of the four cylinder engine (isn't modern technology great?) so the weight balance is not affected. The car is a blast to drive and it creates conversation at the local PCA club events because they don't know if they should scoff at it or not. ... View more

I have raced many AHRMA events in the past and you will find that they are run well, have a very relaxed atmosphere, and have lots of very nice people to talk to. Have fun. ... View more

These prices push more categories of collector cars out of the range of the average enthusiast. The price of a ticket to get into this hobby keeps going up. ... View more

You might look into a salvage cylinder head.  Even after freshening the used head, it would probably be cheaper than trying to fix your original mangled head.  They made a lot of those XR 250s so it shouldn't be very difficult to find one.  Good luck.  ... View more

You can also put some valve lapping compound on the bit to give it more grip on the fastener.   ... View more