My 1989 944 S2

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In late 2000, I'd been looking to purchase a different kind of Porsche for a while and let my good friend Terry Thomas get me interested in 944S2's. After searching for quite awhile and not finding anything that I wanted in the local area, I starting looking on the Internet (duh, given my job!). I found one advertised in Minneapolis - a 1989 Stone Grey Metallic w/Linen leather interior. I talked with the owner, who indicated he had the records since new and it seemed like he was a car guy who had fixed it up a bit (along with the previous owner, also in Minnepolis). It had 119,000 miles and in the photos he sent me, looked great. He also indicated it would have no problem driving it to Seattle.

I flew to Minneapolis and the owner met me at the airport and we went back to his house to review the records, etc. Then he let me have the car to go to my hotel and take it in to the Porsche dealer the next morning for a pre-purchase inspection (previously set up by me). The car checked out with a few minor problems (cruise is a little weird, mis-matched tires front to back). So, I paid the owner, got the title signed over and left town about 10:45am to drive back.

I got to Dickinson, North Dakota by about 6:00pm Friday evening. Windy and cold most of the day, a little snow through Bismark (not enough to stick to the pavement, just enough to get the car dirty). Not too bad scenery, the trees were starting to change and it was quite a nice fall day. 16 degrees the next morning.

I left Dickinson about 7:00am, and cruised all day to Wallace Idaho, about 800 miles. Things had warmed up and not so windy. I did catch "Car Talk" that morning on a station out of Billings. Nice clear day all day. Ate dinner at neat old saloon in Wallace that had some good micro brews (something they don't know about in North Dakota!).

I left Wallace about 6:20am, just as the sun was coming up. Wanted to have breakfast there, but nothing opens until 7:00am on Sunday in that town, so I drove to Coeur D'lene. Nice clear day, and warming up a bit. Drove from there to the rest stop at Elk Heights (MilePost 90 on I-90, 85 miles from my home). Stretched my legs and got home about 12:30 Sunday. The total mileage for the trip was 1700 and it got about 25 mpg, not bad for a mostly 85 mph trip.

My legs were a little tired, but it was quite a good adventure.
I took this photo at a B&B we stayed at on Pender Island in the Canadian Gulf Islands, about a 150 miles and on fery ride from my house. This shows the original Design 90 wheels with Sumitomo HRZ tires. I've since picked up a set of polished 928 wheels, moving the HRZs to those wheels and moving a older set of Toyo Proxes RA-1s to the Design 90 wheels.
This photo was taken at a piece of waterfront property my father owned in the late '60s. Apparently it rained a lot the night before, thus the nasty mud puddles. Car still looks good.

One plan for the car this winter is to lower it, as  I believe this is still the stock height. Since the car has the Koni Sport shocks on it, I think I'll get the adjustable kit with slip on collar with 250# springs, then get the back re-indexed and aligned.
The interior is in really good shape. The only thing I have done is to clean the carpet and put in some new floor mats. It is hard to see, but the mats are embroidered with "944S2".
The back is in really good shape also. I've been able to put my moutain bike in the back, along with enough stuff for a weekend away. A nice change from the modest storage capability of the 911. I can also get a couple of track tires/wheels in there for friends when we travel to DEs (I run the Toyos when traveling, they work fine).
The engine is in quite good shape, having had the belts, water pump and radiator changed in the 15K miles before I got it. I replaced the cam tensioner shortly after getting it home. I've also replaced the thermo switch and fan relays to make sure they work right. After one track day where the brakes weren't up to snuff, I replaced all the rotors, fluid and pads (currently running Pagid 'S' blues, which I really like for the street). Also all new igniton components. On the trip to Canada, it got 29 mpg at about 80 mph, much better than the original trip out here.