Jim's 1983 Porsche 944  
   
 

I have always loved working on well-engineered cars. When I first got to Stanford in 1998, fresh from Ireland, I needed a car - something practical I thought.

I found this 1983 Porsche 944 at a car dealer in San Carlos. The idea of a broke 90's Grad. student with a fast 80's dream car just spoke to me. Let's be honest, it's the most impractical choices that are the most thrilling (just look at a Ferrari)

It always amazes me that my 1983 Porsche gets 32mpg and a 2007 Mustang gets 18-19mpg. For many years I looked at heat recovery systems, after all gasoline engines produce about 20% useful mechanical energy and 37% heat loss to the cooling system. These days, I believe the future lies in Electric Vehicles, particularly the upcoming Tesla Roadster and Phoenix SUT.

  

 

 

 

These old Porsches requires a lot of maintenance. The Porsche mechanics in Northern California like to charge $125/hr, with the result that I have performed many of my own repairs. I recently replaced the starter motor (pictured above). The replacement motor is a smaller, higher torque model from a 1990 Porsche. The result was much smoother starting and more Sunday drives on Skyline Blvd.