Local Tacoma, WA area links for Porsche 944's
They say there's nothing quite as expensive as a cheap Porsche.
Clarks Garage: http://www.clarks-garage.com/ Great Shop manual (written by enthusiasts) plus really good forums - lots of knowledgeable people - there are even a few master Porsche mechanics that cruise through. I'm not sure if you'll be able to register for the forums - they've been having trouble with that for the last few months. The guy that runs the place (Clark Fletcher) is in the Navy and has been at sea a lot in the past year, so he hasn't been around to approve new memberships. The forums are great to browse or search in even if you can't post.
Clark's Garage Shop Manual has a great Troubleshooting section. I have found this manual much more helpful than the factory manual - and I've gotta say the Haynes manual is largely useless. (because it's all cookie-cutter put together mostly with stuff on other cars. I'll bet the stuff written specifically for 944's is less than 10 pages!).
Pelican Parts : http://www.pelicanparts.com/index.htm - Best place anywhere to get Porsche parts. They are able to beat almost everyone's prices. If you place an order today, it'll almost always ship the next day. Lots of options on shipping methods, with competitive prices. Their main warehouse is in Northern California - so it's usually 3 days to here by UPS ground.
Pelican Parts Tech Forums : http://forums.pelicanparts.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=3 - Outstanding place for technical advice on any Porsche. Pelican's forums are far more active than Clark's. Plus they cover all Porsche's, not just 944's. Outline your problem in a post and get advice from master mechanics! They also have body/painting and for sale forums. They also have great tech articles.
They have (it says) Threads: 419,037, Posts: 4,143,623, Members: 58,634! Right now, it says they have 236 members and 329 guests online browsing the forums! Busy place.
944 Online : http://www.944online.com/ - another great resource for parts and forums. 944 Online has the really esoteric, hard to find stuff no one else has - outside Germany. They are very good and have reasonable prices. The downside is that they are in Florida, so unless you want to pay higher shipping rates, you have to wait for as much as 7 days for UPS ground packages. They are a smaller operation than Pelican. If you call them on the phone, you'll often likely talk with Ian, the owner (who's British). Really nice people.
Their forums are very good, although not as active as those at Pelican. Still, lots of good knowledgeable people.
Small Car Performance : http://www.smallcar.com/ - best local place for parts. Good, friendly knowledgeable people. The prices aren't as good as online, but they can usually get what you need on the same day or at latest, 24 hours. When I was in the market for a clutch for my 83, they ended up matching Pelican's price for me! 253-419-2474. 4720 South Tacoma Way.
Bristow's Exclusive Automotive: http://www.bristowsauto.com/ - best local Porsche repair place. Honest and very knowledgeable. Owner Pete Bristow is a master mechanic. He's a driving instructor for the Porsche Club of America and is a former racer. He owns several Porsches. He does the pre-race technical inspections for PCA and SCCA races. Just be aware this sort of expertise does not come cheap! 253-471-1663. 4731 South Washington Street (one block off South Tacoma Way).
Online No Start Guide: Here's a good 944 no start diagnosis FAQ written by a Pelican member: http://www.benms.com/944nostart.html Lots of good pictures.
944 Owner's Manual: http://alordofchaos.com/Documents/944_owners_manual.mht - an online copy of an 87 944 Owner's Manual
Lindsey Racing: http://www.lindseyracing.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=LR - Great performance parts place. Mostly for people who race their 944 Turbo's, but also has parts for NA cars.
Pacific NW Porsche Club : http://www.pnwr.org/ - NW region of the Porsche Club of America. They have all sorts of events, including driver's ed, autocross and social stuff.
944 FAQ's : http://www.connact.com/~kgross/FAQ/944faq.html - great FAQ's pages. Lots of good info.
Rennlist: http://www.rennlist.com/ - Rennlist is either a great resource for the Porsche enthusiasts or their worst enemy - depending on who you talk to. Lots and lots of forums with knowledgeable people. However, I don't post on Rennlist because I figure there are too many of what I fondly call "rich bitches" who frequent the place. Rich bitches are defined as 20-something year old teenagers who discourse with great and ponderous gravity on the latest $20,000 modifications they just had "their mechanic" install on their 944 Turbo/996/993/[your car here].
The final straw for me was when one rennlister decided to part out and cut up a perfectly good, rather rare Turbo S because he was bored with the car and wanted to do something else. That's certainly his right, but that sort of attitude is way too mercenary for me. I'm into restoring cars.
But if you don't mind sifting through the bullshit, there is a lot of good info there in their forums.
Campbell Nelson Auto Wrecking: http://www.findusedparts.com/ - in Arlington (just north of Everett past Smokey Point Blvd). The only place around here that really has any wrecked 944's - they have maybe 10-12. Compared to private party prices, they're real high. But still a good resource. 1-888-337-7757.