924Board.org

[markrnorton]

This is not meant to be a ‘how to do it’ guide, but just a build thread of my car. Although I hope there will be some useful information in it !

I bought this 924S last October 2013, it was a non runner, cambelt had snapped and had been sitting for over a year.





It was in a pretty sorry state, damp inside as well. However, apart from the cheap stripes that had peeled and shrunk it was ok. It had also featured in a popular Porsche magazine a few years previous as well, so some ‘credibility’ I guess.



Unfortunately the owner had trashed it with cheap stripes and letting it go. 3 years it went from decent to non running rubbish.

[markrnorton]

I have owned and still own other Porsches, but I wanted the 924 to ‘GT’ it as I love that wide look. I also wanted to do a full work over, so GT kit, wider wheels, bigger engine and either a turbo or supercharger to get the power to around 300hp.

Into the garage


I had heard all the stories about the GT kits being bad fitting etc etc, but I have fitted loads of kits to other cars over the years, so I thought it was worth a crack.

First thing was to remove the stripes and sand off all the glue remnants, strips come off ok with a hairdryer heating them up, then sanding !

[markrnorton]

I bought the rear arches and front bumper from Pro 9, I picked up the bonnet scoop off ebay. Front wings however I wanted metal, I did not want a complete fibreglass front end.

So I found a pair of old 944 front wings on ebay for £30, bargain…err no, well sort of. Once I got them they were both rotten at the bottom of the wing, plus one had an aerial hole in it. Re-metalling time !!


All the rot cut away, I made up some infill panels and welded into position, smoothed the welds, filled and smoothed again. Same for the hole for the aerial, welded, smoothed and filled. A coat of primer over both of them and voila, like new-ish.

[markrnorton]

I unbolted/cut the old wings off the front of the Porsche exposing some rust at the bottom of the
A posts, again re-metaling/welding was in order. With a rust free front end both the wider 944 wings bolted straight on, bit of sealant, new bolts, done.






A relatively easy process so far with the added bonus of original metal front wings.

[markrnorton]

I had a bit over a result over Christmas, bought these cup wheels, with continental tyres off a dealer who was having a clear out, £400. Bargain




Now for the rear.

[markrnorton]

The Pro 9 wings are a good moulding with a decent thickness. The ‘trouble’ if you can call it that starts when you offer the wing upto the car. It’s not a perfect match, quite a generic mould I guess, but all the same there are gaps. To fit the rear wings be prepared for a lot of ‘on and off’, you have to, there is no other way. And I would say the initial stages could do with two people so you get the best line up against the car.


TOP TIP - Get yourself a nice permanent marker to, to mark guidelines everywhere !

So get the wing positioned, mark out around onto the body s you can replicate the position.
Then it’s a case of marking out the wing where you are going to flare it out. It was an arc above the wheel arch of about 2-3 inches depending where you are on the arch.


Then get the grinder out and start slicing vertical cuts all the way around.
Best option is to grind/sand/flap wheel the paint of this part of the wing now before you bend and weld, it’s just easier.
Once that’s done it’s a bend operation through 90 degrees, the inner wing separates from the outer, you’ll notice the strength go from the wing at this point.



Now you need to tack weld all the way around the arch, segment to segment and inner to outer. Once you have done this the wings strength come back.


At this point it’s a good idea to rust proof, prime and paint this part of the wing. It will be hidden and also form part of the inner arch liner that you need fabricate once the fibreglass arch is fitted.

Its also a good time to sort and treat any other rust you find in the arch at this time.

[markrnorton]

As so many people have said, be prepared to on off on off many times, may 6 or 7 with the arches.
I decided that I would screw, bond and fill with flex-filler the wings to the body. So bare metalling the bonding zone is crucial and lining up all the screws is tricky, again a 2 person job (although I did do it on my own)


As you can see from the dummy fit there are gaps, some pull up with the screws are the metal panels flex slightly, others do not.
Like this one.


I also had the added issue of side skirts, I had to trim the bottom of the arch to sculpt into/flush.

Bonded and screwed now


I used a bodykit bonding agent, much like gripfill, it flexes slightly. Also I am using flexi bumper/bodykit filler in case there is any movement.



So its fill and sand time !

[markrnorton]

You do end up with some arch to body gaps, these need to be filled with metal, I used 1.2mm steel sheet. Make up cardboard templates then cut out. Either grinder, jigsaw , plasma cutter etc.
Once you have shaped the infills, I just drilled and pop riveted to the 90 degree bend that was created when flaring the arch.

before


After


And the rear

Undersealed


Because my car had the side skirts it left a gap between the bottom of the flared arch and the skirt, it was an unsightly gap to be honest. A quick template, a zap cut from the plasma and an infill panel was made. This one I fixed with bolts and hidden clips.
Looks far better and stops airflow into arch and potentially flapping at speed.

[Carrera RSR]

That car was in very good condition prior to its sale a few years by its previous lady owner, hence its feature in 911&PW. Some people have no idea how to look after cars, especially a late S with rare factory supplied body kit.

The rear arches look better in my opinion not being bonded and body filled on as this often cracks as the shell flexes over time, which is why Porsche bolted them on with a strip of rubber trim between the arch and body.

Good luck with the rest of the build. I am jealous I don't have a GT bodied car!!
_________________
1980 931 - forged pistons, Piper cam, K27/26 3257 6.10 hybrid turbo, 951 FMIC, custom intake, Mittelmotor dizzy & cam pulley, H&S exhaust, GAZ Gold, Fuch'ed, Quaife
Now www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=34690
Then www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=31252

[markrnorton]

I agree, the previous owner destroyed a near perfect car, including adding a Nurburgring sticker- arghh !

I will be adding a full cage to the car to try and minimise any flex and with the flexi fill hopefully there wont be any cracking.

[ideola]

If you're selling, I would be interested in purchasing the front and rear spoilers from the "S".

Very nice job so far, and thanks for taking the time to document it here!
_________________
erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[markrnorton]

The front and rear spoilers sold super quick , so unfortunately they have already gone

[markrnorton]

A quick dummy up of the front



Wasn’t sure what to do next, bumper or bonnet scoop.

Bonnet scoop won.

I am breaking with convention here and putting the scoop at the front of the bonnet on the right. The main reason for this is when I turbo this car the air intake will be around that area and I want the scoop working to full effect for air intake. Intercooler will be in front of the radiator.

First off was to make the centreline on the bonnet and the scoop to get them lined up straight and parallel.

Once lined up a quick outline with a permanent marker and it gives me an area to mark the cut out position.


There is something quite satisfying about cutting a hole in car !


A quick cleanup around the area to be bonded, and again I’m bolting through the fibreglass and then backfilling.


Underside of the bonnet , peel off insulation on the underside of the bonnet and then clean up with a mini sander.

Wear gloves when doing the above as there are still some sharp burrs.
You can even watch TV through the hole !!

Bonding agent added, bolt on, not too tight that you crack the fibreglass


And finally wipe around the bonding agent, this will be sanded off once dry

[Ian89C4]

Looks great! Great quality work there
_________________
Ian Edgerly
North Carolina

Current:
1981 924 SCCA/ChampCar Weissach Race Car ("Serenity")
1987 924S ChampCar Endurance Car ("Der Weg")
1980 924 Euro ("Wahala")

[Joes924Racer]

Nice.
_________________
1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.