924Board.org

[kuhdad17]

So here goes, I purchased this for $500 last week... I lurked the 924board and other places for a while before officially bringing her out. Unknown mileage, assumed around 105k, the previous owner bought it from his deceased neighbor, whose kid owned the car for a good chunk of time. The car has a new-to-it motor in it, with some 5k mileage on it since the swap. The PO has no idea about the new motor history, other than his rewiring (among other things) after a pack rat ate it for breakfast lunch and dinner for a while. The guy was a master electrician at one of the refineries here and says he "did it right" although it took him a while to figure out the wiring diagrams from the service manuals.

She was repainted red (originally brown) and needs repainting, particularly since they painted the exterior but the engine bay remains its color, among dings and scratches and crappy paint job cover ups (at least pick a red that's near the color of the car and not pink).

The motor is in fairly good shape, at least in runs and moves (I drove it back to my shop some 30 miles from where I bought it). It's a 4-speed and shifts respectably well. The motor idles a little rough but at ~950 rpm, I suspect the pack rat ate hose pieces that the PO never noticed (not sure why he didn't rerun all the hose instead of small pieces). Once it's started it doesn't die out and holds idle with small rough points. No major leaks; I haven't noticed anything underneath yet. There's a little blue smoke on start up but nothing noticeable under load. It does run rich from the smell of it. Brand new plug wires, but the fuel lines and injectors probably need replaced.

The driver's seat needs work, but every other seat is in good shape. The carpet is remarkably in good shape with slight fading in the rear (the PO eventually covered it with this awesome NAPA flag, pictures later). The dash is cracked (but you knew that), the face plate for the heater controls was cracked and faded (found a replacement already), missing a visor clip, the oil pressure gauge does not work (my guess is contacts need some cleaning but haven't got there yet), the hatch arms need replaced (typical), and it needs new tires.

I haven't really been under the car (yet), but my guess is it could use a differential flush (I've read Redline MTL is the way to go for the gear oil), and the exhaust needs work, new muffler and some hanger work. The clutch feels good, but the steering is a little bit off... probably need some work there.

I will start off with some general cleaning of the motor and interior, running some fuel system cleaner (read techron was a good option), replacing fluids, filters, plugs, rotor, cap, vac hoses, injector seals, etc. and see how the motor is running after a tune up. I'm working on acquiring a CIS tester, hopefully will get one soon.


























Thanks in advance for all the help, both future and past (well, lurked and assimilated knowledge). This is going to be fun for me as it's a bit of a new adventure. Not planning on anything crazy with this car, but I'd like to get it back to a good driving shape and have some fun taking corners at speed. My 3/4 ton diesel doesn't really like doing that....
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'78 924 N/A

[kuhdad17]

Some more pictures of the car, including some engine bay cleaning I did to better assess some things.
































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'78 924 N/A

[kuhdad17]

Swapped the transaxle oil out and did the plugs, rotor, cap, and air filter. Idle has improved drastically! There's still a little bit of vibration on the motor, but it's MUCH better.

On the way is injector seals and hats. When they arrive I'll swap the fuel filter and the injector seals and replace the motor oil. I may run some sea foam through the intake and make a lot of smoke, depending on how she's running after the oil change.

I've found a few things so far that need to be added to the list... first and foremost is a clutch chattering that happens when I engage the clutch. When the clutch is fully engaged, the noise gets more pronounced. It's not a squeal or a roar, but a chatter would be the best description. I haven't noticed any slipping when driving the car and all of the synchros engage well as the car seems to shift with ease. I'll have to figure that out before really advancing to anything else (knowing it could be a lot of $$$). Of course, maybe the clutch just needs adjusted? Any ideas? I did some searching but have had an issue finding something related to what I'm seeing, most seem to have the noise when they disengage the clutch, it's a different noise than what I'm hearing, or it's synchro related.

I have some belts that need adjusting and some pulley bearings that probably need some TLC.
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'78 924 N/A

[Fasteddie313]

[Cedric]

Could it be a rubber damped clutch disc that is on its way out?

Btw, paint that cam belt cover black and it will make that engine bay look much nicer Simple fix!
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1980 924 Turbo
www.instagram.com/garagecedric/

[kuhdad17]

Thanks guys, I did run techron through the tank. Working on getting that tank through.

I didn't think the 78s had the rubber disc? Maybe I misread...

I'll get the car up on stands and check for oil there, that's a good direction to start.

I have the paint for that cover, just need to get it off and do it... Getting there!
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'78 924 N/A

[kuhdad17]

Well I did get under the car briefly to check things out. The rear main seal may need replacing but the car is filthy from some dirt roads the PO lived on so I need to take some time to clean up to really see.

However I need a new exhaust, bad. The PO hacked and welded scraps together and it is rattling and falling apart. There's no cat or resonator, the replacement final muffler is welded on at the flange and looks like a coffee can held together with bailing wire, and there's holes up and down it.

What I need is a kit that is coming off the down pipe all the way to tail pipe, OR, I suppose, replacing the header while I'm at it with a new option like Dansk and down pipe and then fabbing a straight pipe and finding a final muffler, or just taking it to an exhaust shop.

I've seen an ANSA muffler for 200, but it looks like just the final muffler replacement with resonator http://www.ebay.com/itm/Exhaust-Muffler-Ansa-Rear-WD-EXPRESS-251-43002-542-fits-78-82-Porsche-924-/131543432492?fits=Model%3A924&hash=item1ea0997d2c&vxp=mtr

I've also seen the Dansk replacement, also appears as just a final muffler with resonator http://www.automotion.com/dansk-original-style-muffler-polish-stainless-for-924-porsche-1978-1983.html

This could be linked with their header http://www.automotion.com/headers-bursch-for-924-porsche-1976-1983.html, and still needing the cat replacement pipe.

Am I going to need to fabricate something intermediate to replace the cat? Not an issue, done it before but want to check y'all for insight before I do.

Keep in mind I reside in Montana where there's no emissions requirements, so no reason to add the cat back to the system.

I've seen the threads on using a 944 exhaust, I've seen some on eBay but since I'm missing some pieces under there it sounds like I may have troubles using that direction to replace what I have. Although I'm sure I can make something happen...
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'78 924 N/A

[Johnny_Haywire]

Nice score, and looks like you're well on your way to sorting her out. I'm working on a similar project (an '81), though I got it non-running. I've got a post currently in the General section, as well.

Where did you order the injector seals and hats, by the way?

My exhaust seems to be fairly sound, with a newer rear muffler, though I'm guessing my converter has seen better days. I was thinking to use this "test pipe" sold by AutoAtlanta for the 924 to replace it. $45 isn't bad, though I'm sure you could fab one for less if you can get the right flanges.

http://www.autoatlanta.com/Porsche-Catalytic-Test-Pipe-924-Parts-PN-RBA7913.html

Looking forward to your progress.
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1981 924 N/A 5-speed

[michaelodonnell123]

Cool project you got there. It's always nice to see a 924 brought back to life.
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MOD
1988 Porsche 924S
2007 Jaguar XK
2012 Fiat 500

[kuhdad17]

[kuhdad17]

[Johnny_Haywire]

Thanks for the link on the injector seal kit, just ordered one!

I'm not sure if you'd have to do any welding with that test pipe. I think it's a direct bolt-on where your existing cat goes. Let me know if you end up going with that part. I plan to get one myself as long as the trans and clutch are sound on my 924. I should know about that in the next week or so when I fire her up for the first time.

I'm about to put a few pics up on the post I have going so you can have a look at what I've got lurking in the garage : )

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=41269&highlight=

Keep us updated on your progress, eh?

Cheers,

- Paul
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1981 924 N/A 5-speed

[kuhdad17]

Well, updates have been slow as the wife had surgery on her knee and things have been hectic at work.

I replaced the vacuum hoses out with new hose and had to trim back some of my amplifier rubber where there were cracks. Between the vacuum hose replacement and the tune up parts, the idle is smooth and she seems happy.

I have on hand a new alternator cooling hose and shroud that I plan on putting on (hopefully) this weekend, along with an oil change, new oil filter and fuel filter, and the injector o-rings. At that point I'll pull the pulley cover and prime and paint it so things are a little less ugly under there. Plus I can get a look at the belt.

However, today I let her idle out back of the shop for ~30 minutes and blew coolant everywhere and the engine shut off (it was 90+ degrees out). I hadn't started her up in a couple weeks (which was evident as she didn't want to go at first) and figured I'd let her idle, warm up, and then take her on a little cruise to get things flowing. I came back in my office and got on the phone and forgot she was still running and when I came out it was like she was bleeding Alien blood. LOVELY. After letting the motor cool off I started it back up and everything cranked so that's a good sign and it seems to run fine, so maybe I'm lucky (will keep an eye on things) but now I'm blowing coolant out when I start it so I'm guessing I've got an air pocket in there. Looks like a coolant flush will be added to the list when I get under the car this weekend.
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'78 924 N/A

[kuhdad17]

Note to self, car needs air flow. Don't let sit around.

The other thing I noticed was a recent hail storm pounded my "Porsche" writing on the back of the hatch and broke it in two pieces.
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'78 924 N/A

[kuhdad17]

Progress... Sorry no pictures right now.

Installed a 944 e-brake handle as mine had a stripped cog and would not engage (thankfully putting her in gear and having a level location kept her from rolling around). When I pulled the old assembly out some of the plastic just crumbled apart, so I had to frankenstein the two brackets together.

I managed to source a proper hose and shroud for my alternator cooling, but I found out my alternator doesn't have the place for the shroud I purchased. Not sure if the PO replaced the alternator and found something "close". For now the hose is sitting there blowing the air in the general direction.

Bled the cooling system and was having difficulties. Noticed I have some cracks in my old expansion tank, so I ordered a new one from a 944 and will relocate the expansion tank. Hopefully this will help out with bleeding the system as it's kind of annoying cleaning up the shop every time from coolant everywhere, let alone my engine bay.

Figured out the thermoswitch went bad after jumping the wires and getting the fan to function. That part is here but waiting on a new thermostat and the expansion tank before I dig in. Most of my hoses are fine, but I guess you never know till you get in there and get everything apart only to find out you need more.

Realized my oil drain plug is stripped on the outside. Ordered a fumoto with the quick valve. Going to give that a shot. Thinking I'll need a pipe wrench to get the old plug off, but I'll make it happen.
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'78 924 N/A