924Board.org

[Cris]

Hi everyone,

I'm Cris and I'm a noob here. Looking at purchasing a first car(not necessarily to drive right away). Now, I know the basics of the 924, and I still like it for what it is. Looking through old properties and barns further out from where I live, I came across someone looking to clear out their property over the next few months.
Under a tarp there was a '77 924. Didn't get to see much of the car, but once the weather warms up and all the snow melts, I'll be going back to check it out. I was told the body is in great shape but will need some work to get it back up and running again. The price on it wouldn't be bad at all, he's asking 600. I know that I will be sinking a good sum of money to get it running again and that I will never make my money back. I'm fairly okay living with that fact. I wanted to ask, what are your opinions. Would this be a good project for a 21 year old student to take on? I want to work on it (with my minimal budget) for the next 2 or so years, until I graduate. And at that time, I'd hope to be able to drive it. Is this realistic? Thoughts? Reasons for me to go through with it or to avoid it? What should I look for next time I go to check it out?

Thanks in advance for the help/suggestions.

[ThomasJoseph315]

Yea know it depends on a lot really. For a first time project car it can be a bit unforgiving at times, but if I had to do it again I'd still buy mine. Before you buy bring a battery and a compression tester with you next time and check the compression. If you got that then $600 isn't a bad price. The next biggest thing would be the fuel system. Chances are your going to be spending a good amount of time here de-varnishing the system. This kind of car will never be done fixing it, especially given the age, you will have to work on it constantly. My car was a prime example of sitting in a dusty garage, but I couldn't imagine buying something like this in a snow covered field. I'd say if you got $600 to burn, buy it and then start asking for help on here. I am generally around most days as I work from home and there are certainly other's here that can help you too. Worst case you have a $600 investment part car you could part out.

Let us know how the compression works out

[jason c]

If you really want opinions on the car before you buy it, take some pics & post them.
Questions to ask: why is it sitting? For how long?
Even if the body is in good shape, the mechanicals will need a lot of work. The complete brake system, belts, hoses, filters, fuel and ignition system will all need to be gone through.
You'll spend more rebuilding this one than buying a roadworthy one (don't worry, you'll still have plenty of things to work on). Do you have tools & a place to work on/store it inside?

[SilverGhost]

Its exactly as Jason C says.
If you buy it, expect it to (eventually) be a fun car, but not a cheap car unless you are extraordinarily lucky.
Porsches are usually 'put out to pasture' only for expensive faults, and only after estimates for repair have been solicited. Just one major fault usually means repair costs more than a roadworthy vehicle.
Don't ask me how I know....
_________________
"Priscilla" 1981 924 NA RoW auto, metallic blue

[Cris]

Alright, thanks for the advice. I'm going to grab a battery and pick up a compression tester before I head out there in about a month. I'll put the results up as soon as I get them. I'll also ask him for some pictures so I can take a look and put up. I'm assuming if it doesn't have compression and if the electrical is shot it wouldn't be worth the 600?

In terms of a space, I do have a space to work on it and 90% of the tools I'd need, especially since I've got a lot of friends willing to lend some of the harder to get ones that I don't have/can't afford. I also have a place to store it for the winters. Since I'm not looking for a daily driver due to being so close to school and work, I just want something I can take pride in and say "This is mine, and I'm the one who built it" with the help of a good community of course.

Thanks guys!

[jason c]

If it has poor compression, which is very possible, no it isn't worth $600 unless the rest is in very good shape. 924s don't have much value as parts cars. Doing a compression test on a car that has been sitting outside is a nice idea but its actual value is limited. Good results are good results but bad results doesn't necessarily mean its bad. You can get dirt & corrosion on valves which can cause false readings. This can clear up after running it for a little while. Because it has a cast iron block the rings can be seized to the walls as well (locked motor). The starter may also be seized from sitting so then you'll have to figure out if the starter is bad or the motor is locked.

[ThomasJoseph315]

Bring a can of either too. If it cranks over, before you start pulling plugs, just spray some starting fluid into the intake. It should fire, if only for a second. That's just a really quick test. Then ya, check the compression.

Oh and BTW, it's not terribly hard to do a valve job or a head gasket on the 924. If you got the garage, tools, buddies, and the money, as long as it don't look like a rust bucket, doooo it! There is plenty of support here too!

And if the body is good, but the moter is shot, you could always drop in a 302 in it

[jason c]

You won't be able to run it long enough on starter fluid to do a dependable compression test. Running a motor on starter fluid for more than just to get it started is not good for the motor and it will most likely need to run for more than just a couple minutes to clear it out anyway. It would be good to see if you could get it to run though.

[Cris]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Definitely writing all this down and making a pre-purchase checklist to go through.
As for a 302....I'd love to but not on my student budget. The only reason I'm even considering a project is because I've got spare money after paying tuition and have a 1200 tax return coming in that I can use for parts/to work on it over the summer (also when I have a lot of spare time)
Even if I get the money and time to do a full swap, I'd probably consider a 1.8t or something more to that effect.

[fiat22turbo]

Actually, its easier to fit an Audi V8 or an LSx motor in the car. Both swaps are well documented online and perfectly reasonable.

The 302 is a bit unknown and you'd have to "go your own way" to make that happen.

BTW, the 1.8t isn't exactly easy either. Basically engine swaps will require custom made bellhousings or bellhousing adapters or Audi 5-cylinder patterns. The 1.8t uses a different pattern.

Lots of info in the engine swaps forum and on the 944hybrids forum (where the bulk of the V8 swap information is housed)
_________________
Stefan
1979 924 Carrera GTS (clone-ish)
1988 944 Turbo S (Silver Rose)

[Cris]

So after much deliberation and looking around. I've decided I'm getting this puppy. It's relatively rust free (except passenger side floor panel which I plan to cut out and weld) Had a chance to look all around and underneath it seeing as the previous owner pulled the transaxle and motor, as well as the whole interior. I'll be getting this shell + all the fenders/hood/etc taken out of it along with motor, transaxle and interior. I figured for a project car, getting one that's already taken apart saves me 1/4 of the work. I plan to rebuild it to it's glory and attempt to reupholster it myself. It should be a fun project until I finish university. After that, I plan to do the Audi V8 swap once I'm employed full time and can bank roll it. Look forward to seeing my build thread around soon.

http://s278.photobucket.com/user/PaniciJeep/library/stefanPorsche

edit:
Forgot to mention, although the car sat in a field since '95, it's been covered well thus the little rust and all the pulled parts have been sitting in a garage, stored since about 96 when the previous owner pulled everything to try and convert it to an old chevy v6 engine. So task 1 will def be rebuilding motor + running some maintenance on the transaxle.

[SlayerSST]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

This is a piece a junk. Hope you haven't bought it yet.

Just have patience and wait for another car, trust me.

[jason c]

[fiat22turbo]

Tell me you're not paying money for it at least. The sunroof delete is a nice touch for a race car, but people give away better looking 924's than that.
_________________
Stefan
1979 924 Carrera GTS (clone-ish)
1988 944 Turbo S (Silver Rose)

[Mars478]

I got a complete, (save for a brake line), rust free 82 for 500. You may have overpaid a little.
_________________
924, 82, 5 speed, dark red, 500 dollar special.

Daily: 99 ML320, 210k and still trucking.