924Board.org

agtcarrera · Joined: 21 Feb 2004 Posts: 8

hey guys and gals, i have a 1980 924 turbo that i want to restore. i used it as a daily driver in high school and it is my first car. it worked ok...but it had quirks in it. the battery would die out for no reason, the alternator looked like it needs to be replaced, one of the two fans in the radiator is not working, the car overheats, brakes are weak(have the disk/drum set-up and it might need to be bled...i also want to convert them to 5 lug 4 disk brakes), the fuel pump relay buzzes after i shut the car off, there is a crack on the floor that lets water into the carpet, the wheel shakes at speed, the exhaust manifold doesn't connect well with the turbo(took it apart myself) and makes loud noises, car sometimes bogs above 3000 rpm, gearbox needs syncros, instrument panel has faulty speedometer, and the clutch needs replacement. This is my baby and my lifetime project. after some serious debate with the logical voices in my head, this is one car i can let go, no matter the cost. I want to restore this car to original running stock form. i plan to take out all the parts from the car and strip it to the bare body. paint the body and then polishing and rebuilding all the parts back together one by one. if i do this, then it will be truely new. i have the haynes manual for the 924/turbo model, but i don't have the slightest idea where i can get the most parts for my car (cause i'll need A LOT). i have tried looking for rebuilt exhaust manifolds and turbos and complete exhaust systems online but no luck.Would they be available at the porsche dealer parts department? what other manuals do i need? where is a good parts website or place in the connecticut area? i have the summer coming up after my second semester and i want to do something serious this summer...do you recommend that i do a complete lifetime restoration transformation or fix my problems one by one until it runs and looks fine over time? i have to admit that totally restoring the car from bare body up is quite intimidating, so i think getting it to run would be a miracle and fixing it little by little is a better alternative. i just want to drive it again, because the car is like nothing in the world. you guys know the drill...Porsche:there is no substitute. We are all 924 loyalists and it is a very reassuring feeling to know i'm not alone in the pursuit of renewing and driving these awesome cars. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks
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924 turbo:best car in the world!

MunkPuppy · Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2004 9:44 pm Post subject:

well, there are many places you can get parts for your 924/931, but lucky lucky you, the 80 happens to be the hardest one to find parts for. Best place to start is by searching for "porsche 924 parts" in your favorite search engine. But to help you out, here's some good parts sources:

www.thepartsbin.com
www.drivewire.com
www.auto-parts-zone.com

As for your turbo, the best thing you can do is get a turbo shop to rebuild the one you've got. However, if your turbo is FUBAR, then you can get a decent turbo from ebay; they up for grabs all of the time, usually for around $150US. They usually still need a rebuild, but a new turbo costs a LOT more than what it would to buy a used one and rebuild it.

My advice, being a 1980 924 Turbo owner myself, is to definately go with the 5-bolt upgrade (known as the M471 option), and do your repairs one at a time. However, if you really want to do a total restoration, go with the complete strip-down.

But I'll let other 924board.org members give their opinions...
good luck with your car, and welcome to the board!
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'80 931 FOR SALE

"It's a shame that stupidity isn't painful"
-Anton Szandor LaVey

Paul · Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2004 12:07 pm Post subject:

Please don't sand the car down to bare metal, you'll remove all the rust protection Porsche put on the car. Just remove the top coat.

Its very easy to spend big bucks on these cars, I'm over $10,000 at this point which includes the $4,500 I paid for it in 1993.
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White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

numbbers · Posted: Tue Feb 24, 2004 11:04 am Post subject:

Yep, don't sand it down. But a chemical stripper will not remove the galvinized coating.

I have a basement full of parts for an '80, and Bob Dodd (Zuffen) has even more. So, as you get into it, place your requests in the parts section, and maybe we can help you out.
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1980 924 Turbo

CMXXXI · Joined: 05 Nov 2002 Posts: 1939 Location: Vicksburg, MS

Welcome to the group, and good luck with your project. Personally, I'd recommend you get the car running decently before embarking on a major restoration. You may decide that the time, effort and money involved just getting to the point of having a strong reliable car is perhaps more than you are willing to undertake. Nothing worse than to have a disassembled car that you lose interest in or run out of finances to finish the job.

Having been in a similar situation as yourself, I believe that the exterior should be the absolute last thing you concern yourself with. Make the car run right, make the car stop right, make the car handle right then worry about cosmetics. Somewhere in the middle you'll make your decision about how much you can realistically do with the car. You are going to need some decent facilities, tools, and lots of time and money.

Do a search of the archives for parts sources and you'll find a number of places. Some things you will have to resort to the dealership, no way around it. Get the factory manuals if you can, they will come in handy.

More questions? Read the FAQ, the Tech Sections and the archives, and the archives, and the archives some more.

Oh, and break out your checkbook

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'79 Eurospec 931

-nick · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 2699 Location: Cambridge, MA

Re-read CMXXXI's last sentence a couple times!

Then check out my weblink below. It's been less than a year on mine, and I've gotten sick of working on it a couple times. But, I'm on the home stretch now and I'm pretty excited!

-nick

PeterW · Joined: 17 Dec 2003 Posts: 78 Location: Auburn WA

Yea, a checkbook. A big freaking fat checkbook with lots of checks. And a machinist, a real mechanic, an electrical engineer...

I hope I'm not the only fool to have put $15,000 into making a $500 car run. Oh well, hopefully it will run before mid April.

Robert Hooper · Joined: 15 Mar 2004 Posts: 70 Location: Christchurch NZ

faulty speedo is probally the cable comming loose from the left hand wheel hub.....just pok it though you will se what i mean....

ps - not being rude

Rob
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1982 924 Race Car
1981 931 Road Car

924guy · Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:31 am Post subject:

Okay, where to start....

If you have the facilities to work in, a "ground up" will get you the best results. It is also the most time consuming and expensive, but well worth it in my opinion. It give you the opportunity to go through everything, literally, and if done with enough care and planing can result in a car thats better than new.. however, it is a huge undertaking and allot of thought needs to be put in the decision. but you can achieve great results also just going "system by system." get ahold of the factory shop manuals, pick a chapter go through everything in that chapter, apply it as needed to your 931 and when your done move to the next. Dont be cheap either, save cash where you can, but factory parts are the best for the most part. Dont bother buying or using used rubber or plastic bits, theyll just fail on you in short order..buy good repros or factory rubber and plastic, and you wont have to do them twice..definately worth the few extra clams..
Obtaining a parts car can also save you allot greif and expense, if you have a place you can keep one long term. not only as a source for all those little "thingies" you will need, but also as a reference template and practice lab..
If your not quite sure how a part comes out, a parts car a great way to figure it out first, so you dont mess up the "good" one.. it can also be a source for rebuildable cores when the need arrises... this is especially handy if your driving the builder along the way..
IVe had no problem sourcing 80' 931 parts, unfortunatly i own an 82, and ive had a much harder time getting parts for it than i believe i would for an 80.. Especially Exhaust/turbo system parts..... In your case id try and find a 5 bolt disk parts car(and you can swap it over), even an N/A car or early 944 will be usefull for a ton of swapable parts, and not much money if you look hard enough..
Take pictures of everything before you start..and before each particular repair, digital pictures cost nothing and are priceless for reference during reassembly (especially if you have a send a part out and dont get to put it back for a long time.)

Make a sacrifice to both the Porsche gods, and "Murphy" before you start, hopefully they will smile upon you...they will demand a bit of blood along the way though, if you tick them off they will demand a finger nail or worse, pay your homage first and hope for the best....

Hope this helps....
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Eric
78 924
82 931 SE "smokey"
99' VehiCross
Y2K Honda Insight
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