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Anyone got one? My girlfriend is after one as a daily, I cant remember if Ive asked this already How reliable are the 2 litre 924s and what do we need to look out for? I don't mean the usual car checks just anything specific to the 924? Found a few nice ones been to see a couple too - just waiting for a good one. And if anyone wants to swap a 924 for a lovely mega reliable gen 5 2.0 Honda Prelude with ice cold air con and brand new alloys and tires recent cambelt service and new hub bearings then PM me away! ;D
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judgie
Part of things
wanaba stig
Posts: 274
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i run one as a daily and it gets used hard, it did stearling work at the trach attack @ the gatthering. seats wear out, dashes crack, hand brake lever brakes away from the floor, electrics can be a bit hit and miss on the windows,mirriors and headlight motors. the engines are very strong but use a bit of oil, this is normal. gearboxes are also very strong. body wise mine is a Y plate and has hardly any rust on it. parts are pretty cheap as they share a lot of there bits with simeler age vag cars. great handerling cars and pretty cheap to run, i get around 25/30 mpg and it gets drivern hard. plenty being brokern on e-bay so second hand parts are esay to get. Cheers Rob
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Aug 10, 2010 12:18:31 GMT
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pm sent thanks
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Aug 10, 2010 13:08:00 GMT
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i'm having an epic garage stuff clear out, selling up my spitfire project and will shortly be selling my rover 200 BRM to fund a porsche 924 turbo.
i popped by a garage on the way home yesterday that is selling an early porsche engined 2.5L 924. 102k miles for £2k. looked good for nearly 30yrs old. galvanised shells and decent build quality. the dash/switchgear etc and sitting in it felt like an upmarket mk1 golf
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Aug 10, 2010 13:53:01 GMT
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Cheers guys, useful as ever! Doctor924 you have a PM back, cheers
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robg2
Part of things
Posts: 815
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Aug 11, 2010 11:52:48 GMT
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I've got a 944 - they're pretty similar. I've not got a vast amount of experience of it yet (mostly because it's been in a million bits for most of the time I've owned it) but I'd say:
Check for rusty sills; otherwise you should expect a car to be rust free except for maybe the spare wheel well and battery tray. Rust in the sills might also affect the rear trailing arm mounting points. Check the clutch condition; no particular reason why it should fail but it's not a very straightforward fix as you need to take the transaxle and torque tube out and have the whole car off the ground. Expect some electrical issues, primarily because of the way the car's been looked after rather than any design failure. Porsches are fairly expensive new and tend to get bought by dreamers who are then incapable / disinterested in getting them looked after properly. Also expect things like poorly fitted immobilisers and alarms. The rear suspension design is more complicated than normal, so might have been neglected. There is also more geometry adjustment than normal and the cars are quite sensitive to being poorly adjusted. For the 944 at least there were quite a few detailed design changes in the suspension (including wheel offset changes). So it's feasible that some cars will have some incorrect parts fitted. Not sure if this applies to 924. Get a car with power steering, as the manual steering version isn't much fun to drive.
Don't forget that a 924S actually has a 944 engine, which is completely different.
I've replaced the engine and sills in mine so far - quite a big effort on a car sold as 'ready to use straight away'! Still like it though, as it's good looking and a nice drive. I've also trackdayed a 924 (non-PAS) and another 944, both of which were a good drive.
There's a good following on 924ownersforum (I think that's the name), and TIPEC. Pistonheads also have a lot of helpful enthusiasts. The main Porsche club is Porsche Club GB, but it's sometimes referred to as snobbish / eliteist - therefore not a good place to be for a 924 owner.
If you get a 924, you'll probably want a 944 at some point. There's always the 968 too, but these are still fairly expensive.
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scruff
Part of things
Posts: 621
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Aug 11, 2010 13:59:16 GMT
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porsche924.co.uk for the UK Porsche 924 Owners Club The N/As tend to wear out rather than blow up unless it's a turbo. Drive my 924 Turbo daily. The N/A is tough as old boots and can be a hoot to drive. Stupid cheap for what you get too. My old N/A took us to France and back from Preston twice (over 1200 miles each time) and the Turbo has done it once too no problems adn 38mpg on the way home. If your handy with spanners it's easy to work on too. The Germans build things properly and I very rarely had any issues. As above clutch is a pig, but it's just a long job rather than a hard one. watch out for rust as above and hot and cold starting. The fuel system is complex and can be a pain to diagnose but if it works it works. Hot start is from 15 mins to 45 mins after it's fully up to temp, it should restart farly easily. Cold start is self explanatory. There are fixes and work arounds but a proper repair is ususally expensive (Fuel accumulators cost £££) Bits are usually VW/Audi: GSFcarparts.co.uk, euro car parts, porsche shop, frazerparts, Porschapart and so on can usually come up with bits but your first call should always be Porsche! they are usually cheaper than the competition! Most bits are still availalbe new. If your passing Preston feel free to drop me a PM and I'll glady show you round the Turbo, pretty much the same but with less power than an N/A - until 3k rpm... The N/A:
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Last Edit: Aug 11, 2010 14:05:44 GMT by scruff
1994 Lotus Esprit - Fragile red turbo with pop up lights. 1980 Porsche 924 - Fragile red turbo with pop up lights.
I spy a trend...
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,248
Club RR Member Number: 170
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Porsche 924ChasR
@chasr
Club Retro Rides Member 170
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Aug 11, 2010 18:58:05 GMT
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I echo the above really.
As said, some are tired cars, but IMO this is down to people buying them for £1k and expecting to run them on a shoestring, hence ending up as sheddy cars. The 944s are going the same way to be honest.
I would say that they are probably better built than a 944. OK the dash is an aquired taste but you will see more rusty 944s than you will 924s. Whilst they have an engine loosely based on a van it's not a bad powerplant and cheap to run compared to the Porsche engines.
Watch out for a driveline shunt when going off or changing gear. It is most likely to be the clutch on its way out (for reasons unknown (in the 944 anyway) Porsche used rubber centred clutches instead of spring (solid) centred clutches) which with age break. The biggest giveaway will be when the car is warm; in traffic it will judder quite alot, more than a warped clutch.
Seat do go now but if I am honest I reckon it reflects more on ownership (my 944 and 306 GTi-6 (which does have a wear prone interior) both had around 120k on them with no rips, and what kind of owner's had it.
When I owned my 944 I never used Porscheshop, they seemed overpriced for many things. It was between ECP, GSF, Fraserpart (for a few things) and OPC (who are cheaper than you think for many things and of good quality (well, their thermostat seemed better than the £5 First Line stat I initially put in the car).
For secondhand spares, I'd try either PH Sportscars or Porsch-Apart. Yes the latter can be a little pricey on spares but they are very prompt and they are not your usual hit and miss type on spares (I.E they do sell good usable spares unlike many 'cheap' places).
EMC Motorsport in Saltley prep 924/44/68s for a living and are relatively reasonable. I'd speak to either Kevin or Alex if you need to go somewhere for maintenance required on it.
Either way, they're well worth going for.
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Aug 11, 2010 20:42:10 GMT
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Here's a good read to set the scene www.porsche924.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3717Very early 924's had galvanised lower halfs, 79/80 ish had full body galvanising. These early era cars seem to be fairing better than later 924S and 944's. Sills seem to be rotting on on some but not all cars. The later cars more so than early. 924 na seem to be easier to work on and cheaper to run than the later full Porsche engined 924S. The na car does have a VAG block and other VAG parts. Heads are Porsche. Turbo's can be delicate and expensive when they go wrong. Lots of cars around of all prices and condition. Lots of spares from broken cars. They seem to be worth more in parts than whole in many cases. They are definitely undervalued and overlooked. Here's mine from 8 months ago to today www.flickr.com/photos/16693103@N03/sets/72157623969758940/EMC in Birmingham set up my GAZ Gold coilovers. Those guys know their onions Our porsche924.co.uk site will dispel the myths and help you keep it on the road
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Steve 924 turbo - Omega forged pistons, lightened and balanced bottom end, ARP studs + Cometic MLS HG, Piper fast road cam, Carrera GT turbo soon to be GTR spec!!, 951 ducted FMIC, Custom intake manifold, Mittelmotor dizzy & cam pulley, Adj boost - dyno’d 225bhp @ 1.0bar, now up to 1.3bar! Engine datalogged and on boost fuel enrichment managed with Zeitronix ZT2 & Phormula KS4 knock sensor, 944 turbo all alloy radiator, Hayward & Scott custom exhaust, GAZ Gold coilovers, Fuch'ed up, Quaife
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Midas
Part of things
Posts: 508
Club RR Member Number: 14
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Porsche 924Midas
@midas
Club Retro Rides Member 14
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Aug 11, 2010 21:13:16 GMT
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My better half ran a '86 924 for two or three years, she loved the car but eventually had to get rid as the steering weight was hurting her shoulder (she's only small mind).
It had all the usual 924 problems, cracked dash, seat squabs split, dodgy electrics for the windows and mirrors, the fuel pump supply had the RAC out a few times too. All that aside, the handling was brilliant and it shifted when you poked it. I found it dynamically excellent but an ergonomic nightmare with switches all over the place and gauges you can't see.
Loads of fun, you need one.
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Ads 19
Posted a lot
My old r19
Posts: 1,351
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Aug 11, 2010 21:25:01 GMT
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i've had 3 924s and 1 944. loved them but.
the 2.0l na is gutless and unless you get a good head of steam you can never really exploit its brilliant handling.
i replaced it with a 924s which was fantasic in power delivery, but handling was definately comprimised.
I then bought a 944 which disappointed me having driven my dads old 944 turbo a few years earlier on the track. it not only felt slower than the 924s but also devoid of feeling. but the looks are to die for.
and finally i bought a 924 turbo. which ticked every box and was superb. even that went in end when i got made redundant.
so heres what i'd do differerently. buy a 924 turbo and a 944 and combine the both to get a carerra look.
924 has 4x108pcd which is helpfull for cheap trackday rims. the 944 has usual porsche 5x130pcd
rust not really ever a problem unless its had poorly repaired accident damage. oh and best place to look, local auctions. i've paid no more than 300 for all the above and all with tax and ticket and no real issues!
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Ads 19
Posted a lot
My old r19
Posts: 1,351
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Aug 11, 2010 21:27:03 GMT
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even found a piccy of my old 924 turbo
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