924Board.org

[car_guy02]

Well, I am new to the board so be patient. I went and looked at a '78 924 last week and may buy it. It has 60k miles and a new clutch. The body has some surface rust around the moon roof due to sitting outside. The lights don't flip up because the motor is corrided to do so. Inside of the car the dash is cracked, the liner on the ceiling is ripped in a few places and the driver's seat has a small tear in it. Overall, it is a fairly straight car with minor cosmetic work needed. Finally, my question. How much would an average paint job cost (with the body sanded and primered to eliminate the rust)How much would the cheapest interior work cost if I did it myself (nothing fancy!) How hard and expensive is it to fix the headlight motors? And what would be a fair price for the car? Anything else I should worry about? Thanks for the help!

Aaron

[Body Shop Rob]

I can address the prep and paint issues for you. You can take your car to Maaco and get a good paint job if you prep the car properly.Make sure you remove all door handles,emblems,mouldings,impact strips, pinstriping and light assemblies before you prep.Adhesive mouldings/emblems come off with a heat gun and a razor. Just sand, sand and sand some more with a dual action sander or by hand.The shop will charge you to mask the windows,tires etc.Expect to pay about $400 for a Maaco job, $2000-4000 at a custom paint or body shop. Add $1000 if you want the jambs painted and want to change the color of the car.Make sure a clear coat is included in the price and you should be OK.

[924Kid]

The interior should be fairly easy to fix. You can have the seat/headliner re-upolstered fairly cheaply at an auto-restoration/ customizing place. Also they usually can fit a plastic cover on the dash to hide the cracks or you can buy one and fit it yourself. If you want to spend more money,(ALOT more)you can replace the dash.

You should check out PerformanceProducts.com (aka Automotion.com) they have many parts for the 924....even more if you have the catalogue mailed to you. They sell new headlight motors, rather expensive, for about $230. I would first check junkyards and local dealers for used ones. Also, note on the mileage, that's probably 160K....the 924 speedo resets at 99,999. Good Luck.

[Roger Hall]

I wouldn't pay more than $800 for the car.

Run a compression check to see what shape the motor is in.

Dashboard is a problem, plastic covers look bad and any other option is expensive.

Interior is not a problem I have fixed most of those problems myself and it wasn't too expensive. I just put some nice seat covers on about $70.00.

Make sure to check the timing belt, door handels, exhaust system, rubber seals and hoses tend to be a problem ofter 25 years.

Paint job about $1500.00. Maco does a good job but it cost about $1,000 to repaint my 92 Pontiac Sunbird without clearcoat. Maco actually did a better job than some body shops Ive been to. If you know a good bodyshop I would go there if not use Maco.

Parts sources EBAY, Pelician Parts, Performance Products, Automobile Atlanta. All are on the web.

Take it to a good Porsche mecanic. They should look it over for free and give you an idea of the general condition. They may charge you for testing though.

Even in great shape the car is only worth about $2,000. I have an 81 924 in good shape and its a blast to drive. I really enjoy working on it and if properly maintained it can last another 20 years.

[marky522]

I have a good headlight motor if you are interested. Let me know.... they are a lot of fun to drive put a PITA when they break


Mark

[eturbo924]

Well most of the parts you will need you can get from guys here on the board. Just post your needs. I can get good used parts for 924/944 for reasonable prices. So drop me a line with your needs. I can get mostly 944/924S but some parts interchange with the older 924. Body parts, interior parts, headlights and such are all interchangeable.

Eric
http://www.geocities.com/eturbo924
Eric.Lynch@itt.com