924Board.org

[j03k64]

Right, so maybe I'm crazy.

I found a second 924 for $450, bought it on the fly in hopes of reselling it for a small profit as I have lots of parts left over from a parts car. It has a broken windshield, sunroof and seal are jacked (I had a spare sitting about) and it had a few dents/dings/ect. The guy thought it had wiring gremlins in it - however, after owning a 924 for nearly 10 years I knew it was the ground points, a fuel pump relay and likely that the fuel pump itself was faulty - massive dramas just to get the fuel pump replaced. I threw it on jacks and found that the control arms were absolutely shot (post here: http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=37671&highlight=). Ordered new stuff for that. The heater core was also blown - replaced it, not fun! I have completely restored the interior, short of the seats and roof.

Cleaned the ground points off. New fuel pump. New relay. New wires. New fluids (coolant/oil). Turn the key and it starts right up. Blows carbon and white/gray/blue smoke like hell - it's heavy like a horrible cancerous fog. I let it warm up, there's no abnormal knocking under the hood other than it sounds like it's running on 2-3 cylinders sometimes. Shut it down.

Later, I took the fire bottle with me and got bold drove it around the yard to see how the transmission/clutch are - all is fine to second gear. Then it starts dying on me in the yard - failure to start multiple times, so I shut it down, popped the hood and went for coffee. Came home a bit later, limped it into the garage - barely.

One of the plug wires (second cyl from the front) had came out of the shielded tips - replaced/tested it. Replaced the spark plugs (the others appear to be fuel spoiled/carboned we initially thought due to the plug wire and poor cap/rotor - no deposits or funny stuff). New cap/rotor. Idles a lot better as the old cap/rotor were shot. Let it warm up.

Second idle test a day later... dad starts yelling for me to get out of the car. Beautiful green fluid is flowing from the front cylinder wall on the manifold side... Quickly killed it to prevent any further damage.

Obviously, the head must be removed to replace the gasket. Hayes manual. I removed the fuel system, intake manifold and cam cover to prepare for the removal of the head. No signs of coolant. We pulled the cam shaft today. Three of the tappets show significant wear (photos below) and the cam clearly needs to be turned or buffed at minimum. Still no signs of coolant. We released the head bolts, came right off, however the manifold is still attached to the down pipe - some idiot put SAE bolts in it during a previous repair session.

I sprayed the manifold with PB Blaster and am letting it sit over night to avoid damaging it. The head should be off by tomorrow.

Any idea where I can find tappets? Paragon has them at a whopping $95.58ea... http://www.paragon-products.com/Cam-Follower-p/pp046.109.311.htm

I have a spare complete drive train out of 79. I would rather not open it up, but at $100 a go... I'm starting to consider it.

Apologies for the terrible camera focus - lighting isn't so good and it's a cheapo garage camera.





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1979 Porsche 924
1980 Porsche 924

[emoore924]

Yep, those followers (the tappets are actually called followers) are shot, and new, yes they are expensive.

There will be folks that will weigh in on the new follower + new cam argument, but I'd say for a car with your provenance, a decent used cam and set of followers would be the way to go. They are around and I'd suggest you'd be able to get your hands on a usable set containing a workable cam and a set of 8 followers for about $100. I've seen whole heads including usable cams and followers for a little more than that.

Post a WTB here on the forum, and keep an eye on CL and ebay. You should find something pretty quick. Oh, and don't forget a new head gasket set. Oh, and don't forget to have the head checked for flatness and straightened if necessary.

Have fun!

[j03k64]

Apologies for the incredible delay in communication here on the forum!

I obtained new tappets for the motor via luck on eBay for a reasonable price. I had the head reworked at a local machine shop over last winter (new valves, valve guides, valve seats, and the cam refinished). We have since rebuilt the entire motor including new gasket set, accessories (waterpump, alt, etc.) and hardware. Photos of the progress below.






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1979 Porsche 924
1980 Porsche 924

[Harm]

Nice work; looks ready to go in!
Personal note: I prefere the use of copper nuts on the exhaust side.
The exhaust manifold can get red hot and lock up those steel nuts.
Since I do my own wrenching every nut and bolt get a lick of copper grease,
so the next time I dive in there it all goes according to plan
(and won't need a BFH).
Happy wrenching,
Harm.
_________________
Porsche 924 NA 1982 LY7A/A3A3 _ Greater driving pleasure never harmed anyone.

[j03k64]

Thanks! We replaced the manifold studs and put plenty of anti-seize on the exhaust hardware. Replaced the nuts with brass on it once we took it off the bench. The head is installed, blanketed engine compartment in the last photo there - more soon!
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1979 Porsche 924
1980 Porsche 924

[Harm]

[924RACR]

+1 on the cam oiler tube. Hope you used a new elbow on the end? Also make sure the tube was cleaned thoroughly, no holes plugged - since that'll cause the wear you saw on the tappets. Note that the holes are all different sizes, to get consistent flow to all 8 lobes.

I also agree on the hardware for the exhaust side; stainless studs too, if you can find 'em.

Looks beautiful, nice work!
_________________
Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[j03k64]

The round thing in the middle between inlet two & three is a service marker from the machine shop; I believe it shows the date the head was rebuilt.

The cam oil tube is slightly elevated because the front mounting clip was still loose at the time of the photo - all tightened up and level now. The machinist cleaned/installed the cam oil tube. The oil tube elbow is not included in head rebuild kits, although it does looks new, perhaps our wizard of a machinist replaced it?

I'll be keeping an eye on it to ensure oil is getting to all of the tappets/cam rollers upon start up and throughout operating temperature ranges.
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1979 Porsche 924
1980 Porsche 924

[Rasta Monsta]

[j03k64]

I'm praying that warranty voider stays put Rasta!

Things are coming together on the 1980 N/A rebuild. New head gasket and upper gasket set, reinstalled the fuel system, coolant plumbing, vac lines, water pump and other shenanigans. EGR (they did away with that in 80 apparently?) and a complete A/C delete. Rebuilt front suspension from the control arms up.

Pushed it out for some fresh air. Red 79' under the covers there:


Someone installed a security system in it, they made a mess of things in terms of wiring. Looking for a turn signal unit and a few other things.

Will let you know when we finally turn the key.
I'll take video for you guys/girls =)
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1979 Porsche 924
1980 Porsche 924

[ideola]

Beautiful work!
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[morghen]