924Board.org

[Eric P]

Most of you are probably familiar with the smell of an old German car. It isn't that "new car" scent, but it isn't a bad smell either. In my 924, I would describe it as an earthy smell with a hint of leather.

When I bought my 924S, the battery tray had been leaking into the passenger foot well for about 7 years while the car was stored outside. I had to completely gut the interior to get all of the mold and moss out of the carpet and padding. I thoroughly washed and cleaned the original carpet. While I was in there, I washed the floor pans then coated them with a rubberized bed liner coating to seal them. I also replaced all of the jute floor padding before replacing the cleaned carpet. I shampooed the seats and washed down every hard surface. Now the moldy rodent smell is completely gone but the car smells like carpet cleaner and spray paint.

Is there a way to get that old Porsche smell back? Will it come back on its own or is it gone forever? I'm going to re-cover the seats with new leather covers soon and I've been leaving the doors, sunroof, and hatch open to let it air out in my garage. I'm hoping that will help. I'm sure that spray paint smell will go away or at least fade after a few months, but I'm not so sure about the carpet cleaner smell.

I probably shouldn't worry about it, but the smell is part of the driving experience to me. Does anyone know what in the car makes it smell like this? Any suggestions on how to get my car to smell normal again? Or is that earthy smell not normal in the first place?
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1980 924 NA, US model
1987 924S, US model

[Kenodog]

Replace the headliner. I did this on my other 931 and the difference was immediate. Smelled neutral like a modern day used car.






Lee
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1979 Euro 931, Olive
1981 931, Sabine
1991 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4, Ricky
1996 Ford E-350 ex-FedEx Van
2014 Mazda CX-5 (Kinderwagon)
2019 KTM 790 Adventure
2024 KLX300
2024 KLX140

[procyon]

How hard is it to replace a headliner? And who sells them?
I don't think I have ever seen new headliners listed for sale.
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1981 924 N/A (Now the parts car)
1980 924 N/A ( 5 bolt discs and better paint) MS II V3.57
2003 Subaru Baja
2021 Maxda CX-30

[Kenodog]

It took me about 6 hours start to finish to rip out the old one, clean the little bits off the surfaces and re-install a new one. There is no 'drop-in' replacement part, I went to a fabric store and bought a few yards of black patterned vinyl. It look EXACTLY like the original with the grain pattern on it. White cloth on the back. Cut the rough shape out using the old one as a template then start on one side and slowly glue it all around with 3M contact cement. When you are done just re-install to interior trim parts and a new sunroof seal and it looks and smells like new. Huuuuuge difference. Along with new carpet and cleaned hard surfaces inside the car will smell 110% better than before.



Leaky
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1979 Euro 931, Olive
1981 931, Sabine
1991 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4, Ricky
1996 Ford E-350 ex-FedEx Van
2014 Mazda CX-5 (Kinderwagon)
2019 KTM 790 Adventure
2024 KLX300
2024 KLX140

[morghen]

He wants the smell back not gone.

I loved how my 932 smelled, my 931 smells the same but my GTS wannabe(1983) barely smells like those and I had everything out of it and the car painted 10 years ago!
It took a year or so to get the new paint smell out and the old Porsche smell back in but its not as potent as the one in my 1980 931 or 81 932.

The 931 smells like a man's car...the GTS wannabe almost smells nice but I forgive it for being fast
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https://www.the924.com

[Kenodog]

Oh well F**k, if he wants it back then why clean it in the first place ? The mold only enhances the 'old car smell'...lol

Personally I hate that smell. I want it neutral not 'weird vintage' with 40 years of fart soaked seats messing that up...




Me
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1979 Euro 931, Olive
1981 931, Sabine
1991 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4, Ricky
1996 Ford E-350 ex-FedEx Van
2014 Mazda CX-5 (Kinderwagon)
2019 KTM 790 Adventure
2024 KLX300
2024 KLX140

[Eric P]

In all reality, anything is better than that musty rodent smell. I can live with a clean carpet and slight spray paint smell. Whatever was in there - I suspect the rodents - would make my allergies act up every time I went near it.

I do really love the smell of my old 924 though. It's definitely not the smell of mildew and farts. I suspect it has something to do with the glues, carpet, and padding that were used originally. It's a rustic smell almost like the smell of a forest and leather.

Kenodog- I do have to replace my headliner at some point because it's sagging from an old hatch leak. Do you have any pictures of yours? I guess I'm resigned to the fact that this car will never smell as nice as the other one so I might as well fix it.
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1980 924 NA, US model
1987 924S, US model

[Kenodog]

[Rasta Monsta]

Old German Car Smell = Horse Hair
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Toofah King Bad

• WeiBe (1987 924S 2.5t) - 931 S3

[Eric P]

[Johann]

I love the smell of my 924. think it is a combination of the seat padding and ageing vinyl that creates the smell. An air cooled Beetle also has a very similar distinctive smell.

My 964 also has a very distinct Porsche smell, but smells nothing like my 924. I tend to swap the cars once a month (because one is always in storage) and every time I get into the car after a month, the first thing I do is take a long deep whiff of that distinctive smell. Bliss

I am sure the smell wil come back Eric.

This is what my 924 looked like when i rescued it from a 20 year sleep.



I also had to deep clean it during the restoration process. It had mould all over the interior and smelled absolutely awful. After I cleaned it, it smelled like chemicals for about two months and then the standard nostalgic 924 smell arrived.

Just be patient.

[Fasteddie313]

I had the carpets out of my 931 and cleaned them with laundry soap, spray painted a lot on the inside, used automotive seam sealer that smelled a LOT for a while, had it open as much as I could for a long time because I too had a battery box leak..

These days it has a nice old classic car smell.. Smells good, I admit I sniff it, lol..

The smell did come back..

Other cars that I have been around that had distinct smells would be an old 72 olds cutlass we had a long time ago that has a nice classic car smell, and the bimmers have a pretty good smell to them too.
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80 Turbo - Slightly Modified

[924RACR]

I think maybe just a little bit is leaked/hot/slightly burnt oil too...
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

[morghen]