924Board.org

[skrtskrt]

Hi All,

My running daily/project 924 has recently become a full-fledged project car unfortunately. Love the 924/944 look and feel and would rather fix it up and make it my own instead of just parting it off and this being my first project car, I am looking for some advice/pointers on how to go about it.

First off, the problem being a rod knock/ possibly seized motor (haven't taken the engine out yet to verify what specifically went wrong)

The options I currently have thought of:

-Getting engine/head resurfaced and re-sleeved and new pistons (however I have had trouble finding pistons) and putting that back in.

-Buying a 77 924 parts car ($1000) with a (claimed) good engine and swapping that over

-Buying an 82 924 turbo ($2200) with a good engine but dented body panels

Those are my current options that I have found within reasonable distance, but I would love input on it since I am still pretty fresh to the 924 world and projects cars in general. Thanks for any input.
_________________
1979 Porsche 924 - The first but probably not the last (Relegated to parts :/ )
1981 Porsche 931 - TURBOOOOOOO

[skrtskrt]

1982 924 turbo - https://www.facebook.com/share/1LobaQ1jj3/?mibextid=wwXIfr

1977 924 - https://www.facebook.com/share/18s4q5PCsj/?mibextid=wwXIfr
_________________
1979 Porsche 924 - The first but probably not the last (Relegated to parts :/ )
1981 Porsche 931 - TURBOOOOOOO

[Beartooth]

A used motor, even in good running shape, probably won't bring more than a few-hundred bucks, so my first thought is to kick around and see if you can find one (call around wrecking yards - probably target ones that specialize in european stuff - try car-part.com, etc.). It's going to be luck of the draw: you might buy something that ends up being a oil burner or blows up again, but that's the most economical thing to do. That does depend a lot on shipping costs, however... That said, substitute replacement pistons, and bearings are out there if you dig long enough, so a rebuild is an option. I like the idea of a rebuild because then you know what you've got, plus you can get a few more HP with some light porting and such. Also, if you're thinking about rebuilding, take a look on ebay right meowish - there is a new set of 86.98mm Kolbenschmidt pistons for $500.

That said, the turbo might be a good choice if you have any inkling that you'll want more power down the road. It's a bigger roll of the dice than a used NA motor though. Being an S2 means it's less likely to be like my S1 with broken rings (I'm pretty sure - bad leakdown on three our of four), but you've still got the turbo and wastegate and DITC that could be issues. I got excited when I saw that second picture - but then realized it was a stock photo of a GTS thrown in... Anyway, it might be worth using the two cars to make one good one, but I don't know about that price, and even if you can get it cheap enough, there is the possibility you end up in the same place but with and even more expensive rebuild. It looks good enough to be worth saving, but unless it's far better mechanically than cosmetically (not likely), it's honestly not worth much.

On the '77, it depends on whether it really checks out (not a "ran when parked" that needs a bunch of work before you could even try to start it) and also whether it's a 95 or 110 HP version. Haynes indicates the first year or so (through 77-1/2; you'd have to look for the VIN breakdown) was 95 HP, and there are also some differences in that first variant that make rebuilding even more problematic, for what it's worth.

Anyway, it's pretty hard to give a firm recommendation. Given the values on tofas, you might also want to consider finding a nicer car and relegating what you've got to a parts car. If you go with the idea of making the best out of two cars, don't be afraid to lowball on the donor car unless it's a good runner or has a pristine interior or something along those lines driving some value. 931s are rare, but just not that in demand (yet), so $1000 is more in line for that one - and even at that, it might take a long time to find a buyer.
_________________
1980 931 diamond in the rough