924Board.org

[garyj19]

[CBass]

What do you judge a car by? I judge a car by performance and tactile feel. The steering on the 924 is superb, the brakes are superb, the gearshift is superb, everything that the driver interacts with is tight, mechanical and not overassisted(well maybe the brakes).

Performance wise, the car is somewhat lacking in a few areas as delivered from the factory with stock gear. Not happy with it? Modify it. My 924 has pretty much every option you could get that makes a performance difference in 1979(save for a LSD). Rear swaybar, 160# front springs, 5 bolt setup and 16" forged wheels, non sunroof chassis, AC removed and all power options deleted. In stock form it's a fantastic car, as far as handling balance and driving feel goes. I haven't driven anything that really compares to the feel of a minimalist, stiff and responsive sports car, and the 924 is a good example of just that.

Sure, a Lotus Elise may have a stiffer body, better suspension and a lighter curb weight, but the 924 has a hatch you can fit 30 cubic feet of cargo into.

Sure an Audi A6 has a much better ride and feels smooth and refined, but the steering feels like crap, the brakes are way too soft, and the handling is lacking.

The 924 is cheap to run and insure, and it's pretty damned reliable compared to the offerings of the period from England and Italy. It's easy to maintain if you're the one working on it, everything is simple and basic, there's not much to go wrong and when something does, it's easy to fix.

So if the 924 isn't your idea of a perfect car, ok that's fine, but to come to a 924 forum and call it a piece of crap when compared to modern cars is insulting to those of us who think that modern cars, including modern Porsches, are pieces of crap because they're overengineered, too heavy and too soft.
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'81 931 in various states of assembly

[Khal]

[Chrenan]

[CBass]

Speaking from personal experience, it's hard to appreciate the car when it's off the road.

When it's on the road, my stripped out '79 gives me just what I want out of a car. No frills hardcore sports care enthusiasm
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'81 931 in various states of assembly

[falconboy]

Hey I ain't bagging the car like I said I own one and are generally happy with it. I'm just interested to know what the appeal is for everyone else here. Personally I like the balance between affordability, performance, style, quality and ease of repair. There are cars out there that will beat the 924 in any of those individual categories but few that can match it across the board.

[Mike924]

[timstar92404]

I don't think there's such thing as affordability or budget / true performance....
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78 924 sold.
85.5 944

[Viking]

Why did I buy mine?

I was out driving and I saw an older 944, it was white, and I wondered what it was, because I liked the way it looked. But since it was a Porsche, I shrugged it off and thought I would never be able to afford it.
Then, some months later I saw one advertised for about 8000 USD, which is actually cheap for a car here. I knew I wanted one of them. I did some research, finding this board, and decided to go with a 924 na.
I love my car, it just feels right in every way. If I feel blue, it's never something that six hours of driving can't fix. It turns head when it's shiny, and even a few when it's dirty.

[seanski44]

what was the question again?

err, I have a love hate relationship with mine, both of them. I love the N/A and had a great little drive in it this morning, but then I hated i when I wound the window down and heard the tappetty noise that niggles me cos I have to pull the head to fix and I haven't got the time/energy/cash to do it at the mo. I love looking at it, but then I had this with my previous two porkers, when I earned more I had a 968, and then before that there was my first, the 2.7 944, possibly the greatest car I had - but then, that's mostly nostalgia erasing the hate side of the love hate relationship I had with that car!

I reckon that the 968 was the best car I've ever had, but I had a bad one - five breakdowns within four months, each totally immobilising it, none particularly expensive, but all causing me to need towing. oil filter seal blew, clutch slave cyl, ECU died, thermostat stuck closed, managed to crack the exhaust downpipe, Power steering broke... need I go on? The love side of that one was the feeling of flooring it from 60 in third and snicking her into 6th many MPH later...

anyhoo.. 924s rock! - I got mine because I wanted to be back in a porsche again after breaking my back in the scirocco I bought hoping it'd be a similar experience (darn those seats suck) anyway sitting in that 24 seat was like pulling on a favourite pair of shoes, ahhhh... But my thing is that I want to be sitting in it more like 90% of the time, not lying under it!

rant over...
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1998 BMW Z3 2.8 arctic silver & red

1981 168HP 931 S2 blue/tan leather - SOLD
1985 121HP 924 2.0l na modded - SOLD!
1992 968 lux SOLD
1989 944 2.7 lux SOLD

[Mike924]

[Porscheaddiction]

Ahh yes our beloved missunderstood 924. I have been with out mine for a little over a year. Do I miss it? What do I miss? .....Hell Ya!!!, Everything about it!!! but most of all that good feeling in the pit of my stomache when Im driving it. The looks you get too are a bonus when u drive by someone, If you really want to get looks remove all external markings identifying the car from the rear.
Chris.
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1981 924 NA (Restoring mode)
1984 928S (Enjoying the driving season)

[seanski44]

[manxchaz]

Grew up in the 80's and always wanted a sports car with pop up headlights, so a few years ago when I was looking for a car and saw a 924s for sale I sort of fell for it on the spot - even though the wipers, indicators, rear wiper didn't work, passenger window was stuffed, drivers seat ripped to shreds and it has more dents than an old tin can. And I paid too much for it.

After I bought it I found out that it leaked like a sieve through the battery box, the engine burns oil and that the belts etc would cost an arm and a leg to change, the exhaust needed replacing and so did all the brakes.

After all that I have no regrets. the car is 19 years old, the door shuts with the same clunk it had when it left the factory, it takes the corners like its on rails and still turns heads. Engine starts every time without fail and it gets used every day. Can carry a load of cargo in the back if I have too (try doing that in a 911). I have friends with newer cars than mine that give them more problems than mine gives me - and theirs are boring euroboxes. (and probably more expensive to fix)

Most importantly though - the headlights still go up and down when I flick the switch - COOOOL!! (I've never seen a hyundai that can do that)

[Keaton]