924Board.org

SoCal924NA · Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 3 Location: California

Well first I just wanna say "hi" from California.
This may be my first true project/rebuild. I'm normally found tinkering with Chevy's and Honda's (I know, big difference between makes lol) but this is my first European car.

I acquired this free 1980 924 N/A from a relative a few months ago. I was a bit disappointed to open the hood and find the little 4 cylinder sitting there, even more so it being the N/A model. The 5-speed and rear mounted transaxle were definitely on the bright side however. The car has 77,234 (124,296KM) miles on it. It was last driven in 2003 and hasn't moved since, supposedly a bad head gasket. I think the last owner just didn't have time for it. Unfortunately for me, it was left out in the California desert on private land all this time. So who knows what weather damage it has succumb to.

I started working on it a couple weeks ago, and after seeing all the damage I thought about just sending it off to a scrap yard. But I couldn't do it...

And now the pictures.
The exterior isn't as bad as it could be, a few dents here and there and the paint is peeling off.

Interior is actually still relatively well, just some damage to the front seats.

As for the engine...I don't know where to start. Everything is a mess and dirty as heck. Wires have been chewed and eaten away by rodents (most sensors - go figure), a lot of hoses and rubber parts are now old and brittle. Rust is everywhere coolant used to be. Belts were done and sticking to the pulley's and gear's. Pretty much all the gaskets are toast.

When I separated the head from the block, all this rust and white powder stuff fell out.

Most of the suspension and chassis components are okay. Some bad bushings here and there and the car needs a major brake overhaul.

Well, that's my quick little history. Now that you guys have seen the car, I have some questions. (I know little about the car aside from what I've read and remember in the tech section so I have no exact goals at this time)
1. Overall, do you think this car would be worth restoring in the end? Are they problematic cars?
2. This goes out to the other 924 owners here in Cali, are the cars reasonably easy to pass smog or are they just a bunch of problems? Is it even worth attempting performance upgrades in Cali?
3. Power increase would be a must, it'll probably be N/A after reading about the difficulties in converter these N/A over to forced induction. So for compression increase, what options am I looking at? One of the first things I noticed was the supposed use of a head gasket with part number 93110433703, but all I can find is 93110433706.
4. I've found pretty much all the OEM parts from EBS, Pelican Parts, and Auto Haus. But aftermarket wise, are there any good suppliers?
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1980 924 N/A M/T

Grenadiers · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 11:46 pm Post subject:

Wow, major reconstructive surgery is in order! However, some on the board have started with worse than that. Is the block stuck? Cam pitted? Things like that can set one back to not doing the project. I have lots of interior bits, and engine compartment bits from a '79 if you need it.
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'83 944 Track car.
'88 924S Track car.
'89 944 Turbo
2004 Winnebago Vectra monster RV
2012 Jeep Wrangler
2014 Kia Soul
2001 Ford F350 powerstroke

the_mad_electrician · Joined: 16 Nov 2009 Posts: 1073 Location: Central Georgia

As far as compression, you'll need custom pistons. You should check out ideola's web site he has almost everything you need to get the most out of your n/a the only thing does carry is cams. http://garage.ideola.com
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81 924 N/A

2004 Ranger "Edge"

2005 Mazda 6

Rattlinbone · Joined: 21 Jun 2009 Posts: 265 Location: Seattle, WA

I started with worse than that, and now I have a cool daily driver.
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Fred- 1979 924

fiat22turbo · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 4040 Location: Portland, OR

Looks like a heck of a project. Not the worst we've seen around here (CorsePerVita comes to mind)

Yup, Ideola has higher compression pistons and other neat parts. I highly recommend having the head ported and larger valves installed along with the more manly pistons.

Luckily, the 924 shares a lot of parts with the 944, including most of the interior and underpinnings. After 85.5, the 944 dash changed and isn't easily swapped, but it has been done before. The seats are the same between the 924/944 and 911 from that time period.

Suspension upgrades are as easy as finding a donor 944 or 924 turbo to steal the parts from.

Drivetrain upgrades a little more tricky since the 924 N/A has a smaller clutch spline and torque tube shaft.

If you're going to keep the CIS system, get yourself some books on the subject and the proper tools to test the system properly and it should work fine for you and your plans, provided the system doesn't need too much work done to it. Vacuum leaks, poor grounds and incorrect fuel system pressures will cause the majority of your problems.

Depending on your skill level with electronics, automotive electrical systems and engine tuning, you might look at MegaSquirt as a DIY EFI upgrade route. The trick with any external modification in the engine bay is dealing with the California smog police who focus on a visual inspection on top of an inspection of the tailpipe gasses.

Check out the sticky'd posts in the Performance Upgrades section to get some ideas on what can be done to improve the car while you've got it apart.
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Stefan
1979 924 Carrera GTS (clone-ish)
1988 944 Turbo S (Silver Rose)

Khal · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 3:58 am Post subject:

Joes924Racer · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 4:32 am Post subject:

Door speakers gotta go bro... You just need to strip the block
and have it honed plasti-guage the main and rod bearings and get some new rings and from what the pllasti-guage told you maybe some bearings.
Bearings dont cost alot so you should do it anyway. Good luck were
here to help.
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1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.

9XX Girl! · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 5:18 am Post subject:

SoCal924NA · Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 3 Location: California

Khal · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 9:26 am Post subject:

leadfoot · Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 1:11 pm Post subject:

ditch the engine, if you know chevy's put a ls1 in there ...
parts and people who can work on these cars is getting thin...

better off salvaging what you can and selling parts and putting something modern in there. Gearbox / driveline will need to be swapped out for a 944 turbo setup if you want over 300 hp in the front
Stu
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1981 ROW 924 Turbo -
carbon fiber GT mish mash
LS1 conversion in progress...

SoCal924NA · Joined: 19 Nov 2010 Posts: 3 Location: California

Believe me, I thought about such an engine swap. But recently California passed laws mandating that vehicles can only receive swaps from the same manufacturer that produced the vehicle and it must be from a newer car (81+) in my case, to be street legal. It's all just a big headache dealing with state refs and BAR.
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1980 924 N/A M/T

fiat22turbo · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 4040 Location: Portland, OR

Porsche 928 engine or an Audi motor.
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Stefan
1979 924 Carrera GTS (clone-ish)
1988 944 Turbo S (Silver Rose)

Joes924Racer · Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 4:57 pm Post subject:

If they sound good thats what counts ...gee thats a
stuffy law bout engine swaps.
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1979 porsche 924 Na
1980 porsche Turbo 931GT Replica
Have u ever driven a turbo.

fiat22turbo · Joined: 18 Jan 2006 Posts: 4040 Location: Portland, OR

Oregon's is technically similar, but they only care what comes from the tailpipe and whether there a codes set on the OBD equipped cars.
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Stefan
1979 924 Carrera GTS (clone-ish)
1988 944 Turbo S (Silver Rose)