924Board.org

jeanmarc1 · Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 5:03 pm Post subject: First Porsche, 1977 924 ~$800

I'm looking for advice.

Afriend of mine is cleaning out his used car lot and he has a 1977 924. He's offering it to me for about $800, pay when I get arround to it.

I saw the car drive in about a year ago, it runs, it has been re-painted from race-yellow to red and a poor paint job at that. The right exhause manifold is cracked, so the exhaust is off on that side, but it comes with the car. Tires are good. I'm looking at it again tommorrow. The PO was a young kid.

On the Plus Side:
A really good friend of mine taught me to *drive* on a 924, (BTW he took his lessons from Jackie Stewart) his was, you guessed it, race yellow.
I had two Audi's which I loved the handling in.
I'm semi-mechanical

On the down side:
It will really need a paint job, so figure at least $400
I guess about $800 (?) for the manifold
How much of a money pit can it become? I don't have a lot of spare dough.
I've hear the 924 is light on power, they have drum rear brakes.

Questions
Where best to get a manifold? What is the approximate cost?
What are the minimums I should do before driving it?
How much dressing up/ customization can I do?
Any guessitmate on what basic refurb on a 77 924 goes for?
(Am I looking at ~$1600 in additional repairs and refurb, or $4000?)
Would it make more sense to buy a car in better shape for slightly more money?

Sorry for all the newbie questions, bottom line is I'm sorely tempted as this car could be a lot of fun!

Sleykin · Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2003 5:35 pm Post subject:

You say the right exhaust manifold is broken ... as in it also has a left manifold?? Did they make a 928 in 77?

At any rate a 924 costs less to refurbish than a 944 or a 924S or just about any porsche for that matter. As to the power ... it has plenty of power to have lots of fun with or get in trouble with

The paint you could do yourself. It just takes time and patience as it is tedious work to get it right. (ask Joe

)
At $800 for a running driveable car you can play with it for a year and dump all your "fun money" into it and come out with either a car to enjoy for years to come or sell it for parts and get your $800 back. The fun money don't count cause that's what it is. If it is to be your only vehicle which you will depend on to get you to work or school make sure you can take the bus for weeks at a time while you are waiting on parts/repairs.
All things considered the most common point of failure is the electrics.
Of course the biggest downside (or upside) to buying the car is that you will quit quickly be hooked for life

I have had faster cars and cars that handled much better (on the skidpad) but all those cars you just got in and drove ... with a porsche you don't get in ... you put it on

Buy it and have fun or pass and always remember the one that got away

_________________
Glenn Neff
Medford, OR
87' 924S

Neil924 · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 4225 Location: Canada

Welcome jeanmarc1. Jackie Stewart! WooHoo! That must be something!
First off: Where do you live?
You can read info on my webpage, a lot of it is a collection from this board. www.cardomain.com/memberpage/385862/2 and www.cardomain.com/memberpage/385862/3
And the faq's listed at the top of this site too.
Are you sure the car has no other problems? {That "young kid" as an owner is kind of scary.} Do you trust your friend? If so, you are in good shape. When was the last engine overhaul? If you like handling, this car is for you.

I have no complaints {My much newer car is a shoping cart next to my '24}. I assume you have basic tools and knowhow. I'm not the one to answer "price" questions but you also asked "How much of a money pit can it become?" That is a bad question. You may be like me and sink a whopping $500 a year for maintence {New filters, 2 oil changes, plugs and wires. Not needed but what the heck} or you may have to rebuild your engine and tranny next month. It all depends on the condition.
They are somewhat "light" on power, you can always get a Ferrari F40 is power is your game. Once you get up to speed, you can have all the fun you want.
They do have drums on the rear. You can get a direct swap from a 944 to go all 4 wheel disc. It's called an M471 option. {I think, I can never remember that number}

"What are the minimums I should do before driving it?"
Read the pages I posted and you wil have a good idea of what can go wrong if left too long, also what you can leave go.

"How much dressing up/ customization can I do?"
You can get a body kit or just rear flairs or just a lighter hatch, whatever you want. It's like lego, if you can think of it, it can be done

"Any guessitmate on what basic refurb on a 77 924 goes for?"
1 Where are you, 2 Does it need any work {inside or outside} 3 are you at a dealership? here's a link {US dollars} www.vmrintl.com/cctm/cctmenus/cctmprcs/77po9224.htm
A car that is perfect in every way is $5000 MAX. You can pick one up for $1000 or 1500 and be very happy. Or 500 to buy and 500 to fix up and be just as happy. These cars are very low in price {for some reason}. If the body is shot and you like a nice looking car, wait. Body panels are pricy and sometimes hard to find.

"Would it make more sense to buy a car in better shape for slightly more money?" Yes. This car is 26 years old, if it's already going south, let it! You can find very nice cars inside, outside and motor wise. They will be more money but you won't spend a year fixing it and throwing a few grand in it will just tick you off.
Well I'm done. Back to the assylum {or however you spell it}
No I'm not spell checking this thing, it's too damn long.

Neil924 · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 4225 Location: Canada

This looks very promising:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6431&item=2443314708

Another nice one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6431&item=2443358013

Good as well:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2443016230&category=9860

kaffine · Joined: 13 Jun 2003 Posts: 644 Location: Las Vegas

How much you spend depends on what you want and what condition the car is in. They can get expensive to rebuild especially if you want it to run and have the features of a new car.

I paid 1300 for my 24 and imediatly did a brake swap from rear drum to 4 wheel discs spent 1200 on rims and tires. Headlight upgrade 300 trans shift linkage 300 struts 250 both fuel pumps 350. That's just parts I do all the work myself. I've owned it for 4 months now and have taken it to work 5 times. By the time I'm done with it I'll likely have $10-20k into it. I got it with plans to update it with new car features and make it as reliable as a new car.
_________________
80 924
80 931

The best desciption of an atom boils down to something unknown is doing we don't know what.
Sir Arthur Eddington

Lizard · Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:02 am Post subject:

Welcome,
first off the 924 is not costly to maintain and keep running,

as per the exhaust mainfold, you can buy 1 used from a member of the board, infact I have 1 it does have a small crack by 1 of the bolt holes however but other than that is fine can provide pics, just make an offer,

the other things to check before getting the car is the right hand motor mount they commonly go bad and this causes alot of extra vibrations,

if the car has a disc drum setup you can always change over to a disc all around setup, you can take this from any 944/924 W/ M471 option, it is a direct swap (no fabbing) and definatly helps the car out.

the 924 does have anywere from 95hp - 125 hp depending on the engine code,

as per refurbing it, if you want to make it prestine condition again then it is going to cost alot, if you dont mind a interior that isn't the best then dont worry about it. drive it as is,

if it has been sitting for abit I would also recommend fresh fuel filter, a flush of the fuel system to get rid of varnish, and also a new fuel pump, also you might consider getting a new fuse box for the car, and cleaning all the ground points.
_________________
3 928s,

Mikri184 · Joined: 12 Sep 2003 Posts: 746 Location: Ferndale, WA

I think you should tell us where you are located and then see if one of the board memebers in your area who is familiar, with these can look at it. Parts can and are readily available on Ebay for very reason prices most of the time.
My Philosophy on used cars. DOesn't what you got into to it or wht you have to put it to it. I always figure around $2500 to make a decent machine with no complaints.

Another note any car that is 27 years old will have issues and things that need to be addressed. No matter what you buy.
_________________
Life is to short to be looking for something?

OR_Sunset · Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 312 Location: Veneta, OR

Initial cost: $800

New exhaust manifold: I think there's one in my garage that you can have. Just pay shipping costs. Manifold is from an '82, so its the newer one that doesn't crack as easily.

Or you could buy headers, which won't cost that much (I think they run aboout 130 on ebay, or 200 from MSDS),,, you'll see some performance gains and maybe a more aggressive exhaust note.

Think about replacing all the rubber bushings in the suspension, and then having a good 4-wheel alignment done. This will help the handling of the car tremendously.

All the usual tune-up stuff: oil change, fuel/oil filter change, coolant flush, check condition of hoses, belts and replace as necessary, new spark plugs (and wires if they are bad), new dist. cap and rotor, check timing.

After all is said and done, probably $1500 if you do all the work (less alignment) yourself. One hell of a bargain for an entry level sports car with alot of character.

Good luck... these cars are great fun. You will spend more time than $$$ in most cases.
_________________
82 924 N/A -
9.3:1 CR Pistons, Dual Webers, Stage 2 Cam.
4-1 Headers, DynoMax exhaust, Monza tips.
MSD 6AL Ignition, 944racing short shift kit.
Through hood cold air intake with scoop, K&N.
Silver/Blue.

jeanmarc1 · Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 6:43 am Post subject: WOW, what a great group!

Thank you everyone for helping out.
I'm probably going to do it, this is the exact same model as my friend taught me in. (He was working in the UK and raced on a team and did learn from Jackie, yes that is really cool!)

It's funny how it showed up,as I told my friend wait a few days, until I'd prepped my wife. He showed up today, SURPRISE, while I having a picnic in my yard with my wife and three year old daughter. So the car is here! The deal is bill of sale, now, $800 to follow as I see fit. I told him I need to spend the dough to get the car on the road and will get the mainfold on and it painted before I can pay him. He understands.

Good:
No split in the dash,
New brakes all around
Rubber is good
Fuel injection bellows is sound
All vaccum lines look great
Radiator looks intact
Dealer has seat covers

Negatives:
Paint is horrible, painted red inside engine compartment and on rocker panels, big paint job to get it back to original color
some rust on the roof seam
Front air dam slightly bent
Both seats are leather, but both are split

Need:
Driver's side door hinge

OR_Sunset
Defintely I would appreciate that manifold, maybe i'll swap to headers later. How would you like me to send my address, I'm in NH, (northern east caost of US.)

Questions:
I have three kids and can't afford the time to paint myself, what do I tell a paint shop I want, enamel or lacquer? How many coats etc? Do I have to match the Prosche color with special paint? (Normally I don't care about body work at all, but this one is really bad.)

'79 924 · Joined: 17 Nov 2003 Posts: 12 Location: Aurora Missouri

check Tweeks.com they sell both a header and an original manifold

-nick · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 2699 Location: Cambridge, MA

As Lizard mentioned- 1st thing is drain the old fuel and relpace the filter. Gunk in the fuel system from sitting is a nightmare you really want to avoid.

Headers will require a little exhaust work to get them to mate up, but they help the car breath a little.

The "no split in the dash", are you sure there isn't a plastic cover over it? The only cars I've ever heard of not to have dash cracks are those that have been in a cave for the past 25 years!

Seats- sorry, but they're not leather. Good old German vinyl!

Air dam / valence, don't worry about it. It's not very noticeable, and most of the cars I've seen are bent up too.

Paint- determine what you can spend and the paint shop will tell you what you can have. Paint is expensive. Anything under $1k is going to be an economy job. Best to talk to your paint shop about this.

Good luck! You've found a great resource here. Pretty soon you'll be dropping in a 5-spd and converting to all disc brakes!

ps- List what town you're in, so folks can figure out what the shipping charges will be for all the parts that you're going to need to get from us

-nick

jeanmarc1 · Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2003 3:51 pm Post subject: My Town

I'm in Hampstead NH, 03826
We are accepting visitors

15 minutes north of Mass
30 minutes from the coast
one hour north of boston

Sat in the car for the first time today . . . bwahahahaha, (evil laugh)
They should come with a drool cup!

The steering wheel has been taken off recently, the light switch module and turn signal is in the back seat. Recent fuel filter, recent coil, wiring under hood looks intact. One small seam of rust on weld between each side of the roof panel and the roof, no body sag

brake pedal is firm and GOOD, I was told brakes are new and they look to be so. Clutch grabs fine

To get this on the road, I'll need:
1) Manifold or headers
2) Right front indicator light re-mounted
3) All fluids flushed and purged
4) exhaust re-attached
5) Driver's side door hinge
6) Battery

where can I get the driver's side door hinge?
Which header should I order?
There is play in the steering.
Which manual should I order first, Haynes?

Neil924 · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 4225 Location: Canada

>>>"where can I get the driver's side door hinge?">>>
Go to the for sale section here and post needed: Drivers door hinge.
Maybe there is 1 floating around the board?

>>>"Which manual should I order first, Haynes?">>> Yes. look on ebay.

>>>"There is play in the steering.">>> What kind? Inward/outward with the wheel it's self? Or you can turn it a bit left and right with out turning the tires? I would think any play is bad. I have none at all.

Lizard · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2003 3:30 am Post subject:

where can I get the driver's side door hinge? - what part the actual hinge or is it broken off from the actual pillar which is more common and just requires welding,
Which header should I order? msds? or just get the factory manifold might be easier
There is play in the steering. this means the steering wheel shaft can be moved up down left and right an 1/8" there is a small plastic sleeve it is the same as the early 911/914, very simple fix take off wheel and turn signal assembly and then slide this sleeve down the shaft and put everything back together
Which manual should I order first, Haynes? haynes is all you should need
_________________
3 928s,

jeanmarc1 · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2003 11:09 am Post subject: first porsche 77 924