924Board.org

[Guest]

From: Webmeister
Email: webmeister@924.org
Date: 23 Feb 2000
Time: 13:42:01

Bob's comment/question about the existance of a 1976 924 (in an unrelated thread above) and a recent telephone conversation about the same thing prompted me to this post.

Almost (every?) automobile manufacturer since Henry Ford has run their 'model year' on a different basis than the calendar year. My 82 924 is identified by both the VIN and chassis as an '82'. However, the date of manufacture was September of 81. That the model year alone does not always clue the running changes is certainly true. But, this is why we list the cars in serial number order within the model year. It is to help us learn where the changes were made. (For example, I just recently saw my second late 82 which had several detail sheet metal changes which are characteristic of an early 944.)

I recently had a talk about the GTz. Sometimes they are referred to as 'really' 80 models. Well, mostly they appear to have been made in 1980. But they are marked (chassis number) as 81s. So it is confusing to insist on identifying them as 80s in normal discussion.

An 76 924 is, in all likelyhood, a 'early 77'. Those of you who peruse the parts listings have undoubtedly seen that there was a major upgrade to the 924 very early on and there are numberous references which 'break' the 77 model year into 'early' and 'late'. The big item was a change in the intake valve size. I have also noticed changes in sheet metal. Mostly the addition of 'beef' in hidden areas. (Jim Pasha has referred to this ages ago in an articl discussing which chassis to use as a PCA Club Race project basis. The late cars have lots of little extra brackets and stiffeners tacked on.)

For consistancy and ease the model year of the car as advertised is still the best. Those little trivia question things (which is whey we're here, right?!!) are resolved with chassis numbers (and the actual manufacture date of course).

[Guest]

From: Vaughan
Email: vscott39@hotmail.com
Date: 23 Feb 2000
Time: 18:41:44

Definitely finicky little details! My old white car was definitively a 77.5, as it turned out. The definitive placement of this was the engine code, which was XE 101 - definitely after the 77.5 split. The car was put together in 05/77, however, according to the original door sill sticker. It was delivered with the 77.5 literature (owners manual and such), which I still have. However, when John and I looked at it, we found it did not have some of the reinforcements that (apparently) were added later that year.

YMMV!

Vaughan