cjeckert

I find myself at a crossroads with my beloved 1987 Porsche 924S, a car that has been a significant part of my life for over 18 years—over half my life. I come to this community seeking advice and guidance on what to do with this cherished vehicle that holds so many memories.

Back in my younger years, my dad and I embarked on the journey of acquiring this Porsche, making it a symbol of our bonding and shared passion. Countless weekends were spent working on and modifying the car, leading to some amazing experiences and friendships forged within this community and at events like Summit Point with the Porsche Club of Potomac.

Over time, I transformed the car into the ultimate version, investing my heart and soul into restoring the interior and ensuring everything functioned seamlessly. However, as life progressed, my father's battle with dementia prevented him from enjoying the car, and it gradually fell into a state of stagnation.

Fast forward to recent years, and my own life has seen significant changes, with work becoming a central focus alongside the responsibilities of adulthood and parenthood. The 924S has taken a backseat in my priorities, remaining largely untouched, save for a brief attempt to revive it and the acquisition of an '88 924S for spare parts.

The loss of my parents further shifted my perspective on the project, and I'm left questioning my connection to the car. It's unclear if the lack of passion stems from it being a joint project with my late father or simply a natural evolution of my interests and priorities.

Currently, I find solace and fulfillment away from engineering and tinkering, often spending my leisure time outdoors. About six months ago, I contemplated calling a salvage yard to take both cars, but I hesitated, hoping to find renewed motivation.

Now, I turn to this community for advice and insights. Should I muster the determination to complete the project, attempt to sell both cars, or come to terms with letting them go to the junkyard? Your experiences and recommendations would greatly assist me in making this difficult decision.

Best, CE

Jay Wellwood

Do not call the salvage yard. Some of us relics have a soft spot for the 24S.

Dan Martinic

Unfortunately, a car does not serve well as a memory keepsake; if it sits, it rots... if driven, requires regular fixing.

I suspect it is getting in the way too often. And, after reading your post, I believe you know the answer.

Sell the cars on to someone who might enjoy something similar you have for a while and may they also realize when time is up.

wildcat077

You have so much history with that car , anyhow they always seem to be a long term project … perhaps take a break and eventually you’ll get the urge to resurrect it.How many posts do you see on these forums from people trying to find a car that they had years ago and that they regret ever parting with ?
If keeping it is not too much of an inconvenient then why not , i would say the sentimental value is worth more than whatever you would get parting with it !

Cheers
Phil

MM951

I remember your user name from back in the day. I still have my 951 after 19 years and my mom still has her 944 which she's owned since the very early 90s. My interests and focus changed away from the 944s that dominated my younger days and I came close to getting rid of them with all this north east corrosion and long deferred maintenance... Long story short, I am very glad to still have my 951 even if I haven't driven it since 2019 (any day now...!) and I just got my moms old N/A towed to my new house where instead of my car taking up her garage, her car can take up mine.

Getting back into them and coming at the repairs with much more experience and some more money (but way less time) has been pretty rewarding and brings back some great memories every time I dig into them. Or new ones - like when the torsion bar carrier put a permanent line across my forehead just a few months ago. That hurt but I'm still here so it's all good! I think I'm gonna actually looking forward to working on her N/A when I get home from work. It's thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours from where it needs to be but I'll get it there.

J1NX3D

I hear you. I've had my '86 944 (S3 conversion) for almost 16 yrs. I have all but stepped away from it the last 3 yrs. I won't lie, i got burn out over it with the S3 conversion, moving cities and jobs, custom bodywork and repainting during covid-19 lockdowns and then stripping out the dash for reupholstering. My work and young family take up most of my time and partaking in forums and fb groups is enough for me for now. My family connection to these cars is my stepdad had 924's and 944's when I was growing up and my son loved it when he rode in it to daycare, etc. I've had 5 of these cars and I don't want to sell it. I think i will regret it because I don't think i will be able to replace it by anything equivalent to the time, money and planning put into this one. I do miss driving it but I need to spend some more serious time and money on it to get it roadworthy again that for now i would rather invest in my family. For now I drag it out of the garage, wash it, do a few small things on it and put it back. Oh and buy shiny things I see online for it, only for them to arrive and sit on a shelf, lol.

I would keep the 924S. Your kids might look at it one day and ask to help you restore it.

Chris_924s

Last good advice I got- If you have room it's cheaper to keep her. And you know what is broken. I've Had several "support" 944's through the years- now all gone. Switched to Audi- but still have the Stuttgart club racing tattoo.

I owned and daily drove my 88 924S for 11 years and 156 K miles. Daily. Never failed to put a smile on my face, road fixable with a few tools and a spare DME. Stranded me rarely if left OEM and PM is up to date.
Smiles now are provided by daily A3 8P and an A4 B9 Quattro to throw snow roostertails. It snows a lot here and I like to stay warm while driving--heated seats rule. Had to invest in specific tools, so I bought 2 Audi's. 1 to drive and a spare "just in case".

Porsche OWNER/mechanics die hard, you may as well fix it while you're in there... Oh. and "Check your grounds".

tempest411

Keep it! My 924S is a very reliable daily driver. Very easy to look after. I am married with a child...I use the car to go back and forth to work. Much more fun and better gas mileage than our old BMW X5.

Jfrahm

If they cause worry and concern when you look at it it's probably time to sell on. Where is the time going to come from to sort it out? And a parts car is a lot of space and lots of crap to deal with. Mice, etc.

jhowell371

Keep the memories, sell the cars, life moves on......

Chalt

If you can store them in a garage, or some other storage that is out of the elements, I'd keep the car.

cactus_cars

I don't know about you, but I love it. The last of the 924, the 924S. As a regular 944 owner, something seems special about my S2, as well as the 924S. The end of the line, the final evolution so to speak (barring the 88 SE & 968).

I often get caught up with trying to do everything at once (repairs wise, applies to pretty much anything) and having to step away, take a walk and think about it. What is my next step, whats one sorta easy thing to bang out of the way, and cross off the list.

I spent one night just fixing all of my non-functional lights on the car. Sure it was tedious, but it was nice to see all of the indicators and side-markers working once again. At this point, my list is still going.

And I'm sure I had a worse starting point, with a car that was not treated the most kindly throughout its life. Luckily for you, you know what has happened to the car and how it has been treated during your ownership.

I always tell myself to slow things down and break it down into smaller steps. Exterior lights, then interior lights, then other safety items, then broken trim pieces, bearing in mind this comes after everything mechanical.

I know you'll be taking good care of this car for years to come.

Gage

From your description, it is not clear to me exactly what the "project" is but it seems that getting down to one car would be part of a significant first step.
Maybe plan a focused chunk of work to distill anything needed from the parts car, send that one away, and then make a few baseline gains on the project car.
Without details of condition and goals this is a bit speculative but may be a way to get it moving. I'm one of those folks that Jay Wellwood mentions with a soft spot for the 924 design and am somewhat local to you (Metrowest Boston) and happy to help. Feel free to reach out if you want help, encouragement or a fresh set of eyes on the possibilities.

serval

As you said, this car was part of your life for 18 years, a time capsule of weekends and late nights spent with your father. To me that makes the car family, and will not make any apologies for my thinking that our relationship with cars and not only (watches and fountain pens come to mind) gain true meaning through associations with our parents. I guess you feel a bit burned out, and find respite in passive engagements, those times when you don't want to think as much as you want to experience. But it will pass. I love the outdoors, and have a fully outfitted outlander Defender, but those nights in the garage, taking my time to put things right is the best psychotherapy for me. Give it time and remember that now you are the father in the soon to come story of restoring the car again just in time for the prom