1978 Porsche 924 Resurrection
07-05-2021, 10:50 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
1978 Porsche 924 Resurrection
Hi all,
I found another project a few months back. This one is pretty cool. 1978 924 Limited Edition.
The 78 LE is different in that it has:
Dolomite Gray with black and white pin stripes
Fog lamps
A special anti-roll bar
Pasha seats
Leather Steering wheel
Rear speakers
Specific wheels
I think thats it
Anyway, the car I bought popped up on craigslist and I managed to be the first person to look at it. The seller was the second owner having bought it from a doctor at the hospital he works at in 1986. That doctor bought it new in 78. What’s crazy about that is that the doctor lived about 12 houses from where I did during my time living in Fairfield OH where I lived from 78 to 86 — same years as this car. Crazy!
Anyway, the PO tells me when I come to look at it that it broke a fan belt and he parked it in his garage in 1998 - currently the car has 34,000 miles on it. The license plate shows a ‘98 registration and there is a broken belt in the engine bay (though there is no fan belt on this car, what’s broken is the water pump and alternator belt - but Ill get to that in a minute
He also tells me the car has those “checkerboard seats” which he never liked so he put lambswool seat covers on them in 86. I basically ripped the covers off when he mentioned it had the pasha seats and they’re pristine.
I offer the guy his asking price just as another guy is arriving to look at the car and I bring it home.
So here’s what I got once I cleaned it up a little bit:
So, What's wrong with it?
I don't totally know yet but there were a couple things that were obvious
The "broken fan belt" was a broken water pump and Alternator belt. this broke because the water pump was frozen. Not only that, but there was a bunch of sludgy sandy mess behind the pump once I got it off. Once I discovered that, I decided to just pull the motor out so I could flush the coolant passages and also clean everything up.
Pulling the motor in my '86 Coupe GT and cleaning every single thing was a really great experience and made that car really special. That contributed to me doing the same for this car.
So out it came!
I got the block apart and painted it with POR15
Got the aluminum parts super clean as well:
Now all ready to start re-assembly
Except my dumb *** broke something:
Was torquing down the cam towers after I replaced Valve stem seals and I got one staring to tighten down unevenly. I didnt realize it and it made the stud break its mount and the cam cap
So I found another head complete from a junkyard and I have it out to be looked over and cleaned right now
So since the car has sat for so long, I decided to send all the CIS stuff out, deal with the fuel system so I could minimize any fuel issues as I go
I sent this stuff all to CIS Flowtech in Fairhope AL and got it back about 4 or 5 weeks later:
Having sent them my 928 stuff, I realized that it made more sense to just replace the injectors rather than pay them to test them and end up buying them anyway
So I drained the tank completely and it wasn't actually that bad. The PO told me he had tried to deal with the fuel tank before he sold it by draining it dry and adding good fuel a year or two ago. so there wasn't much there but it wasn't too awful.
I replaced the fuel pump and filter after the pump tested bad.
The CIS stuff was also really really varnishy. That's why I sent it all out originally. I knew it would be bad.
I needed to replace all the tires as they dated to 88 and were all installed with the "inside" text on the outside of the wheels - which was a little weird.
So the plan from here is to get it reassembled and see if I can tame the CIS to make it run! It's really a beautiful car with low miles and in great shape. Can't wait to drive it!
I found another project a few months back. This one is pretty cool. 1978 924 Limited Edition.
The 78 LE is different in that it has:
Dolomite Gray with black and white pin stripes
Fog lamps
A special anti-roll bar
Pasha seats
Leather Steering wheel
Rear speakers
Specific wheels
I think thats it
Anyway, the car I bought popped up on craigslist and I managed to be the first person to look at it. The seller was the second owner having bought it from a doctor at the hospital he works at in 1986. That doctor bought it new in 78. What’s crazy about that is that the doctor lived about 12 houses from where I did during my time living in Fairfield OH where I lived from 78 to 86 — same years as this car. Crazy!
Anyway, the PO tells me when I come to look at it that it broke a fan belt and he parked it in his garage in 1998 - currently the car has 34,000 miles on it. The license plate shows a ‘98 registration and there is a broken belt in the engine bay (though there is no fan belt on this car, what’s broken is the water pump and alternator belt - but Ill get to that in a minute
He also tells me the car has those “checkerboard seats” which he never liked so he put lambswool seat covers on them in 86. I basically ripped the covers off when he mentioned it had the pasha seats and they’re pristine.
I offer the guy his asking price just as another guy is arriving to look at the car and I bring it home.
So here’s what I got once I cleaned it up a little bit:
So, What's wrong with it?
I don't totally know yet but there were a couple things that were obvious
The "broken fan belt" was a broken water pump and Alternator belt. this broke because the water pump was frozen. Not only that, but there was a bunch of sludgy sandy mess behind the pump once I got it off. Once I discovered that, I decided to just pull the motor out so I could flush the coolant passages and also clean everything up.
Pulling the motor in my '86 Coupe GT and cleaning every single thing was a really great experience and made that car really special. That contributed to me doing the same for this car.
So out it came!
I got the block apart and painted it with POR15
Got the aluminum parts super clean as well:
Now all ready to start re-assembly
Except my dumb *** broke something:
Was torquing down the cam towers after I replaced Valve stem seals and I got one staring to tighten down unevenly. I didnt realize it and it made the stud break its mount and the cam cap
So I found another head complete from a junkyard and I have it out to be looked over and cleaned right now
So since the car has sat for so long, I decided to send all the CIS stuff out, deal with the fuel system so I could minimize any fuel issues as I go
I sent this stuff all to CIS Flowtech in Fairhope AL and got it back about 4 or 5 weeks later:
Having sent them my 928 stuff, I realized that it made more sense to just replace the injectors rather than pay them to test them and end up buying them anyway
So I drained the tank completely and it wasn't actually that bad. The PO told me he had tried to deal with the fuel tank before he sold it by draining it dry and adding good fuel a year or two ago. so there wasn't much there but it wasn't too awful.
I replaced the fuel pump and filter after the pump tested bad.
The CIS stuff was also really really varnishy. That's why I sent it all out originally. I knew it would be bad.
I needed to replace all the tires as they dated to 88 and were all installed with the "inside" text on the outside of the wheels - which was a little weird.
So the plan from here is to get it reassembled and see if I can tame the CIS to make it run! It's really a beautiful car with low miles and in great shape. Can't wait to drive it!
Last edited by grillage; 07-05-2021 at 10:52 PM.
07-09-2021, 10:51 PM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Man, I love to see follow up stories for cars I saw for sale.
I spotted the Craigslist ad for your car for sale in Hamilton 15 minutes after it posted. I was overseas at the time, so offering ask sight unseen with a wire transfer while knowing the belt story in the ad seemed too good to be true was just a bridge too far for me.
It is really fantastic that this car wound up with someone who will appreciate it. The clean cars out there are more and more rare. Please keep the info coming!
Have fun!
I spotted the Craigslist ad for your car for sale in Hamilton 15 minutes after it posted. I was overseas at the time, so offering ask sight unseen with a wire transfer while knowing the belt story in the ad seemed too good to be true was just a bridge too far for me.
It is really fantastic that this car wound up with someone who will appreciate it. The clean cars out there are more and more rare. Please keep the info coming!
Have fun!
07-10-2021, 12:25 AM
#3
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Man, I love to see follow up stories for cars I saw for sale.
I spotted the Craigslist ad for your car for sale in Hamilton 15 minutes after it posted. I was overseas at the time, so offering ask sight unseen with a wire transfer while knowing the belt story in the ad seemed too good to be true was just a bridge too far for me.
It is really fantastic that this car wound up with someone who will appreciate it. The clean cars out there are more and more rare. Please keep the info coming!
Have fun!
I spotted the Craigslist ad for your car for sale in Hamilton 15 minutes after it posted. I was overseas at the time, so offering ask sight unseen with a wire transfer while knowing the belt story in the ad seemed too good to be true was just a bridge too far for me.
It is really fantastic that this car wound up with someone who will appreciate it. The clean cars out there are more and more rare. Please keep the info coming!
Have fun!
I think I said above, but I offered him his asking price within 3 minutes of pulling the car cover off. I was really happy to get this one. Not a lot of cars in this kind of shape out there. Regardless of needing a little engine work.
Also, I noticed the other 924 forum has way more traffic so I am continuing the thread over there :
https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...urrection.html
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fasteddie313 (07-14-2021)
07-10-2021, 07:45 AM
#4
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Wow, that's beautiful, good on you for saving it!
I can relate to the cam cap splitting thing - I did that once too, by mistake, on my best race head. So frustrated with myself, such a dumb thing to do... but it happens to the best of us. One day I hope to find a machine shop that can line-bore the repaired (welded) part back out to spec...
I can relate to the cam cap splitting thing - I did that once too, by mistake, on my best race head. So frustrated with myself, such a dumb thing to do... but it happens to the best of us. One day I hope to find a machine shop that can line-bore the repaired (welded) part back out to spec...