My very run down Porsche 924 - What to do?

[stevek]

This is a bit of a ramble to help me sort my head out so please forgive the lack of direction this post has (Its pretty reflective of me at the moment in that respect!).

I have had my 924 since 2008 and ran it on the road till late 2010/early 2011. It always was a rough one (really rough!) but I loved it anyway and am now thinking what I should do with it. My old Readers-Rides thread here has been dormant since 2010!

Problems started with it being unreliable to start and I finally parked it up because it had got to the point where it would hardly ever fire up. In the first couple of year of being parked up I was to be able to eventually start it (to keep brakes/engine free) until finally it wouldn't even do that!

I did fix a perished rubber fuel hose last summer as it had started leaking fuel on the drive. I had hoped that was maybe it, but fixing that has just returned it to the intermittent start stage again so I lost heart again. I took it round the block a couple of times when it did start and just parked it up again. I think its wiring and/or starter motor but not sure and it looks really hard to change the starter.

So that's a little history but where to go from here...

Bear in mind I also have the Toyota which is a definite keeper (passed on from my girlfriends Dad who bought it new) and is in good condition worthy of 'doing properly'. The 924 however is rough as a rough thing and would never be worth trying to restore. But that means I wouldn't feel bad 'playing' with it, I just don't want it to be a massive time/money trap.

So the choices are.

1) Just sell it on eBay and probably get very little for it. It owes me nothing and I'll just remember that I had fun with it for a couple of years.

2) Fix it as cheep as possible to get an MOT back on it and sell it as a project.

3) As above but keep it as a fun banger for myself (same as I used to).

4) Strip it out (fix it enough for an MOT) and play with it as a very low budget track day car.

(just realised I should make a poll -Done)

Like I said this was an unplanned ramble... I'll go and take some current condition pictures and dig out its last MOT fail sheet if I can find it. I think finding that would be a good start to knowing what needs to be done!

-Steve-

[ToolsnTrack]

MOT it. You may just respark a passion, and you will get nothing for it without an MOT.

[stevek]

Right so I have found the last MOT FAIL sheet, It's been off road longer than I thought. It was already playing up when this MOT was done (Oct 26th 2010). I took it for test when I got it started and had it MOT'd with the engine kept running because I knew it probably wouldn't restart if stopped! I was right because it wouldn't start again when I got it home.



So to summarise that...

1) Horn not working & Exhaust joint leak. (Should be easy)
2) Full set of brake pipes to remake. (I have made brake pipes once before but getting under this low car is hard)
3) Handbrake needs attention.

add to that from a quick look over today...

4) Starting issue to resolve. (Main big issue I'm not sure about)
5) Rust hole (10x10cm square)in passenger foot well probably within MOT prescribed area.
6) Rust bubble (probably 5cm round hole if prodded) on offside sill.
7) 1 Pop up headlight glass has fallen off.
8) Pop up lights playing up, not stopping when reaching fully up so going up/down/up/down...
9) Exposed reversing light bulb (clear plastic bit has fallen off, dunno where/when) is that a MOT fail point?

[mdh]

Pics would help...

How about throwing away the non running van engine and dropping in a nice V8?

[nomad]

Depends if you can do the work yourself or if you need to pay to have it done..

new brakepipes & flexis all round
strip rear brakes (contamination of linings as foot & parking brake are both DOA ?)
sort exhaust leak
sort the starting problem ( check cables are tight and not corroded, fit known good battery, service, etc)

No faults listed with the body (galvanised?), electrics, steering, etc.

Sounds easy but is your choice...

[Midland Performance & Retro]

Sell it as it is as there's always someone looking for a cheap 924 project and but my freshly restored 924s for a fraction of what it cost to restore!

Either way, sounds like it's at a stage that if you fix it now cheaply it'll need the same sort of attention next time it comes round for MOT

[stevek]

Pictures are on the way (uploading). I was editing my post to add a summary while you guys responded. Its helping me to think about it just writing it out, thanks for the input too.

[Ray Singh]

Sell it to me !! Genuinly interested - I will restore her.

[stevek]

You will see why 'Restoration' isn't on my options list it would be financial suicide compared to just buying a better one. If I do get rid I would not be buying a replacement for it.

Pictures...

1) From a distance. (OK - wrinkly door/wing from a scrape before I got it it)



2) A Porsche badge, no snobbery here but it does amuse me. (Surrounded by deteriorating paint)



3) Wrinkly door + Broken handle.



4) Paint has had it on the bonnet.



5) Paint is also bad on the roof. (Whole car really)



6) Dash top heavily cracked, Front wipers untidy and only work really slowly. (note: Last TAX disc)



7) Rear wiper doesn't work .



8) Drivers door handle trim broken. Window rubbers perishing.



9) Bit fell out or rear light cluster. + more bad paint.



10) 3 Flat tyres, Rust bleb behind rear wheel and on arch. (Still manages to look a bit cool though I think)



11) Going a bit green.



12) And growing some moss.



13) Rusty passenger foot well. (Though the car isn't really very rusty)



14) The engine runs when it occasionally decides to start.



15) It did get a brand new battery at the beginning of the troubles. (of course its not new any more but has been kept float charged with an intelligent CTEK)



I think that fairly comprehensibly covers it from the outside, I'll do the inside next.

[pauloliver]

Doesn't sound like it needs a great deal to get it roadworthy, parts are pretty cheap for these cars so there's no excuse! You would be surprised what it's worth for breaking, look at this as an example....

rather nasty 924 on ebay

I bought mine for £660 and have spent about 1K on it so far but I use mine as a daily and I have been slowly replacing everything, mainly as a precaution. The 924 owners club are really good and people can sort you out with cheap parts to help you get going, I know I have quite a few bits you would probably need!

[stevek]

So the inside must be better? Well no not really!

Pictures...

16) The front seats are a strange exception being in very good condition. (Black vynal rather than leather)



17) Have another of those.



18) Just one small cig burn unfortunately(Repairable I would expect), and that's just a little dust in the seams not a split.



19) looks presentable? so what am I on about I best get on to that next.



20) Messy hinge repair.



21) Tatty, badly home covered door cards, no passenger door handle or pocket either.



22) Drivers side has a door pull but is just as bad.



23) The headlining it hanging (literally) and the c pillar cards are detached and warped.



24) ...at both sides.



25) Check out the home made grey vynal rear seat repairs, nice! (Note: High end ICE install)



26) Center console, Ashtray broken, carpet trims looking tatty and faded.



27) Oil pressure gauge fogged up with super glue fumes, Clock broken, Volts WORKS!



28) Steering wheel has grown some moss and stitching has come away in places.



I think that covers the inside, I don't think this car would make much broken for spares as most parts are damaged in some way!

[Waxoyling Lyrical]

Looks to me like it's been running too rich (excess soot around the exhaust tailpipe), which may explain the difficult starting.

On '80s BMWs, a common cause of this is a duff temperature sensor near the thermostat housing (the one that feeds the ECU, not the one to the temp gauge), so check this as a first port of call.

Also check the engine-to-body earth strap is secure and in good condition - another common cause of poor starting.

[stevek]

I think its important to add that the car was actually in a quite similar state to this when I was enjoying it out on the road back in '09. It was tatty but I didn't feel the need (or point) to get new trim bits etc for this car. It ran OK and I wasn't always expecting it to break down every 5min, and it made me grin when you put your foot down. It wasn't that fast but it loved to be revved and driven hard, it was never that happy in low revs pottering about.

So to lighten it up a bit again just a couple of happier times pics...

Retro Rides Gathering 2009.






Out for a drive, just for the fun of it.






When I first got it running, I bought it with cam belt gone. (Still dirty from purchase)




I think this was the fist time I cleaned it.



last one.

[composimmonite]

Get rid. If you still fancy a 924 it'd be cheaper to buy one in good order than what it'd cost to bring yours "up to scratch".

Paul H

[stevek]

Wax Oiling Lyrical - It may indeed have been a bit rich, Its also probably a loooooong time since it was washed. I will see if I can check the sensor.

The earth strap has been cleaned at the connections and looks OK, I have also got a jump lead connecting the battery negative to the engine block. I suspected the connection to the battery positive was a bit poor so I heated it with a blow torch (away from the battery) and flowed solder into it but it made no difference.

This is the problem I'm normally faced with.

[grumpy]

Unless your a sadist id get rid of it , as it also needs welding unless you can do it yourself .,Looks like you could easily chuck £500 at it and it still be rough . I would give it a good jet wash , maybe see if you can get some door cards and back seat cheap . Then have a crack at getting it running . Not running its not worth much , pretty battered on outside , nackered interior . Get a better one for a base .

[pauloliver]

Yeah after seeing those pictures i'd be getting shot of that unless you really love it (which by the sounds of it you don't!). Looks to be a pretty ideal track car strip down sort of thing once the running issues are sorted

[sprintmini]

Yeah get shut,too much to bring it up to scratch and too rusty to trust on track.
Someone will have it off you for spares.

[Rob M]

You knew what you wanted to do before you created the post, you just hoped you would get the thumbs up to do it!!!
The car is a dog, isnt it. Id be suprised if there wasnt more grot than has been noted and you would have to be seriously sentimental or seriously stupid to spend another ha'penny on it.
Personally, Id sell the wheels, front seats and anything else that will earn a coin. I would then get the rest hiabed to the nearest weighbridge!
The big advantage of doing it that way is that the car is probably worth as much broken as it does complete and you wont have a succession of c*ck wands contacting you asking if it could be driven home to Denmark or summat.
Either way, you move a car out and get all excited with the idea of moving one in, as I will be soon when I sell my Scimitar.
Its what petrol heads do!
Good luck!

[stevek]

Looks like this one is splitting opinion.
8 votes to 7 (counting both sell options vs both keep options).

Personally I'm tempted by the 'Track day' option but those suggesting selling may be more realistic and not getting rose tinted vision.

To answer a few of points being raised...
- I can weld (not very neatly but well enough to patch for MOT).
- The car isn't really rusty (apart from the shown patch).
- Its surprising to see how much that red one on eBay is fetching in that condition.
- I have no intention of getting this one 'up to scratch'. I know how pointless that would be on this one so I didn't include that as an option.
- I have had good times with it and 'like it' but don't 'love' it.

I'm listening to what's being said and thinking it over.

-Steve-