1980 Porsche 924 2.0 Lux - Shonky Rocket [update 13/7/22]

[stevek]

At the weekend I delved down the back of the engine to liberate the split hose. This meant removing the alternator, disconnecting some wiring and also the adjacent coolant hose just to have enough hand space to operate. Porsche don't sell the proper molded hose any longer (P/N has been superseded by a generic 1m length of hose) so I went to a cheaper place and bought this...



That was a mistake as its nowhere near bendy enough without collapsing...



I had already disregarded the hose on the spare engine in the garage as I had previously checked that and found it had been sliced off with a knife by whoever took the engine out. But while faffing I though it looked pretty similar, so I retrieved it for a second look. The original was Porsche branded but the spare was unbranded. Despite being cut it was still long enough!!



So I fitted it...



And the water now stays on the inside. Wooo, Free Repair.

I tested it by getting it up to temperature on the drive and got I bit of a fright when smoke started escaping. Smoke rather than steam though, it turned out to be my new spark leads melting onto the exhaust manifold. Great....



It turns out there is supposed to be a heat-shield that goes between the manifold and the spark plugs. I didn't know it was missing on mine, its never been there and never been a problem. I guess in normal usage it gets enough air flow but getting the engine hot while stationary caused it to cook.

Oh well I don't suppose its going to cause too much trouble in normal use, its just a bit annoying with the leads being new.

I was to going to have a little run out this afternoon but noticed the back tire looked a bit flat, yup bummer...



This car seems to find any excuse to be off the road!

-Steve-

[Sweetpea]

You're not having a lot of luck at the moment. Keep it up, you'll win sooner or later.
I had a screw in a rear tyre of my road car recently. I'd been thinking of changing them anyway so it just forced my hand. Your's looks rather new though.

[stevek]

Sweetpea - Yeah it wasn't a bad tyre but unfortunately not repairable where it was. I got the local cheap tyre place to bosh a part worn on today (£20) so I'm going to have a run out to the Motornutz meet in Rotherham. Does a 2hr round trip class as a local meet? Wonder if i'll make it!

[darrenh]

Oct 26, 2016 16:46:39 GMT stevek said:

bosh a part worn on today

you mean a matched perfect staggered special

[stevek]

darrenh - All right Darren, when it comes to the car, I'll take your word.

[shin2chin]

The ht leads still get roasted even with the factory headshield. It's best to make one with a modern material like Zircoflex.

[stevek]

shin2chin - I just had to look up what Zircoflex was. It looks good but man thats on the pricy side. It's been fine without for years so I'll probably just bury one's head in the sand.

[stevek]

Rubbish picture, but proof that I made it last night...



Now its dark attendance drops a fair bit but it was still a decent turnout. Probably about 15 to 18 cars.

A couple more little niggles though... The back lighting has blown on one instrument cluster, the one with the temperature and fuel gauge in it. Very handy for monitoring the engine temperatures after repairing that coolant hose, I resorted to shining a torch at it every few minutes. Anyway quite the opposite to getting too hot, it was reading rather cold at motorway speeds. I wonder if the overheating episode has killed the thermostat. Other than that it was running pretty happy.

-Steve-

[mrbounce]

Read the whole thread last night. Then was tired at work today because I was late to bed. Totally worth it!

[shin2chin]

Oct 27, 2016 17:42:23 GMT stevek said:

shin2chin - I just had to look up what Zircoflex was. It looks good but man thats on the pricy side. It's been fine without for years so I'll probably just bury one's head in the sand.

As a tightwad I simply used China's best Zircoflex style material for about a quid delivered. Does the job!

[stevek]

mrbounce - I'm glad you enjoyed it. I just wish I could write with a bit more wit and pizzazz to keep it entertaining but I am what I am, so this is what you get. Sorry I made you tired LOL.

shin2chin - Ahh now that's more my way of thinking, but I may have gone one better (well easier). A nice chap on the 924 owners club forum has offered me a real porsche one for the cost of postage. Just one catch... it's pretty rusty so it will need a bit of fixing first. Beggars can't be choosers though so I'm happy with that.

[stevek]

I have finally completed the house move, so the Shonky Rocket now has a bigger driveway to enjoy...



Unfortunately I can't enjoy Shonky at the moment because the MOT ran out on the day we picked up the keys to the new place, at least I could drive it over legally though. I will get a fresh MOT on it soon but have been too busy with the move etc so far. I think its going to need a little work to be ready for a test, the strut tops were an advisory last year but on the whole its OK.

A big bonus is I now have a garage that's big enough to get a car in. It has just enough room to actually be able to work on a car in it too. This will be the new home for Kitsos our Toyota Corolla which has been stored away from home in an unpowered garage until now. It's been off the road for a few years but I'm hoping to have it back on the road in spring.





Some people may find it a bit odd that the Corolla gets the garage and the Porsche has to rough it outside but the Corolla is in much better overall condition, and is of greater sentimental value too. It's also a lot rarer in the UK than a 924 which makes it a nightmare to get parts for.

Anyway that's all for now.

-Steve-

[BT]

Nice house, nice drive, nice garage, nice Toyota... Nice!

[Sweetpea]

Oh dear, I've gone all gooey over your Corolla.

That may be open to misinterpretation... Possibly I should rephrase it.

Little chin spoiler, slight arches, wider wheels, AE86 type mechanicals. Hmmm.
I don't wish to be critical but your Corolla appears to be cack handed?

James

Oh, almost forgot, well done on the house move!

[stevek]

BT - Thanks, I'm looking forward to getting the garage properly sorted and getting some major work done on Kitsos.

sweetpea - I don't blame you it's a cool car, way more so than the 924. It's been in stasis for quite a few years, patiently waiting its turn.

If you haven't cought this thread before, it's the write up from the collection road trip... retrorides.proboards.com/thread/113910/greece-leeds-rrg11-full-write

Kitsos has a readers ride thread too so I will update that when there is any progress. It's been years since I updated it but it's time will come.

Your ideas are spot on, I have researched chin spoilers and have acquired some celica supra alloys. I'm not keen on messing with the arches though but it may get a subtle drop.

-Steve-

[Sweetpea]

Ah, now it all makes sense! You're right, I had missed those threads.
Interestingly, our family skipped the KE70 series. We went from the KE30 directly to the front wheel drive jobs. I did have a ride in '70 back in the day and it was a very civilised little car.

Anyway, stop messing about working for a living and get your bum in the garage! Need more Toyota loveliness...
Apologies, I must be in a demanding mood this morning!

[stevek]

I haven't spent any time on car stuff over the winter, apart from occasionally helping Toby with his MGA project. *insert lame excuses here* Anyway now the days are getting longer and warmer I'm hoping to rekindle some spring motivation. I had a little burst last Friday and booked Shonky in for an MOT. Kwikfit had a same day booking available so I just booked it and took it straight there on the spur of the moment.



And it passed!

PS. As of this evening Kitsos and the welder are in the same room, this has never happened before. Whether this aligning of the stars will actually transpire into an epic thread bump is anybody's guess.

[stevek]

Have I really left this thread cold for 3yrs! My how time flies.

The recent arrival of an MG TF has brought me back to the forum after a long break. I haven’t felt good about the lack of progress on either the 924 or the Corolla which kind of pushed me away from blogging about it. However over 3yrs something worth sharing must have happened right? I'll have a dig though my photo library to remind myself and fill in the gap. Suffice to say old Shonky is still around, I was using it earlier this year but because of the lockdown travel restrictions (and uncertain finances) it was SORNed in April and has remained so since.

[stevek]

October 2017 - Kettlewell weekend

The Porsche got a good run out on this weekend. The drive from Leeds to Kettlewell has some lovely roads but the best was to come. The previous few days had delivered torrential rain but as we set out on the Saturday the weather was dry if some what overcast. It continually brightened throughout the weekend and even broke into sunshine on Sunday afternoon. There were still some sections of road that were flooded and there were some BIG puddles to avoid but the roads were generally dry. On the Sunday we looped through the dales and over the hills having a total blast, simply some of the most enjoyable driving I have done. The Shonky Rocket was behaving itself, pulling smoothly and cornering responsively and was simply a joy.







It got little use over the winter and ran out of MOT in March so I laid it up for a bit.


August 2018 - RetroRides Gathering

A few days before this I decided to put Shonky in for an MOT. I cleaned off the moss that had built up over the winter and gave it a checkover only to find out the rear lights had gone a bit haywire, que scrambling all over the car in the dark at 11pm the night before chasing a bad connection. I fixed that and got it up for its test and hoped for the best. As the tester went out to move my car into the MOT bay I overhead him exclaim 'What the F' as he sat down in it. I didn't think that was a good omen but it passed!





So for 2018 I took the 924 to The Gathering. I think this was the most loaded up It’s ever been. I had loads of camping gear (Tent, Gazebo, 4 camp chairs, fire basket, bbq) a car battery to run the car amp and speakers and 4 pallets worth of chopped up wood for the fire. Oh and a toolbox, and the beer. Suffice to say it was right down on it’s ass but it took it all in its stride and didn't miss a beat all weekend.




August 2018 - Just an evening drive!

When your cars working and the weather is nice its sometimes fun to just go for a quick blast. This was one of those times but I had lent the 924's good battery to a friend for a few days. I didn't let that stop me however and jury rigged an old battery up with some jump leads out of the bonnet in the passenger window to the battery wedged in the rear footwell. Unfortunately the battery wasn't good enough to start the car but at least it could power lights etc rather than solely running of the alternator. I just had to make sure to park where I could bump start it away when we stopped at the pub.






October 2018 - Bicester Sunday Scramble

Rather than just trekking straight there and back (a rather long round trip from Leeds) we decided to make a weekend of it and go a more interesting route through the Peak District. We met up straight after work on Friday and headed to our first stop. The weather was grim and as darkness fell we were driving through torrential rain. Too much for Shonky's wipers that only work on the first speed, but at least I had windup windows and a roof! We made it and warmed up in the Pub.





Saturday the weather was markedly improved and we had some fun driving the South peaks roads. By early afternoon we arrived at the British Motor Museum.

In the car park the Tesla owners club were having a meet.
I must admit I sometimes find car meets and club meets a bit socially awkward, however I usually find something interesting to strike up a conversations. But what do the Tesla owners talk about? I mean it was lines of Tesla Model S that appeared to be completely standard. I suppose the solitary Tesla Roadster was kinda interesting to see on the way through the carpark.

Anyway the museum was plenty interesting and made a nice stop off. We had a little bit of trouble getting the MGB started upon leaving but it eventually fired up and we drove onwards to the Pub where we were staying overnight.





Sunday morning we aimed to set off nice and early to complete the remaining 40min drive to Bicester and see the show. The MGB had other ideas and wouldn't start, we tried all sorts but had to abandon it at the pub. The show was incredible, the variety and quality of cars scattered around the site really was a sight to behold including several 924's. The airfield setting really does give a pleasant feel and great photo backdrops. We did return to the pub and spent several more hours trying to revive the MGB but eventually it went home on a tow truck. The drive back from Bicester to Leeds all via A-roads took a while and although Shonky was running nicely I had quite a headache by the time I got home, it can get a bit tiresome in there on long runs.












December 2018

I had ignored Shonky for a couple of months and kinda decided it was too much hassle to take it back up to my parents for Christmas. (I usually try to take one of my old cars if I can). Anyway after slinging my bag in the Focus and sitting in the drivers seat ready to set off I decided to jump back out and see if the 924 would start. It fired right up which made the decision, but I had about 2" of water to mop out of the foot wells!

Coming home a few days later I decided to use some a-roads rather than the A1(M), everything was going great and nothing seemed amiss. I got stuck behind a car being driven 45-50mph even on the big wide sections, eventually a clear safe overtaking chance came up so I dropped to 3rd and floored it, then quickly into 4th and I was past. However on lifting off the accelerator the engine just lost all power, splutter and banged and died. I had to coast off into a side road and that was that. It wouldn't restart so I had to be towed home.

Broken Again!..


-Steve-

[stevek]

January 2019 - Investigation 1

I was very puzzled by this problem, As it stood nothing was visually amiss but it couldn't start. Interestingly if you held the throttle wide open and turned it over there was a slight asthmatic cough as if something combustion wise was happening, but I wouldn't go as far as saying it sounded like its trying to start.

So I did a bunch of basic tests, I found these notes:

Checks carried out so far:

Starter turns engine over OK and for extended time too so I think the battery is good too.
Coolant clear.

Good spark on king lead.
Good spark on plugs 3 & 4 (1 & 2 not checked).
Cap and rotor look OK.

Plugs (only 3 & 4 checked) smelt of fuel but weren't wet.
Air Filter removed.
Can feel air pulses from exhaust.
The air metering flap seems OK.

Head cover removed, oil looks OK, cam looks ok.
Timing marks on cam pulley still corresponds with gearbox timing marks.

Compression test showed about 130psi across all cylinders.

I ended up giving up on it for a little while.



May 2019 - Investigation 2

I started a thread on the 924 board in the hope of getting to the bottom of it once and for all. The advice coming back was check the timing, pops and bands is usually timing. So I checked the dizzy hadn’t moved (it hadn’t) The cam timing was still good. I decided to set the dizzy to its static timing mark, and low and behold the darn thing started. So I dialled it in with the strobe and it was running fine.




This was good but also slightly concerning because I didn’t know why the timing jumped. I thought is could be possible that the distributor had just moved but it was tightly bolted.



May 2019 - Lakes trip

The 924 had completed a number of local journeys OK so I decided to risk it for a camping trip up to the Lakes. This was another trip with Toby's MGA along with another 2 friends, so both cars were 2up. We camped at Great Langdale Campsite, it was all very pleasant.

We drove the cars over Wrynose Pass before doubling back and parking up so we could climb Pike O’Blisco. Shonky wasn’t at 100% but was running fine just a little hesitant occasionally.






On the return journey to Leeds it became noticeably worse, but we made it back. On the final leg into Leeds it was not happy to idle at traffic lights and was even dropping to 3 cylinders when trying to pull away under load.



May 2019 - Investigation 3

I checked the timing and it had drifted out again. So why was the timing drifting? I took the dizzy out to clean it out and check the drive cog, it was all fine. But I did notice the Hall effect prongs seemed loose and well that must throw the timing? I started questioning the vac advance and when t took it off I found it had jumped off its connecting peg to the Hall effect prongs. I put it back on and retimed it. Well that cured the wandering timing but it still ran poorly. Running with the timing wandering around had ruined the spark plugs, they got replaced and things were MUCH better. The vac diaphragm was popped and although I was told this doesn’t make whole lot of difference I wanted to replace it. The Porsche part number Bosch was £50-60 so I got an Accuspark one for a ford ‘something’ for £16 instead. It might not be quite right but it definitely improved pull from low revs.

This is the little arm that controls the 'prongs'...


The 'prongs' (blue arrow) should be moved a little tiny bit by the vac advance but not flop about (red arrow)...


Conclusion - I think the vac diaphragm got pulled hard against its return spring during the high revs of the overtake, the diaphragm split, the return spring pinged it back throwing the timing wildly out and jumping its little arm off the distributor peg.
Cue the engine dying with all the dramatic pops and bangs.



July 2019 - Gardening

Not a lot to say here, just silly pictures of Shonky performing pickup truck duties.







August 2019 - Retro Rides Gathering 2019

After picking up some last minute camping tickets I was able to return to the Gathering once again. This was 10yrs since the first Gathering I attended, and like back then it was just me and my brother for a change. As in 2009 I was in Shonky again but my bro (Simon) was sans retro so he didn’t even bother with a car.at all. Somehow it was easier for my brother to get the train from Winchester to Leamington Spa rather than go to Worcester so I made the diversion to pick him up there on route. This was another journey where faster windscreen wipers would have been useful, I must sort that one day.

It wasn’t half wet getting the Gazebo and tent setup, but once sheltered we still had a good Friday evening. We took the 924 out for a bit on the Saturday, we had a half in a nice pub and stumbled on a little village fair which was very quaint. We got an ice cremes and wandered round their little classic car display of about 20 cars. But the main reason for the excursion was (beer run) to let my brother have a proper drive of the 924, he seemed to be enjoying it so I let him do most of the driving. I think its the first time I’ve been a passenger in it for any length of time too.

We had a great weekend, the camp site is a show in its self, the actual show was top notch, It was as good as ever.

Muddy Foot...


Camp...


Bro...


Coolness...


Awesomness...




December 2019 - Christmas

Yes I tempted fate again, but this year it behaved. I had a lovely Boxing Day run from my parents nr Scotch Corner to my Aunties nr Warrington, but instead of following my parents over the A66 and down the M6 I went via Hawes>Ingleton>Hornby. Yes it takes a bit longer but it was more fun.




-Steve-