924Board.org

[FASTdan]

Hi, its been a while since I owned my last 924 (924S) and hence not been on here much.

However the bug has recently surfaced and I've been scratching around for a 924T recently. I have stumbled across (on a tip off from a family member) a VERY clean looking example that is currently at an independent porsche specialist local to me.

Its a 1979 V reg in brown. The unique thing is the very tidy interior, from what I can tell the dash is uncracked and the seats etc are very good condition (no usual rips tears or wear marks). 130k miles, lots of history but has been off the road for the last 6 months (dry stored).

The dealer tells me on the phone that he bought it for £900 and took it in because he was impressed at the condition (especially the interior). As said the MOT ran out 6 months back and he has had all callipers re-conned, purchased belts, tensioners etc but never fitted them due to time.

He wants £1800 which is basically what he paid for the car plus what he's paid for in parts.

I am going to look this weekend. Does this sound reasonable assuming the condition is good? I know prices vary wildly so its hard to say, but I have a feeling the condition will be as good as he claims (the pics certainly make it appear so).

I believe on that year it will be an S1 so I need to look out for cracked exhaust manifold? Anything else? I've read a lot about management issues but that appears to be more with the series 2's?
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1980 924LUX

[ideola]

Exhaust Tract: Definitely watch out for the cracked S1 manifold. Very hard to tell with the engine in situ, as the cracks are usually on the bottom side of the mani on the #1 & #2 runners. If you can get it up on a lift, you might be able to see it with a bright flashlight. They will be very hard to spot...usually just hairline fractures. You can determine which manifold is installed (it's possible it may have been updated if the car has been well maintained) by checking the last three digits on the manifold casting: an S1 will end in "594", an S2 will end in "596". While you're poking around the exhaust manifold, try to inspect all of the exhaust mating surfaces for missing or loose hardware:

• 4 bolts that hold the turbo bracket to the block
  
• 3 special titanium bolts and spacers, 2 up top and 1 underneath, that fasten the turbine housing to the exhaust manifold
  
• 2 special allen head nuts (yes, NUTS) that fasten the bracket-feedline to the turbo bearing housing (visible from the top)
  
• 8 nuts that fasten the mani to studs on the head
  
• 2 nuts that fasten the upper J-pipe to the rear of the exhaust mani studs (check the pipe to flange welds for cracks or signs of repair)
  
• 4 nuts that fasten the main down pipe to the turbine housing exit (check the pipe to flange welds for cracks or signs of repair)
  
• 4 nuts that fasten the J-pipe to the bottom of the wastegate (check the pipe to flange welds for cracks or signs of repair)
  
• 4 nuts that fasten the wastegate dump to the main exhaust pipe (check the pipe to flange welds for cracks or signs of repair)
  
• brackets and hardware that support the wastegate (connects to a u-bolt with a special bracket on the torque tube, just at the front of the torque tube tunnel)

All of the exhaust nuts should be copper locking nuts, aside from the 3 special titanium bolts and 2 special allen nuts mentioned above. If any of these fasteners are missing, there is a much higher likelihood of cracks in the manifold. Also, carefully inspect the flanges at all of these connection points as noted above; any missing hardware increases the stress on these pipe-to-flange welds, and increases the likelihood of cracks / exhaust leaks.

Breather Update / Turbo Drain Update: Check to see if it has the head breather update, along with the updated turbo drain line. If the car was dealer maintained early on, it's quite possible that these updates (along with the S2 ex mani) were taken care of by a previous owner. The former is identifiable by the little block-off plate with an elbow just behind the #1 spark plug, with a vac elbow going to an L-shaped hard pipe going over the timing belt cover, and down the front of the engine where it connects into the top of the updated turbo drain assembly. The latter can be confirmed by looking at the drain line from the bottom and seeing if it has the funky squarish air-oil separator "tee" just after the mounting point on the bottom of the turbocharger bearing housing. If it doesn't have these items, you should plan on trying to source these at some point, as this setup helps the turbo drain properly and minimizes frothing of the oil, which can result in clogging the drain line. You can use this as a point of negotiation if the car still has the simple S1 drain line.

Vacuum Elbows: Check the condition of the various vacuum elbows. Even if the car has been well cared for, it is quite likely that these elbows will be cracked and deteriorating, and they will need to be replaced before you can properly tune the car. I have this kit available for $72. Check the condition of the big rubber boot at the charge tube / throttle body interface...these are often torn, worn, or otherwise abused, and can lead to boost leaks.

Charge Tube Bracket: Not specific to S1, but try lifting up on the upper charge tube. If you can move the charge tube such that the lower charge tube lifts off of the turbo outlet, the lower charge tube bracket has probably gone missing and will need to be replaced. These are NLA from Porsche, but I have several spares available in my parts bin. Also check to make sure that both air filter straps are intact.

Gearbox & Shifter: Check the shifting of the G31 gearbox...it's quite likely to be difficult to downshift into 2nd and 3rd. 2nd may also be difficult to upshift into from 1st. With as many miles as this example has, it's quite likely the shifter will be sloppy and will need to have the rear bushings replaced, and quite possibly the ball cup that is on the end of the guide tube. There's really no way to visually check condition because both items are way up on top of the torque tube in front of the gearbox. If you can downshift into 1st with no crunching, you're golden; if you have any crunching between 1st-2nd-3rd and back, you will need to rebuild the shift linkage at minimum, and quite likely will need to address the gearbox at some point. This page will give you an idea of the parts and costs involved.

Turbo: Obviously, check for oil leaks all along the turbo tract. Again, if you can get it up on a lift, check for signs of leakage (which may have been cleaned up by the dealer) along the oil cooler lines, the oil filter console (the feed line at the top, the two oil cooler lines, the thermostat gasket, and the filter itself), all around the turbo center section (i.e. bearing housing), the drain line, etc.

Timing Belt: If you decide to purchase the car, INSIST that the new timing belt and tensioner be installed IMMEDIATELY. If it was me, I would negotiate for my purchase to be contingent this service being done. Regardless, you should minimize how much you drive and start it until the timing belt can be replaced.

Body: Look for rust behind the black plastic rocker covers that were unique to the 931. If it has the rear mudflaps, check there too. Make sure the car has the correct NACA duct hood, vented badge panel, and vented chin valance. Check the NACA duct for an "inverse ding" that sometimes occurs from previous owners slamming the hood, causing it to be damaged by the top of the shock...especially easy to do if the car has/had Koni shocks. Check the condition of the badge panel inserts, make sure all the screws match and none are missing (they do sort of snap in place and can stay there without the screw...but you want the screw to be in place so they don't go missing.

These are the main things I can think of that are unique to the S1 931. Of course, check all of the other usual stuff for a 924. If the car is in good shape, and these items all check out OK, the asking prices seems to be quite good from what I've seen of other examples in the UK.
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[FASTdan]

Thankyou very much for that concise information, great stuff
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1980 924LUX