924Board.org

Grenadiers · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:56 pm Post subject: 924S vs. 931

I have an '87 rust free 924S, perfect white paint, with an unfaded black interior/carpet, slight upper end tick, leaky gas tank when full, and nice Pirelli tires, ice cold a/c, I love this car. However, I am looking for a winter project and found an '80 924 turbo for 700 bucks. Not that I need it, and I haven't looked at it yet, but it needs a few things. The clutch is out, and only has 78K miles on the car. The paint is faded, but no rust (minnesota car ya know), we like that! I've read a ton on all the different boards on this web site, but haven't seen 'my answer' yet.

I'm a pretty good wrench, mostly with Jeep wranglers (engine/tranny swaps) and trucks, so not afraid of taking things apart and fixing them. Question is, is a running '80 924 turbo with a bad clutch, going to take me to the bank? And, is the performance gain on a turbo that much different than the '87? I know that most answers are going to be rhetorical, like, why, you already have a decent car. Well, I know that, but like I said, I'm looking for a winter project. Dave
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'83 944 Track car.
'88 924S Track car.
'89 944 Turbo
2004 Winnebago Vectra monster RV
2012 Jeep Wrangler
2014 Kia Soul
2001 Ford F350 powerstroke

StienbargerR · Joined: 28 Oct 2005 Posts: 1362 Location: Richmond, IN

Im not expert on 931's but seems that they are huuge projects. I doubt you could get it totally done in one winter. If the body is good and everthing though, I would say its worth the $700. If I were you I would probably go ahead and buy it.

Ryan
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1978 924 NA
-250lb lowering springs, Euro Pistons

Rasta Monsta · Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 11733 Location: PacNW

My 931 owns 2.5 N/As. Can't fight boost!
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Toofah King Bad

WeiBe (1987 924S 2.5t) - 931 S3

flosho · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:00 pm Post subject:

The 924S will definitely be a bit more "tame" in terms of driving around and such. A good running 931 will be faster than the S though.

A 931 has potential, but it's not all that cheap...
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[This Space For Rent]

Rasta Monsta · Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 11733 Location: PacNW

I will say this about my new S, though. . .it has the best power steering I have ever felt. . .does not feel like power assist, super smooth, and good feedback.
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Toofah King Bad

WeiBe (1987 924S 2.5t) - 931 S3

seanski44 · Joined: 13 Mar 2006 Posts: 532 Location: Nottingham UK

and the answer to the question about 'will it take you to the bank' - yes and no!

if you're happy switching trannys out of trucks I'd imagine you'd have no probs swapping out the clutch in the 931, though its a long job (have never done it but have paid to have it done twice, once on the 924 and once on a 944) its an 8hour job, either the rear beam has to be dropped and the tranny moved or the engine has to come out...

so, the part is fairly pricey, but will last 100,000 plus miles (well, actually depends on your driving style!!)

so, the clutch isn't gonna cost you big, but the addiction to boost may, cos you'll probably then start being tempted by all the mods that are available, EFI etc!

Go for it, and enjoy!!

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1998 BMW Z3 2.8 arctic silver & red

1981 168HP 931 S2 blue/tan leather - SOLD

1985 121HP 924 2.0l na modded - SOLD!
1992 968 lux SOLD
1989 944 2.7 lux SOLD

924RACR · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:20 pm Post subject:

Another consideration since it's an '80 with "bad clutch" - that may result in damage to the synchros, and that box isn't easily or cheaply rebuilt, so often the best answer is to swap in a 944 box and torque tube.

Turbos are definitely more complex than the 2.0L NA's, not too much worse than the 2.5L NA's.

I'd want to be able to take it for a spin and know it runs well; you can spend a lot of time and money (over $500) reworking the fuel system, if everything's kaput...
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Vaughan Scott
Webmeister
'79 924 #77 SCCA H Prod racecar
'82 931 Plat. Silver
#25 Hidari Firefly P2 sports prototype

Vince Ponz · Joined: 02 Nov 2002 Posts: 3581 Location: Florida

If we took a survey we would find that all the tripometers die around 80K.

Mine did and so did others.
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"Never let them see you sweat"
77.5 924 modified track car
79 931 Euro stock
88 924S SE
87 911 Targa stock

Grenadiers · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:57 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the input. I'll probably go see it this week, it's a bit of a drive. I'll take my digital camera along too! Dave
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'83 944 Track car.
'88 924S Track car.
'89 944 Turbo
2004 Winnebago Vectra monster RV
2012 Jeep Wrangler
2014 Kia Soul
2001 Ford F350 powerstroke

924guy · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:17 pm Post subject:

there is no doubt, it will cost far more than what you pay for it. its still a 27 year old car, and it has a turbo. if its been sitting because of a clutch, its a pretty sure bet there other items that need attending too.
however, it is also a 931, and for allot of us, that alone is enough. and you have another Porsche to play with while your fixing the 931. the 931 is not as refined as your 87 is, but it will be allot more fun. when i bought mine, the 4-sale sign went up on my 87S the next day...
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Eric
78 924
82 931 SE "smokey"
99' VehiCross
Y2K Honda Insight
http://www.cardomain.com/id/924Guy
Performance by Pasha

-nick · Joined: 16 Nov 2002 Posts: 2699 Location: Cambridge, MA

I think the big questions are: what you want to do with it, do you have space/tools LOTS of time to work on it, do you have at least $1k set aside to take care of the basics (likely clutch, clutch master/slave, brakes, rubber hoses / vac lines, misc fuel parts, tires, etc etc).

It may look similar to the 924S, but it's really a completely different soul under the sheetmetal.
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1980 931S
15psi boost, MS-II, EDIS, 951 IC, custom intake, Ford 5.0L throttle body, Forge BOV, WB o2, G31 w/LSD, 964 wheels, 968 rear sway, Bilsteins, 200# Welt. springs. A laptop, and a partridge in a pear tree.
1991 964 C4 Cabriolet

Paul · Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:59 am Post subject:

Read this:

http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=20795&highlight=raw+angry+beast
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White 87 924S "Ghost"
Silver 98 986 3.6l 320 HP "Frank N Stein"
White 01 986 "Christine"
Polar Silver 02 996TT. "Turbo"
Owned and repaired 924s since 1977
Porsche: It's not driving, it's therapy.

Zuffen · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:04 am Post subject: clutch jobs

let me just say this about 924T and 944 clutch jobs.....

with a professional lift, air tools and a tranny jack and no problems you can do one in 1.5 hours R&R....That is the fastest I've seen one done by a professional. I think one can be done in 3 to 4 hours, with some help and a little study of what you need to do.

The motor should never come out. The trans can usually stay in unless you have to replace the pilot bearing. Exhaust comes out. starter out.
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Bob Dodd - 924turbo@cox.net
931 1982, 944 1982 euro, 924S 1988SE, 93 968 tip 06 Silver Cayenne S, 06 Black Cayenne S

I have Way too many cars, parts for the 931,944 and 951

Rasta Monsta · Joined: 12 Jul 2006 Posts: 11733 Location: PacNW

Buwani 931 · Joined: 31 May 2004 Posts: 308 Location: Napa California

I bought my 1980 turbo in the same shape. My odometer made it to 89K. Judging by the misc reciepts and tire wear, it was at about 100-110K .Body was in great shape, engine ran but the clutch was totaly gone. Owner did not want to pay $2,600 to shop so I bought it. No test drive for me.
It was not my daily driver so I had plenty of time. Took me about 2 weeks,plugging along a few hours a night. Lots of stuff to remove, lots of PB Blaster but nothing not to complecated and mostly basic tooling.
I have no regrets, once I got it back together there were a few other problems I discovered but nothing major. I'm glad I took the chance. Funnest machine I have had.

Disclaimer: Your results may vary.

Shawn
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1980 931
That's thirty minutes away. I'll be there in ten.