924Board.org

[petebee]

Hi everyone,

My name is Pete and I just picked up a cool little 1980 Euro NA from fellow member Ian. It is originally from Belgium, and Ian (plus the PO) put quite a bit of effort into this little fella - including functioning CIS thanks to Ian.

Car starts and runs but it isn't quite road ready yet, however the car came with a bunch of spares including everything needed to fix it - new drums, fuel accumulator and a freshly cleaned and sealed fuel tank. I think it needs a new headlight switch as I get 12V incoming, but when the plugged in and turned on I don't get voltage at fuse panel on any of the fuses (1-4).

Car is currently painted what I believe is Monaco Blue - albeit a real rough job. It is also yellow under the blue, but the real color is Moccaschwarz.

For a Euro car it is fairly rust free. I can't wait to get this thing on the road, but will need to pull transaxle to fit the new fuel tank and accumulator, plus install the new drums.

There are pics and a driving video in Ian's for sale post. I'll need to figure out where to host these

I joined this forum in Nov 2002, so it took me a while to find a car LOL.[/img]

[Cedric]

Looked like a good car to start with, euro cars are simpler, faster, and look better, a big bonus most 924s around here at least aren't rusty at all, except for safes ratrod which i think took the hit for all others , maybe the Uk cars have it rougher since they often are used all year and they have road salt aswell.

My headlight switch went dead aswell, maybe repairable if you dare to open it. But a used one solved me issues.
_________________
1980 924 Turbo
www.instagram.com/garagecedric/

[morghen]

Nice, its certainly special to have a Euro car in the USA.
Not sure how the current tank looks like on the interior but maybe you can get away with just cleaning it on the car, i did that on mine and its fine, saved me a whole lot of work. Rust isnt a problem on these cars, not in Europe...maybe in UK..but even there mostly its the few ones that have been "restored properly to bare metal". As a rule, if you grind to the metal, you've lost its natural protection to rust. That protection is only microns thick.

Anyway, cool car, enjoy it!
_________________
Supercharger and EFI kits
https://www.the924.com

[petebee]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

I did pry open the headlight switch, and one of the contacts that sits on top of the small springs (there are three of these, each with three small springs) seems broken - plus I dropped the small ball bearing and lost it! So new or used switch needed.

The fuel tank has a leak at the seam. I suppose that I could try to seal it, but I'd rather replace it with a good known unit vs. risk it. I've had too many prior issues with CIS gumming up due to fuel tank residue.

Rust is not too bad, just surface rust on the pinch sections where the rear of the fender meets the rocker. I'll try to clean up and stabilize, and then paint the bottom of the rockers black - right now car is body color on the rockers.

[petebee]

Trying to see if I can figure out how to post from Flickr

Dull Paint by reillysbrown, on Flickr

[petebee]

You can see the car warts and all in the above pic - notice the not so great paint. I've actually attacked the rear quarter on this side with wet sanding and polishing, so eventually it will be a 10 footer instead of a 30 footer.

First order of business was to put car in "service mode" to address leaky, rusty fuel tank. Thankfully car came with a reconditioned tank.

Service Position 1 by reillysbrown, on Flickr

Transaxle out of car and cleaned up. I struggled a bit separating the shift rod from the linkage, but it eventually loosened up after a few days of penetrating fluid.

Service Position 2 by reillysbrown, on Flickr

I've ordered a new rear linkage rod from 944parts, along with new bushings for the front and a new boot.

Tank has been replaced and fuel and vapor lines hooked up. I might hit the rear transaxle support member with a bit of rust converter and POR15 before I put transaxle back in.

Refreshed Tank by reillysbrown, on Flickr

The pump wiring is a bit ghetto, as well as the clamp method used to secure the main pump and the accumulator. Replaced accumulator too, a new one came with car as it has a hot start problem. Hope this solves issue.

The car is now what I'd called Monaco Blue - maybe - but has chipped areas that show its former yellow coat. However, car was originally Mocchaschwarz as evident here. I'm not planning to go that far with paint and body, but it would look amazing in the OG color.

moccaschwarz by reillysbrown, on Flickr

Engine bay is pretty tidy, and hey it is a CIS car that starts and runs, so I'm ahead of the game, no?

Engine Bay by reillysbrown, on Flickr

Here is a view of the ATS phone dial from the "other side" - see first pic, 2 wheels have black centers, 2 are painted silver. I'll probably refinish and go with satin black centers.

ATS Phonedials by reillysbrown, on Flickr

I'll keep this updated and post some pics of interior. Dash is pretty good, a few cracks but not that bad. Right now I have some tweed front seats that I think came from a Weissach car. They certainly don't match the black interior. Most gauges work, and the fan does occasionally. I've noticed that the center console gauges jump and bounce a bit, so I might need to clean some grounds.

I have new brake drums to install, as well as tie rod ends, ball joints and center control arm bushings. Nice thing all these parts came with the car. It has quite a bit of work performed already - brakes, brake hoses, front bearings, fluids, etc. I might go a bit OCD and pull apart front end and repaint everything.

That is enough for now.

[petebee]

Oh, and one more thing. The transaxle mount rubber has separated from the metal brackets. I'll likely clean up and repaint, then try to bond everything back with window weld. The rubber is actually okay - no cracks or tears - it just released its bond. No way I can justify spending $500 for a pair of new ones!

[Cedric]

I filled my rear suspension mounts with window glue for less slop, works great, though g31 looks a bit different. i also did it to my motor mounts.

Great Progress, was about to point out the shift linkage but you already ordered parts!
_________________
1980 924 Turbo
www.instagram.com/garagecedric/

[Brian L.]

Just a tip for working on anything electrical is to check/clean all the ground location.
Under the dash there is a 2 in. Dia. Crown that is spot welded to the sheet metal stucture that has multible tabs that ground wires (brown) plug on to. You have to lay on your back and look straight up by the clutch pedal. Do a search to find more locations. Bad grounds are at the root of most ele trical problems on these cars. Good luck!
_________________
1980 924 N.A. Monaco Blue owned since 1987
"Remember, sitting on your ass won't finish your project" -Puddins fab shop.

[petebee]

Well a non-titled 82 Euro parts car just happened to pop up nearby. 100% complete minus Euro bumpers. Sadly this car is in better shape body-wise than the blue 1980. Repainted red, but original color is code LY7Z according to sticker in trunk - Meteor Metallic. Similar to the blue car (OG paint Moccha Schwarz) I wish people wouldn't over paint the cool original colors!

It will provide a lot of spare parts for the blue car.

parts car by reillysbrown

[skota]

One of the two cars I bought was originally Colibri green, then resprayed gold, then red. Ugh.

Nice progress!

Steve