Well, I was all set to turn "Tweed" into a parts car and had agreed to buy a running '88 924s locally.
The seller was going to fix something in the shifter linkage, which he did, but then the timing belt snapped as he was test-driving it... He's getting that fixed now and it will be back for sale, but the price will likely move out of the "relatively cheap" range with a newly redone head...
We'll see...
I am still harvesting parts from the '79 (transmission came out last night). The more I dig into it, the more prior crash damage I'm finding that makes me not want to try to transplant a drivetrain into this thing (the mangled front frame rails scare me a bit - definitely looks like a come-along+tree backyard "repair" job and not something I'd feel comfortable with on a track day). Likely, I'll sell-off any usable parts and scrap the rest of the shell, unless another 924-shaped thing comes into my life, in which case I'll hoard the parts until I run out of space.
Now I think I might have a problem...
The '88 924s came back into the picture - the seller put a new top end on the engine and let me have it for the same price. The '79 is now in full parts-car status...
So, it looks like this is morphing into an '88 924s thread...
Some positive findings about the car:
- It runs and drives pretty well, which is already leaps and bounds above some previous projects I've owned
- It got the seal of approval from my soon-to-be-15-year-old son - he said, "I'd drive that" and already took a point-of view picture from the driver's seat
- I have some service records. Looks to have been owned originally by a dentist in Connecticut who put some good money into it:
- A/C converted to R134a 10 years ago when the original compressor seized
- Clutch and rear main seal done about that time as well
- Another previous owner currently races BMWs, and seemed to know how to take care of a German car
- The almost cliche collection of cassettes I found in the center-armrest cassette holder (and, it has a center-armrest cassette holder):
The not-so-good:
- A couple of rust issues on the passenger side (bottom of the front fender and in front of the rear wheel) - fortunately, I have a sheet-metal donor sitting right next to it if I want to cut-up the '79
- Some catch-up work to do on maintenance
- Needs tires and brakes, and a little tightening-up of the suspension wouldn't hurt either.
I've already addressed a couple of small wiring issues. The plan is to register it, drive it mostly as-is until the snow flies, put it away for the winter, and spend the cold months planning upgrades and buying parts.
