924 turbo problem areas?

Looking at a Porsche 924 turbo either tonight or tomorrow. Any pointers from you guys?

Better yet, does this look mostly fixable to you 924 guys? I have quite a few body tools, but I don't know what would be structural and what wouldn't.

Time for a frame machine. It can be fixed, but the rear frame rails are undoublted bent. The fix will cost more than the car even as a DIY job an cheap frame time.

Too bad since the rest of the car looked pretty good.

joepaluch wrote: Time for a frame machine. It can be fixed, but the rear frame rails are undoublted bent. The fix will cost more than the car even as a DIY job an cheap frame time. Too bad since the rest of the car looked pretty good.

Damn, that sucks. Basically this is a car purchased from a multiple-DUI offender (hence the damage) and I can get it for $500. The rest of it is, like, spotless, but if the frame's bent that's just too much for me.

See if you can figure out if the damage is into suspension or behind it. If behind it... track car?

Damage is behind the suspension, but I'm looking for more of an occasional-DD/project kind of thing. I'd be more than happy to forward this guy's contact info to anyone interested, here's more pics.

Pics

I'd run it as is and save up the money to fix it properly later maybe with fiberglass fender flares (there are several types available for the 924)

I would pull it relatively straight using a large tree and a come-a-long and then practice straightening the panels a bit.

The damage just looks ugly and shouldn't effect the ability of the car to work as a DD/track toy. Trailing arm suspension, most everything behind the rear wheels is just there for storage and styling :)

Worst case, you can find a regular 924 N/A that is straight that you can swap the turbo bits over to.

BTW, there are a lot of great threads on 924board.org and tons of good info on 924.org in regards to the 924 and 924 turbo.

I very well may do that. The rest of the car is virtually cherry, I'm going to go take an in-person look tomorrow...

Yes while there is frame damage it is very likely it can be repaired with no issues. The suspension does not mount near there. A few weeks ago we had a 944 hit pretty hard in the same area. The car ran fine despite the bent rear frame rails and large crinkle in the rear floor. Best we can tell it can be repaired. A frame machine is still a good idea to ensure the mounting points have not shifted as that can lead or odd handling.

So very repairable, but not an easy cosmetic repair.

Update, The racer friend who had similar damage got his car repaired for $800. Not sure how much went into paint work, but it was for a race car so perfection was not required.

Awe come on, that'll buff right out ...

...someone had to say it

seems like a fairly good deal to me, if its in good running condition. nothing a sawsall , a welder and a donor car cant fix...

Its an early car,so It does have the 4 bolt suspension, and you definitely want a five lug set up on a turbo for anything besides normal street duty.

On the up side its a fairly easy swap to five lug, just find a beat 83-early 85 944 with a good rear clip and four wheels on it for $200 and youve got all the raw materiel for the five lug swap and rear body "upgrade."

the early exhaust manifolds tended to crack, and they have a different turbo set up ( few less ponies) than the DITC controlled (81-82) models.

these are easy to work on, people complain about the turbo set up, changing one out takes allot of time, but it is not difficult beyond the normal "how the f do i get to that bolt" stuff.

they are also incredibly solid cars, they were designed when it was thought there would be a 55mph impact standard in the US. I have seen them roll and not crush the a pillars.

itll take time to get used to the engineering and work the bugs out, but again, not difficult, just need to be methodical and do your home work. once you get one properly sorted, they are incredibly fun to drive and own.

Why couldn't you find a 924 at a junk yard and cut the quarter and rear floor off it? More time welding + grinding and less time panel beating and frame stretching.

I personally would see how low he will go and if the work turns out to be too much just find a shell and swap everything. It's what I ended up doing when I figured out that replacing rusted floorpans, wheel wells, rocker panels, frame rails, etc in my RX-7 just wasn't worth the time and effort.

I keep looking at 924 turbos too, they look like fun. I have a few questions about them too if anyone knows.

Is changing the timing belt one one easier than a 944?

Also, is it an interference engine?

Are they as rust resistant as a 944 (I live in california, and i havent ever seen a rusty 924)

Do they have the same oil starvation/spun bearing issues that 944s do?

The trouble areas of a Porsche 924 turbo start at the center of the shifter and extend to a 20-foot radius around the vehicle. Anything in that area will be a trouble area.

Travis_K wrote: Are they as rust resistant as a 944 (I live in california, and i havent ever seen a rusty 924)

Porsche went to galvanized bodies in either 1973 or 1976, can't remember which.

No one has mentioned the rear hatches being somewhat tricky to seal correctly after rear end damage. They'll suck exhaust fumes in like you wouldn't believe.

My 944 turbo was a lot like that after a trailer truck spun us into a concrete divider. 500 for the frame work, 500 for the parts car, lots and lots of labor and materials.

Basically, after the frame work was complete, we used a welding stud gun and hammer dolly to shape the quarter, then used filler to finish it. For the rear we cut the section under the tailight out and welded a section from the parts car in. I then painted the entire car. Once all that nice shiney black paint was on I noticed a lot of waves in the quarter. Eventually I'll strip it down and work it again, but for now I'm driving it as is. In hindsight we should have replaced the entire quarter panel. This was a tough job, but that 924 looks pretty nice otherwise. If it was in TN I'd have no problems buying it up and tackling it as a project. Good luck with it if you get it.

skruffy wrote: No one has mentioned the rear hatches being somewhat tricky to seal correctly after rear end damage. They'll suck exhaust fumes in like you wouldn't believe.

Mine has seperated and does this. It 's aggravating as hell. I'll going to pull the hatch and trying using silicone or something to seal it up.

Travis_K wrote: I keep looking at 924 turbos too, they look like fun. I have a few questions about them too if anyone knows. Is changing the timing belt one one easier than a 944? Also, is it an interference engine? Are they as rust resistant as a 944 (I live in california, and i havent ever seen a rusty 924) Do they have the same oil starvation/spun bearing issues that 944s do?

Yes (Way easier, 15 minute job after youve done it once or twice. and no 400 tools needed) Yes, but with the t-belt change so easy, its rare to hear about mashed valves.
Yes, the bodies were sprayed with a zinc coating at the factory sometimes the lower fenders will still rust, and battery tray rot is very common, any rust other than is rather rare.
and sometimes, there are a few tricks for this (mainly add accusump ) but ive never heard of it being a problem outside dedicated race cars.

as for the exhaust, there are a few common causes: bad tail light sealing(reseal using cheap window seal kit or caulk gun can of butyl if you can find it), bad foam seal at the shifter (a can of spray foam is the easy fix here) poor hatch seal (its about $100 for a new rubber hatch seal, but cheaper universal rubber seals have been used with varying degrees of success. Bad water drain tube exit seals.
The most common cause of the exhaust fumes (IMO) are improperly spaced exhaust tips. the body is very aerodynamic and if the exhaust tip is too far out, or to far in, it ends up in a vortex point which pushed the fumes back towards the car (either forward towards the shifter or back up towards the hatch) rather than streaming down and away from it.

Hmm, maybe I should go look at one. I think id have to sit in one with a smaller than stock steering wheel and see if it would give me enough room to drive it, or is there any way to move the wheel up a bit?

The thing was actually sold at 6AM to some other guy the morning after I posted this. I bought a Supra instead.