After months of trying to sell my Tahoe, I finally got an interesting trade offer....first ever used car trade deal. So I brought home another car I don't need but am already way too excited about.
More to come, maybe it will get a build thread. 1980 Porsche 924 5 speed in Indiana Red metallic. I'm an the third owner apparently. It still has what appear to be original tires. It's possible that the odo has rolled over, but I do know that it was parked in a garage for 16 years as the elderly owner was no longer able to drive it, and the family member I traded with fixed it up a bit to get it back on the road but barely drove it after realizing that "Porsche" doesn't automatically mean "fast".
I love these old 80s cars and even though it's an EA831 car, it doesn't seem as bad as the internet led me to believe from driving around so far.
These were actually very good driving cars, they were just not quick with the 2L Audi motor......might be fine for a 100LS sedan, but not for a sports car, and def not for one with the P name on it. Should be a fun car to own and drive in today's traffic and horrible roads.
Looking forward to your first on the road report!
When these first came out in '77 I was the service manager for a Porsche dealership. I had a lot of complaints about noisy brakes, so when the district service rep came one day I asked him why our brakes were so damn noisy - after all Datsun 280Z brakes didn't do that. His reply? Ve build ze brakes to stop ze car" (yes, he was German) that was it....nothing further. 
In reply to MiniDave :
you should have told him "ze brakes convert ze kinetic energy to sur-mal energy. ze tye-uhs stop ze car!"
Great handling cars, but hopelessly underpowered. The head is flat, combustion chamber is in the piston. So to get a reasonable CR you need to change them, cutting the head will do nothing. I have seen the block surfaced to improve it though. 924.org has lots of history and info.
It is indeed a good color, it is absolutely filthy in the pictures so I'm looking forward to getting it cleaned up. It's a 2 stage paint which really surprised me, there is some crazing in the clearcoat but overall it seems to be pretty good.
I have driven the car for a grand total of maybe a half an hour just in town where the speeds are low. The tires are BAD, it's like driving on triangles. Performance feels more or less on par with my automatic transmission 325ES, but since the timing belt on the Porsche is ancient, it hasn't been over maybe 3500 rpm yet. It's a very lazy engine though, in the sense that it feels like it has a very heavy flywheel or something. It also seems like it is geared pretty long, surprising for such a low power car.
It apparently has a cable clutch, and it's not adjusted well so that's not helping things as it makes shifting a tad balky.
It is very interesting that even from rolling off the trailer to pulling back into the driveway, the car "loosened up" a lot. All the electronics came back to life except the fuel gauge, the shifter isn't sticky anymore, brakes seem fine now, throttle response cleaned right up, etc. The engine runs kind of shockingly well in terms of driveability.
I'll probably do some 924.org digging after work in the next few days to learn what I'm in to, but that flat diesel-style cylinder head immediately jumped out at me. I have a 944 engine swap car that's mid-project to scratch the horsepower itch, this one I am just going to make run well for the moment.
Dog approves.
(frost on the roof. Fall's heading out and winter is moving in...)
I know this isn't a 924 but I love the way they look.
Congratulations!
Great color and nice wheels! I've loved 924s since I was a kid and I think this should be a really fun car to play around with.
Modern cars are so good, that I'd be perfectly happy tooling around in something old, slow and just so cool.
Does it have disc brakes in back? If so, with that spoiler, I think that would make it a M030 option car. Or something like that, my memory isn't going to get that exactly right. Anyone here have more clarity on the option packages on these?
Looks to be in pretty spectacular condition! Nice find.
That car is in great condition! Most of them have badly cracked dashes by now.
@240zguy nice 951! I am also a huge fan of how these cars look. There's still a 944 in my garage that is (slowly) making some progress as well, the 924 looks great in a simple lightweight kind of way but I love the 944 flared fenders.
It definitely feels interesting to drive, the seating position is much more "sports car" than my E30s even if the rest of the experience is a bit more "old cruiser" than "fast". Once I've fixed some of the deteriorated rubber bits underneath it will be very interesting to compare the two. At least my first impression is that the E30 feels far more substantial than the 924.
@DWNSHFT it is drum brakes in the rear. My understanding is that all disk rear brake cars have the 5x130 bolt pattern, and that's the giveaway for an early M030 car. It also does not have anti roll bars, which I think would have come with that option.
I need to figure out where the build codes are to see what options it has. The spoiler and paint were definitely optional extras, along with the wheels, "sport" steering wheel, and I think the mudflaps. The fog lights are also factory which I've not seen a lot of on early 924s. I think in the US the power windows, mirrors, and AC were pretty much standard. The sunroof is manual.
In the picture on the trailer, you can see an orange reflector above the marker light. That's some kind of old school alarm system. The Porsche system would have had a second key hole in the rear quarter behind the driver's door, so this one is some aftermarket deal.
@RacerBoy75 this one is cracked a bt too, but you're right, it's dramatically better than most of the ones you see. I'll likely get one of those carpeted dash covers for it to keep the sun off of it.
In reply to DWNSHFT :
m030 should also have 5 bolt wheels, so this one doesn't have them. The 944 stuff can be bolted on but for the street it doesn't matter.
Yes they are very long geared. On the track I only used 5th over 100. You did get a pretty one, once it has some decent tires you will learn the advantage of a high polar moment of inertia. They will hang the rear end out for days.
Last night was Porsche night in Orlando, and I chatted with Kevin Duffy at 924S944.com, lover of the 924/944 chassis.
Unfortunately my option sticker is missing from this car, but I did discover that it has a front anti roll bar. Just no rear anti roll bar.
I definitely will be spending some time on 924S944, 924.org, and the forums. I always enjoy picking up oddball history on my vehicles.
ddavidv
UltimaDork
11/21/23 5:24 p.m.
924s were popular when they came out. Considering they were essentially a replacement for the 914, I can see why. I don't get the love of the 914; didn't when I was a kid, either, sitting in them and peering over the dash in the showroom while my parents got their 100LS serviced. I did like the 924 at the time.
The 924 isn't regarded as a great car, so it doesn't have to impress very much. The 944 is regarded as a great car, and I was wholly underwhelmed by the one I drove. Funny how that works.
Always thought the 924 was better looking than the 944, neat car, good luck with it. Be sure and check it over before pushing it, especially brakes and fuel lines.
I hear the Germans don't care if brakes squeak as long as car stops, Americans don't care if the brakes work as long as they don't squeak.
@ddavidv - I actually wanted a 914, I don't really mind them but then I experienced one and realized it would really have to be a 914-6 for me to really be into it and even then...I'm 6'3". I don't really fit.
It is interesting what expectations do to you. I expected the 924 to be a car not even worth driving based on how much the internet lambasts it, and so far it doesn't seem that bad. And certainly not much worse than an NA 944.
@benzbarondaryn - thanks! It actually got new brake lines and fuel lines before I got it, but the drums need adjustment and like any old car, all the bearings and joints will get a very thorough check. Something is loose at the left front, so I know there's at least a little TLC needed. Even though the Tahoe is gone, I still have a 1998 K1500 - I'm well acquainted with American brakes that don't work. 
The 914 and 924 are so far apart, the only things they have in common are joint effort between 2 manufacturers and underpowered. The handling is completely opposite, driving experience of a targa vs a closed coupe, noise level inside, having gone from one to the other and owning both for a while the differences were obvious. For the street a 914 wins. On the track or AX the 924 has a slight advantage. But going from a 914 to a 924 was fun. Today the 924 is affordable but the 914 is just overpriced.
