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924 Martini Resurrection tips


Mikey1st

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Hey Everyone,

 

I've decided to get my mums 1977 924 Martini (i have heard these are rare??) up and running again after sitting in the garage since 2004.

It has 110,000klms, what do i need to know to get it going again?

 

So far things i know i need.

Engine oil - I've just ordered a bunch of Brad Penn 10w40, going to do a oil flush and change, then run it for about 400klms then change it again.

 

Diff and gearbox oil.

Brake fluid.

coolant.

possibly a water pump if the seals on the current one are stuffed.

Battery.

Tyre's.

Spark plugs

 

Belts???? (needed?)

 

Going to need a new dash eventually as the current one has some cracks.

 

I started it up the other day, took a bit but once it was on it ran pretty good, idle was a little low but once it was warm and gave it a little rev it sat pretty nice.

 

 

Anyone got any tips or things i should look out for?

 

Also if anyone has any recommendations on oils to use?

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Hi Mike

Based on the age of the car, I'da thunk a 10W40 might be a tad thin. Without doing any proper research, I would expect that car to thrive on a quality mineral 20W50.

You don't mention filters, but they would also need replacing. Oil definitely, and air most likely.

Refurb and fix what you can. It's harder to find parts for these "entry level" Porsches of their day than it is to find parts for 911's of similar vintage. In many cases you will find equivalent VW oily bits. In some cases replacement parts simply don't exist.

On a general note, cars that have sat idle get very excitable when they start being driven again, and all sorts of things start playing up. Seals don't, hoses quit, mounts dis.

It's a cool thing you're doing; keep it fun.

They're fun little cars and, unfashionable as it may be to say it, I've always had a soft spot for them.

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Penrite 20W-50

Pull and inspect the water pump

Check all coolant lines , though the rear ones are a complete pain to get to.

Timing belt , easy and cheap - and check tensioner roller

Plugs are a bit hard to get to and don't cross thread new ones (I use the rubber tubing trick, always)

Fuel injection works well once it's set up right (famous last words)

Tappet clearances may need adjusting , not hard.

Engine wiring might need some attention after all these years. get the Haynes manual - lots of things you can test

 

Tough and characterful cars, well done for saving!

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Thanks guys,

 

Ill work my way through that list, im lucky my next door neighbor is a mechanic and has had his share of old porsche's (currently has a 948 for sale) he is actually the person that said "hey we should try and start it"

 

I bought the Brad Penn 10w40 for 2 reasons, the 10w40 because i rang the porsche dealer here and asked and they said 10w40.... My normal mechanic recommended 10w50 but brad penn dont have one in that, and apparently from reading the pelican fourm they love the brad penn oil for the high zinc.

Guess ill use what i have ordered then change to the penrite 20w50 (which was actually my first choice)

 

 

The only issue i know the car has which is why it was stopped being driven is that there is a bare wire to the starter motor which shorts out on the chassis and we were told engine has to come out to fix it. my neighbor is confident he can get some heat shrink or something to it without the engine coming out so will get his help with that.

 

What is the rubber tubing trick for the spark plugs?

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What is the rubber tubing trick for the spark plugs?

Get a short (~10cm) length of fuel hose that fits reasonably tightly over the ceramic part of the plug.

Use this to thread the plug ; if it meets resistance the rubber will spin on the ceramic. Once threaded correctly you should be able to thread it most of the way in before torqueing to spec (good luck getting a torque wrench in there!

 

You need to just crush the plug washer. I use a smear of nickel antiseize on the threads, some like it some don't  as it upsets torque figures. The reality is you have to torque these plugs intuitively, just not too tight against the soft alloy block (if you strip threads the engine has to come out). Your neighbour will know this.

 

Keep a note of each plug as it comes out as this will give you an idea of the engine's health. Expect some variation but all should look ashy grey if  the mixture's right.

 

Don't play with the mixture if the car was running before.

One other thing , vacuum leaks will play havoc with your starting and tuning , not so much once the revs go up.

 

Just chip away and if you get stuck , ask again.

 

btw Penrite has all the zinc a man can need , and 20W is fine even if you start in the middle of winter; it's good for minus 10 I think.

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I'd recommend replacing the vacuum hoses early on.

Also the timing belt is a quick and easy job, so well worth doing. The 924 NA engine is non-interference motor, so you can't go too far wrong.

Also this link is for a turbo, but might give you some ideas. http://www.924board.org/viewtopic.php?t=22724

Good luck and make sure to post pics.

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I'd throw some fresh grease at your CV's too. It has probably settled into bottom of CV due to gravitiy and may have left some bearings unprotected. I'd also grease/lube all the little things like door stops, hinges, head lght lifting mechanism, boot release. There are probably more but thats all I can think of right now.

 

Did you drain fuel before firing her up ? If not, may pay to fit a new fuel filter and get some fresh stuff in there.

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Thanks for all the tips guys, would vacume leak make it hard to start in cold?

Why should I replace these?can they just crack over time?

I can remember back in the day when mum took me to school it would take up to 20 mins to start in the cold? Is this normal or something wrong.

I'll make sure I grease everything up.

I didn't drain the fuel that was in it but it would of only been about 1L that I put in in 2007 could definitely smell it burning. I was goin to throw in a fresh tank of 98 with a bottle of metho or injector cleaner and replace the fuel filter.

Definitely needs new tyres, they have gone very hard and 2 have slow leaks (friend suggested change the front 2 and leave the back 2 for burnouts.... Only joking tho)

Would the suspension need any work? Could the springs have sagged or shocks leak? My neighbour suggested that if it has blistens like his 948 the shocks can be rebuilt

What gear box, diff oil, coolent and brake fluid would you guys recommend?

Yeah it is white with the martini stripes and horrible/different bright red interior (I'm torn on if I like it or not lol)

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Rubber deteriorates through age , ozone exposure and heat and oil.

The vacuum hoses may be nearly 40 years old , and have hairline splits. That includes the big rubber bellows.

That will make your car hard to start - as will a dead or malfunctioning WUR (warm up regulator) ; a bimetallic strip which controls fuel pressure when the engine is cold (richens it - automatic choke). These tend to go bad with time. I have pulled apart and cleaned and adjusted with varying results .

 

Ideally you should test cold and warm fuel pressures with a gauge set and compare to spec.

If the WUR proves bad you can get a replacement (refurb) or the crap shoot of a used one or one from a similar era Bosch injected car (Merc , Volvo). Mind you other things can go wrong in the injection system (leaky injectors , fuel distributor , check valves etc etc) but often it's the WUR.

 

Star with a strong battery , strong starter connections , new plugs and leads (I have a spare set of 924 heat shielded leads in very good order) and make sure spark and air (no vac leaks) nefore you worry about fuel pressures. But a new filter is mandatory and I would run some injector cleaner through the system , even though the engine uses 98 octane with all the cleaning goodies.

 

Cut your teeth on a 924 and you will be eyeing off the 944s,  and one day perhaps the 928 (948 is not a Porsche I know of  ;) )

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Thanks tazzie, it was a typo his is a 928. He has all the tools needed so looks like im going to hit him up to help me run through everything you guys have said over a weekend.

 

Just bought a oil filter on the way to work, fuel filter and timing belt has been ordered, should be here friday.

 

just need to get a battery and i can get her started.

 

I don't think ill move on to any other porsche's in the near future (unless i win the lotto and buy a cayenne turbo). This car is more sentimental as its been in around longer then me.

 

9fan, she didnt buy it new bought it about 3 years old, but i do have the original books with sale stamp etc.

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I'd throw some fresh grease at your CV's too. It has probably settled into bottom of CV due to gravitiy and may have left some bearings unprotected. I'd also grease/lube all the little things like door stops, hinges, head lght lifting mechanism, boot release. There are probably more but thats all I can think of right now.

 

Did you drain fuel before firing her up ? If not, may pay to fit a new fuel filter and get some fresh stuff in there.

 

Yes Fresh Fuel!!! if the stale fuel passes through the fuel distributor, injectors & WUR it may gum them up.

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I probaly should have drained the old fuel :( i added about 15L of fresh 98 to the about 1L of stale fuel and ran the car a bit.

 

Picked up a timing belt and fuel filter from porsche today :)

But bad news is apparently they don't make the water pumps anymore, can anyone recommend an aftermarket one?

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But bad news is apparently they don't make the water pumps anymore, can anyone recommend an aftermarket one?

http://www.autoatlanta.com/porsche-parts/hardparts.php?dir=924-76-79&section=105-00

 

USA site , shipping won't kill you , but you generally have to wait up to 3 weeks from this supplier (maybe they can expedite freight)

 

You could try ebay but make very sure it's a good one not some cheap ripoff.

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Cannot believe no one has asked yet but we need pics. Lots of pics ;)  We also love a good build thread so feel free to document your progress here, as nothing better than watching a car being transformed. Make sure you take lots of before pics too, as many of us know that forgetting to do them, once you have fixed stuff, it's too late.

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I probaly should have drained the old fuel :( i added about 15L of fresh 98 to the about 1L of stale fuel and ran the car a bit.

 

Picked up a timing belt and fuel filter from porsche today :)

But bad news is apparently they don't make the water pumps anymore, can anyone recommend an aftermarket one?

 

Not a recommendation, just letting you know what's out there:

 

Geba and Graf both make water pumps for early 924's.

 

Make friends with an Australian independent Porsche parts specialist.  (Yes, I am one.  There are others.)   Cheaper than going to the dealership, shouldn't be any more expensive than importing parts for yourself, most likely faster and you'll be supporting a local business and you'll have local backup should you have any issues with parts you buy.

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So i hit my first speed bump, mainly cause I'm not a very good mechanic and my tools are rubbish.

 

Sump plug bolt is rounded badly... tried treaded sockets with no luck, tried vice grips with no luck, will hit up the neighbor on Wednesday (my day off) to see if he has any tricks. Anyone here got any?

 

And here are the pics  :ph34r:

Porsche1.jpgPorsche2.jpgPorsche3.jpg

Porsche4.jpg

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