Any 924 Turbo gurus out there? Were Series 1 models being made in 1981?

[vinnytang]

Hey guys, recently acquired a 1981 924 Turbo. It'll arrive at my house next weekend, but I'm getting confused because its most certainly a 1981 model according to the chassis number, and from everything I've found in my research that should make it a series 2. Thing is, the engine has the oval shaped intake manifold with the turbo badge stuck on, which is unique to the series 1 turbos. 

Unfortunately I didn't take photos of the engine number, but I thought I'll ask if anyone knows if Porsche continued to make series 1 cars into 1981? And if so, when was the cut off date? Everywhere I've looked said they stopped S1 in 1980.

The car is very original and I assume it was the matching engine, but maybe it was changed out over the years with an earlier one...is there also a definitive list somewhere on all the updates that differentiate the S1 and the updated S2 models?

thanks in advance to anyone that can shed some light!

[James P]

Give a few websites a try for history & show us some photos if you can... where did you find the car?

http://www.924.org/models/93 overview.htm   https://porsche924.co.uk   http://www.iribbit.net/i/924org/mah_931.cfm

 

[vinnytang]

Nothing exciting to share for now until i get it back. Guards Red '81 931, interior is black with corduroy (I think?) inserts. Shouldn't take too much to get on the road but it has sat dormant in rural Victoria for a number of years. Needed something I don't have to be too precious with as my regular commute and this fit the bill perfectly. Would love to hear from other Turbo owners how the 924 fares as a regular driver, I know it hasn't had the best reputation over the years...

[edgy]

Is it built in 81? or compliance in AU 81? its possible you have an 80 built car that was late to the AU market, hence the 81 compliance. 

BUT There is a few other tell tales for S1 on the 924 Turbo, indicators in the guards is one, the oval intake and a few other little things. 

@Robert930 seems to have an S1 Turbo.. I am sure he will chime in when he gets a moment. 

I also saved my S1 924 (N/A) out of rural VIC. Good on you, they're fun little cars.  

[vinnytang]

It has a 'WPOZZZ' chassis number and they didn't introduce that until '81 from what I've read. I'd love to find out what other cosmetic differences seperate the two series. Mine has PORSCHE embossed on the door cards, from what I can see that was S2 specific?

[vinnytang]

here's a pic of the engine bay

[Rob]

Nothing to do under there...

[vinnytang]

Nothing to do under there...

With a bit of fuel down the throat and another battery – it started right up! I couldn't believe it myself!

[michel]

Where are the chickens? 

[WOKA]

[bear924]

Hello Vinnytang,

Good on you for saving a poor ole 924... welcome to the world of the unloved Porsche. I have a S2 924 turbo as well (see pic), a few pointers.

1. Your engine is a series two engine. The series one engines have a rubber piece on the turbo inlet pipe. Very obvious when you see it.

2. The 924 turbo is an interference engine. I would be reluctant to run the engine if you haven't replaced the timing belt. Easy and cheap job, would be a pity to have to re-valve your engine.

3. I don't daily drive mine now however have no hesitation driving it wherever (well.. that is until I pulled the engine to give it a birthday, once I finish the engine rebuild project I'm sure I'll have no doubts going forward). I do feel the urban myth of the 924 turbo unreliability is over done. Early on, cars had issues with cooking turbo because of poor oil changes and not spooling down turbo. The only time my car has not worked for me is because of a blown clutch hose and blown radiator hose.(and I've now owned car for 17 years, most of the time it was run on a relatively tight budget). I just had my turbo inspected after 14 years of operation.. including track time. Turbo oil passage clean as a daisy.

4. Parts for these cars are difficult to find as there were never many made and most are now in worse condition than yours. I'm currently trying to replace all radiator hoses and have some gaps. 924board.org is the place for information. The good news is that a few enthusiasts are now creating NLA parts. 3-5 years ago it was actually not possible to rebuild a 924 turbo engine as you couldn't get bearings etc.

5. The series one turbos actually have a few advantages and a few disadvantages over the series two. When I bought mine I wanted a series two however over time have formed that view it is not a huge difference either way. (I especially like the two tone colour schemes of the series one turbos.)

If you have any questions I'm happy to try to help and would love to see some more pics. I have developed a real soft spot for these Porsches.

 

 

 

 

[vinnytang]

Thanks for the info mate, very helpful!

[vinnytang]

here's a pic of the engine bay

Before and after

[XLR8]

Aaah, that's better.

[dsteel]

Looks great

[TINGY]

Before and after

I bet you were pleasantly surprised that it came up like this, looks great.

[Diamond911]

Good job. Great transformation. It's amazing what a bit of elbow grease can do to a car.

[Robert930]

Is it built in 81? or compliance in AU 81? its possible you have an 80 built car that was late to the AU market, hence the 81 compliance. 

BUT There is a few other tell tales for S1 on the 924 Turbo, indicators in the guards is one, the oval intake and a few other little things. 

@Robert930 seems to have an S1 Turbo.. I am sure he will chime in when he gets a moment. 

I also saved my S1 924 (N/A) out of rural VIC. Good on you, they're fun little cars.  

Hi @vinnytang, sorry for my late reply, you definitely have an S2, and a lovely one at that, congrats!!

Without going into a lot of detail, the definitive S1 vs S2 check is where the VIN number is actually stamped

S1 - Stamped on the shock tower and NOT a WP0ZZZ number

S2 - Stamped on the firewall as per 944 and is a WP0ZZZ number

There is a lot of confusion about RHD Turbo cars too, in the LHD market, the point to remember is the RHD Turbo 924 was delayed significantly due to the lack of space for RHD / engineering issues, what we do know is the first 924T in RHD was delivered to Reading, UK on November 1979 (It made the newspapers!!) and after that the RHD Turbos started rolling out to other RHD specific markets

BTW, I love what you've done with the cleaning the engine bay, and not wanting to overwhelm you, but...there are many maintenance items ahead of you if you want the car reliable and SAFE !!

As per the advice above, I would go through all the usual maintenance items (esp timing belt) fuel system, brakes, Turbo, coolant hard lines etc (you will know what I mean when you remove and inspect them (don't blame me, I'm just the messenger ) ...but in the end you will have a super rare and unique Porsche, I know a lot of people have mixed opinions, but these are truly a gem and a historic 1st step in a highly successful front engine campaign by Porsche

The majority of these cars have been left to die due to lack of parts / better options, so very few remain in a healthy state, but with aircooled prices as they are, people in the know are circling back on these gems now, parts are getting more common, repro items getting built etc

A 924 revolution is apon us....you heard it here

 

 

[vinnytang]

Thanks for the info @robert930, I think I'm going to be turning to the PFA 931 brains trust quite regularly during the resto. 

Yeah I've got my work cut out for me, but just before it was taken off the road the previous owner spend $7k on getting the motor running perfectly back in 2006. New head gasket, fuel meter, head reco, replaced guides n valves, recod camshaft, throttle body switch replaced and basically more service parts. Most of the tubes and tanks will need to be replaced, but mechanically I have a good feeling that it won't take too much to get back on the road (famous last words). 

I'll be replacing the fuel pump with a 044 unit as the Porsche part costs $560(!!!) and rebuild the fueling system, the exhaust is rusty so I'm going to get a new one fabricated. And yes  – the timing belt replacement will be installed this week before we go hammer and tong on the rest!

[Paulm]

Been off the forum a while now looks like the 924 turbo is finally getting some recognition of what a great car it is. Anyway found this wait till 22.00 into the episode might give some indication of their launch into the Australian market all those years ago.

 Hope you all like.

 

[Robert930]

Been off the forum a while now looks like the 924 turbo is finally getting some recognition of what a great car it is. Anyway found this wait till 22.00 into the episode might give some indication of their launch into the Australian market all those years ago.

 Hope you all like.

 

Great find Paul, I really enjoyed watching the whole half hour show, I even once owned a Golf just like the one reviewed !! I even found myself rewinding to spot classics in the background....

For the people with less time on their hands, I've selected the comments that stood out to me

"and without a doubt, a better handling car than the 911 series, as a result of the better balance of the front engine and not so much weight swinging around at the tail"

And keeping on topic, the car reviewed appears to be a series 1 924T

 

[Apogee]

How times have changed...10.7 secs 0- 100km/hr for the petrol Golf is "a little too spirited" which btw is the same performance of the previous  Priuis. I wonder what Peter would have thought of the AMG45 if he was still alive.

I still think the 924 looks contemporary i.e. it would not look out of place if sold as a new car today. It is such a timeless design. I remember Joanna Lumley (hubba hubba) driving one in the UK scifi series Sapphire and Steel. I was 12 at the time. 

[Paulm]

Yes I used to own a golf as well great cars. Here is another photo of my 924 T . Was amazed at him quoting 40k brand new for the car. That was price of a average house in those days from what I remember. Goes to show how import tarrifs raised the selling price which I think he mentioned.