Porsche 924 - My First Car 10 months on

Porsche 924 - My First Car 10 months on

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PawnSacrifice

101 posts

159 months

Tuesday 26th February 2013
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These...
Four-stud 6J x 15 spider web alloy wheels with 205/60HR15 Pirelli P6 tyres.


Source: http://porsche924944.wordpress.com

There were apparently only 100 sent to the UK. I only discovered there was a 2l Le Mans a little while ago when I saw one eBay, had to get out my book to confirm what I was seeing!

GC8

19,910 posts

190 months

Tuesday 26th February 2013
quotequote all
PawnSacrifice said:
These...
Four-stud 6J x 15 spider web alloy wheels with 205/60HR15 Pirelli P6 tyres.


Source: http://porsche924944.wordpress.com

There were apparently only 100 sent to the UK. I only discovered there was a 2l Le Mans a little while ago when I saw one eBay, had to get out my book to confirm what I was seeing!
The wheels were an option here and they were standard on many US Turbos, on which the five stud hubs and large brakes were an option.


GC8

19,910 posts

190 months

Wednesday 27th February 2013
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Porsche-924-Lattice-allo...

These may intrest the OP. I think that theyre expensive, but most sets have gone the same way as the cars now...

FelixP

Original Poster:

304 posts

155 months

Wednesday 27th February 2013
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Cedric - Sweden was fantastic and I'm sure I'll be back in the summer. Driving the 931 the chassis felt familiar but it did have a lot more power, I guess I can still have plenty of fun in my car too.

I'm not a fan of the spiderweb wheels and they require long wheel bolts which often cost as much as the wheels...

A good reason for the 5 stud conversion is to open up more Porsche wheel options, and like you say Cedric, my rear brakes are already out of adjustment.

I picked up a replacement door and window for £40. It needs a bit of paint but I'm anticpating getting a bit done on the rear 1/4 too. Meanwhile I mentioned to the breaker I fancy doing a 5 stud conversion and he'd sell me the front corners for £30 each and a complete rear beam for £160. I wonder if this is the best way to do it? I could take out the 924 beam with the drums on, reindex an aluminum 924S/944 beam and then bolt it up with the brake setup on there already. If I got the 944 one, would I have a slightly wider track also? And thicker torsion bars.

FelixP

Original Poster:

304 posts

155 months

Wednesday 27th February 2013
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Oh and my Grandmother wanted to get married for some reason. And arrive in my car of all things!

So I set off for Cornwall, she promptly expressed her discomfort climbing in and told me to go slowly. Unfortunately for her, the Dansk exhaust makes all manner of fabulous burbling noises once you come off the throttle at 5,000rpm. We arrived and thanks to a Fiesta, parked very badly. I've taken the ribbons off now.

924 in looking small, nimble & fun to drive compared to other cars shocker




y2blade

56,112 posts

215 months

Thursday 28th February 2013
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Looks good with the ribbons on cool

GC8

19,910 posts

190 months

Thursday 28th February 2013
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Id presumed that the fixings were included with the wheels. Looking more carefully at the pictures I see that they arent, so £200 is a comedy price.

5TUE

740 posts

172 months

Friday 8th March 2013
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Hi Felix, just a thought but are you sure that you want to go for bigger rubber?

I'm only thinking along the lines of the Toyota GT86, I.e not massive power but massive fun in no small part down to the skinny rubber.

Just a thought.

Stu.

GC8

19,910 posts

190 months

Friday 8th March 2013
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GC8 said:
Id presumed that the fixings were included with the wheels. Looking more carefully at the pictures I see that they arent, so £200 is a comedy price.
I messaged the vendor and he has the bolts and is including them with the wheels. He didnt realise that they were needed to fit the wheels to a 14" wheeled 924.

FelixP

Original Poster:

304 posts

155 months

Friday 8th March 2013
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Hey Stu,

Sorry I didn't make it to the South Wales meet the other day, I'd booked Saturday off instead of Sunday!!!

I'd still like more rubber so it never really breaks traction and goes around corners even faster. However it's great fun on the 6 inch wide wheels still, perhaps I'd miss that side of it.

A few days ago I was talking about how reliable it is and then of course, the next day the car was dead! The battery could hardly turn the starter motor. I got a jump start and then it worked fine. Volts seemed a steady 10-11, which is too low. Once again today, the car started fine, drove for plenty of time but as soon as I came back to it, the battery was dead.

I have a 3 year warranty on my battery, which is still under 2 years old, so that's being checked tomorrow morning. I'm not sure if I'll make the 924 meet-up at the Ace Cafe tomorrow now, which is a shame. I'm hoping it's the battery at fault, considering I had the alternator and loom replaced at relatively great expense in September 2011. If it's more serious than the battery I'll probably have to let it languish for awhile and my paint plans will be put on hold :S

GC8

19,910 posts

190 months

Friday 8th March 2013
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Battery tip: get them to check it making no mention of warranty. When they confirm that its knackered, only then do you produce your receipt...

LasseV

1,754 posts

133 months

Sunday 10th March 2013
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All old front engine Porsches are great cars and i want to have one in a year or two. Great looking and i heard that they have very good and balanced chassis.

I really enjoyed reading FelixP stories wink What kind of fuel consumption you can have with 924?

GC8

19,910 posts

190 months

Sunday 10th March 2013
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Slightly less than youd get from a 2.5l 8v 944!

FelixP

Original Poster:

304 posts

155 months

Monday 29th April 2013
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LasseV – I can get very high 30's on a steady run but probably get high 20's low 30's overall.

I'm feeling very car motivated today having picked up the perfect accessory and realised it's time I updated on a few trails & tribulations I've had in the past couple of months.

My alternator died and was outside of the 12 month warranty, but my garage is nice and I just paid labour for a new one to be fitted. The voltage was still quite low, so I replaced the battery as another measure and so far it has been fine. The voltage reads 12.5v with the headlights, heater etc on but otherwise it's strong and there's not too much in the way of electrical systems drawing power.

The nights got longer and the weather milder and it's always a good feeling reaching spring in an old car you've run all through the winter. I went to Brean Sands for the Retro Rides Beach Party, which provided a great chance to catch up with friends and have a look at some other cars to my taste!

With the lowered suspension the car looks so much better in my eyes, and handling is vastly improved with the stiffer shocks. Here's what it looks like now:



And an annoying dent in the front valence after I entered a roundabout frown



Compared with a couple of years ago at Brean Sands on the standard setup:



Then I had another problem! The car wouldn't start at all once I got out of work. Not feeling very enthused, I lazily phoned the AA to tow me home. Being a Sunday evening it was contracted out to someone else, who wanted to get a flatbed because it was too nice to tow, ha!



Once at home, it became clear the fuel pump wasn't doing anything. Before shelling out for a new one, I pulled out the fuel pump relay and jumped it with a paperclip. As if by magic, I hear the pump, and the car starts with a turn of the key. I ordered a new relay for £25 and fitted it. Problem solved I thought! Only the next day in town it cut out again. With another AA callout on the way, I tried to start it again and it fired right up. The relay was getting quite hot and this made me suspect a wiring fault. With the AA to help, we tracked it down to a dodgy continental fuse. The fuel pump was drawing less than the 16a fuse but enough to melt the plastic of the fuse without blowing it. This lead to an increasingly worse connection and some hot wiring, which then made the relay stick. I drove to Halfords with the AA in tow this time and bought a blade fuse holder and the patrolman kindly fitted it in the car park and now my problems have subsided, for now!

Today I stumbled upon something I've been trying to find for ages, having only seen one for sale since buying the car. Roof bars!



After giving the bars and car a quick wash and winding up a friend by putting my studio lighting kit on the top:


I'm into my road cycling and being able to perch my bike on top of the car and have space in the boot would be useful. I'm sure I'd find a use for a roofbox too. The bars are made by Eckel and I think they're the OE ones. As I turned up the seller offered another set, which are thinner in construction and have 4 ski mounts. They're in great condition considering their age if I don't pass them on to another enthusiast, I think I'll keep them for myself, put some skis on and cruise around like the coolest kid in South Wales!





Next up is the 924 National rally on May 19th, where I can upset purists with a modified car as I laud my roof bars over them!

DHE

4,514 posts

190 months

Monday 29th April 2013
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Felix, you overtook me on the M4 at Margam last week, tuesday or Wednesday at about 6pm. Did give you a flash as you overtook me. The car does look nice lowered, both in the rear view mirror and when following. Your headlights were up but not working.

FelixP

Original Poster:

304 posts

155 months

Monday 29th April 2013
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Sorry I missed you! It's hard to get a Sunday free otherwise I'd be straight down the cafe to show it off to the South Wales PH contingent.

If you put the headlights on and then go to sidelights, the headlights stay up. I sometimes do this on purpose otherwise I forget about it!

DHE

4,514 posts

190 months

Monday 29th April 2013
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Ok, not sure if there was a fault, poor weather as well. Car looked great.

deltashad

6,731 posts

197 months

Monday 29th April 2013
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Your thread is a great read Felix. I love the old non turbo 924's, your car is looking really good. Its amazing how they're worth so little.
Shirley you should be able to knock the dent in the valance out with a rubber mallet?

Think these would look good on your car, cleaned up of course if you were still after a set of 15"ers.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15-ALULINE-alloys-wheels...

FelixP

Original Poster:

304 posts

155 months

Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Thanks Deltashad, I'm planning that or to wrestle it out with some molegrips.

Those wheels look good, but the 924 is 4x108. They remind me slightly of the 924 steel wheels that came on a few very early cars:



Imagine if I could get my hands on a set in the next couple of weeks and knew a talented person who could widen the rears an extra inch or two since they're only 5.5j and then got them painted all nicely wink

With the adjustable Koni's, Dansk exhaust, tweed seats, roof bars and steels I'll have to try hard to find another special part!

Google [bot]

6,682 posts

181 months

Tuesday 30th April 2013
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Leave the wheels alone, they're perfect.