New To Me 1987 924S Arrived

[River19]

Been working to purchase this 1987 924S from a local seller who turned out to be a wonderful human and I am glad we crossed paths.

Car has a verified 70K on the clock and is in overall really solid condition. Electronic gadgets work (ie. windows, mirrors, lights, sunroof, wipers, radio etc.). A/C is the one primary system that does not work and I am fine with that. Having lived through the 80s/90s and run 4 cylinder cars with A/C from that era, I will gladly roll the window down or take the 911 on hot days......

Car drives shockingly well, tracks straight, suspension feels "OK" could probably use new shocks. The previous owner had the timing belt and pump done and the thermostat was replaced and one of the 2 funky things we have is the temp gauge will move to the red yet there really is no sign the car is near overheating and honestly no sign the car is anything but running as designed. Eventually I will have to track that down.

I do suspect I need motor mounts as I am sure they are original and there is a fair bit of vibration on startup and then while driving from 3500-5000rpm.

It hadn't been driven a ton in the past few years as previous owner only put 3K miles on in the 3+ years he has owned it.

I did some basic cleaning and threw a quick coat of wax on it today after putting 60miles on it to blow out the crap and see what it might need. It has an appt with "the guy" in early April.

Starting the transaxle journey......

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[Tom]

Looks like a great car! We have an a/c repair procedure in the 944 Handbook if interested, which covers the compressor, receiver dryer, condenser, R134a, etc. I had an 85 911 back in the day, and the 944 a/c is dramatically stronger. My one piece of unsolicited advice is to change those original fuel hoses under the hood. Eventually, age gets to them and they start to leak onto the headers -- not good! As these cars get older, replacing those original fuel lines has become the #1 priority -- even more so than the timing belts! Congrats on the car!

[River19]

Looks like a great car! We have an a/c repair procedure in the 944 Handbook if interested, which covers the compressor, receiver dryer, condenser, R134a, etc. I had an 85 911 back in the day, and the 944 a/c is dramatically stronger. My one piece of unsolicited advice is to change those original fuel hoses under the hood. Eventually, age gets to them and they start to leak onto the headers -- not good! As these cars get older, replacing those original fuel lines has become the #1 priority -- even more so than the timing belts! Congrats on the car!

Solid advice.

The car is heading to the same shop that handles my 997 for them to go through. I will have them look at the fuel lines as well.......

[PSU_Crash]

Welcome aboard! Your local mechanic should be able to get you straight.
Great looking Porsche!

[River19]

@PSU_Crash Thanks !!!

Regarding the fuel lines, I just glanced through the service history and saw the fuel pump was replaced in 2022, there is an outside chance the fuel lines were replaced as well, or at least I would have if it were me. We will find out in a few weeks as to what things it "needs" within reason.

My goal for the car is to invest in the things it needs to make it a reliable, enjoyable runner. I'm not looking for "performance" per se however if a modification improves the drivability or reliability I will look in that direction, things such as the MAF vs. the barn door etc.

EDIT:
Wanted to add, I have service records as well which is nice. Timing belt, water pump, fuel pump, plugs, master cylinder along with some other items have all been done in the past 2-4 years and within the past 3K miles.

[River19]

I needed to run an errand today and since it was actually sunny, cold but sunny, I took the red car. When I picked it up over the weekend and over the first 60 or so miles I put on it it really didn't want to rev from 3500 on upward without a fair bit of protesting and vibration.

When I headed out today it started off like a 1980s cold car and was not too happy....then it warmed up and felt pretty good. So I took the long way home and put a total of ~25miles on it and during the ride I gave it a good old "Italian Tune Up" and the more I flogged it the happier it was to rev smoothly right on up to redline. I wonder if it just needed to be "cleared out" since it was sitting all winter.

My wife needed to drop something off at our vet, so we took the red car......and added another 20ish miles to the total.

I figured I might as well document the journey....here's what I noticed and what I will let the shop know to look at (among the list I am sure they will find):

1 -The thermostat and/or temp gauge is wonky as the seller let me know; it moves fairly quickly to the red or just about to red yet I do not believe this is a true indication of engine temp. The thermostat has been replaced 2x in the past 4 years. One out of every 4 or so times I fire it up the gauge works fine and sits in the middle. After I flogged it this afternoon I came back and took the temp with an IR gun and the block was 195-205, the header was 450-500degrees and the expansion tank was cold. Something to chase down, I suspect electrical like a bad ground etc.

2 - When I get on it I get some exhaust smell in the cabin, more than ever should be. Part of me wonders if I didn't have a mouse nest in the exhaust etc. requiring the aforementioned "clearing out" and possibly still have something going on there.

3 - Suspension feels stiff and tired, most likely will end up with some new Koni dampers

4 - Need wheels balanced......getting classic "wobbles" at about 60-65mph

But this is a damn fun little car and with it revving freely it actually feels spunky considering the 150ish hp. I also got some attention at the supermarket lot with a couple of guys that clearly were there in the 80s just stopping and watching me drive by and smiling, to the couple walking their dog who had big grins on their face and waved to the dude rolling a Cayenne giving me the wave.......clearly the red grabs some attention.

[Oringojin]

Just a quick word about the fuel lines. On the 924S as you can see on the photos, they don't run over the exhaust side of the engine, but come up on the intake side, so there's less risk of a sudden catastrophic fire. It's of course still a good idea to replace them, and I did mine with the Rennbay kit which I bought fromm 944online. It has been working leak-free from the start, so I'm very happy with the kit.

[Tom]

Just a quick word about the fuel lines. On the 924S as you can see on the photos, they don't run over the exhaust side of the engine, but come up on the intake side, so there's less risk of a sudden catastrophic fire. It's of course still a good idea to replace them, and I did mine with the Rennbay kit which I bought fromm 944online. It has been working leak-free from the start, so I'm very happy with the kit.

Fair point, but still....

[River19]

Thinking ahead......what is a solid exhaust setup for the 924S?

Headers, cat delete, resonator to 2.5" and whatever choice of muffler?

On one hand if I have to update the exhaust I would prefer to only do it once, but on the other hand I don't want to break the bank if there is no real reason to as I am sure there will be other needs other than the exhaust.

[Gaspowered]

2 - When I get on it I get some exhaust smell in the cabin, more than ever should be. Part of me wonders if I didn't have a mouse nest in the exhaust etc. requiring the aforementioned "clearing out" and possibly still have something going on there.

Sometimes exhaust fumes in the cabin may be an indication of the rear hatch not sealing correctly.
Regarding your exhaust system questions.
I don't think there's much to be gained from a 2.5" system in a N/A car.
If you have the time, you should have a look at some of the videos from @NC944er on restoring his '88 944 N/A. He's done a great job of documenting quite a few things that may be of interest to you.



Cheers