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Bought my first Porsche

Well, I fell into what I thought was a deal, probably not, but I am happy. It is a 1978 924 with 69,000 (miles) on the clock. New brakes, tires, brake lines, fuel line, and most body panels cleaned and painted (the doors, hood and driver fender need to be stripped and painted yet). I am waiting for a new Master cylinder, as that is shot, and for some time to work my way through the electrical issues it has.

So the problems as I see it on this car are:

  1. The master cylinder is dead. This is no big deal, I have one on order.
  2. The brake lights don't work I assume if the cylinder is dead, that there is not enough pressure to trip the brake switch? So this should be fixed with the MC.
  3. The turn signals came on, but do not blink. I removed what I call the flasher on all of my US built cars. Could not find a suitable replacement, and put it back in. It works. JFM.
  4. Only the oil gauge in the middle gauges/clock package work.
  5. The radio doesn't work.
  6. The head lights/running lights do not work.
  7. The head lights do not raise up. The previous owner (his wife) indicated her husband always had to manually crank them up.(Impressive design BTW) I assume this means the lights came on.
  8. The wife claims that the car will kill the battery. I have not put a amp meter on this yet, but when I tried the arc test it was dead, nothing sparking. When I got in the car to drive it home (yes, with a bad master cylinder, but wait it gets better) I checked the radio, and it was on, with no sound. I have since turned it to OFF.
  9. The parking brake cable was removed.
  10. A previous owner has installed a "magic switch" that will give the car more power. This was removed, with what appears to have been force.
  11. At speed the steering is loose. It take a good turn of the wheel to actually get the car to correct.
  12. I appear to be missing a lot of seals.
  13. There is standing water in the rear tail lights.

I found the unusual (at least to me) fuses this car takes, so I hope to start swapping out the fuses to replace the burned out ones. I have a Haynes manual for it, but no were can I find what the fuses are supposed to be rated at. A couple of them have been replaced with glass ones that are just a hair to small. I found this site

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but this for a 944. The two main issues I am wrestling with are that I am not familiar with the Porsche line of cars, to know the family of cars sharing the same engine or bodies. As well as this, I can not find a comprehensive aftermarket dealer. Specifically the parking brake. I can not find a replacement for this for this car. Since this is a 4 speed I do not feel comfortable with out one.

So even though the two hour drive home was with weak brakes, no signals, no brake lights it put a smile on my face that is hard to wipe off. I was followed by my wife most of the time, and used hand signals (which in retrospect hanging ones arm out of the window of a car in Detroit probably isn't a fantastic idea). Once I got off the freeways and onto the country highways it was a bit easier driving. I took some corners hard (primarily because I couldn't slow down with the brakes) and it stayed level and the wheels where they were supposed too. This little car is going to be a lot of fun!

Reply to
Paul
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You have a strange notion of 'fun'... ;-)

Anyway...you'll find lots of knowledgeable owners here...

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Reply to
Amfur Kilnem

They say a fool and his money is easily parted an heres your proof. The car sounds a joke and you will be to driving a 924. Everyone knows that the 924 is the poor mans Porsche. You don't have enough money to buy a proper Porsche so buy a wreck of a 924 just because it has a Porsche badge.

Reply to
Honest John

Did that feel good? Do you feel better about yourself now that you put him down? Can you hold your nose in the air a little higher now? Hey, I have an idea. Say something about his mother. That should be extremely invigorating for you.

Reply to
!bystander

well, aside from the ones who will put you down for buying a fixer-upper, i think you're looking to the right source for general information by posting to porsche newsgroups. my advice would be to find a Haynes manual and start going through the simple fixes to get the car on the road legally (IE fix the brakes and lights). you may end up having to re-wire some of the lights and fix the actuator setup for the headlamps by the way. auto wreckers sometimes will let these go cheaply but most often not. best thing to do is find a porsche at an "all-you-can-carry" dismantler though. i bought my first 944 with a couple of minor things wrong with it, and it turned out to be a great lesson. i not only learned a lot about how the car functions, but became very close to my car in the process. take time to go through things yourself before taking it to a shop. 924 are quite easy to work on compared to anything newer than a 1995 car, and the reward is a great sense of satisfaction in the end. don't use electrical tape, always solder and use shrinkwire and your electrical repairs will last forever. make sure you add a bleeder valve and use PROPPER brake fluid when you do the master cylinder. i'm not sure about your steering, but check to make sure you have no leaks and all the boots are good when you're going through it all.

have fun. be safe. and don't cheap-out on any repairs.

Reply to
News Surfer

You are an idiot... my guess is your nothing but a Porsche wannabe yourself...

BTW, I own 2 911's, track one and have great respect for those running with me in a 924 or 944... they do quite well out there and are fine cars.

Now you can go away..

Reply to
GaryR

Paul,

Congratulations on your purchase. My 1st Porsche was a 1987 924S, it was a lot of fun and was a very good introduction into the Porsche line. Get the Haynes 944 manual to assist with many of the items. Rennlist and the Pelican Parts bulletin board are great sources for information. I'd also become a member of Porsche Club of America as they have many people who are knowledgeable about your car.

Mike

Reply to
Mike

Paul rearranged some electrons to read:

Congrats, Paul! Welcome to the fine world of Porsche. Don't let anyone tell you that the 924 is the Poor Man's Porsche. That's the 914 (which is mostly VW). I own one and am picking up another this week. After all, it usually takes two of them to make a good one of them. I also own a 911, but I cannot tweak on it as much without taking out a

2nd on my house. As you may have already learned, the 944 is the sister car of the 924. The engineering behind these cars is fabulous. When I used to work on my V-dubbs, I was nearly always frustrated with the nature of the designs, but my first Porsche (79 SC) made me appreciate a whole new world. There was reasoning behind why something was designed in a particular way. My garage cursing was greatly reduced, and my neighbors were happier about that. Of course, the Porsche never broke down, either. As someone else has said, never do cheap fixes, check out Rennlist, but also check out Pelican Parts and PCA.

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Also, hook up with your local Porsche club. You will find more avenues for parts and things. Best of luck to you and post your progress.

DS

95 993 Coupe 75 914 Project
Reply to
The Dead Senator

Thanks to all that responded with helpful and positive comments. I hope to get done with my domestic chores so that I can get into the diagnosis and repair. I will be posting more questions later.

Paul.

Reply to
Paul

Honest John = troll

Reply to
rory911

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