New to Pelican and Porsche ownership

[Datsom]

Hi all -- as the title says, I'm totally new to Porsche ownership and this forum. Excited to have found and bought a fully documented, one-owner, (relatively) low mileage '87 924S which I just could not refuse. Always wanted an air cooled 911 (but that ship has sailed) so I'm very happy to at least have this beauty in my garage. Excited also to tap into this community of knowledge and support.

I'm sure this is covered somewhere here, but having looked around, can't seem to find it easily -- I'm wondering if there is a primer for 924S/944 ownership that highlights:

A) easy to accomplish fixes and upgrades which the community knows are either weak spots or simple fixes/maintenance to make the car perform better and last longer.

B) no brainer performance upgrades that are easily accomplished without breaking the bank (intake? exhaust? strut braces? etc. etc.).

C) Longer term performance upgrades that are aspirational as things need to get done to the car.

The first order of business is timing belts/water pump as there is coolant seeping from the front cover. Since the car was stored for a while anyway, I think that makes the most sense. A whine out of the transmission suggests some bearings will need replacement down the road. But I can likely enjoy the car for at least a season or two before that's a concern, I think. (I will replace fluids in the transaxle and maybe that will help?)

Otherwise, looking forward to being the long term steward and caretaker for what has been (in the short drives I have taken) a seemingly superb car.

Grateful in advance for all your advice and support!

[PHillary]

Welcome and Cool car awesome find!

For me and I have a 944 S the first easy fixes was cleaning all the grounds and replacing the console buttons and much need dash lighting...You can dress up the interior nicely with some spray cans of upholstery paint replace the non working interior bulbs for me it was my brake light and still looking for a ash tray light bulb but those are some easy cheap fixes that can be made..also your wiper system you could fix that to make water actually spray from the hood Lol!

[Gianni at Pelican Parts]

Hello Datsom and welcome to the Pelican Forums!

Congratulations on your 924S, great Porsche to start with, you will find a wealth of information in these forums but if you want to know where to start definitely check out our "How to" Tech Articles section, where you will find step by step guides for common troubleshooting and maintenance projects.

We carry everything you will need so don't hesitate to call or message us when the time comes.

[pfarah]

Welcome! Depending on the condition, you may want to consider keeping it stock. Fewer and fewer of these cars are looking like they came from the factory. Obviously it's you choice so have fun with it, whatever you end up doing...

[onZedge]

Welcome!

I also have an '87 924S used as a Daily Driver/Project Car.

My tip (FWIW): Regular maintenance keeps this car dependable as a daily driver.

Here is a Dropbox link to a folder containing relavant documentation:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y5l5zi1sbycd2u3/AAAHL8d0ytexYOueMluuRCzra?dl=0

[pfarah]

Hey Edek,
Thanks for that link!! I did't have the 924S Dimensions & Tolerances Manual in my library.
Patrick

[racer]

Congrats on your Purchase!
Given age, you might consider updating fuel lines in the engine compartment to ensure a fire isn't in your future.

https://clarks-garage.com/ is a great resource to have bookmarked.

[Datsom]

Awesome. THanks for the advice everyone, and for the warm welcome @Gianni.

Have to figure out how to reply better in the future, but for now, super grateful. I will try and post some pics sometime if I can upload. In the meantime, any additional thoughts always welcomed.

Cheers,
Stephen

[onZedge]

Datsom - Helpful Tip: please add your year and model (1987 924S) to your signature, so if you need help on a specific problem in the future, we wont have to ask the year and model.

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by Datsom

Hi all -- as the title says, I'm totally new to Porsche ownership and this forum. Excited to have found and bought a fully documented, one-owner, (relatively) low mileage '87 924S which I just could not refuse. Always wanted an air cooled 911 (but that ship has sailed) so I'm very happy to at least have this beauty in my garage. Excited also to tap into this community of knowledge and support.

I'm sure this is covered somewhere here, but having looked around, can't seem to find it easily -- I'm wondering if there is a primer for 924S/944 ownership that highlights:

A) easy to accomplish fixes and upgrades which the community knows are either weak spots or simple fixes/maintenance to make the car perform better and last longer.

B) no brainer performance upgrades that are easily accomplished without breaking the bank (intake? exhaust? strut braces? etc. etc.).

C) Longer term performance upgrades that are aspirational as things need to get done to the car.

The first order of business is timing belts/water pump as there is coolant seeping from the front cover. Since the car was stored for a while anyway, I think that makes the most sense. A whine out of the transmission suggests some bearings will need replacement down the road. But I can likely enjoy the car for at least a season or two before that's a concern, I think. (I will replace fluids in the transaxle and maybe that will help?)

Otherwise, looking forward to being the long term steward and caretaker for what has been (in the short drives I have taken) a seemingly superb car.

Grateful in advance for all your advice and support!

Welcome to Pelican Datsom,there here a lot of knowledge about 924-944-968 Porsches on this forum as you will find out later.First like you said is timming-balance shafts belts & fixing that leak very wise thinking.As you will find out I,m the pics guys on this forum ....Pics are worth a thousand words that's my moto.After taking care of the above I would flush all liquid including motor oil anti-freeze & tranny -diff,use a flushing solution for your rad & expension tank,at the same time make sure your rad cap hold the proper pressure,if you replace the water pump & if your car has the old style one...see pic... you should seriously think about the Turbo Style water pump ...see pics...You would have to modify the rear timing belt shroud to accept the Turbo one but not that hard of a DIY. picsAlluminium rad flush.Most guys here use Red Line for their Tranny Diff.
i

[Ernie944]

Not finish yetOld style water pump versus Turbo style on

Once that done I would move to your motor top end...check all vacums hoses & other rubber hoses for crakes & use,specially the fuel hoses that goes over your fuel injection shroud ...see picsFuel hoses mark by two white dots.Sparks plugs wire either Bosche or NKG should be silicone ,sparks plugs will be your choice but has to be Cooper Core not the so call expensive Lithium one, our cars just love Cooper core..You allready have some advices on bulbes switchs ect ....but the old style fuses panel under the dash are the home of those deadly ceramic fuses witch with time as a tendency to get brittle,they ar cheap & should be replace....picsForgot the OE air filter will do the job perfectly on your 924S so avoid the Cone Filter set up if possible.Now lets get serious SUSPENSION....your car is now 33years old & if the bushings has not been replace you should do so ,once again try to stay OE with new rubber bushings ,withch not a race car application will give you a firm ride,Shocks should be look at at if need replacing ,if so BOGE are ot that expensive a good choice front & rear a stut brace will do little for your car handling it's stiff enough as it is.With the suspension come brakes & tires ,a very good brake pads witch I use both on my ex -944 & 968 were see picsAxxis Deluxe not that expensive but work well cold & warm as real good stopping power & minimun brakes dust.Finaly there is a lot of little mods you could do to your car to make it more pleasurable to drive around & won't cost you a fortune exp a short shifter kit ,,,,came tower ...electronic coil...lowering the car front & rear & the rigth tire both my cars were riding on Falken tires....FYI click on my garage & see Old Faitshfull 83-944 & Dream 93-968,hope this will help in the future & have fun...Ernie

[mytrplseven]

Welcome to the family. As you can tell by the growing number of welcoming responses on the forum, we are happy to have you and your new find in the circle. We're here to help and share in your day to day happenings.

[Datsom]

Oh wow -- @Ernie944. LOVE the pics and the advice. So, I'm in Halifax, NS which in the grand scheme of things isn't that far. I'm in need of a Porsche mentor! LOL

@onZedge -- great advice. This is done. I don't think I could modify my initial profile (at least, that was my experience) until after my first post. With that out of the way, I can now make mods, add an avatar, etc. etc. I'm getting there slowly!

One general question for the group, since everyone agrees the timing and water pump are first orders of business: I'm in an area (Ernie944 knows it and some of you out there might as well) where there are effectively no aftermarket Porsche specialists. I'm handy with a wrench and feel confident tackling most things, but on this job, I know the consequences of not getting the belt, pump and all the various seals and gaskets right... including the tension.

So without any options, (and Factory Service Manual free), I was going to bring it to the -- GULP -- dealer to get this one critical thing done since it is so bloodly important. They quoted me more than I paid for the car, but I negotiated it down to about the same as what I paid for the car LOL!

Shy of that, I just don't want the second thing I do to the car be a full engine rebuild.

Any thoughts on this dilemma? Is this something I can tackle myself and save a ton of $$? Or, given that I'm literally in week 2 of owning this beauty and I'd prefer not to do any damage, so should I bite the bullet and get'er done this first time?

As always, grateful for your thoughts and guidance!

[Ernie944]

[QUOTE=Datsom;11064326]Oh wow -- @Ernie944. LOVE the pics and the advice. So, I'm in Halifax, NS which in the grand scheme of things isn't that far. I'm in need of a Porsche mentor! I Datsom you got a PM ,,,,Private Message ...click on it to open.Ernie

[Ernie944]

Datsom did you get my last PM at around 10 AM this morning?

[Datsom]

Hi @Ernie944 -- yes!! Thanks so much. I think your DMs are pretty clear -- will call Gerry and see what he has to say, too.

Wanted to address the posting by @pfarah -- I agree with you 100% on this one. A lot of the advice I'm getting here is really just confirming that the car is worthy of enjoying on its own terms and so for that reason, it's worth not messing it up with significant mods. I think @Ernie944 has confirmed additional things -- like improvements can still be made (say suspension bushings) without disturbing the spirit of the original. So any improvements will be made with that in mind.

I'm still debating the dilemma in my head -- DIY or Dealer this one time? Decisions decisions. Help me with your thoughts, folks. Very much valued!

[Ernie944]

This is the pattern I,m talking about for the new style water pump. Also this link will be very useful doing all your maintenance ,once on it click on Garage Shop Manual Clark's Garage Home Page.

[Datsom]

Just on Clark's Garage now! So much info. The tools list is handy, too. Cheers @Ernie944

[Ernie944]

Originally Posted by Datsom

Just on Clark's Garage now! So much info. The tools list is handy, too. Cheers @Ernie944

Keep on going we are having fun here following your progress .,..the GREEN ...is fading aways slowly but sure:Seriously just doing the same the old timers did for me when I join this forum.

[Datsom]

Hey all,

@Ernie944 gave me instructions on how to dump photos into a post -- mostly because he wanted to see the car I bought hahaha -- but seriously, I'm only too happy to oblige. I'm really proud of this addition to my family.

So just to recap, the good: one owner (doctor), fully documented (all the stamps in the service booklet and tons of receipts), original manuals, original brochure, full toolkit, 160K (100K miles) so average 5K a year, all original interior with only a couple of minor cracks, but otherwise seats, doors, center console, all in tip-top shape. Never winter driven.

The bad: need to do the timing/water pump; have that whine in the tranny, one window switch doesn't work, and the original radio was replaced with a tasteful but non-Blaupunkt cd player from the days when aftermarket head units could still be tasteful -- LOL. As an aside, I would like to go back to what came in the car originally, so if anyone knows what the stock radio model would have been (I have the original radio code cards which say "Autobahn" which I think would have been a VW head unit, I believe) please shed some light on this for me.

Now, without further ado, from the day I brought the car home (about 2 weeks ago), washed and gave her a quick wax, and removed 33 years of ballast from behind the front wheels (you'll see. No rot or rust whatsoever). Photos taken on the wharf 3 minutes from my house.

With gratitude,
Stephen