was it expensive to get the paint matched? were you able to buy any spray cans of the stuff?? here are more pictures, see the dent in the nose? and there's some denting on the right headlight cover and the air dam is all messed up. the left fender is from another car, and the body underneath the door and right behind is a little messed up. lots of work, huh????http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1157679018.jpg http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1157679067.jpg

Ken congrats on that purchase, I own the same year and color 924S. They are a different animal as far as looks go compared to the 944 but it is still a very very good looking style. My car is not quite in the disarray that your is but it is worth the time and money when you get to take it out and show it off. I just reccently had a professional detailer take off the dated looking rubber trim around the circumfrence of the car and then wet sand and compound buff the area to blend the paint since the paide under the rubber hadn't seen light since the factory in Germany 19 years ago. It looks beautiful, and a bit more modern. My front lower valence has a few dings in it that I am about to have taken care of. Once you start fixing things you can't stop, at least I can't, until it's near perfect.

Good luck with her!

the older 944 looks almost identical to the 924, except for the flare fenders to accomodate the wider wheelbase. the first 944 to come out, i mean. not the one this post is about. and it uses most of the same technology inside too, at least that's what i've been able to learn on the internet. that's why the 924S is covered in my 944 repair manual. i guess i could be wrong

Mine is the first body style and definately shares most of the components except for the body. I have an early 84. When you go to painting you may want to seriously consider having a shop do it. The sections need to be done in entirety rather than try to spot in little areas. I am afraid you will wind up with a 924 that looks like it has some type of skin dissorder if you don't. You might even be able to find somebody to go over the car and paint the whole thing for a reasonable amount. You are not changing colors or trying to do a show car and it does not appear to be rusted out.

Good luck:

Steve

oh no, other than a little spot on the front corner/point of the junkyard fender and on a couple spots on the front valence/air dam thing on the bottom where it's all bent up, there's no rust on this car. oh i'm pretty good with a spray can... i'll try to do the headlight cover first, if i mess up, i'll think of alternatives. i'm not all growed up and successful like you guys are! haha. i just graduated from school and still haven't found a job yet! i would love to have the car professionally done, i just can't. i only got the car because i found it in the classifieds and thought it was a good deal and it ran good, so i got it. my first expense is already here - the car sat for 3 years(the guy started it every week), so i guess the rods in the struts got rusted, and a couple weeks after i bought it, the scratchy rods tore the seals and now, i have crazy knocking sounds and feels like the font end is all loose. i already ordered a set of shocks/struts all around from autozone - i know, i know, autozone sucks, but it's what i could afford. got something called Gabriel Ultras - $93 for all four, so i figured they'd work until i decide whether i want to keep the car or not(if there are any hidden problems). also need to tune-up the car, bought distributor cap, gave it an oil change, still need to get the rotor button, fuel and air filter, maybe the wires and plugs. these things are soooo high maintenance!

Hey Ken....very important that you check when the timing belt and balance belt were last changed. This is WAY MORE IMPORTANT than the paint at this point. If one of those slip or break, you are out over two thousand to fix the motor. They must be changed regularly...most people here say 30,000 however I think the Porsche recommendation was a bit higher than that. As for the nose panel, you may be able to pick up another one at a salvage place that is already the same color and you won't need paint. Porsche used a single stage paint on these, so they polish out real well with some polishing compound (along with water) and finish it off with Mothers wax. It is also helpful if you put your year and model of car in your signature line so if we need to help you, we already have that information without having to ask for it. Good Luck.

oh i made sure about the timing belt and the balance thinger - it was done about 10k ago. when the guy before me bought it, it had a broken belt and he had the belt put in along with a new... balance thinger. so i have a ways to go yet. should anyways. oh i know, and i understand - i'd rather have a car that runs good than looks good. but right now, other than basic tune-up, the car runs great! that's why i've been looking into getting the body fixed.

hey! this forum isn't about me! it's about that really really really nice 944 soon to be 944sc! get back on topic!

Hey Ken:

These posts go all over the place that's part of the fun of them. Believe me I don't take this stuff too seriously. You will get some great input from lots of folks, Raorback happens to be one of the really good ones.

Steve

oh my, i thought these forums were really nice! i just came from a forum where some kid was asking about turbocharging a 944. he was just asking if it could be done and if he could get any help. a million people jumped on him and told him nonononono, and were making fun of him and stuff. basically, they told him he's an idiot for trying to do it. and that it would never work and stuff. only a very few people gave him any real help. i kinda feel sorry for that guy. i was never jumped on in the saab forums when i asked about upgrading my 900 spg. i hope you guys are nicer in here! i had a passing thought of turbocharging or supercharging my car too, but i'd better not mention it here!

i mean i just came from a "post", not a forum, sorry

The problem is that some of these things are possible but completely cost prohibitive. In addition the mechanical work involved is essentially out of the realm of an average mechanic. I have found this out for sure. The only reason I am doing what I am doing is that we have had the car since new and that I am a weird stubborn old man. Most people (not just kids) could not deal with the hidden expenses and the time involved. In addition being ripped off for $3800 has not helped much. I am now using legal recourse to put the person responsible out of circulation. This will be an additional expense as a civil judgement means nothing unless you can collect. This will result in my paying out another $5000 to another SC vendor just to get the car done. Basicly I will have $18K-$20K in a car that is worth maybe $7500. For $20K I could go out and buy another 911 or an absolutely killer 951, both of which would be more reliable, faster, more modern, etc.

Steve

But if you did that we would not worship you as the god of the 944 board!:D

Paleeese!! I'm probably jus dummer then most of ya.

Steve

yeah, i understand, but even on the first page, these people have expressed their concerns and their disapproval, why the extra 5 pages?? if that's what the kid wants to do, i say if not help him, at least leave him alone. perhaps he'll come up with an easy, cheap "kit" idea(probably not though), but if anything, it'll satisfy his curiosity, and maybe there will be one more really cool porsche. that's just what i think. now don't you guys start yelling at me and making fun of me and all that, just voicing my opinion.

You know these little cars really are pretty cool. I had developed a terrible vacuum leak as evidenced by essentially no idle and you could smell it in the exhaust. I checked all the usual hoses etc. After grabbing a can of brake cleaner and the long red straw I narrowed it down to the intake manifold gasket. $9.50 (at the dealer) later I had 4 new ones. I prepared myself for a big ordeal and after about 30 minutes had the manifold off and folded back out of the way. Sure enough, #4 had slipped when I put it on and the bolt was not even through the gasket bolt hole. I can't believe it took 2,000 miles to start leaking. I made sure that they were right this time and got everything back together, all in maybe an hour and a half. A year ago I would have had to make an appointment and take it in only to pay flat rate labor out @ $105 / hr for 2.5 hrs. I may just keep this thing around another 22 years as it really is not bad once you do a little research and logicly go at it.

steve

so i got the struts and shocks yesterday - they were packaged poorly and were unlabeled. i had to call the manufacturer to confirm that they were the ones for the 924S. well today, i had a hell of a time taking the strut cartridge out(no spring compressor, so i did a BS job - i put load on the spring, then put 4 heavy duty zip ties on it(rated to 150 pounds each), and then popped it out. oh yeah, also had a horrible time with the top lower mount bolt. anyways, once i got it off, and removed the spring, there's this cartridge retainer type thing that needs to be screwed ou, i belive special tool number 16something something something. anyways, i looked it up and they said something like using a huge monkey wrench or putting a chisel to the tooth and hammering it to break it loose.... anyways, after hammering the crap out of it, i take it out and guess what??? yellow! They were bilsteins - i thought to myself, these cost way more than the crap i bought. it felt good, with no play and very very good pressure. even better than the new ones. so i looked around and hey! the strut mount bushings are bad. so all that work for nothing. well i know now that i got yellow struts... i guess i can go to autozone and return these ones. i hope i have yellows on the rear too, that would be awesome. where are good and cheap strut mount bushings?? i am so mad at myself that i didn't check it out more thoroughly before taking everything apart. anyways, the metal tube that the tip of the strut goes through is loose, it spins and moves around freely, that must be where i'm getting all the knocking sounds and where the play is from. anyhows, i'm just venting. if anybody else has ever done something that dumb, please feel free to post! that way i won't feel so lonely in the "dumb corner".

Ken...please buy a spring compressor...they're cheap and they will save you from sustaining a serious injury. You've probably realized that the springs are under considerable tension.

you can rent 'em at a hardware store for like $10.... i know canadian tire up here has 'em... you guys down there should have a tool shop that rents them out too...

Definatly can save you a serious knock to the mellon.

Steve