81 924, could use help advice with my first Porsche

[Chromo175]

HI,
Looks like a great place to be!
Just bought my first Porsche recently and joined here today. I have looked around, read posts, found some good info already.

I'll be buying some parts from the Host but somethings I might want to grab local in a hurry to get the car on the road right away.

I just bought a 81 924 and I know nothing about it other than it needs work LOL

The steering is loose, lots of play in steering wheel but feels decent going down road otherwise. I found an outer tie rod is pretty bad and other is probably not too good either. Steering shaft U joints seem fine with person turning wheel as I watch.
Not checked ball joints yet but will.

Various problems with car but it runs and I got it pretty cheap from a friend that needed money, he had just bought it a few months ago so no history is known on car.

Are MEVOTECH or ÜRO PARTS brand parts any good? Anyone tried them? I see they are far less expensive than some other brands for tie rods and ball joints etc... Maybe $7 or $10 for those brands compared to around $24 for something like TRW brand etc..

I don't think it will take much to get the car on the road safe, new tires, tie rods, maybe ball joints. Once on the road to drive I can do the other work as I can.

Clutch seems good, has a miss at idle or low revs but driving it ran nice on way home, lots of power. Wipers don't work but I haven't checked the fuse yet. Headlight switch has been taken out and laying in car, looks like it got a little hot at some time maybe.
Speedometer is not working.
Other than paint flaking off like many cars do that is about what I know about it so far. Anything about an 81 924 I need to know to watch for or check right away?

This is a rust free Southern car with a good body other than paint and interior is OK but not great.

I was looking for a power steering pump, not found one but found where one might have been, empty bracket near the Air pump I think. No belt on outer groove on crank pulley, might have been to run airpump and maybe power steering?
Just looking up under car I do not see anyplace for hoses on the rack, it has the female screw on tie rod outers.
It looks to me similar to this manual rack on Ebay here.
Porsche 944 951 968 Manual Steering Rack+Linkage Shaft: eBay Motors (item 200487190504 end time Jun-30-10 18:11:39 PDT)

I prefer without power anyway, but is there a way to tell if the car should have had power steering?

Also about the fuel injector feed lines, they are steel on the ends but rubber across the car. Is that just a rubber cover over a steel line there? No leaks I can find but the rubber is cracked up pretty good on a couple lines. If the rubber is just a protection over steel line then I won't worry about it too much for now, but if those are rubber lines then I may need to look for a set.

Thanks for any help and advice with My first Porsche

[924RACR]

Welcome!

No power steering.

You'll probably want to drop in on 924board.org - that's where most 2.0L guys hang... though plenty around here.

re: CIS lines - yes, that's a rubber cover I believe...

[John_AZ]

Hi Chromo175,

You did find a great board and Pelican has VG prices on quality parts.

I owned a 77.5 and a 79 before I upgraded to the 924S.

URO seems to have an interchange for many Porsche OEM parts or Quality aftermarket suppliers. It just depends on the use.
For the 1981 you should be OK with the quality. If you are uncertain, get the parts from Pelican.

If you need a used replacement part check out member Ideolas site
Ideola's Garage: Products & Parts for Transaxle Porsches

You can also get a lot of FAQ information at
924Board.org :: Index

or
Porsche 924 Garage & Register home

GL & welcome
John

[Rasta Monsta]

Rubber over plastic. The kind of plastic that is NOT compatible with Ethanol.

[HondaDustR]

The headlight switch looks like it got hot probably because it did. These cars run the full current of the headlights through the switch rather than using a relay. The switch contacts are not really beefy enough for that much current, espeially once they start getting worn out from use. Many people add two relays, one for high and one for low beams, that are energized by the original wiring and supply the switched power to the headlights straight off the alternator lug. There's a pre-made harness for sale out there, but it's for the 944/924S. I'm not sure if it would fit the regular 924, but it's kind of expensive. I just made a custom one...after my switch took a crap on the way home one night and got pulled over by the cops! The lights get alot brighter and more useful with the upgrade. I had close to a 2v drop with the original wiring which went down to about 0.15v with the relay harness.

[Chromo175]

Thanks all.
I appreciate all the help I can get with my new to me car.

So I gather the cheaper parts I found should be ok for a daily driver not used for racing or anything here.

My cracked rubber fuel injector lines are a cover with the real lines inside, so I probably do not need to worry about those for now, but maybe keep an eye on them just in case.

Wiring for the heads lights probably OK, the hot switch is normal, I need to put in relays for the headlights.

I have been looking at the links provided also, thanks.

Do these cars get decent fuel mileage I wonder also. About 12 miles of hills just to get to town or home, then fairly flat highway. Daily drive is about 40 miles or so each way. I think this will make a nice daily driver for awhile if MPG is decent.

[924RACR]

Yes, decent, though not spectacular mileage; 25 is typical. The CIS, instead of EFI, keeps it from getting up into the 30's like a 944 (highway).