Thanks! No dash cap yet but this one definitely needs one. The interior paint is available at O'Rielly Auto Parts.

Engine fire!
 

And I was getting so close...

This evening I pulled the aux air regulator and cold start valve for testing. I put the AAR in the freezer and opened up as specified and then applied 12V to the connector and it slow closed. Great. Then I jumped the fuel pump circuit after pulling out the cold start valve from the manifold, applied 12V from the coil with a test lead and turned the ignition on. No fuel spray. So I took the valve to my bench and started squirting brake cleaner in the fuel line connection. I also hooked some test leads to the connector and gave it 12V to get the valve to open. I could here it clicking so I did the test in the engine bay again and now it was spraying. The final test is to take away the 12V leads and turn the ignition on (fuel pump still jumpered) and see if the valve leaks. No leaks. Great. I'm thinking that could have been why I never have been able to start this car without ether. So I start putting everything back together for a try. I loosened the banjo fitting on the cold start valve to get it bolted back on the intake. Everything back together. Fuel pump relay back in and turn the key... it starts first time! Wow! So I'm letting it idle and warm up and get out of the car... there's a fire right over the distributor and intake. There's fuel dripping on the floor and it's burning too. Holy ****! My first though is to push the car out of the garage but it's on skates. Then I jump in and turn the ignition off. Then run outside, grab a garden hose and put the fire out. The flames had already gone down after turning the ignition off and stopping the fuel pump. But now that the fire is out I realize I must have left that fuel connection on the cold start valve loose and it was spraying fuel into the distributor and coil. So I've got a major set back on this one. I didn't look the damage over real close but I know that harness for the AAV, CSV, TPS, etc. is toast. There's two multi-connectors on the firewall so hopefully all the wiring damage is downstream of those.

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Damage assessment
 

Well I dug out the engine wiring harness and I think it's salvageable. The jacket took most of the burning. Some of the smaller branch leads will have to have new wire spliced in but all the connectors look okay. One smaller branch of the main harness is toast. I found a couple of used harnesses but $200 appears to be the going price. I'll have to replace the spark plug and coil wires. Those were basically new The new silicon vacuum lines came through pretty well and it looks like two elbows are fried. I'll test the aux air regulator again and I think it will be okay. The cold start valve is toasty so I can't take a chance of a leak there. Used prices for those are about $50. The vacuum limiter has a lot of soot but if that's a metal diaphragm, it should be good. I'll need to find a testing procedure for that. While I'm down in this area I've decided it would be best to replace all the small fuel lines. I'm searching for a hose company that can deal with that stuff now. And lastly, I'll need to replace the small boost gauge hose that melted. Looks like this mistake will ultimately cost $500-$700 but that includes replacing hoses that would have had to been replaced anyway.

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Dude...!! Oh man.. I'da puked... After putting the fire out of course.. Yep, you've got some more work ahead. Looks like it just got the outer sheathing on the harness for the most part. Hopefully you can inspect it and make sure nothing is melted together. Wrap it in that silicone self adhesive tape when you put it back together though. That will offer a bit of flame protection in the future.

YOUR FINGERNAIL...... but seriously, good thing the crispyness is only the surface for the wires, that would have sucked to have to replace all the wiring.

Thanks gents. I just got through opening up the engine harness in our electronics shop at work. Started replacing bad segments but ran into a lot of wire that wouldn't take solder and stiff all the way to the connector. That means it got too hot and won't conduct properly. So I'm getting on the web to see if I can get a deal on a used harness.

Slow progress
 

I received a replacement engine harness and cold start valve from DC Automotive. That was $315 with free shipping. There was one plug missing on the used harness but I was able to salvage the same from the burnt harness. I checked continuity on any suspect circuits. The used cold start valve looks clean but that will have to be tested when I put everything back together. I also shipped all the engine compartment fuel hoses to Special T. No word yet on that cost but from what I've seen on his site, it should be in the $200-$300 range. I'm very tempted to send him the fuel distributor and WUV but will probably wait on that. That rebuild cost for those parts is a pretty good chunk of change.

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What is the market like on these cars once they are done?

I've been tempted by one but am afraid

931s have a bit more value than 924 NAs. You'll see good examples with medium mileage in the $5000-$7000 range. A pristine 931 could list $9000-$10,000. I paid $1900 for this one owner 931 and that was too much for the condition it was in but I just couldn't let it sit and rot where it was.

I personally don't worry too much about resale or value. Rescuing, restoring and racing older Porsches is a hobby for me. I specialize in spotting cheap, neglected 914s, 924s and 944s on Craigslist or other searches. If any of those models are not running and haven't for years - they're basically worth about $500. Sometimes the fixes are very simple and inexpensive - most times not so much.

Any collector car is only worth what you or someone else is willing to pay for it :)

I just noted that was my 1000th post on Pelican, wow!

Thanks.

I am similar to you I guess.
I've rescued an early 911, and currently have a 914 to add to the stable

Some people spend $5k a year on golf memberships ;)

Copy golf membership. Boring!!!

If you've dealt with the CIS before, then you should do well with a 931. I've found that to be extremely challenging and rewarding when I've made some progress.

I'm afraid the one that I have my eye on is just too far gone, but I keep walking by it and touching it them imagining what could be.

Keep in mind that 931s and all the later 924 NAs have galvanized sheet metal so body rot will be minimal. I'm encountering more issues with improper long term storage (rusted fuel tanks, clogged fuel systems, brakes, etc.) than structure. It may be a better candidate for restortion than first appearances indicate.

I have learned from my exploits in the air cooled 911 market not to put too much stock in galvanization.

This holds true for this particular 924 as well unfortunately :(
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I'll leave you thread alone and sit back and watch the excitement of yours being brought back to life. This one is too discouraging...

Good news
 

I received the braided steel fuel lines from Special T last week and finally got around to re-assembling today. The fuel lines went on mostly without drama except for the one that has the T with the cycle valve. John sent me two lines with a dual lug banjo bolt that was supposed to fit into the output of the cycle valve. Unfortunately it doesn't - wrong size. So I put back in the original for testing. Then I started putting the engine harness back in. That connector on the thermotime really is a pain! I had one wire left over at the back but I figured out that goes to the coolant temp sender. I got the vacuum regulator, WUV and all the vacuum hoses back in. Then I set the engine at TDC and put the distributor back in. I'm glad I kept the plug wires and coil that came with the car as the new ones were burnt in the fire. So I put those back in but left the coil wire off while I jumped the fuel pump circuit to check for fuel leaks. One hose was a tad loose on the fuel distributor so I snugged that up and all good. Put the coil wire on and started cranking. It caught a couple times but I had to use ether to get it running. That's huge as I was worried that the flywheel sensor got toasted in the fire and that would have killed this project. Tomorrow I need to go back in and get that wire on the temp sender and double check the distributor timing. I think I'll also test the replacement cold start injector and maybe I can get this back to where it was before it caught fire!

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can we talk?
 

Looked at your entire story and thought I should try to contact you. I have a 1981 turbo and have let it sit for too long. I was working on my house and just was too busy to spend the time but now I am back with a vengeance. I just got mine running although not great. I have a bunch of electrical issues and am planning to attack them as time allows which leads me to my first question. In pictures of your engine compartment I see a yellow wire which is coming from the area of the coil. It seems to go through the firewall drivers side. I have the same wire on my car and it appears to be a jumper from a connection on the block just below the coil and terminates below the dash. My problem is that the wire is hanging down and I have not been able to determine where is went. I have studied the wiring diagram from my Haynes book to no avail. If you can solve this problem for me I would be forever grateful.

The yellow wire I believe you're referring to is for the aftermarket oil temp gauge. That and the aftermarket boost gauge are mounted on a pod over the center speaker grill. The wire goes down to the sensor mounted in the oil pan. It's unlikely that you have the same set-up on your car. I think these mods were done by Andail along with turbo water injection and boost increase.

This photo is before the engine fire...

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Do you have part # or manufacture for carpet spray and did you have any luck with this product?
Thanks

Here's the paint on the shelf at O'Reilly's. I think it works really well. The carpet will be stiffer than original but that doesn't bother me.

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Thanks for the info Kind Sir!