1977 924 blown head gasket

[ewr1]

I can get a 1977 924 for basically free but the head gasket is blown. How hard of a repair is this? Where can the parts be found? What else should I look out for? This is the early 100 hp version of the car. I would use it for autocross. Any other opinions are appreciated. Thanks!

[1.2gees]

I think the early 924 head gasket change is very easy, and if you mess up the timing you don't damage anything, so if the car is dirt cheap, my take on it would be to go for it, assuming rest of the car is in good shape. BUT, I wouldn't buy a 924 for autocrossing, well excluding the 924s, and the later 944, they're much superior in everything, but maintenance, try to get a 924s if you want to stick to 924, or a 944.

[DAVES]

The 924 is one of the easiest cars to work on. I have changed my head gasket twice now. I have a 77 924. The 1st time I followed the procedure in the Haynes manual. Which meant tearing off everything. But I have since learned a few short cuts. The easiest way to remove the head I feel is to remove the exhaust pipe first. Then remove the various hoses & wiring. Make sure you label all of the electrical connectors, but porsche was real good about color coding the connectors so they can be hoked up correctly. Pull the valve cover, remove the intake manifold support bolts, I believe there are 3 of them, you will need an extension & universal. Then pull the entire head with the exhaust, & intake manifold attached, after that you can take each part off. I went to NAPA to get a head gasket set for about $65. I thought that was pretty cheap.
It takes about 2 hours to pull the head if you take your time. Good Luck