My always on going project 1976 Porsche 924

Yeah the drums on the 924 make the brakes feel utterly useless if they aren't properly adjusted. Also, worth noting that you'll notice the E-Brake is going to be more stiff once adjusted. Do NOT use the E-Brake as your "is it time to adjust them?" measurement, because it's still possible to have one side need adjusting more than the other and the brakes will feel limp and useless and still have a stiff e-brake due to one side.

I generally find that I adjust mine just a bit about each valve adjustment. Keeps them feeling great.

Regarding your comment on untwisting the cable, what exactly is wrong with the parking brake? Is it hanging or something?

The handbrake doesn't go all the way down in the cabin of the car. And when it is lifted all the way up, it doesn't do anything to hold the car in place. So it is not gripping the drums as it should. Heck it isn't gripping the drums at all.

Well had some more time today as I have a busy weekend and week coming up. So with a few extra hours on my hands I went out to the 924. The 944 is not in my garage or else I would be working on that. So My wife noticed that the drivers headlight was very dim, almost non-existent and I have never had a good working temperature gauge, so armed with my trusty connection cleaner I headed to my favorite place in the house, the Garage. I started with the temp gauge. I popped the hood and checked the connections and there was only 1 connection out of the two. I unhooked the battery, sprayed the connection cleaner on the prongs and connectors and worked the unconnected one back on. I will need to take the car out for a good run and see if it works but that will have to wait as my time was cut short.

As for the headlight, I took it out, checked the bulb. Bulb looked good, plugged it back in and cleaned the connectors. Re-attached the battery, turned the lights on, and Presto. Full headlights on both sides.

Its the small things that make you smile. Until work calls and I cannot take the car out to make sure it is working properly.

Will update the temperature gauge later.

Well I couldn't pass up another track day in the 924. Well it was an open lapping session at the local race track. 2 hours as much as I could drive. I had to take advantage. Now with 4 fully functioning brakes, working temperature gauge and tank full of gas I was ready.

Actually when I set out I was not full, so I stopped about 20 minutes away from the track to fill up. I got there just in time for the drivers meeting. From there got the car through the sound check (always easy. Just drive up, they put the sticker on the windshield and tell me to have fun.)

This time there were a number of Chump Cars running to test for the weekends 2 seven hour races, so we had a couple of full course black flags. I did get a video of my first couple of laps and then the battery died on the Go Pro. Note again for next time. Charge the camera the day before to be sure. Here are the two laps.

You will notice that on lap one about 12 corners in the car seems to get a bit cloudy. That was gas overflow causing some smoke in the cabin. They black flagged me on the second lap to check it out. It never happened again and I was off. Enjoy the video.

Calabogie September 11

Wow it has been a while since I have posted something here about the 924. As always the car has been running like a champ. This past weekend I replaced the spark plugs as I melted one at this years run at Watkins Glen. A story I will tell in my next post. I also readjusted the head lights so that they have better lines and match up with the lines of the car. They look a lot better. That and with a small bit of fun, the rad fan stopped working. Just need to get a relay and we should be good to go again.

Long live the 924. Just can't really hurt these cars.

Mike

So as I mentioned earlier this week, I again took the 924 to Watkins Glen for its annual track weekend. This time it was in around the May 24 weekend. So a couple of weeks earlier. I brought my wife and two girls down with us this time. All 4 in the 924, with tools, spares, clothes etc... It was a tightly packed, 4.5 hour run down. We made it there with no troubles, just some sore muscles.

When at the track on Saturday, run 1. I am in a pack of cars. An 88 924S ahead and a number of cars behind. I followed the later 924 around for a few laps, letting the faster cars go by. My instructor kind of just sitting there giving me pointers as we circulated. Finally the faster cars we pretty much past and I had my opening. Doing something I have never done before, I downshifted from 4th(top gear in my car) to 3rd coming up out of the Esses onto the back straight. Get the point by from the 88 924S run the car up to redline, drop it back into top gear and hear a loud "BANG" from the car. I finished off the session but the car was running very rough. I thought I had floated a valve, but on further inspection I found that I had melted one of the Platinum spark plugs I was running. We hunted down a replacement plug and the car was back to running full song. Add to this the fresh asphalt and the 924 has never run so fast on The Glen. I was having a blast. I finished the day out, and actually had the first ever run dance in the car. Last two sessions saw some drizzle and rain. With the new asphalt and the drainage, the track was perfect for the 50/50 handling that these cars a known for. I even had some oversteer coming out of the Toe of the Boot a few times. Something that made me feel a bit, well like a "fish out of water" LOL.

The Sunday came, a bit cool but no rain in the forcast. I was running around with out problems or difficulty. The only thing caused a bit of concern was some brake shudder when coming in hard to corner 1 or into the boot. Still haven't removed the brakes, but from my butt-0-meter, I feel the rear shoes were delaminating. That is going to be a winter review.

On the way home the fan stopped spinning and I have been working on getting this corrected ever since. The car has not overheated, but the fan has not spun since about 2 hours from home that Sunday.

I still want for power, and that 944 is still being worked on (another thread to update) but this car still brings a smile to my face every time I drive it.

Some pictures from the weekend are below.

Initial setup and unload at time of arrival:

Following the 924S before we melted the spark plug:

Just pointing a faster car by; I was complimented on my Point bys!!:

Euro pistons will bring it up to around 125hp, which is similar power to weight with the 944.

Actually it is a Euro motor from a '79 model in the car currently.

It makes people notice when it is able to keep up with other cars that should be that much faster.

Cheers;

Well we got the Rad Fan working again.
Turns out it was the connection to the Auxiliary Fan Switch.
I removed the rubber cover and the wire was still stuck in that cover. So after working the wire out and then using some pliers I made the wire stick on the prong correctly. I had to use the pliers to get it on the prong so that it would not come off. After that I started the car and let it come up to temp. When it came to temp the fan started spinning. So situation fixed. Now we can get back to the track with the old 924.

Mike

As it was a nice day I brought all the cars out for a group shot. Figured I would also look at why the one of the tail lights doesn't work. All the other lights work. So I started by cleaning up all the connections on the light board with sand paper and then sprayed them with connector cleaner. Once that was done we tested, nothing. So using some good old computer troubleshooting I changed the bulb out with a new one and still nothing. I had a replacement light board so I made sure all those connectors were good and swapped that in. Again all the other lights worked but not the one tail light. Checked all the fuses and they are good. Checked to make sure I was getting power to the socket and it is. Still now kind of running out of ideas. I see no reason why it would not come on when I turn the lights on. At least the brake, and signal lights all work.

While the 924 was outside I just couldn't help myself. With a perfect day, Sun out Cars out gleaming and sparkling in the light. The collection is getting bigger. Maybe one day I will catch up to the number of cars my dad has. ROFL. Thanks Dad, who said the "Apple doesn't fall far from the tree" was band on with that.

I may start a thread on the MINI Cooper S. But for now I just love driving it stock.

Cheers; Mike Kirby

Holy E36 M3 that MINI looks huge compared to your P-cars.

Took the time to investigate the Brake shake I was experiencing. It turns out the rear drums needed an adjustment. Also lubricated the engine release as the hood would keep coming up and sit on the emergency catch.

I am thinking of installing a larger torsion bar in the back to keep the car more firmly planted. This is a momentum car after all and the faster + flatter I can go through the corners the better it will be for me. Also looking at what I can do to rid myself of the rear drums, while maintaining the 4 bolt pattern. I know the easiest way is to upgrade the suspension and brakes to 944 stock, but I am thinking there has to be another way as well. Any ideas from anyone.
Bueller? Bueller?

Mike Kirby

One way is to machine the drum down to look like a hub, that a front rotor will fit over. Then you just need a caliper and a bracket to mount the caliper.

It has been a while since I have really done anything to this car. It is just such a fun car to drive and enjoy. That being said, it does have a few things that need to be touched up. So I took some time today and put a bit of effort into the old girl.

1. The Gas pedal always falls off the rod that comes from below the dash. I have worked around it since I have owned the car and tried a couple of things to keep it in place. Nothing has really worked. The thing is, I could never heel and toe because the pedal would come off and sometimes get stuck. This caused me some scary moments on track. So I knew that if I could get a clip big enough to hold the pedal on I would be golden. Today, as a measuring tool I stuck 2 bread clips together and clipped them on to the end of the pedal rod. (no pics as it is really grassroots. ), but it works and the pedal no longer comes off. It is a bit higher than I thought it would be so, I will need to get used to it for track driving.

2. Next I decided to tackle the interior dash lights. The signal lights were never put in right, but the bulb worked, because I could see it flash under the dash at night!!!!. So I took the steering wheel off to get more access. <img src="" />

Then I took out all the gauges, doing my best to remember where the spaghetti was hooked up.

<img src="" />

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Back of the Tach. I had to take a couple of tries to hook it up properly again.

<img src="" /> And the unconnected light.

<img src="" /> Spaghetti that is the Auxillary gauge.

and the dash all back together.

<img src="" /> and it works.

Look at Super Beetle rear brake kits.

You might have to mix/match to get it all to bolt up, but it's worth a look. CIP1.com has the brake kits and some decent torsion bars in their Off-road Super Beetle section.

I should have a set of stock 944 rear torsion bars around here, if you're interested.

Look at early Audi 4-lug cars to see if you can find a vented rotor that will fit and the Volvo 2-piston calipers bolt up provided you can get the rotors sorted. Early Ford's used that same bolt pattern, even the 4x4.25" pattern used on early Mustangs are close enough that you might find something that could work.

I'd hit the local yard with some tools and measuring devices to look at what's out there and if you can adapt it fairly easily.

I swapped my tach and speedo so the tach was easier to read on the track.

When I installed it, I made sure the shift RPM was pointed at the top. Works a treat.

Thanks for the info Stefan. I have a ton of extra bits in my garage from my 944 build that came as part of the package, however the Beetle rear brakes may be something for me to look into.

 Took the 924 out to the Local PCA Cars and Coffee on Sunday. Great day with temperatures in the 90's F.  We still had close to 25 cars show up.  My little car did draw a bit of a crowd.  Here are some pics from the day.

<a data-flickr-embed="true"  href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/93672870@N05/23478383288/in/dateposted-public/" title="IMG_20170924_1030319"><img src="https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4365/23478383288_caf31b991b_c.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="IMG_20170924_1030319"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hope the pictures turn out.  The new editor is a bit of an upgrade from the last version.  LOL 

nope...  At least the last set anyway...

Hmmm.  Any of the moderators able to chime in on this. 

Maybe a quick how-to on the new picture addition add-on? 

I can help you out with the photo. Didn't Flickr have a direct link feature? I know imgur does. Anyway, that embed code you posted is the right start. Just highlight the URL in quotes after <img src= and copy it. This URL:

Then hit the little photo icon in the editor and paste that URL into the link box. Hit "OK" and viola. You should have a picture. Again, I really thought Flickr allowed you to copy just this link when sharing a photo, but I don't see it anywhere.

I am doing dash wiring now on my 88 924s, what a pain. Especially since apparently the 924S has a mish-mash of early 924 wiring and 944 wiring, so half the colors don't match any known wiring diagram lol. Since I have the whole dash out I think I"m going to do all the lights with mini-LEDs, since they're only about $2 each plug and play. we'll see how that turns out.

In reply to irish44j :

Are you looking at the Factory Manuals or just poking around online?

The Factory manuals are worth it in the long run.

In reply to Stefan :

I have not been able to track down an '88 924S factory manual. But in truth, I pretty much have all the wiring figured out at this point anyhow. Just had to spend a few hours with my multimeter, lol. Amazingly, other than dash lighting (all but one bulb were dead), preetty much everything else elctrical on this car works perfectly.

But yeah, I'll find a factory manual when I can. Right now just using Haynes :/

Our local Porsche dealer and Region here in Ottawa Canada helped celebrate the 70th Birthday of Porsche.  They wanted to get at least 1 model from every year.  I was informed by another club member that they were having problems finding a 924!  So I offered my little car.  It was given a prime spot inside the building.  Even got cleaned up with the White Glove crew!