When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
It appears like only the drainage points for the water are those 2 round "lids" that allow leakage onto the firewall. Would you agree? The late 944 drains out the sides, but I don't see anything like that on Grumpy Pants Gramps. If there was a side drain it is completely gone & I need to fab something.
That's exactly what my early car (944) has. Nothing on the sides. So I reckon that's how it's supposed to be.
Good to know Ish 944, many thanks!
---------------------
So been putting in time here & there to get rid of $50 worth of JB weld and bed liner that a PO installed. Hey, I ain't mad... it helped preserve the car.
But I'm still trying to figure out where my leak is coming from.
Brief Overview of what is happening in the Barn find 924's present circumstance:
Purpose.
Well perhaps the best thing to do is discuss the original reason for the purchase. That is to have a 924 or 944 with seats that allow for easy ingress/egress -for ease of daily commuting & shopping. Something with flip up lights & retro in appearance. Something that can be driven in any type of weather. Something I can store outside in the elements & not feel sorry for it. Something to drive in the backwoods & also something to drive across the province, in the later respect, I wanted a full interior that makes long road trips comfortable & not too loud.
Have I met the objectives with this Barnfind?
No. Well, sort of but no. Not yet at least & the objectives have taken a wee bit of a turn. All of the same things apply but now I want to rallye Gramps. This means a few very gentle and minor modifications will be made. I still don't want to destroy his authenticity.
Complaints:
-At this time I'm also disappointed with how loud the interior is. Soon I'll have put door cars, rear carpet in but between the wind noise through the doors & the engine noise... it's pretty nuts. The engine has been called "clashy" and I must agree. The 944 stock engine can calmly cruise at 3500-4000 rpm all day long and even with a balance shaft delete & no cat or carpet the 944 effortlessly sails down the road & though loud-ish, it doesn't flinch or complain whatsoever.
-The 924 Volkswagen engine sounds like I'm racing at full rpm & sounds like I'm really on the pedal & that it's at full rpm... at 4000rpm. This fills the cabin with a harsh metallic engine sound of the least favourable kind. Yes, I'll describe it as "clashy".
-Fuel type: I am at a loss why 91 RON Octane is required for a 110 hp engine with 9.5:1 compression... anyone know?
-The steering wheel is too big & too low. I have removed the 30MM spacers below the seat so now I can (with proper planning & the right shoes) heel/toe shift. This slow ratio & big steering wheel steering makes for very easy low speed parking chores but I wish the wheel was a lot smaller & that the ratio was higher for quicker movement.
-The heater is NOT good enough in my view for winter.
-Cheapness of interior. The console & shifter boot don't fit right. The steering wheel & the rubber bits feel very cheap. The plastic is bad. Most of the plastic interior bits feel very cheap compared to the late model 944. I've said it before. No need to go on.
-Brakes. The brakes aren't good. I've replaced the master & rebuilt the wheel cyls & bleed 4 times with dot 4. The brakes are sketchy.
-Handling. Oh my god. This is when the car feels fantastic.
-Steering. Manual steering. So easy a skinny armed girl could get around with it. Simple and true.
-Simplicity. This is what drew me to the 924 series. Under the bonnet is so refreshing to work on compared to the 944... and ESPECIALLY 951. No fancy motors or linkages to contend with.
-Looks. I used to prefer the 944 looks, but the skinny cars can grew on ya, as they did for me.
-Improvement in my driving skill is what I hope for since the car lacks a lot of power.
FUTURE UPDATES:
-5 speed to keep the noise down & improve fuel economy (she's a bit thirsty).
-Heater improvement (don't know how yet).
-possibly bigger brakes.
-smaller steering wheel.
-air box ducting change to avoid hydro-locking engine during rallies.
-considering modifying the floorboards for 944 late model seat mounting, because this mounting system is too flimsy... not good enough.
I recently had just the door cards off my 931 and it was very noisy...even tho the turbo engine sounds much better imo it was still very noisy. You will be shocked to learn how much those door cards make in terms of vibration and noise..even wind noise.
Also...if you stripped the old sound and insulation of the car better put a new one in as otherwise it will be noisier.
I can cruise at 4000 rpm and even above in my red 924 with no complains from the engine and no iritable noise...its all about having all those parts that were meant to be there
Center console probably has missing bolts as it should not move and should be bolted very well to both the body and the dash.
same goes for the shifter boot.
I knew the batt box was kind of crappy, but further poking and prodding lead to the discovery of the inner fender having a history of rust leading to paper thin steel riddled with small rust holes. I hate rust.
The severe removal of metal was not my intention yesturday morning, in fact I had an entirely different plan... but I need to deal with the inner fender rust and the "patch job" remedy isn't on the menu for Gramps this time.
-------------------
-Gotta act fast though. Rally is next weekend.
-Still need to adapt seats.
-Filter the incoming air to the cab (because SEVERE dust of rallye).
-Would like to replace lower rad hose & fix the coolant leak in the cab.
-Perhaps build a skid plate.
-convert to 5 speed.
-Major overhaul of exhaust.
Uhhh, yeah right. As if I can do all that. Sheeet.
----
Why is gramps getting the rally treatment, I would think all around Wilson was better suited. If for nothing other than the rust proof(ish) body. I can't imagine a pre 1980 P-car taking both rally and the winter road grime you have up there. Not for long at least.
Just wondering, since Wilson is your race car. Are you just wanting to have a rally car and a track car? I would imagine it would be a challenge to build a car that did both on and off road racing well.
CONVERTING from the 4 speed.
Parts required: 5 spd shifter rod and trans... and I *hope* that's it. This should be my last priority.
---------
5 spd before & after cleaning. Paint "Tremclad Aluminum Lustre" - Oil based.
Also drained the oil & put in almost 3 ltrs of 75w90 LUCAS yummy diff oil. No chunks found in the old oil.
[QUOTE=951Dreams;13244273] Why is gramps getting the rally treatment, I would think all around Wilson was better suited. If for nothing other than the rust proof(ish) body. I can't imagine a pre 1980 P-car taking both rally and the winter road grime you have up there. Not for long at least. [QUOTE=951Dreams;13244273]
Wilson is the better car for road & for off road. They look like similar cars, and in handling they are very similar (both excellent), but in terms of acceleration & deceleration, and in terms of chassis rigidity & like you say rust proofness... Wilson the 944 beats Gramps hands down.
However, Gramps will be undergoing a complete underside corrosion resistant treatment in the next short while.
Rallies are brutally tough on cars & I needed to make a decision. In the end I decided to rally Dirty Ol' GRAMP because he has impact (shock absorber) bumpers which go a long way to protect the occupants & the structure of the car in the event of colliding with a car or tree. 2ndly if I had to destroy a car I'd rather destroy Gramps instead of Wilson.
[QUOTE=951Dreams;13244273]Are you just wanting to have a rally car and a track car? I would imagine it would be a challenge to build a car that did both on and off road racing well.[QUOTE=951Dreams;13244273]
Yes. Right now Gramps is a commuter/grocery getter/rally/soon to be a good winter car. And hopefully he'll get better as a touring car.
I suspect you are right, it would be difficult to be EXCELLENT as both rally and track but in stock form, I suspect the COMPLETELY STOCK 924/944 is pretty darn good at both (with the right tires). My focus is simple: forget the gadgets. Learn to driver s stock-ish car well. And most of all- HAVE FUN
My head hurts from breathing in melting paint & insulation & general welding fumes. Managed to get 2 of my vacation days off, because we are slow at work, which means I can have Skinny Minny Gramps ready for Saturday's rally.
The method of battery tray repair that I have done was done in 5 sections. 1)The first area of repair was the strip below and to the side of the battery tray and it was the inner fender (inner wing). 2)The central section was build around the battery I will be using, making sure I keep it positioned like factory. 3&4)Once centre piece was fully welded I fabbed & welded the frontal and rearward piece. 5)And lastly the battery hold downs will be installed.
OK, the exhaust could last a while but I have no faith since it's rusty and crappy. When I was worried it wouldn't pass the safety inspection (which it did) I ordered a factory Porsche cat back.
This is a great thread, I don't have much to add but I love these cars and their resurrection/preservation. I also use different cars for specific purposes. Keep up the great illustrated narrative!
04-26-2016, 02:56 AM
