Mark Hubley

Back in March I picked up a 1987 924S for $4,600. The car had just over 52K miles (still does), and seemed to be in pretty good shape. It seemed to run pretty nice except for a rough idle, the interior looked great, and the exterior isn't perfect, but it looks pretty good. Service records showed timing belts done at 37,400 miles, but that was in 1998. I figured the rough idle was bad motor mounts.

So, I got the car home and debated having a shop do the belts and motor mounts. You may have seen an earlier thread where I bitched about the estimates I was given by two shops, and thanks to the help of some fellow Rennlisters, I got the belts and water pump changed in the comfort of my own garage. All the other work (motor mounts, suspension, etc.) I've done myself unless noted otherwise.

For anyone so interested, here is a list of what I've done so far and the costs:

Water pump, timing belts, rollers, accessory belts, etc.
$360 from Zim's (that accounts for a $100 core refund on the water pump)
$75 for a flywheel lock and a wrench from Arnnworx

Motor mounts (and I may have gotten a couple of other tidbits)
$290 from Paragon
This totally solved my rough idle problem.

My battery tray was leaking. A neighbor of mine welded in a fix.
$60 (thanks Greg!)

I added in 951 sway bars front and rear.
$100 for used sway bars from a fellow Rennlister
~$50 for used rear drop links and other misc. hardware

I replaced the stock coil springs with 220lb springs, ball joints, and sway bar bushings.
$250 from Automotion

New ignition rotor, distributor cap, spark plug wires, and plugs.
$185 from Pelican

New Koni yellow all the way around.
$615 from Paragon

I also threw in a new steering wheel for $70 and new (used) Design 90 wheels from a fellow Rennlister at $450 including tires and shipping.

That's $2,505. (The local shops I mentioned quoted me nearly that much just to replace timing belts and water pump.)

I'm taking the car to a shop for an alignment on Thursday. Not sure what that will cost.

Add in taxes, title, and registration of the car, and my $4,600 924S has cost me about $7,600. Not bad I would say, considering that it now seems to be a pretty sweet little ride. (I'll take some pics of the refreshed car after I have a chance to give it a bath.)

I'll be taking it to an autocross with Chesapeake Region PCA on Saturday. We'll see how my various mods have worked out.

Having sold a 944 back in 2007, it's nice to be back in the 924/944/968 fold

Cheers,

Mark

thirdgenbird

subscribing for pics

sydneyman

Glad you got the bars on the car! sounds like you saved yourself quite a bit of money! The timing belt is still a job ive yet to do but ive done just about everything else... one day i'll jump off that ledge!

and +1 for pics!

thirdgenbird

so that is the car you PMed me about...

Dougs951

Where are you getting the alignment done?

sydneyman

yep!

racer

Sounds like you've been busy!

Arominus

If you get more serious about autocross keep your old 15" phone dials, they are a lot lighter than the d90's. I just put some d90s on my car and between the increased weight of the wheels and tires i lost some "punch" in the 4k to 6k range. The wheels look good and i got a great deal on tires but i miss that part of the powerband a little bit. Rotating weight sucks.

Which motor mounts did you get from paragon? the stock set or the "super" mounts (aka asher racing). I have the blue mounts for my tranny but im debating stock vs the supers for motor mounts. My MM's are shot.

mazdaverx7

Mark, welcome back to 924/944/968 bodied ownership! your modifications are impressive and i can't wait to see pics of the car!!

white924s

sounds like a great project! How does the car handle with stiffer springs up front and factory t bars in the rear? is it still fairly neutral?

Mark Hubley

Doug--I'm taking the car to a local shop (Lothian Auto) for the alignment. This guy is not a Porsche or German car specialist, but he's done some good work for me at great prices. I plan on telling him to put in -1.5 camber front and -1.0 camber rear. Based on reading some other threads, that seems reasonable for a street/autocross/maybe-track car.

Arominus--I do plan to keep the 15x6 phone dials. Maybe one day I'll put some stickier tires on them. I do wonder about the trade-offs between weight vs. contact patch. Anyway, I don't think it's worth selling 15x6 phone dials, so I'll keep them and do something with them.

Arominus--Here is a link to the motor mounts I purchased from Paragon:
http://www.paragon-products.com/OEM_....042.04oem.htm

Mike--Hopefully I can tell you more about the handling after Saturday's autocross. I just got the car back on the ground yesterday, and I've only put a few street miles on it since all of my work. Also, I have the alignment scheduled for tomorrow. That being said, the car already seems like a new car. By the way, the shocks I took out of the rear were likely the 25-year-old originals. When I took them out, I could compress or lengthen them at will, and they would not rebound at all. So, the car feels MUCH better with the new shocks, springs, and sway bars.

Dougs951

Ok if the alignment works out for you I may have him do mine.

Mark Hubley

Here's the list of projects yet-to-be-done:

Windshield washers don't work. I need to investigate.
AC doesn't blow cold.
Turbo S brakes (Now that I have 16" wheels, I'm hoping it's just a matter of rotors, calipers, and pads).
Maybe throw in stainless steel brake lines while I'm at it.

My neighbor who did the battery tray is a car painter by profession. As soon as he saw the car he said, "Zermatt Silver." He wants to do something interesting with the car. I'm REALLY tempted to try a Flying Lizard paint scheme, but I don't think I have the ***** to drive a car like that on the street!

racer

Why do you need Turbo S brakes? They were built for a heavier car capable of 160mph. I would imagine the Wilwood upgrade might be the simpler choice (willwood 4 piston front calipers, plus I think they fit under 15's) http://www.rennbay.com/944-big-brake-kit-p-83.html

Good pads, fresh rotors, Good/great fluid, maybe some stainless lines are all you need for Street/AX and even DE. Getting MORE air to the brakes would likely do more good than larger calipers.

I also would be suprised if they were a simple bolt on. Adaptors at best is my guess.. complete suspension overhaul at worst.

Mark Hubley

Regular 951 brakes???