We were cleaning out some old stuff at the shop the other day and came across four issues of the Porsche Panorama – the magazine for the Porsche Club of America – and discovered four issues between October 1980 and June 1982 that featured the 924 in race trim on the cover. In this four-part series, we will detail each of these issues as it pertains to the front engine water cooled Porsches.
In the credits, Bill Oursler presents the cover photo of Doc Bundy taking the checkered flag at the June Sprints at Pocono. Doc Bundy is featured in this issue with an extensive article called “A Lap Around Road Atlanta with Doc Bundy.” There is also an interview article with Doc called “Technical Update on the D-Production 924.
The D-Production version of the 924 was a factory kit that made the 924 into an SCCA D-Production monster. Al Holbert, Doc Bundy and others campaigned these cars in the early 80’s at SCCA events all over the country. They are easily recognized by the small but effective flares on the fenders and the checkered flags flying over them at various tracks where they raced.
When asked what made the Holbert 924 such a big winning in 1982, Doc’s answer was simple. “Handling.” Holbert added, “In fact, it may even be more comfortable to drive than the 924 Turbo I raced at LeMans.”
The article continues to explain that the DP 924 sported 51% front/49% rear weight bias when dry, but that changed to 45/55 with a full load of fuel, helping the handling of this front-engine car. The car, when delivered from Porsche, had 1000 pound springs in the front and 1200 pound springs in the rear, which was determined to be too heavily sprung for his desires. So his mechanics changed the car to 350 pound front springs and 280 pound rear, with 1.25″ (32mm) front sway bar and a 1″ (25mm) rear sway bar. This made the suspension more “tunable”. The Bilstein shocks were set at 50/50 bump/rebound.
While still working on the engine, Holbert said, “All in all, however, I’d have to conclude that the 924 is one of the nicest driving production cars anyone could race today.”
At the time of publication, Doc Bundy had scored wins in the 924 DP at Bryar, Watkins Glen, Nelson Ledges and Pocono.
The 924 D-Productino was a winner.
This issue also included a tech article on the 924 Cooling System, including instructions for bleeding the system. It said that adding coolant occasionally was okay – normal.
In looking at this October 1980 issue, the advertisements are interesting, to say the least. Unfortunately few of the ads have prices – just give them a call. But, you could buy 40 IDA 3C Webers for your 911 – Bolt-on replacements for $495…for the pair.
In the FOR SALE section, there were some impressive bargains.
- 75 911S with 26,000 miles and an 8-track tape deck for $14,500
- 57 356A 1600 Normal Speedster, long history, best offer over $16,000
- 63 356 Super 90 Coupe, Needs help with some rust, but complete – $2,850
Sure, things were different in 1980, but…wow.
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