Here at 924S944.com, we specialize in rescues. Not a Call-911-I’m-Dying rescue, but a Porsche-has-been-neglected rescue on 924S and 944’s.
Craigslist, Bring A Trailer and Facebook Marketplace are great places to find cars that need rescue and rehab. A friend bought a 1987 924S from a listing on one of these, but the car was in New York. On a trip to see relatives there, he was able to look it over and buy it, and drove it home to Central Florida.
So is a running, driving car really a rescue? Yes and no. In this case, the car showed well with decent paint and interior, and seemed to run well. The bottom, however, was another story. That story unfolded on the lift.
At some point there was a leak in the pressure-side fuel line that runs under the car from the fuel filter to the fuel rail, right under the driver’s seat and about a foot from the catalytic converter. Repaired? Sort of – with a hunk of rubber hose and a couple of hose clamps. Dangerous? Absolutely. So replacing that line with new was a priority. We also determined that the same line was weak/rusted where it went over the rear axle. So we constructed and replaced the fuel line from the filter to the fuel rail. The line from the pump to the fuel filter was also rusted and replaced, along with the rubber line from the tank to the pump, replacing the filter screen in the tank at the same time. So with a new fuel line system in place, we moved on without fear of explosions and fire.
Rust was everywhere underneath the car – after all, it lived on Long Island, so it was bound to happen. The body was fine, but components were showing rusty damage. So next we turned out attention to the brake hydraulics. We rebuilt all four calipers, installed new rotors and pads, a new brake master cylinder, along with new clutch master and slave cylinders. New rubber hoses completed the rehab, and we essentially have new brakes.
The suspension was next up. The steel control arms were rusty with original ball joints, so we assumed the worst and replaced them with new control arms, new ball joints and new original-style rubber bushings. We replaced the front wheel bearings when we did the brakes, and also installed new outer tie rod ends.
Deferred maintenance to the engine was next. Belt and water pump service was next up, including new hoses. While playing around with the engine, we decided to roll in new rod bearings – a weak spot in the 924S engine. Of course, we found that #2 bearing had a nice score mark in it. The crank journal was fine, but the bearing was on its way towards an untimely failure in the future. It turned out to be a good call. While dropping the pan, we saw that at some time in the past the oil pan had sustained some damage and was patched and re-welded. We replaced it with a good pan from our stash of parts. New plugs, wires, cap and rotor were installed.
The phone-dial wheels were a bit tired, so we mounted a set of 16×6 924 Turbo wheels and new tires from the parts bin. With the silver body, the wheels look great. And our 924S944.com Apprentice (ten-year-old grandson) did a great job with some clay and wax on the bodywork.
All that was left was a little refresh on the interior. The sunroof seals were replaced, the sunroof gear cover was replaced, and a new radio and antenna finished out the refurb.
So what did we end up with? We have a nice, safe, updated 924S that should yield thousand and thousands of trouble-free miles.
That is a successful rescue.
