Part Four: Making Your 924S/944 into a Daily Driver

This article is the fourth of a series of six articles about the four-cylinder front-engine Porsches – the 944, the 924S and the early 924.  While we started this series in 2018, we never finished it – kinda like a “project car…”  Anyway, here is number four of six…

• Part One: Reintroducing the Front Engine Water Cooled Porsches
• Part Two: How to Buy a Great 944 or 924S (or how to NOT buy a bad one)
• Part Three: 944/924S Maintenance Made Easy
• Part Four: Making your 944/924S Into Your Daily Driver
• Part Five: The 944/924S for Track and Race
• Part Six: The Early Car – the 76-84 924

Daily Driver 40-year-old 944 or 924S…is that even possible?

When we think about what is needed for a car to be a “daily driver,” we need to decide on a definition for what we mean when we say “daily driver.”  For comparison, we will compare our “goin’ to work” 2015 VW Passat with our 1987 Porsche 924S who both live side-by-side in the garage.

The VW was purchased several years ago as a former rental car with a Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle from the Orlando rental market.  Before you go off on the pitfalls of buying a former rental, especially in a market that services the Orlando area, let me say that in the six years of ownership, the car has been pretty perfect.  There have been no issues at all, keeping in mind that we do the required maintenance on schedule and it lives in the garage all the time.  At nine years old, it is our definition of a “daily driver.”  You get in, you turn the key, and it starts and runs, accessories all work as designed, and it gets 35-40 mpg all day long.  The trunk and folding rear seat can hold a month’s worth of stuff from Costco, and all three grandkids can fill the back seat.  All in all, a great car.

We have owned all notions of 944 and 924S cars over the years.  Sparky, our current 924S, also lives in the garage.  At 67,000 miles, he was rescued from the crusher due to an engine fire in 2015.  We have put almost 25,000 miles on him in the interim, but for comparison purposes we will use Sparky as a Porsche “daily driver.”  The question comes down to – Can I take Sparky where I need to go whenever I want to go?  Across town, across the country, or just to the local PCA meeting?  Can I use a 40-year-old car every day if I please?

The short answer to that question – at least for Sparky – is YES.  So how can we say that?  What is the criteria for making such a bold statement?  Let’s look at the list:

• Does the car start and run dependably every time?
• Are there special tricks or methods that you have to use to get the car to start and run dependably?  (i.e., pump twice; short hit on the starter, then start; turn off the radio and ac before starting; careful application of the brake pedal; pump the clutch pedal three times – insert your own here!)
• Does everything work, including radio, windows, heater, air conditioning, sunroof, hatch release, etc.?
• Are the seats comfortable and free of rips and tears that can put foam rubber debris on your nice work clothes?
• Do the brakes, steering, and transmission all work as new?
• AND MOST IMPORTANT – can you get in the car and drive it without worry that something will break?

As our friend Nort Northam – no stranger to older cars – tells us, “Old people, old houses and old cars – something is going to wrong.”  There is a lot of truth to that statement.  We are getting into the realm of “elderly” ourselves; we owned a home here at one time that was 100 years old when we bought it; and we have had a bunch of old cars over the years.  And the probability that something will go wrong with Sparky on the road as opposed to our similar mileage VW Passat is a sure thing.  The Porsche will leave us stranded before the VW will, but that doesn’t mean that the VW sill never leave us on the side of I-95 at midnight in the rain in South Carolina.

A particular car’s dependability – which is primarily what we are taking about here – is a function of maintenance and care.  Regular oil and fluid changes are a must.  Paying attention to the things that the car is telling you – creaks and squeaks, strange and new noises, gauge fluctuations and such – will guide any car owner to keeping their car dependable.

MAKING your classic transaxle car into a daily driver…

Unfortunately having records on your Porsche when you bought it is rare with our transaxle cars.  So start your own records book, starting with an assessment. For your car, do a complete assessment on your car and make a list of jobs that need to be done.  Here are some suggestions.  Remember that your goal is to make the car start, stop, run, turn and operate as it was designed with no drama.

• Check the outside of the car for defects and things that don’t work.
  • Doors open, close, lock, unlock properly?
  • Windows go up and down as designed, not binding or slow?
  • Sunroof and hatch work as designed?
  • Lights all work, including side markers?
  • Hidden headlights go up and down as designed?
  • Tail light lenses clean, not leaking/getting water in them?
  • Dates on tires – no more than six years old?  (https://jalopnik.com/how-to-understand-whats-written-on-your-tires-1833667811)
  • No cracks in the windshield?
  • No leaks in the hatch glass?
  • Brake rotors and pads in good shape?
• Open the hood and check the engine compartment
  • Paperwork on the belt and water pump service?  (30,000 miles or four years is a good guide)
  • Records on coolant replacement?
  • Accessory belts okay?
  • Power steering pump and/or rack leaking?
  • Oil leaks from the oil pan or the front of the engine?
  • Current oil change?
  • Brake fluid change in the past two years?  (This includes clutch hydraulics)
  • Transaxle oil change in the past two years?
  • Records on clutch replacement?
  • Battery, cables, connectors all in good shape?
  • Rust under the battery or a sketchy repair on the battery box area?
  • Reference sensor connectors in good shape? (Sensor connectors on the sensor side tend to get brittle, crack, break and possibly fail.)
  • Excessive noise from the fuel pump?
  • Fuel filter and tank fuel screen history?  Records on replacement?
  • AC changed to R134A refrigerant and working properly?  Records on compressor/dryer replacement?
• Interior
  • Seats comfortable, operate properly with no splits, tears or excessive wear in the upholstery?
  • Door cards complete and clean?
  • All gauges and gauge lights work properly?
  • Steering wheel rim smooth in good shape?
  • Rear “window shade” cargo cover operating properly?
  • Rear seat latch mechanism working properly?
  • All switches and indicator lights working properly?
  • Radio works?  All four speakers properly mounted and working properly?
  • Headliner and trim clean and working properly?
• Driving
  • Engine smooth?
  • Transmission shifts positively and smoothly?
  • Suspension/shocks/steering smooth and free of vibration, etc.?
  • Brakes firm and have positive feel?
  • Exhaust does not rattle?  Good sound?  No leaks?
  • Car turns positively with no drama?

Here at 924S944.com, we rescue and rehabilitate cars that have been abandoned and forgotten, totaled for insurance, or otherwise in rescue-able condition.  Paint and complete interior restoration takes a pretty big chunk of money but mechanical restoration is just a series of jobs to put things into as-delivered condition.  We ensure that everything works right, although we do NOT work on the rear window defogger systems (they work or they don’t, most don’t) and we do NOT work on the optional cruise control modules as they are not dependable and tend to not work properly.  Everything else is on the table.

From a rehab standpoint, here is what we almost always do to our rehab 944’s and 924S’s, especially if there is no accompanying records.

• New tires
• Belt and water pump service with new thermostat and fan switch (regardless of when it was last done)
• Rebuild calipers, new or rebuilt master cylinder, new rotors, new soft hoses and fresh fluid
• New clutch master and slave cylinder
• AC system refresh with new compressor and dryer, other parts as needed
• Refinish original wheels if needed
• Upholstery repair or replacement as needed
• New carpet set if needed
• Rehab sunroof operation
• Rehab hatch operation
• Change all external bulbs
• New fluids, including filters, especially the tank outlet screen
• Clean, clay bar and wax
• New hood and hatch struts
• New wiper blades
• New soft fuel lines in engine compartment (94X fire prevention)
• Repair odometer if needed
• Repair whatever else is needed

With these jobs done, plus whatever else the car tells us is needed, we can feel confident that when the car goes to its new owner, all the troublesome things will be addressed and there are adequate records as to what has been done and when.  This “clean sheet” will allow the new owner to have more trust in the car from square one, even though it is several decades old.

That is what it takes to make your car into a daily driver.  This formula has worked for us.

 

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Sparky is a regular participant in many shows in Central Florida, including the Werks Reunion at Amelia Island each March.  Come find Sparky at one of our shows or events and say hello!  Sparky loves meeting new friends.