History Lesson: The Porsche 924S
Want to know more about the 924S, its development and how it ended up with such a mis-match of early and late 944 parts? Here are your answers.
Engines and Numbers and HP – Oh, My!
The 2.5L 944 engine has gone through some modifications over the years, and there are always questions about them. Many of our cars have had engine swaps over the years, … Continue Reading Engines and Numbers and HP – Oh, My!
924 vs. 924S vs. 944: What’s the Difference?
The first major redesign in 1985 – designated as “Series II” cars – are typically called “eighty-five-and-a-half” cars. These are easily identified by the new dashboard and console featuring an oval gauge cluster.
Strange Alternator Failure…
When I got in the car, I had the key in hand but not in the ignition, and the battery light was on. Key in the ignition, turn it on, and the battery light went off. Crank up the car, and no battery light. The car started fine, light was out, all is good.
Buying a Used 924S
Acquiring 924S and 944 cars is a disease for which there is no known cure. We find parts cars, neglected cars and even good cars, but it seems that all of them have something that needs to be fixed or improved – thus the symptoms of the disease.
Mechanical Myths
“I will put some of this in it, and it will be fine.” If it is leaking, it will continue to leak. Magic fluids may help in an emergency, but eventually the leak will come back and it will need to be fixed properly. Magic leak-stopping fluids may get you home, but they are not a permanent fix.
“The Theory of Last Touched…”
If applying the “theory of last touched,” the first place to start is to review whatever I did before – whatever I last touched on the car.
Dieselgate, Bosch, and the Series 1 Porsche 944
Nearly every early 944 has “The 944 Shudder.” When lifting off the throttle from any position, the revs drop below idle, and then the engine recovers.
So what’s that got to do with the surprising, unsettling, completely unprecedented mass deception event that is dieselgate? More than you might think.
Porsche Night in Orlando – Featuring the 924/944/924S/968 was FANTASTIC!!
July 16 featured the front engine water cooled Porsches – 924, 944, 924S and 968. Owners and enthusiasts gathered at the Ace Cafe with their cars and filled the lot!
Red-Hot 944! From Car and Driver
In the specifications page for the 944, the car was priced as tested at $21,000, comparable to the Corvette. Options included leather sport seats and a digital AM/FM Cassette radio. The engine showed 143 HP and 137 torques at 3,000 rpm – and the article mentions that with peak torque so low, you don’t have to push it to the redline.
The 924 in the Porsche Panorama: Pt. 2
For the 944, there were actually two engine designs on the table – a 3.5L V6, which was essentially a 928 engine with two cylinders missing, or an inline four cylinder, half of a 928 engine.
“Cool Collectible Cars from the 80’s”
Acknowledging that the 924 doesn’t get a lot of love from the Porsche purists, he also mentions that the early cars were not “especially powerful.”
To Turbo or Not To Turbo…
So in searching the internet for nuggets of 944 information, I stumble across forum posts where people talk about 1) the low power output of the 944 8v engine, 2) the desires to install forced induction and 3) the desire to dump their 944 Turbo due to high maintenance costs.
2.0L 924 GT Makes Racing History
In 1980, Porsche declared their intention to go racing with a special version of the 931 called the 924 Carrera GT. With only 406 examples made for homologation, this rare Porsche had 210 horsepower, Fuchs wheels and a five-speed transaxle. The front fenders are the same as were used on the 944 when introduced in 1983 with flares on the outside of the rear fenders to accommodate wider track.
Porsche 944 Redux: Update
So let’s look at this in a more realistic light. Porsche is definitely NOT bringing back the 944, and I cannot find anything definitive on a Panamera Coupe.
I Decided to Save My 944…
The sad fact is that our 924S and 944 cars are NOT Tri-Five Chevys or fifties Morgans. They will never attain “classic” levels, and we won’t see an ’84 944 with 320K on the odometer bring 2.1 Million at Barrett-Jackson. But these cars were made to be loved and driven, driven hard, driven at autocrosses and track days, and even in club racing. So make a list, prepare a budget and get to work.