Do you ever notice that some cars are perpetually in a project state? I feel like we see the turbocharged Porsche 924 looking like this sorry car here on a flatbed far more often than we see one sitting in pristine condition. Of course, that’s not the seller’s doing, as he’s the one who actually rescued both of these cars from uncertain fates and spent some time getting them into a better place than how they were found; sadly, he’s got too much on his plate and the project Porsches are for sale. The listing is for both 1980 924 Turbos, listed here on craigslist near Portland, Oregon, for $6,000.
The 924 Turbo was not just some lukewarm special edition. These were seriously over-engineered performance cars that gave the contemporary 911 a run for its money on the track. The Porsche-built Type M31/01 engine replaced the anemic VW unit, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of improvements. A single KKK K26 turbo was installed, the compression was dropped, and bigger exhaust valves were fitted. Numerous other improvements were made and the final result was 168bhp at 5,500 RPM and 181 lb-ft at 3,500 RPM. It was a very quick hot hatch when it was ready for prime time.
A 5-speed, Getrag “dogleg”-style gearbox was installed, further enhancing the race car-like feel of the 924 Turbo. Bodywork changes were also made, with a NACA duct in the hood to cool off the turbo, cooling vanes on the front fascia, a unique rear spoiler, special decals and other trim upgrades. The bodies on both of the seller’s cars appear to be in decent shape aside from some damage likely incurred while in storage; I don’t see any rust issues to report. The seller’s goal with these cars was to build one solid runner out of the two, as one of the 924s has fairly significant engine damage.
One car had no compression in two of the cylinders, but had a decent interior; the other car ran, but the interior was trashed. You can see where the seller was going with his plans, and they were sound, in my opinion. However, you will still have to make one car into a runner, as the one that supposedly ran when parked still doesn’t move under its own power. These turbocharged 924s are special cars in Porsche’s history but not nearly as appreciated as they should be; hopefully, the next caretaker is able to bring one – or both – of these cars back to life.
To me numbers matching is everything, I’d restore both.
So interior from a wreck for one, and $$$$$’s to rebuild the other engine.
But I’d restore the running one first.
Do these have a strong following? If I recall
correctly, back in the day the Porsche club wanted to exclude these cars
Was in PCA at the time and running a business that specialized in Porsche with customers who owned these cars and don’t remember any action to exclude anything.
A word of caution on these. There are quite a few parts that are NLA… and some of them you might really need. I would say that it would be good to have knowledge of these specific cars. Also some of these parts will interchange with the 911/930 series cars that the parts were sourced from and which are also NLA…and no aftermarket for that stuff either.!
Don’t dispute that some parts are hard to find now but companies like Stoddard in Ohio have a pretty good line of available parts as well a couple of businesses in California. Having two cars to source parts from is hog heaven for restorers. When we got out of the Porsche realm I sold a ton of parts taken off cars we bought just for that purpose. Turned right around and started a parts supply for the Bugeyes we are racing, all of which help keep things going.