1980 Porsche 924 932 2.0 from Australia and New Zealand

Summary:

A wolf set loose...

Faults:

Not much... yet.

Any 30 year old sports car will carry 30+ years of possible love/neglect.

Gearbox is a little tired.

General Comments:

For a lot of people, the measure of a great car is often the sense of occasion one gets when using it. A 924 requires one to slide into low slung seats... feet low and forward. In front of you is an array of dials and gauges, that with the seating, makes one feel that this could well be a fighter jet of yesteryear, The wheel is almost vertical, and the gear stick short and in line with one's elbow, giving a sense of good function and ergonomics... This is a sports car.

Turn the key and a snarling tractor tone rumbles out the rear. Reverse out with good visibility, hook first left & down, and you're off! No smooth Nippon usage here, just sour disgruntlement from the engine at 3000 RPM... Foot flat, and now you know what purpose your day job serves.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st July, 2012

1980 Porsche 924 Turbo AKA 931 2.0 turbo from North America

Summary:

Fun little car for very little $$$

Faults:

Didn't run when purchased.

Bought out of a scrap yard.

Was missing all its glass.

High pressure fuel pump was shot.

Interior had minimal wear.

General Comments:

I got lucky and found this car in a scrap yard, missing all the windows, and had been sitting for over a year. I got her for $500 CAD.

In my search for a 931, I also found a 924 parts car for $200 CAD, that had all the glass intact and perfect. I bought it, and used it to save the 931.

The 931 is now all back together and runs great. It drives awesome, and came with a lot of factory options too.

It has power windows, power mirrors, A/C, 4 wheel disc brakes, leather interior, and rear wiper.

I love this little car. It is the first Porsche I have ever owned, and I love it!

Super easy to work on, and the turbo is not laggy at all...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th October, 2011

1980 Porsche 924 Turbo 2.0 turbo from North America

Summary:

It is a small touring sports car, and you would not want to sit in the back, but oh my, what fun

Faults:

The dash has cracks in it. Easy fix; an after market plastic cover is an exact fit.

Replaced shocks and springs.

Timing belt.

Power mirrors are starting to get slow (lack of use).

Expansion overflow radiator tank replaced in 2008.

Seat (driver) just started to tear. Think cleaning products are harsh on the threads maybe.

Wipers are not fast enough in the rain.

General Comments:

The car has been trouble free. It is totally stock, garage kept, and driven every weekend.

Very aerodynamic; the shape of the car still looks very modern today.

It is still a very fast car; it sounds like a Indy car going though the gears as you open it up, getting onto the interstate.

The car is well built and solid. It does not have power steering, but trust me, you don't need it.

Change the oil, put midgrade gas in it and hold on; it will put you back in your seat.

Mine will do 65-70 in second gear before shifting to 3rd, so the 4cyl will fly, it will leave most V8s in the rear view mirror easily, and still get 26 mpg.

Insurance is very cheap, and the blue book value goes up every year; 2011, $9300 for good condition.

Only 2500 were sent to the states, and 2500 to the rest of the world, so I'm sure there are not many left.

If you can come across one that's been well taken care of, buy it, you can't lose.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 13th September, 2011

1980 Porsche 924 2.0 NA from North America

Summary:

Fun, cheap, quirky, getting rare

Faults:

Clutch slipped toward the end; replacing it was a tough job.

Brake master cylinder slowly bled down when brakes were held down, replaced for $20.

Brake lights sometimes didn't work.

Sometimes failed to start in rainy weather (a problem in the Seattle area).

Sunroof leaked, rear seat footwells once had 6" of ice in them. I parked pointing downhill after that.

Heater fan only worked intermittently.

General Comments:

This was a fun first car, I inherited it from my grandfather. Fast enough to be fun, but economical with the 2 liter. Parts were so much cheaper than the other Porsches, I felt bad for the 944 and 928 owners. It was also simple enough to work on myself, I learned a lot about cars from this little Porsche.

Other Porsche drivers would wave or flash their lights at you in camaraderie, even if in private they snickered at your 'Volkswagen' Four-wheel discs and manual steering gave excellent road feel and stopping power. The 2 liter was a torquey little motor, originally designed for delivery trucks, it never gave me any mechanical trouble. 50/50 weight distribution made it very nimble.

I had this car from my sophomore year in high school, until after graduating college.

One dark and stormy night, I had taken my 13 year old brother to see a movie, and on the way back, I got a little too frisky with the throttle in 2nd gear. We fishtailed off the road at about 25mph, and there would have been no damage if it weren't for the telephone pole. We were both uninjured, bruised my ego a bit though, and the 924 was totaled. I replaced the damaged suspension components, but had no way to do the extensive body work, so I sold it for $400 as a parts car.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st August, 2010