My son is interested in cars!

[imprttuner88]

Just a quick question. My dad has had these at his shop for some time. But my oldest son has taken an iterest. He has 7 years till he gets his full fledged lisense, but is interested in mechanics and working on a car and one at dads shop has caught his eye. Any good online resources for them? Anybody know much about them? Its structurally sound, needs an engine rebuild, paint body and interior work. We would do the first two ourselves teaching him how to do it and am completely okay with this being a multi year project, this is exactly how I started getting interested in cars.


Its a 79' 924 Turbo 5spd.


Some of the other ones dad has aquired over the years




and we have one more 924 inside the shop.
thoughts?

[asubimmer]

if he doesn't want it I do ;)

[mcr_driver]

very nice congrats on having a gearhead for a son :thumbsup:

[JMil86]

nice first car :) would have liked my dad to do this for me.

[Scotaku]

The only online resources that come to mind are rennlist and your local Porsche club chapter. You will find LOTS of diaper rubbing types who like looking at Porsches more than driving or wrenching... be prepared. Then there are the 911 purists.

When you do encounter some wisdom, it will be good. Your dad has held onto these few for some good reason. The 924turbo is a pretty rare car. It's not something that you'll fix up and sell for big bucks, but once running and well it will reward your soul. The same way the front-engined, rear drive E30's dance through corners, the 924/944 will sachet in quick step.

That 944 is essentially a 924S so as you plan work on the turbo, look for 944, 944S, or 944turbo options. They each got better with age.

Where the engines and front suspension are pretty straightforward Wolfsburg stuff (the 924 was commissioned as a Volkswagen) the transmissions and rear suspension are from the mad scientist wing of the Stuttgart insane asylum. You will become familiar with the 'while we are there' idea any time you need to get at the clutch, so go ahead and plan a -complete- rebuild of the tranny. Once it's out of the car, you don't want to put it back assuming other things are okay. Rear torsion beams are fun. Plan a tiki torch party for that evening. ;)

As with any old car, electronics may drive you mad. The existing engine computer and wiring may be okay, but do not be afraid of megasquirt as an alternative. For accessories, if the stock wiring is sound, great. Otherwise, you might like an Isis system instead as used in hotrods and customs. You get igntion and fuel kill/security features from it and potentially much easier troubleshooting and added accessories down the road. I'm toying with the idea for my track car.

I also humbly suggest you and your son spend some time planning a budget. This is an excellent time to be teaching him the value of a dollar, the importance of planning ahead and saving, and the tough choices of what to spend money on. Those are finance skills he will use throughout his life in addition to the mechanical understanding and comradeship of working with you and your dad. Noting your sig, I think you've got courteous and performance driving lessons of your own to teach him too.

Good luck to you!

[edit] Below this post you will read a bunch of naysaying crap. While the insurance issue is going to be a bridge your son will have to cross, you've got years ahead of you both and time to make sure he is trained to drive like a thoughtful Man who gives two hoots about other drivers instead of some fast'n'furious Boy. An antique Porsche will probably cost a little something to insure. Debating that expense now and letting it kill your boys' project is not important.

[IRON-E]

^^^ wow, finally a real mature advice., out of r3v too. What a shocker.

My hat's off to you sir and to the OP, good luck with your build when you decide to go through with it.

[imprttuner88]

thanks for all the insight! Great advice!

[stumble_t]

Sell all those clunkers and get one resto ready 928...He'll thank you later for sure

[Massive Lee]

Nobody mentionned that any car staying idle on grass will rot pretty quick? All the moisture can be terrible...

[Michael_B]

Here's a decent website that should give you some help, http://www.924.org/ . I've got an '87 924S that at some point will end up as a track day car. The cars can actually be quite alot of fun with a little work. Like others have said they'll never be worth much but they are pretty easy to work on. Plus with the large numbers of 944's sold and the interchangability of parts, can be pretty cheap too.

[AndrewBird]

One thing to consider is insuring a 16yo who drives a Porsche is not going to be cheap.

But I still say go for it! No better way to learn then to just do it.

[Leaf]

One thing to consider is insuring a 16yo who drives a Porsche is not going to be cheap.

But I still say go for it! No better way to learn then to just do it.

cept if you get collectors plates.... No matter the age it's going to be between $25 - $75 (you have to fuck up pretty bad to have collectors plates and STILL have to pay above $50 a month). Plus the insurance company will only know what you tell them so why not just tell them its a beater that happens to be a porsche? Just make it sound as shitty of a car as possible and im sure they'll give you a break.

Word up I hope your son likes his porsche at age 16 and can handle driving a real car at that age without doing something stupid cuz he thinks he's cool with his 24 year old porsche. Make sure you sit him down and tell him you'll slam him in a 20 year old honda if he fucks this up bad (like getting police attention cuz he did something stupid)

[Jon325i]

Of the cars you pictured, I'd say it would be wise to avoid getting into the Porsche 924 Turbo (internally known as the 931). My brother used to own one of these (an '81 model) a number of years ago and although it is a fun car, Porsche did not make a lot of them and replacement parts are difficult to track down as well as expensive. Unless you have a connection with a vast parts bin to rebuild this thing, I advise selling it off in pieces or as a project to someone with plenty of time and cash to burn.

You might be better off with an early 924 as your sons' first car since #1 the engine is durable and cheap to maintain, and #2 only has around 100-110 bhp (plenty of ponies for a newbie at the wheel). These cars do have a nicely balanced chassis and the front engine / rear drive layout is more enthusiast oriented.

The late model 924 (1987 & 1988 models) are essentially a 944 without the flaired fenders. Driveline, suspension, brakes, etc. are all components from the 944. The good thing about this is that Porsche made lots of these cars (the 944 that is) so parts are a lot more plentiful and more reasonable in price. They aren't as fast as a 924 Turbo but they certainly are a step up from the early variant of the 924. It might be the best alternative of the three because its a newer car with good parts supply available yet not too over-the-top for someone starting out. You may want to consider early 944s too if this is the option you go with since they are practically the same thing + those bulging fenders. Beginning in 1985.5 and on, the 944s received a revised interior....nicer dash, guages and center console mainly.

Lastly, the topic of insurance is a valid one. Any insurance carrier is likely to charge a premium above many other cars because we're talking about a "16 year old male who just got his license that wants to drive a Porsche".


Jon

[imprttuner88]

You might be better off with an early 924 as your sons' first car since #1 the engine is durable and cheap to maintain, and #2 only has around 100-110 bhp (plenty of ponies for a newbie at the wheel). These cars do have a nicely balanced chassis and the front engine / rear drive layout is more enthusiast oriented.

Jon

great advice!

[blunttech]

cept if you get collectors plates.... No matter the age it's going to be between $25 - $75 (you have to fuck up pretty bad to have collectors plates and STILL have to pay above $50 a month). Plus the insurance company will only know what you tell them so why not just tell them its a beater that happens to be a porsche? Just make it sound as shitty of a car as possible and im sure they'll give you a break.

Word up I hope your son likes his porsche at age 16 and can handle driving a real car at that age without doing something stupid cuz he thinks he's cool with his 24 year old porsche. Make sure you sit him down and tell him you'll slam him in a 20 year old honda if he fucks this up bad (like getting police attention cuz he did something stupid)

your advice doesnt make sense . im sure an insurance company will give a 16yo a "deal" because he drives a ratty porsche. it costs just as much to fix a ratty porsche as it does a clean one.
and if he hits or hurts someone else do you think they just wont pay as much to the other person because "it was just a beater porsche". there are no good scenarios with a 16yo behind the wheel of a vintage porsche. i would not choose this as a first car for a kid even if it were free. an e30 is a perfect first car for a kid. cheap to buy and cheap to insure