No gas and two soggy struts
Well, I’m pleased to say the 924S has a fresh MoT, is back on the road and is currently up for sale. Sadly, despite a lot of interest I haven’t had any nibbles yet. Fingers crossed, as the car drives very nicely indeed and is more comfortable than the 944. If I could afford to I’d keep it. But I can’t!
The front struts, which APS removed and reconditioned were actually in a very bad way. As I mentioned in a previous diary, whoever assembled the struts prior to me purchasing the car had omitted to refit the allimportant top spacers.
This resulted in the tops of the strut bodies smashing into the top bearings and also cutting grooves in the piston rods. These spacers are absolutely crucial to the strut assembly – and safety. Unfortunately, the spacers haven’t been available since 2002, so I couldn’t obtain any replacements. Thankfully, the 924 Owners’ Club came to my rescue and one of its members supplied APS with a pair. Anthony, at APS, used the best of these as a pattern and machined two new spacers for me. So be warned if you have a 924 or 944 and you are working on the struts. Make sure that you don’t lose the spacers. The reason they don’t get replaced is that I have a feeling they stick to the piston rods and get thrown away with the old units by mistake.
The 944 Turbo has been in regular use and one of the trips I’ve recently undertaken was to visit a bodyshop that had been recommended to me. The reason for this visit is because I’ve noticed that the offside sill has become a bit ‘scabby’, plus there’s a mark on the nearside rear wing where it must have been struck with an errant shopping trolley.
For some reason, despite the bodyshell being galvanized, the sills on the 924/944 are prone to rusting. I must admit that I’m more than a bit disappointed to have discovered this on my car, but it is what it is. However, if you are planning to buy a 924 or 944, even from a dealer, try and
ascertain if the sills have been replaced, or what condition they are in. I took this for granted and will soon be paying the cost!
Other trips in the 944 Turbo have included a most enjoyable Porsche Club GB, Region 14 drive (and excellent lunch) on October 14. The atrocious weather during the morning resulted in a route change, but it certainly didn’t dampen spirits and the event was really well organised and great fun. There was even another 944 taking part, and a 924S. Mind you, but the heater in the 944 Turbo decided to default to full heat, so we both roasted!
It was so hot inside the car, which explains why we were driving in the pouring rain with the sunroof and windows open. Anyway, despite being a mobile sauna, the car drove beautifully and felt most composed on the wet and winding roads. Quite comfy too. All I have to do now is find out why the heater developed a problem. Classics, don’t you love ‘em!
I haven’t managed to do any significant work on the Davrian but did manage to fit a towing strap. I hope to get stuck in to the Davrian again soon. Talking of getting stuck in, my son David and I are planning to do some work to our latest purchase. It’s a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which is going to replace the trusty Jeep Cherokee. The reason for the change is due to the fact that the Cherokee simply doesn’t have enough space for all of David’s film equipment. But the Grand Cherokee certainly has. The one we’ve bought is bit of a beast too, seeing that it’s powered by a 4.7L V8. Thankfully, said V8 is equipped with a superb Prins LPG system so the economy is not ruinous. It’s excellent in fact – but more on this beast later.