Coyote Ugly: ’81 Porsche 924 Turbo
One of our regular readers suggested that we have more barn finds or project cars. We love the stories about lost cars and agree that we should broaden our scope to include a few when they pop up. So we dove in and found a rather unique opportunity – a project Porsche 924 Turbo. A little back ground – Porsche decided they needed a higher-performance version of the 924. And since they already found the benefits of turbochargers on several race cars and the 1975 911 Turbo, Porsche engineered a Turbo for the 924. Porsche started with the same Audi-sourced 2.0, designed an all new cylinder head, dropped the compression to 7.5:1 and engineered a KKK Turbo for it. With 10 psi boost, output increased to 170 horsepower. Weight distribution (a hallmark for the 924) was now 49/51 compared to the original 924 figure of 48/52 front to rear. Porsche added a NACA duct in the hood and air intakes in the badge panel in the nose, 15-inch alloys, four-wheel disc brakes with 5 stud hubs and a five-speed transmission. The turbocharged engine allowed the 924’s performance to come surprisingly close to that of the 911 SC, thanks in part to lighter weight. Porsche released a revised 924 Turbo series 2 in 1979 to cure some reliability issues and power rose to 177 horsepower. Just over 6,000 924 Turbos were built and how many were Monaco Blue and Cork? So what do you do with this one? If you are handy, you could probably get it running and handle the cosmetics but it will take time, patience and money. But you could strip the soft goods out the interior, put in a roll bar, make it a little bit pretty and race/rally it. Of course, that will depend on how inexpensive you can get it and how much skill you have. See it here by giving this line a click.