14x14 - 1977 Porsche 924

[bunniefuu]

With just 95 water-cooled horsepower
and a sporty four-speed transaxle, the


Stuttgart badge on a punter's budget and

it was the first car I ever did on Wheel
of Dealers. Congratulations you just

bought the world's worst Porsche.
Seems like Ant will need some convincing

especially as he'll have to deal with
the leaking crankshaft seals. Rough

idle. It's kind of lumpy all over the
place. Swappy gear change and tatty

interior. This 924 is five years older
than the first one I took on. So the

challenge ahead of us is gonna be
much bigger and much more exciting. But if

Ant and I can help this sporty German
regain its form we can show a new

generation. This car is worthy of a
new lease on life. They say the early bird

catches the worm. I am in Northern
California and the worm in question

today is the very first car I ever bought
on Wheel of Dealers 14 years ago.

It's a 1977 Porsche 924. Welcome to
Wheel of Dealers the show that loves

modern classics like this cracking
Porsche 924. They are an amazing little

car. It's the first front-engine
Porsche and it had rear-wheel drive

and you've actually got a boot so you
can carry some stuff around with you.

And that meant this car had uber
practicality plus five-speed gearbox. You

get it out onto the motorway, open
the taps up and just cruise along

knowing full well that you're in a Porsche.
Back in a day you could get

one of these cars for a song. I bought
my first one on Wheel of Dealers for

just 700 pounds or around $1,500 in
today's money. Today these cars are now

on the ascent and people are starting
to take them pretty seriously. In fact

prices have been climbing recently and
that's why I've been thinking about them.

Believe it or not I have
seen them change hands for

ten, fifteen thousand
dollars which is strong money.

Now the guy that I'm gonna go and
see he's got one for sale. He's not had it

for too long. He's realized it's not
for him and he just wants to sell it

for $5,000. Can you believe it?
It's about three and a half thousand

pounds. It's a 77. The cars in guards
red but what I do need to worry about this

car is those usual 924 problems. Being
out here in California I guarantee it's

gonna have a cracked dashboard. They
always do. The gear shifter that will be

sloppy and I bet you it's absolutely 100%
gonna have a leaky engine. I know it's a

Porsche and getting parts for it can be
expensive but the money that I'm gonna

go and see it truthfully I don't think
there's any risk and that means that.

this bum is on its way to go
and see that car. Here we go.

You must be Duncan. Yes sir. Duncan
how are you Mike? Really nice to meet you.

Nice meeting you. So this is a little
Porsche. I notice as I walk up there's a

little bit of damage on that valance
underneath. Scarily it looks human

shaped. I'm trying to think this car hasn't
run over somebody. I told you not. I got it

about three months ago and it was
already there so. Right so now you've got

this Porsche why have you decided to
sell it? So as much as I like the car as.

fun as it is it's just not
practical for me. I live on a very

treacherous road. It's not the kind of
place you want to drive up in? No I did

it once and I couldn't do it again.
Okay well that makes a good reason to

sell the car. Alright listen I want to
have a good look around it and as we

stood at the front is there any chance I
could look under the bonnet first? Yeah.

sure thing I'll open that for you.

Right here we go. So we've got that
little Audi derived four-cylinder. Have

you had any problems with it? None at all.
Runs great. It has new distributor

wires and cap spark plugs. Well it
looks surprisingly clean. Usually these

leak. It looks kind of dry at the top.
But is there any evidence of leaking

underneath? You know I haven't really
checked much underneath. Oh yeah there's

the evidence there. That's coming
from the main seal. Well that's a bit of a.

shame if I was to be honest with you
because that leak is between the engine

and the gearbox. It's a real good
one to get to. For sure. So yeah that's

gonna need doing unfortunately. Right
well let's move on to the interior. Now

before I get inside the car I
can tell you what's wrong with it. I

guarantee the inside of this car will
have rip seats, a cracked dashboard and

the gear lever is gonna be really
sloppy and there'll be a hole in the

carpet. How correct am I? Sounds
about right. Yes because I don't think I've

ever seen one that doesn't have
rip seats, a hole in the carpet, a very

sloppy gear change and a cracked dashboard.
But all of these parts are

gettable which is good.
So the only thing left for me

to do is to take you for a
test drive. Yeah sure thing.

I'm making all the right noises. Straight
away the brakes feel fantastic, the

steering it's so positive and direct
and it really does ride well. The

suspension's great, all the glass is
original and it's all there, nothing's

got a crack. It's a little loud but
that's just an aftermarket exhaust and

you can pull that right off. First
impressions of this car, surprisingly.

very, very good. I like it.
I don't like the noise but I like the car.

Now the bad stuff, sloppy gear change,
the dash pad is completely broken. Now to

remove the dashboard is a big job on
this car. We're definitely gonna have to

fix that oil leak. I reckon it's gonna
be coming from the main seal, that

means Adam's gonna have to drop
the torque tube to get access to that seal.

This is one of those little cars that's
got a heart and it's got a soul and

after 40 years of age this
car doesn't want to give

up. This is a car that I
know wants to be rescued.

Surprisingly it does drive really well.
Steering's good, the brakes are actually

quite good but the big worry for
me and it's the main issue for me is

definitely that oil leak. I reckon it's
gonna be a mainsail and on this car

that's expensive to do. The price
would have to come down a little bit.

You want your five grand for it didn't you?
Yes sir, I was asking five. I think

you've been a bit cheeky with the price.
So I was thinking more like three

grand. Couldn't give it three. That's
too low, yeah it's too low. I do, I do four

thousand. Even at $4,000 it's still
just that little bit too much money I'll be

honest with you. I will have another
one more go at you. Three thousand five

hundred dollars. Thirty eight hundred
dollars. Make it thirty seven you got

yourself a deal. All right. Yes perfect.
I just bought myself a Porsche 924 for

the second time. There you go son.
Congratulations you just bought the

world's worst Porsche. These are great
little cars. Do you know it's the very

first car I ever did on Wheeler dealers.
This was the first Wheeler dealer car

ever. Car number one 14 years ago.
When I bought that car it was 1983 so it

was 20 years of age. This one is 40
years old so the challenge ahead of us

is gonna be much bigger and much more
exciting. Yeah a lot's happened in those


come on just pull the bonnet and let me

show you some good stuff. Right then Ant.
It dries well it pulls really good.

Underneath it just needs a bit of a
tidy up. I'm kind of sensing from the

tone in your voice. You're not telling
me everything. Well I mean not exactly

everything because it has got another
little problem. It's got an oil leak

but not like the normal little oil
leaks that I bring back on these cars.

It's kind of a different one. Where is
it coming from? It's coming from the

engine seal. Engine out. Yeah but you say
engine out so you'll have it out in no time

and if you get it out you can do a
full gasket change. Engine out is a big

job you know. But it's an easy job
for a man like you. Don't worry that's

why you got all the tools in the workshop.
Now let me get you inside

because there's another little problem.
But grab that gear knob and tell me

what you think of it. Yeah so why
you got the engine out you got access to

the gearbox you can
fix it. So it's engine

and gearbox out. And
gearbox yeah needs doing.

And if you have a look
at the dashboard as well.

Oh that is wrecked.
It's bad yeah that needs

replacing as well it's all cracked.
Yes it's got a couple of little tears in

the seats but we can repair those.
Mike! Don't panic all this stuff is in

a little place I know around the
corner it's really gonna be easy. Right

how much was the car? The car was
cheap it was only three thousand seven

hundred dollars that's about two
thousand five hundred British pounds so

nice and cheap. All right so let's
look at the positives and let's look at

the negatives and on the positive
side it's cheap. Yeah. And it's a Porsche.

Unfortunately it ends there. Oh
that's cruel. Yeah but look at the list of

negatives I gotta take the engine out
the gearbox out I mean the bodywork is

rust free but it is tatty. We're not
gonna make any money on this car are

we? Now let me worry about that
this car is very special to me I'm doing it

because of nostalgic reasons.
So let me get this right Mr. Brewer the big

Wheeler dealer car salesman's gone
nostalgia over profits. Yeah come on

let's get it in. I can't believe how
much you've changed. I know it's nice

isn't it? This is what California does
it softens you. I think it's fair to say

that Mike has a soft spot for the 924
and admittedly I gave him a little bit

of grief because he should quite
rightly rave about this car. Think about

it it was the first Porsche to have
the engine at the front. It was also the

first Porsche to be liquid cooled and
some people believe it's the Porsche

that saved the company financially.
Now the problem is is that this one's got a

whole load of issues including a
really tricky oil leak. By the looks of it

Brewer was telling a fib because
the oil is not coming from one place

there's oil everywhere and the only
way to get at that particular leak is

to remove the engines. Pulling an
engine means draining the fluids along

with disconnecting the cooling system
the intake and every other major system

so it's a big job. Thanks Mike.
I want to be really extra careful because I

don't want any debris to get inside the
block. If it does I'm gonna have a problem.

I bought a 1977 Porsche 924 similar
to the first ever Wheeler-Dealers car.

Our car has gone from being a
has-been to a must-have but this 924

has major issues including a nasty oil
leak so poor old Ant needs to pull the

engine to address it. I'm now gonna
hook the engine up and the reason is I

take the weight of the engine lift it
just enough so I can get underneath and

undo the engine mounts. While underneath
I'm also detaching the exhaust, the torque

tube from the engine, along with the
steering and motor mounts. Get that out

the way I can get this puppy out.
That all looks pretty free now. If you're

doing this at home you can rent an
engine hoist for about a hundred bucks a

week. The last step is unhooking the
wiring harness. There's something really.

satisfying about taking an engine
out of a car especially a Porsche. I think

first thing I'm gonna do is give it a
nice cleanup before I get to work on

it. It's so much easier working on a
cleaner engine and I already know

where the primary leak is it's here
at the rear main seal that's what I'm

gonna tackle first which means turning
the engine upside down. To access the

mainsail I've got to remove the
sump which is easy with an Allen key.

Swapping the sump gasket is a dreaded
repair because it's labor-intensive and

that can make it expensive.
It's about $700 at a dealer. If you do it

yourself it takes some time but it
costs very little. Oh looks like the

sump gasket's been replaced before. I
can see the residue. Now the sump's out the

way I want to first remove the old
gaskets clean the surface do the same

on the sump so when I bring the
two together they're perfectly clean with

new gaskets and it 100% keeps the oil in.
Now the sump gasket's made up

of four pieces. These two strips down
the side which are made of a carbon

and steel composite. The two rubber
ends the blue bits one here and one here.

Now to get rid of the bulk of it I'm
gonna use a simple scraper. I want to be

really extra careful because I don't
want any debris to get inside the block.

If it does I'm gonna
have a problem. Debris in

the engine could clog
important oil passageways.

I've got the bulk of it off using a
scraper and then I'm gonna use this.

little wire brush this will help
me get into all the little nooks and

crannies and get the worst bits off
the surface. Now for the final clean I'm.

gonna use this an abrasive pad.
This will give the surface a really nice

shine make sure there's absolutely
no debris. Look at that it's like brand

new. I'm moving on to the front of the
engine and I'm bolting the timing belt

and cranks pocket. This gives me access
to the front main seal. The next step

is getting the front main seal off.
This hook shaped pick it's perfect and

then a little bit of force and it
simply pulls out. Now straight away I

can feel that this is a problem.
It's supposed to be quite pliable it's made

of rubber. I can't go any further
because Brewer hasn't brought me any

parts so while I'm waiting I'm gonna
clean up and paint the front bits. Now I

need a load of parts for our Porsche


could go to any street corner and bump
into a car spare shop that would do me

parts but I'm gonna go and see a
trusted old friend he's called Wayne

and he runs a business called Pelican
parts and he has racks and racks of

Porsche parts. Plus he's a familiar
face so you never know I might be out of

work a deal. Hey Wayne how are you?
Hey Mike good to see you how's it going?

Very good. I sent you an email
with a parts that I need for my little

Porsche 924. You're gonna give me a
hand or what? You know the warehouses.

Head over there yourself.
Thank you very much.

Have you got any
questions? I'll be over here.

Good to see you. See you in a bit.
It's always a bit risky when I get

let loose in a parts shop because the
cost can add up quickly but I have my

list and I'm doing my best to stick to it.
Oil filter and electrical

parts. Both crank seals, belts, along
with the coolant hoses plus other odds

and ends. I think that's most of it
and in this day and age where it's

easy to sit in front of a computer
screen and click a mouse and audio

parts and I'm all for that I do that a lot.
There's something nice about

walking through the shelves and
picking the parts yourself. Feels much

more tangible. Right now I've got
everything I need let's get it back

to the workshop. I can hear that the idle's
a little bit rough. My gut tells me it's

something to do with the fuel system. We
bought a 1977 Porsche 924. I'm well on my

way to sorting out an oil lead but I'm
waiting for parts so I'm tidying up the

bits from the front of the engine first.
Looking good. Nice to see you working.

Where I want to get these parts.
I'm just going to stop you there.

Have you got my bits? I did.
Gaskets. I've got the gaskets for you.

I've got everything you
needed. Timing belt. I've got

the timing belt. I've got
hoses. I've got an oil filter.

I've got tons of stuff. More or less
all the bits you need to put it back

together but what are you up to?
Well I'm actually kind of elbow-deep in

engine at the moment focusing on
that getting these bits painted ready to

put back on. Just put the box over there
somewhere. Thank you. Why don't you.

go and enjoy the sunshine. Sunshine.

I've got hold of the new front sear and
you can already see that it's way more

pliable. It's softer.
That's really great

because it's going to
squeeze in that hole and

it's going to keep the oil in the engine.
I'm just going to get a bit

liberal with some assembly grease.
Get it on there. This will help not only

slide it in but also seal it up.
The crank seal is made of special rubber

designed to handle the temperatures
and the chemicals in engine oil. This box

here is a little kit and it includes a
new cam belt and a new tensioner so

I'm going to lose the old tensioner.
I'm going to keep the bolt and then.

reintroduce a new cam belt. The lower
auxiliary pulley reattaches exactly as

it came off. That's the timing belt done.
I'm going to get on with the sump.

These two side bits and the two
new rubbers so one at a time this is

going to be this side. I'm not going
to put them on dry. I'm going to use a

little bit of sealer. Once this sealer
is set no bits will ever break off and

gum up the engine. It's going to
seal really nicely. Keep all that oil in.

Same on the other side. Sealer is an
extra measure against leakage. It also

helps hold the gasket in place for the
next step, reattaching the sump cover.

I love it when it locks together.
Now that the engine stands out the way I've

got access to this rear main oil
seal so it's out of the old in with the

new. Just give it a little cleanup.
Fitting the rear seal is the same as

the front. The only difference is it's
bigger. Assembly lubricant won't mix with

that last little bit. I've gone to the
hardware store and got the end of a

plumbing pipe. Nice and strong,
made of plastic but it's the perfect size.

Spot on. Seals are done now I just
have to get the engine back into the

car. I'm replacing the clutch then
reattaching the motor mount, coolant

hoses, alternator, fan and intake.
I turn to the manufacturers handbook when

choosing the correct oil and
because of the age of the car it lists two

types of oil. A summer oil and a
winter oil. But we now have multi-grade

oil. This stuff. Now she's oiled she's
ready to start. First time too. Now

that the engines buttoned up I can
also hear that it idles a little bit rough

it's kind of lumpy all over the place.
Now Mike didn't mention anything

specific but my gut tells me it's
something to do with the fuel system. So

I'm going to start there by checking
the fuel pressure. I'm attaching a

pressure test kit to the warm-up
regulator which controls the fuel

pressure when the engine is both hot
and cold. The warm-up regulator should

show two specific pressures. One when
the engines cold and a second one when

the engines hot. So while the engines
cold I'm just going to test. It should.

be around 21 psi.
It's 15 and that's not good enough.

Now she's up to temperature I'm
expecting to see around 52 and it's

still at 15. There's our problem.
I'm working on a less heralded member of

the Porsche family. But don't tell that to
Mike because he loves these old 924s.

I've isolated a fuel pressure problem
that I need to fix. This is the warm-up

regulator and it's an integral part of
the fuel management system and it

has one really important job. It uses
the changing temperature of the engine

to automatically adjust the fuel
pressure so that the engine runs at

its best. It looks pretty manky in here
but if you look inside this is really cool

stuff. This green part here that's a
heating element and it heats up this

metal strip and it's that heat that
causes the strip to flex open and

closing the little valve on the end.
Right now in my hand the unit is cold

but because it's bolted to the side
of the engine it naturally heats up and

the hotter it gets the more that strip
moves opening the valve controlling

the pressure. If this heating elements
broken it simply won't work and a really

easy way to test if it is working is
to use a multimeter. If I just touch

each one of those terminals it'll give
me a reading. Now if there wasn't a

reading it would mean the circuit
was broken and the thing was kaput.

But actually 21 ohms that's great
news that means it's working which

makes me think the reason why this
is inefficient is probably because the

whole unit's gunked up.
So I'm gonna give it a good clean.

After removing the heating element
I'm scrubbing the housing with a wire

brush and a parts cleaner. My plan is
to modify the warm-up regulator with a

simple threaded bolt. It makes
it easier should it ever need to be

adjusted. The pressure was originally
set at the factory. It should never need

adjusting but will save loads of time
should it ever fall out of spec. A 1.5

millimeter bit creates a second hole
for a pin that acts as a dowel to hold

the adjustment shaft in place.
I'm using a tap to thread the hole I've

just drilled. This bolt locking nut
and these two washers cost less than a

couple of dollars but what they do
is they make this valve adjustable

without having to take it off the car.
What's brilliant is its simplicity.

Now this metal strip here is gonna
sit and pivot there and it's like a

bolt in it's gonna change that pivot
closing the valve and if I hold the bolt

and wind the lock nut it's gonna
draw it out re-changing the pivot. It's

basically $2 tuning. The next step is
reassembling the warm-up regulator. The

heating element goes back in along
with fresh o-ring seals. Brand new. Now's

the moment of truth. It's a cold start
and 21 psi is perfect. Now I've got to

wait for a hot reading. Right that's
up to temperature now. It's hot enough

and it's 51 psi. This job is
done and of course if it ever

goes awry I've got that
tiny little bit of adjustment.

Now this Porsche uses a standard
H-gate which means it has two critical.

dimensions of travel. Left and right
and forward and back and I have a way

of improving this with a slight
change to the geometry. We've taken a


crankshaft seal leak and sorted out a.


work on its sloppy gear change. One of

the genius things about the 924
design is the layout. It's got the engine

at the front, transaxle at the back
and for a sports car that's perfect

because it distributes the weight
across the whole vehicle. Now a

transaxle is brilliant because it
does three jobs. It's the transmission,

the differential and the axle all in
one unit and the transaxle is joined

to the engine via this. This is called
a torque tube and it effectively joins

the engine to the transaxle to make
one strong unit and inside that tube is.

basically a prop shaft that takes the
power from the engine and gives it to

the transaxle. Now the problem
with our transaxle is it's got a sloppy

linkage and it's a nightmare because
to get to it it's right up there almost

out of reach. So unfortunately just
like the engine that's got to come out. I'm

disconnecting the drive shafts and
unbolting the gearbox. Removing the shift

lever is the next step in addressing the
shoddy gear change. Now this Porsche

uses a standard H-gate which means
it has two critical dimensions of travel

left and right and forward and back
and when the gear lever is joined to

the linkage it does exactly the same
movement here it's forward and back

left and right and I have a way of
improving this with a slight change to

the geometry. Just unbolt the linkage
like so. The reason I'm taking it off is

because I want to extend this make it
longer so that left and right movement

has way more leverage. I want to
create a solid anchor point for the

linkage so I'm cutting metal fittings
off an old linkage that Mike stored.

That's the bit I need. I need to make
the linkage longer so I'm drilling a one

inch steel bar then welding the
metal fitting into a hole and rounding the

edges. Measuring the old part against
the new allows me to Mark the steel

bar so I can cut it the correct length
and weld the two pieces together.

Salvaging another metal fitting and
welding it to a bolt are the next steps

in creating the improved linkage.
These modified bits are now going to slot

straight in place so this first
nipple is going to secure a fixed point

there and then I'm going to
reassemble this exactly how it came

off the car and then nipple at
point A is going to be joined with this

adjustable rod to the nipple at point B.
With this setup it's firmer and it's

fixed. That covers the left and right
movement. To cover the forward and back

movement imagine the gear stick
is here in the front of the car and it's

simply with a piece of linkage it's
just a solid piece of metal joins from

this pivot point here all the way to here.
I can change the way that

feels dramatically by taking this and
raising it somewhere around here. The

geometry is easier to understand
with a shift lever out of the car. Imagine

this line represents the gear lever in
the neutral position and then check the.

maximum travel that the gear lever can
make which is here. At the moment the

gear linkage pivots off this post
here so if I follow that post from here

to its maximum travel the gear
linkage only goes that small distance. If

however I raise that pivot point
for the gear linkage to say here and

travel the same amount of distance
at the gear knob you'll see the gear

linkage is now traveling a further
distance and of course it doesn't need.

so for me to get exactly the same travel
needed which is at this point for the

linkage I only need to travel to this
sort of distance. The gear knob now

travels a shorter distance to get the
same amount of leverage. It basically

turns this into a short shift and on a
Porsche that's cool. In order to raise

the linkage pivot point and improve
leverage I'm cutting off the base of the

gear shift lever and welding in extra
metal between the two halves. A short

shift means the lever has less
distance to travel to change gears which

will transform the driving experience
by making the gear changes faster and

more positive. That modifications
worked really well which means the gear

levers done the forward and back
movement this part of the linkage the

left and right which leaves me to
modify the front of the linkage and of

course get this back into the car.
The gear lever is going to go straight

back into the same mount in which
it came from and of course the only

difference is this pivot point is now
a lot higher so if I bring the linkage

bar forward it's gonna fall just short.
I could get a big pair of pliers

and bend it into submission but that
would be really really nasty. I need to

extend the linkage so I'm laying out a
welding blanket to protect the interior

and cutting off the end of the
linkage then measuring it so I can

machine round stock to create a
threaded insert along with a bush.

I've taken that bush
and I've welded it onto the

stem of a bolt stuck a
little lock nut on there

just to secure it and that will just
thread onto that threaded insert which

slots perfectly into this end of the
linkage and the genius and simplicity

of this setup is that if I wind it in
or wind it out it makes this end of

the linkage adjustable. So all I need
to do now is weld it on. That'll hold.

That is a million times better. Now it
feels like a Porsche and Mike is gonna

love it. What I need to do now
though is sort out this awful interior.

The 1977 Porsche 924 we've taken on
now runs in top form. This job is done.

and it's time to tackle one last but
very obvious problem with the car.

So far I've focused on the mechanics
of this car. Now that they're all sorted I

need to make sure that she looks as
good as she performs and right now the

interior is really letting us down.
Now Mike's out on the road getting the

parts I need including a new dashboard
and that's exactly where I'm gonna

start.
I'm gonna get this old cracked one out.

Aha appropriate timing. There is one
replacement sensor console and I've even

got you a replacement dashboard.
That one really does look cracked up that

dashboard. It's seen
better days hasn't it? Yeah

it's ruined. It's horrible.
Like that. There we go.

That is horrible. Let me get rid of
that over there and let me give you.

this. I found this cracking little
replacement just round the corner. So.

have you changed the color?
Yeah I like the brown I think it looks much

nicer plus browns in at the moment
it's a right retro color it's gonna make it

much easier to sell. Look at that. That
looks good. It does it looks really good.

Right so what's next? Right well I'm
gonna get this car buttoned up make

it look fantastic so you got a chance
of selling it. Talking of which I've got

gum right the advert up. Yeah before
you go though pass me that Phillips

screwdriver just there. No worries
there you go. Thank you. See you later.

Oh Mike? Yep. Throw the old dash away.
Oh god anything else? There's a good boy.

Now it's starting to shape up really
nicely this brown dash looks brand new

but I've got to do the rest of the
interior which means one of us is gonna

have to do a night shift and it ain't
Mr. Brewer. The carpets have to come

out the seats have to come out the
rear seats the door cords the boot.

carpets. The 924 from 1977 was a
proper Porsche for the people. Its front

engine rear wall drive layout made
for the perfect handling balance in a

remarkably drivable sports car.
I was able to snag this motor cheap

because it was let
down by a fiddly oil leak.

warm-up regulator and a sloppy gearbox.
Refreshing a tired interior was the

final step to get this 924 ready for sale.
Look at that. We paid.


were $360. Fixing the warm-up regulator

cost just 20 bucks. We spent another


Refreshing the interior
was slightly expensive

at $1,500. We gave
$1,100 to fix the valance

and Polish the paint.
Additional parts added $1,200

to the bottom line. With
labor coming in at 46

man hours we're into
this Porsche for a total

of $8,380 or just a
shade over 5,900 pounds.

I think this Porsche's
appeal will sell itself

but first I want to
enjoy it one more time

and perhaps turn a few heads on
the streets of downtown Los Angeles.

Lovely I'll see what you've done. Downtown
LA that cityscape with our little downtown

cruiser. This car looks amazing.
Look how well it's polished back.

If you think it looks good on the outside.

Wow no way seriously. Oh there was a
few gripes coming from the workshop when I

bought down that replacement dashboard
and the complete interior but come on.

I prefer the brown. I know the brown
looks so much better. It's very retro

and comes out on it makes the
car so much more sellable. It's lovely.

All right I fixed the
rough idle issue as well.

Oh yes listen that is beautiful that's
just our 94 should sound. Well done son.

This is now a gentleman's
driver. It certainly is.

Outside inside no doubt
there's no oil underneath

now either. Not a drop. I love it love it
love it. But wait wait till you feel that.

Oh I can't wait.
This is a bit I've been looking forward to.

I don't encourage this at
home but I couldn't resist.

Porsche LA night time.
It's pretty good isn't it?

Ticking boxes. Yeah we are ticking boxes.

Right then here we go. Look at this lovely
stretch of road. Let's try this gearbox.

Open up open up.
Go on go through the gears.

Oh yeah baby. Oh yeah.

First of all I have driven
a lot of Porsche 924's

and that is the most
precise gear shifter I've

ever used in one of these cars.
That son is a work of art. What did you do?

Well after dropping the gearbox
out the back I made a short shifter.

Feels nice and sharp does it?
Oh it's beautiful through the gears.

Before it felt like kind of wooden spoon in
a bucket of porridge. It was just horrible

but now it's precise.
It's engineered. It

feels like a Winchester
r*fle. Look at that.

Do you know I said
right at the very beginning

of this this was never
about the profit. This

was about the nostalgia of doing a car that
started Wheeler Dealers 14 years ago and I

think we've paid homage
to that car and whoever

buys this car they're
going to get themselves

a slice. Wheeler Dealer history.
Who's our potential buyer?

I think it's somebody who grew up
around these cars and loves them like I do.

If you want to get into the kind of
entry-level budget Porsche market.

Oh this is the one and prices of these
cars are on the ascent at the moment.

Porsche is worldwide are going for well
ridiculous money now and the 924 is a car

that people are talking
about. They want to get into

this market and we have
nailed it with this one.

I recommend anyone that wants to
go and get that famous Stuttgart badge

just to give you that flavor
of what a Porsche is all about.

Look at it. It don't half
look bad does it for a


isn't facing any mid-life

crisis. Not yet. We
never thought we'd get

really rich out of this
car. We thought we'd

do the right thing by the
car and pay homage to

the original one we did
on Wheeler Dealers and

I think we've done the
right thing. However I

advertise it out there
on the Internet for a

rather cheeky $13,000
hoping to get a buy and

I've not had that many
calls but I've got one

from this guy behind
me. He's called Phil. He's

been out for a test
drive. He likes the way

it drives but he keeps
going on about bringing

the price down. My
job is to get him to lift

the price up so let's see
what I can do. Come on

in Phil. You've been all
over the car. You poured

yourself over it. What
do you think? Well it

looks great. I mean
it's beautiful. It's leak

free. It's rust free. The
paint work's beautiful.

The tires are good.
The interior is knock out.

The sunroof works. This
car is destined for you.

Gorgeous. Thank you.
I just don't know about

the price. Well I've
advertised it for just

a shade under $13,000.
That's good. You know

$12,995. I'd do a little
bit of a deal for you.

It's a good car but
how about it? I beg your

pardon? $8,000. I'll give you $8,000 right
now. $8,000? Seriously? I was looking for

something that needed
some work really and I

wasn't expecting it to
be so finished. So why

don't you just buy a car like this that is
done, is finished. You haven't got to worry

about any of the
problems in the future. You

just get your bum behind
the wheel and enjoy

it. I need to put some of myself into it.
I think we're just going to have to.

agree to disagree. Even if I said to you
you could have it for 10 grand could you

could you find any?
My wife would k*ll me. I

know what that feels
like. If you can't get rid

of it. I'll give you a
call. Give me a call. I

will do. You're a proper
boy LaDila. Hold out.

your hand. It was really
nice to meet you. Nice

meeting you mate. You can
get a taxi back home now.

See you later. Thank you. It's been a great
trip down memory Lane with our Porsche.


the way this car turned

out. Unfortunately
this isn't the car for Phil

and I wish him all the best in finding the
car that he wants but I know it's not going

to take long to find somebody who wants
to get behind the wheel of a cracking 924.

If you want to see more iconic cars like
this being turned around by me and Ant,

join us again soon on Wheel of Dealers.
Salut.