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924
Introduction to the Porsche 924
The Porsche 924 began it's life as a concept vehicle. Volkswagen had contracted Porsche to design a car so that an Audi-VW joint venture might enter the market with a mid-priced sportscar. However difficulties between VW and Porsche plus the end of the world oil crisis caused the idea to be dropped. Following this Porsche aquired the rights to the car and the 924 was born. The 924 differs from earlier Porsche desgins in a number of significant ways. The most obvious is the use of a front mounted water-cooled engine as opposed to the rear mounted air-cooled design of the 356 and 911. Also the engine is not bolted directly to the transmission as in the rear-engined cars, instead it is connected via a "drive tube" to the transmission/axle (transaxle) assembly at the rear of the car. This gives the 924 a near perfect 52:48% weight distribution and enhances the handling. A number of variations of the 924 were manufactured to suit different markets the U.S. having the most variations due to the strict emission control laws, however the basic 924 design remained relatively unchanged from 1976 until 1985 with the introduction of the 924S which featured a new 2.5 litre engine which powered the 944. The only major design change was the introduction of a turbocharged engine "924 turbo" and a special racing version with intercooled turbo engine the "924 carrera GT". Other options included 5 speed transmission and rear disc brakes as well as the usual items such as air conditioning and power windows/steering. Most of these item are absent on earlier models but were added as time progressed. Most of the "convenience" items were standard from about 1980 onward.Engine and Fuel system
The 924 Engine.
The 924 engine is a radical departure from previous Porsche designs, namely
it is watercooled and mounted at the front of the vehicle. The engine
is actually the same 2.0L engine short block as used in the Audi 100 with
some minor modifications and a Porsche designed cylinder head.
Engine Specifications (Australian and European cars)
Type: Water cooled, single overhead camshaft, 4 cylinder, 4 stroke engine.
Cylinder Head: Light Alloy.
Cylinder Block: Cast Iron.
Crankshaft: Forged Steel.
Pistons: Cast Light Alloy.
Cooling: Pressurized water/ethylene glycol coolant, electric fan with
thermo switch.
Compression: 9.3:1
Horsepower: 125HP at 5800 rpm (92 kW)
Torque: 121.7ft-lb at 3500 rpm (16.8m-kg) Maximum rpm: 6500
Fuel System
All european 924's are fitted with Bosch K-Jetronic (k-tronic) continuous
injection system (CIS) fuel injection. Although known as the k-tronic
system it does not depend on electronics, but on the passage of air through
a sensor plate. The system provides constant fuel output at the fuel injectors
which is varied by the position of the sensor plate in the air stream.
As air passes through the airflow meter, the sensor plate is lifted from
rest. The sensor plate is connected to a pneumatic arm and the angle at
which the sensor plate becomes stable depends on the airflow which is
governed by the engine speed. The sensor plate pneumatic arm directly
operated the fuel metering unit. The sensor plate arm moves a plunger
in the metering bores of the metering unit (one for each injector) increasing
or decreasing the injector fuel flow as required. The bores are specially
machined to provide different air/fuel mixtures at different engine speeds.
The Bosch k-tronic system is very reliable and easy to trouble-shoot system
and is central to the 924's well known reliability although in hot weather
the cars can be a little difficult to start.
Under the Porsche 924
The Transmission and Transaxle assembly.The transmission and axle of the 924 are contained in the same housing located at the rear of the vehicle. The transaxle is connected to the clutch and engine via a drive shaft "tube". Together the engine, drive tube and transaxle form a rigid centre section around which the 924's body is hung. The 924 is available in 4-speed, two types of 5-speed (a Z shift and more conventional H shift) and a 3 speed automatic transmission. The location of the transaxle at the rear of the vehicle gives the 924 an near perfect weight distribution.
Steering.
The steering of the 924 is of the standard rack and pinion type. The use of an eccentric cam operating the tie-rod ends gives the 924 an excellent forward turning circle. Later model introduced power steering.
Front Suspension.
The front suspension of the 924 is of the MacPherson strut type and is considered to be fully independent. The movement of the lower control arm (attached to the wheel) is dampened by the hydraulic strut to reduce road shocks.
Rear Suspension.
There are two types of rear suspension used in the 924, however both are very similar. The rear suspension consists of trailing arms which are fully independent. Both arms are dampened with shock absorbers. The arms are sprung by use of a torsion bar system. The "spring bar" runs perpendicular to the direction of travel in a tube across the car. It is fixed at one end and the trailing arm rides on the other end. It is similar to that used in the earlier 911's and some VW's.
Brakes.
From 1976 to 1979 all 924's were equipped with floating caliper, single piston, disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the back. From 1980 a 4 wheel disc brake option was available (using discs from the 911SC). 4 wheel disc versions are easily recognised as they are fitted with 5-bolt wheels compared to the standard 4 bolt 924 steel or cast alloy wheel.
From 1977 to 1979 924 chassis numbers were 10 digit, structured as follows:
|
Type |
Model Year |
Version |
Serial No. |
|
924 |
7 |
1 |
00001- |
| Model Year 7=1977 8=1978 9=1979 |
Versions 1 Europe 2 USA 3 Japan 4 Turbo (Europe and ROW) 5 Turbo (USA and Japan) |
For 1980 a special code was introduced in preparation for the 1981 change
to world standard numbering systems.
| Type | Model Year | Plant Code | Vehicle Type | Engine Type | Serial No. | |
| 924 | 92 | A | O | 4 | 1 | 0001- |
| 924T | 93 | A | O | 1 | 4 | 0001- |
| 924CGT | 93 | B | N | 7 | 0 | 0001-0450* |
| 924CGTS | 93 | B | N | 1 | 1 | 0001-0050 |
*Carrera GT 0001 to 0006 Weissach prototypes; 0051 to 0451 Neckarsulm
built cars.
Plant code N=Neckarsulm O=Weissach?
1981 Onward World Numbering System
| World Make Code |
VSD (USA) |
Type | Test No. |
Model Year * |
Manuf Loc.+ |
Type | Body Code | Serial No. |
| WPO | ZZZ | 92 | Z | B | N | 4 | 5 | 0001- |
*B=1981, C=1982 and so on.
+ N=Neckarsulm.
924/924 Turbo/Carrera GT Engine Codes.
Each engine code is followed by a 6 digit number.
| Year | Code Letters (Engine Type) |
| 1977 | XK=Europe, RoW XH=USA/Canada XF=California/Japan |
| 1978 | XK=Europe, RoW XJ=Europe, RoW-RHD XG=USA XE=California XG=Japan |
| 1979 | as for 1978 except 3101=Turbo Europe RoW 3102=Turbo USA/Calif/Japan |
| 1980 | XK=Europe RoW-LHD XJ=Europe RoW-RHD VC=USA/Calif/Japan |
| 1981 | as for 1980 plus: 3103 = Turbo Series 2 Europe RoW (LHD & RHD) 3150 = CGT Europe RoW (LHD & RHD) 3104 = Turbo Series 2 USA/Calif/Canada/Japan |
| 1982 | as for 1981 without CGT |
| 1983- | as for 1982 but less 924 turbo |
| 1986 | 924S were as follows incorporating the year letter code (1986=G)
43G 00001 - 60000 Europe RoW manual 43G 60000 - 90000 Europe RoW auto |
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