M. Requin

Life is short - do what you enjoy doing!

17prospective buyer

Thanks for all the wise words people. I appreciate it. Alot of different oppinions and philosophies stated.

I will always press on with the project, it's not that i want to give up or anything. I just don't feel like it's progressing fast enough. I really want to drive it, but i'm not really fast enough, or i'm not fast enough because i'm not skilled enough, vice versa. It's also not really about the cost of all of it. I don't spend money on much, i don't go out at all for drinking or having fun in general, i don't really have a daily driver right now, no dependents, i can put as much money into it as i want. I have my own place but i have a roommate so that brings rent down to about $400 bucks a month.

I think it's just that maybe i overestimate my skills too, i have the perfectionism to want the car to be perfect and done right, but don't have the skill. I could probably farm alot of stuff out, but for me it's a pride thing. Not only that but i have done so many things twice on this car just because i am way too cheap or frugal. I'm learning that it pays off to do it right the first time, spend the money and do it right.

Who is Brendan? Did he tear his car apart too?

Depami; What did you mean by the crossmember thing? I have already put it back in the car, got steering rack bushings, need motor mounts then i can bolt the steering rack back up.

Also, i think i just need the direction provided by older people. Normally this would be my Dad if he was into cars, but he isn't really, we never really did any projects together. I find it extremely hard to focus on one job. Like last weekend my goal was to button up the washer system, which included pulling out the old system from the hood and recreating it on the bench, then putting it back in and button it up with the hood caps, so i put the hood on some saw horses (with protective foam pads on the hood) and it turned into stripping the hood hardware for replating, and removing the old insulation in preparation for Dynaliner... I hate not being able to focus on one thing at a time and do a good job at that before i start something else.

depami

That was a sarcastic complement. My point was that you did such a good job on that cross member and it would be awesome to see that kind of work on the entire car. I seem to recall you posted some pictures of it but I couldn’t find them.

You do have the skill to complete the project but it is testing your patience. When it comes to working on these cars, many of us have the same problem of “where to draw the line”. You need to choose between “restore” or “return to drivable”. If you choose “restore”, keep doing what you are doing. If you choose “return to drivable”, stop letting one job grow into another. Make a clear list of what needs to be done and stick to it. When you start an item on the list, focus solely on that job until done. Only let it “grow” into items that absolutely need attention at that time and avoid “extras” like plating hardware.

Whichever route you choose, remember that it should be enjoyable. Once it is no longer fun, you will lose interest and it will become harder to keep at it. Do the best you can, have fun, and keep us posted.

Cheers,

Denny

Alan

Brendan (BC on RL) is a self admitted "serial dismantler".

Several of us here are hoping that he'll eventually get one fully back together. Like I said - at this point we don't really know if there is a path back from this...

In the meantime he's increasing the value of 928's for everyone else by reducing the number remaining!

Its a risky path... if you find yourself thinking about buying another one to take apart - you have arrived!

Alan

17prospective buyer

I want to finish the 928 before i start another or get another car.

One unrelated question though since you brought up plating hardware... how in the hell do you get the hood hinges replated and have it look good without disassembling them?? They're rivets which use a press right? The plater i'm using said i should give it a whirl since they're already sandblasted, though he said there may be bleed out later which may cause an undesirable look on the plating.

Ad0911

Much the same story here. Started dismantlingwhen the cylinderheadgasket started leaking into the cooling system and probably vice versa. When the engine came out it became obvious that some extra workwas required to protect myself from doing it all again in near future. I decided it was the right moment to do some other jobs as well because I was granted the luxury of the space of an old company building to workon the car. So I went: engine (heads recon), clutch, PS, TT, gearbox seals, drive axles boots, all brakes, all flex lines, some rust, making new brackets for fuel system and supports for mudguards, inner wheel well protection, shocks, electric window overhaul, wiper system overhaul, exhaust repair, dashboard LED conversion (see youtube). I even had the hardware from under the car replated!
Now I have all these components ready to put back into the car, just waiting or the underbody protection to be completed.
Yes, I have seen dark moments, but I overcame all of hose, but itook a long time. Some jobs were really timeconsuming. I just hope I can put it all together again!

jmartins

Two year since I begin my restauration project and no single ride so far.

Some times it's frustrating, but I hope one day I'll be one more 928 happy owner!

danglerb

We wouldn't tease BC if it was just ONE he took apart.

Hilton

Just open the hinges up - there's very little overlap when they're fully extended, and you shouldn't get any shadow from the plating process. My hinges came out fine - although cleaning the glass beads out of the bearing surfaces took a while

BC

I heard my name a few times, so I will post, just to set the record straight and maybe help others.

You need to have a driver, a project (sometimes driving), and a long ranger. The long ranger may not run for long periods of time, especially if you are one of those people with jobs, wives, kids, and in my case, friends that pick up yet more 928s and bring them over for you to "help" I wouldn't have missed any of it for the world.

If you have the space and you enjoy the work, thats the only thing that matters. I personally miss driving them, and while I have been without 928s before for longer periods, one has always been in my garage in some form.

I have taken a few apart that did not go back together, and there have been a few that were rescued and sold. I have a 78 body in my garage that I painted in 2003. Time moves very quickly.

Its also about money. We know about the time issue, but do you have the money? Money issues will slow down or redirect your projects quite drastically sometimes.

I have had a supercharger and A/A intercooler for 4 years.

People will say "Have a plan, keep to the time line, and don't let the project creep"

I'm sure that is less or more possible depending on the man.

dr bob

Wise words.


Life gets in the way sometimes, and it's a lot "easier" to have longer-term plans and projects "adjusted" to accommodate immediate "emergencies". Like any project, scope creep and budget issues affect schedule, and vice-versa. More than once I've found myself chewing a lot more than I bit off.

My recommendation still is to have a hard definition of the scope for each "project", and keep it compact enough that you can manage the WYAIT creep that inevitably comes into play. Budget a week and a dollar, so when it grows to two weeks and two dollars, you can still get it done. Be sure you have the two weeks and the two dollars ready when you start your one week - one buck project. Don't start more until the first scope is complete.

There's a lot of info available on RL for almost any little project you'd like to tackle. I was a little sticker-numb when my first TB/WP project ballooned to about $1200 in parts, but happy for the very complete job those parts allowed. I'll make an experienced observation that the 928 is not for the faint of wallet. In my experience too the lowest cost solution is seldom the cheapest. Just be ready for that, and choose your battles carefully so you don't get stranded part way through a major-scope effort. There are plenty of examples of that showing up on the market, dumped by owners overwhelmed by what they've dug themselves into. "Just needs XX and she'll be perfect!" There are always a few more XX's and a slew of other xxxxxx's buried in the list when you get into it.

Don't forget that this is fun stuff!

Dutch 928 fan

Completely agree! I have a second hand Range Rover as daily driver (love it) and a 928 'project' (a driver most of the time) and a Fiat Dino coupe long running restoration project.

That is also the priority list, so the RR gets fixed first if needed (and it does sometimes). The 928 is the back up daily driver, but needs something done to it more frequently (yes, it never ends... What the Germans call a Reparaturstau, or repair-traffic-jam).

The Fiat is what I call 'my only project without a deadline'. Enough deadlines at work... It was completely stripped and I just assemble it step by step by step by step... Starting six years ago, and I now also have two kids of 3 and 5, so that gets priority anyway.

But it will get there some day and I just enjoy a couple of quiet hours assembling something, or leave it till the next time I get around to it. No rush and nobody telling me what to do or when. Very relaxing.

Hang in there, buy a running car if you have the means to do so, and take the pressure of the long runner. And enjoy it.

PelicanParts.com

Matt- sounds like a great project but all who have contributed here make great points. Time, patience and budget are big considerations - knowledge is important but really you can learn as you go - that's the most rewarding part of DIYing.

All the best with this project! Please report your progress even if long term

Mark/Pelican Parts

EDIT: fixing link

jej3

And where are the 928 specific articles when the first two mention 911 engine rebuilding and the second MSD article doesn't even mention a 928.

That's pretty lame

PelicanParts.com

My error jej3! Thank you for pointing that out. Fixing that link

Mark/Pelican Parts