Bjbpe

Back when I was much, much younger, I would do things on my cars to soup up, customize, et., etc. I came to the realization with my 1971 Camaro that I was using up energy and never getting to the point where I visioned myself to be one day with that car. I eventually sold it and it was far, far from what I thought it would be one day.

I decided that I liked woodworking, skiinbg, playing sports and a lot of other things just as much or more than spending my time on a hobby car. Hence, when I got my new S4 twenty-six years ago, I resolved to repair what I easily could and leave the rest to a mechanic I trusted. I enjoy the car and am not a nut about making it something special beyond what it is. Pulling the engine is something I did with the Camaro. It is inconceivable that I would do that with the S4.

big load

wow and i thought i was alone.
i just bought my project and the list of things to do goes on and on and on. I jump from one bit to the next read up on it then think no this can wait do something else first....read up onit then think no do something else ...lol
i plumped for do every thing to the engine first i.e timing belt, pump and look at air pipes and fuel pipes. These i will do from my local specialist as i could not hack it if my wife looked in our drive at a pulled apart car and slamming me for a waste of money (what would she know).

I want the car running...so my advise is spend the money on things you have not got the time to do. then sit around planning everything else and jumping from one bit to the next.

85euro928

The thing that keeps me up nights is that the world willl run out of oil before I finish my car, or, worse yet, I'l finish my car and THEN we'll run out of oil. Obviously I'm planning long term.

PelicanParts.com

85euro - I like your profile picture a lot!

Ad0911

That's exactly what my colleagues all say! But as long as I am enjoying the repairs, what's the problem?

17prospective buyer

Just need some direction maybe from someone who's done this stuff before. Or someone who's into cars. I wish my Dad was into cars... we never really did share much in common.

Bigfoot928

I never have this problem, er disease....

James-man

The question is not where to stop.

Where to start is the most important (and potentially fateful) question.

STRIKEMASTER

To avoid a "RED QUEEN" situation ( running as hard as you can just to stay in the same place),you need to make some lists. #1 safety items to be addressed, does it run, stop, and go where you point it? #2 performance items,(what you need Vs what you want). #3 cosmetic items, make it pretty. Remember the "RULE of 90s & 9s"--90% of the work takes 90% of the money & time, 9% of the work ALSO takes 90% of the money & time, the remaining 1% of the work--close enough is good enough. My '83 euro is 75% finished for list #1-(steering rack leaks a little). 40% finished for list #2,( it needs a radio) and as for list #3- It needs the dash and pod redone and it needs paint, BUT paint is not a safety OR performance item so that gets done dead last. I got it for $3.5K, and have put about $2k in it so far. Like the Energizer Bunny I just keep going and going at it, only the lists keep me on track

17prospective buyer

Well, i am making progress with the car, and i have always sort of reassured myself that as long as progress occurs, no matter how slow, means the project is still in motion and hasn't hit a dead spot. A big thing right now is getting parts, all the major 928 specialists are in the states, i live in Canada. Duty fees/taxes for brand new auto parts are retarded, makes the parts twice as expensive. I'm too cheap and don't make enough money to live with those fees, so i wait until my Dad goes down to the States and get as much as i can afford at one single time shipped down there. Living off of minimum wage sucks... Even if you don't spend money on much except rent and food, and keep the rest for car stuff, it doesn't leave much.

Enough of that. Right now i'm just doing stuff that doesn't require new parts to do. This is basically prepping batches of hardware that were originally cadmium/yellow zinc plated for replating in yellow zinc. I stripped the hood of all attached hardware, for refinishing. I also scraped the old insulation off, fairly easy job, reinsulated in 1/4" thick Dynaliner, looks and feels great.

The windshield/headlight washer system is almost fully renewed now, with new pumps all around (except intensive washer, as it worked fine and pumped plenty of volume when tested off a battery), new hoses, check valves, Y/T connectors in hood. Headlamp washer hose is routed up through the fender and through that tiny space to the aluminum bumper, i will worry about hooking it up when the bumper is ready to go back on (repainting currently). I was wise enough to first fill the main resevoir with some washer fluid to test for leaks around the pump boots/seals, sure enough the headlight washer pump seal/boot leaked. So i need the boot/seal, and the clamp that secures the pump to tank, which probably also aligns it with the seal (it was too rusted to save when i took the system apart).

While the fender liners for both sides were out, i made them look like new again with a coat of rubberized stone guard, adheres fine, makes them look like new, also gives them a nice textured finish which i like. Another cool thing i did is get the ABS module/PS resevoir bracket plated in yellow zinc instead of the original black paint. It really looks nice.

This progress is only really a couple days of work since the car is located far away from me.

Theres plenty more progress i can think of, but you get the jist of it. If you're wondering about the engine, well, it's on a stand, stripped down waiting for new WP/the whole works associated with doing a timing belt job and then some. Not sure about whether to keep stock tensioner and rebuild or upgrade to Porkensioner. Going to put lighter VW lifters in it, original cams look fine for wear. I have a set of GTS cams that i would like to get reground someday. I have what i'm pretty sure are Devek Level 1 headers, got them ceramic coated. Block is clean now, however i wasn't exactly careful about sealing off the intake or exhaust ports, might take the heads off just to make sure, plus good opportunity to see how the bores and valves are looking.

emmanuelli

my two cents just echo everyone else where with opposing opinions, cause in the end i think of my 928 the same way. some days im so pleased i can ride on it and it rides fairly well, and some days i start thinking of the laundry list of things to fix. in a way im glad i dont have much space to work in so i have to take the car to the mechanic. each trip there is with a goal and a deadline in mind and since he doesnt play games cause he needs space the car is back on the road after a few days. yes it depends on how much $$ i may have saved for that, but it keeps things real and the car on the road. when to stop, i dont know, but there's always something else to do. as they all have said, find a way to get the car on the road!

Hilton

Unless the engine actually generated or ingested metal shavings/glass beads/sand etc., just save the money and re-use the original lifters.

The original factory lifters are exceptionally good quality, and tough.

gcthree

Just saw this thread and coulndn't recall if I had started it as it all sounded so familiar.

I began with a clean-up of the undercarriage and has morphed into a full scale assault on the mechanicals of the car. Problem is that I owned this car 16 years ago and fully recall how it looked back then. In the intervening years and various shops fleecing prior owners, it was just a mess. When I opened the hood to poke around during the inspection, I shut it nearly as quickly as I opened it. But the goal is to accomplish one thing on the car every day no matter how small or insignificant; it all adds-up.

Should I have stopped at some point and await an issue to arise? I guess, but I don't like surprises. For example, I set out to change the fuel filter and found that I couldn't loosen the fittings without bending the 'S' pipe. Might as well remove the whole assembly, and while I'm at it, remove the in-tank pump and check the tank for gunk. Good thing as the rubber coupler on the in-tank pump was ruptured. The 'while you are in there' theory does prevail on these cars.

17prospective buyer

I wish i could fire this baby up and drive the hell out of it...

jbrob007

ROFLMAO!!! When I bought my 86.5 it supposedly needed NOTHING. Since then I've put on 21K miles and $6K worth of parts... mostly to get all the deferred maintenance up to date and put Roger's kids through college. So far the project has been a great! I can get in it and drive to any state I want... and have done exactly that... but when your OCD there is always SOMETHING you want to fix, repair, replace or IMPROVE!!! Its never ending, good therapy and I've learned a TON about this car and myself in the past two years! Drive, Fix... Repeat!!!