Igordiver

As mentioned in my presentation (https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...7-n-533-a.html) I will translate parts of my blog and post them here. Today comes the first part : The year 2011.

Igordiver

It all started out with a night of whisky drinking. I had been playing with the idea of buying an old Porsche for a while but me and the missus couldn’t quite agree on which model. The first car that made an impression in my life was a Porsche 928. This happened in the late 70’s and I never forgot about it. However the missus deemed it a bit thirsty *. The vast approaching bottom of the whisky bottle proved that my buddy and I had the same problem. Luckily at the end of the night she approved with the 928.
*(In Belgium a gallon euro 95 comes at a cost of 8,27$)

I started to search the market with the intend to see what was available so I would be prepared to buy after a year or 2, looking out for early 5 speed models. After about a month of picture and ad hunting the net and a couple of drives (the first test drive in a 928 made the desire stronger :-) I found an early 5 speed car #9288100533 painted RS Blue. It was stationed at a car dealer in Holland.



June 26 2011 would make a change in my motoring life. That day me and the missus were paying a visit to the car dealer. While I tried to maintain a certain cool about i all the once critical woman left me little choice. If I bought the car I would still have a place to sleep that night if not... :-)
The car dealer promised to prep the car for take away in a couple of weeks (changing of the timing belt etc.) so we left Holland in good spirits. Sleepless nights turned into sleepless weeks and it took almost 2 months and a couple of phone calls before we could pick the car up and start export/import procedures. Yes I live in Europe where transport of people and goods should be free but this unified Europe seems to be one of sharing the costs but not the benefits. (the ride home was a 100 smooth smiles with 2 smiling faces though)

Exporting the car in Holland was a 5 minute job and Importing it into Belgium wasn’t a big fuss either. However making it road legal is another thing.
First of all the car needs a COC. This means the car has to be inspected by the importer and he will hand you the paper if the car still has the same specs as the day it left the factory. To achieve this I had already set the car back on it’s original phone dials. I prefer these above the gullideckels it came with anyway.



On the way home from this inspection things went wrong. The battery started running empty and I bought another to take me home. The battery broke down thanks to a faulty alternator which was replaced asap.

The next step is passing the state operated Vehicle inspection. This annual feast is as close as U can get to a trip to the formal Soviet Union with it’s workers moving around as slow as a three toed sloth (and this is an insult to this lovely creature).
It takes some luck to pass the inspection without to much trouble. The mood of the inspector has some impact, big ***** and a short skirt are a definite plus, owning a Porsche or other exotics puts their sting out. It took 2 hours and 5 different people to disqualify the car. Excessive play on the steering rack, a weld on the bottom they could not see because of to much anti-rust on it and, the biggest joke of all, they were unable to find the VIN.

A befriended garage owner made sure the weld got fixed but burned a brake line by accident while doing the job. He confirmed the excessive play on the steering rack and ordered a new one. My first real job on the car proved not to be too difficult but putting the dust boots back on with all the grease made sure heaven is not to be thanx to all the swearing I did. I’m not even sure if replacing the steering rack was necessary since the steering rack stops on the old one were washers glued together with silicone!!!


On december 20 I can the car back to the Vehicle Inspection and it passes!!!
Two days later the license plate finds its way to my mailbox and the back of the car.
I nice christmas present and some solace for the fact that a christmas trip to Paris got cancelled due to a strike and a bit of a revenge on the Belgian Law for fining me 1156$ while the car was publicly parked for 5 minutes without it being road legal.

Jadz928

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm enjoying your blog (using translate from Dutch to English).

Lovely early 928 you have there!

PS. I shared your blog on my Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...310&type=1

WyattsRide

Beautiful car. I love the exterior color and the Pascha interior.

Looking forward to reading more of your story.

Igordiver

Again, thanx for the share and Help Jim.
I hope to translate a year a day :-)
So sometime monday the story so far should be complete.
As it is an ongoing project updates will follow regulrarly, it least I hope for that would mean I had time to spend on/with the car

Igordiver

In march of 2012 we drove the car to the Antwerp classic salon. Due to winter we didn’t drive it a lot yet and on one of the short winter drives the brake light went on. Indeed the brake power isn’t that big anymore so we make sure we keep a good distance from other cars on our way up but somehow I had to drive it. 928’s are rarely seen so to our big surprise we are parked next to another 928.



During the summer there isn’t a lot of time to fix the brakes so milages is limited and above all I need to change the empty garage into a workspace. A job i get done in a single weekend in september. A crate of Stella enters the workshop as finishing touch.




Now that the garage is ready I start taking the brakes apart. There’s definitely some residue in one of the cylinders. A sign that the brake master cylinder is gone.




During october I keep working on the brakes in the weekends. Progress is slow since I’m not a trained mechanic and a lot of questions pop up with each bolt that comes loose so time is divided between the garage and internet research. One of those things is the presence of oil in the air filter.



In november and december I spend most of the time painting the various parts.




The year ends with a wheelless car “floating” in the air.

Igordiver

On the 2th day of the new year we’re at it again. I can’t make the brake shoes fit on the right rear end. WD40, a hammer and some aggression finally release the push button lock. When I try to mount the new brake shoes one of the return springs breaks so I’m stuck. I shift my attention to remounting the front brake calipers but the keep dragging against the brake disk. Time 2 call it a day!
2 days later I try again but with the same result. I’m getting pissed. This brake job starts to break me.
In february a new attempt takes place. First of all I repaint the brake calipers. In an original brochure one can clearly see that they were silver and I did mine in Black.



Finally I manage to remount the brake calipers. The angle of the guide spring had changed and caused the drag. Now that I solved the angle it’s an easy job. Not all get’s done though. The brake fluid reservoir doesn’t fit the new brake master cylinder.
By the end of the month a new reservoir is fitted and after the system is bled we have faith in the brakes. We change the motor oil, the new Kroon classic 15W-50 semi synth poses nicely next to my favorite “grease” :-)



For the first time in a long while the car rests on it’s own legs again and after we reconnect the batter the car starts with it’s typical growl. We take it to the streets and are more than happy although we need to bleed the system again. Brake power isn’t overwhelming. But we had a ride!
In may the first signs of spring start to appear and it’s quite hot in the car. Both electric windows don’t work so in a 4 day stint I take out the window motors and rebuild/repair them.









As soon as this job is done I take on the drive shafts. A dust boot has a cut in it so I want to clean and inspect them. After parking the car in the middle of the garage the right window refuses to go down. At a test drive last night it was working now it’s just the start to what would be a difficult day. Raising the car on it’s supports takes about 3 hours! Reaching all 24 bolts of the drive shafts is the next hassle. As soon as they are out they take a bath in degreaser.











One of the cv joints proves to be a real mf. and refuses to come loose. After a couple of hours of hammering on the object I launch it in the air. Frustration was soaring high as the object landed in the adjacent garden. I buy a used drive shaft and it get’s the same degrease treatment. I’ve had enough and decide to have a look at the window motors again. New switches are ordered and as soon as the window stuff is finished I replace the rear brake discs. It had become obvious that lateral runout was excessive.
Putting the drive shafts back isn’t that easy and after half a day of cursing I decide to use 2 long bolts to get them in place. This does the trick and finally I’m ready to do some touring during the summer.

Dean_Fuller

Great project. Looks fantastic. Looking forward to more. !!

Igordiver

Thanx Dean. I've read your project 2. That 928 looks absolutely fantastic!!

Igordiver

We have an annual tradition of making a trip to Normandy in the summer. We visit friends who own a house there. Instead of using the highway we use the so called “D roads”, U get more France and less traffic. In the summer of 2013 the shark is trustworthy enough to make the trip. On the way up we choose the highway from Antwerp to Arras and the D roads from Arras to our destination Ingouville.
Not the shortest route btw. but a “route touristique” that takes us to Baupame, Amiens, Poix de Picardie and Dieppe.
Unfortunately I can’t plan routes with my GPS so the whole thing is planned with google maps. We learn quickly that Google maps isn’t to be trusted lightly. Leaving the town of Arras is quite a hassle but we get a nice shark picture on the town’s square.
The roads we’ve chosen aren’t really traffic free. We share them with trucks and Dutch drivers with mobile food stands (caravans). Even on the highway a large amount of these hamburger flippers were in everybody’s way!
U don’t see these “vendors” on the military cemeteries. It’s strange that these are places of peace and tranquility while the reason they’re here is not. I’m quite sure that the occupants of the cemetery would have liked to see the era of trucks and movable food stands.
The right window gave up again and the sweat on my back was the sign to “F.ck google maps” and let the GPS do the talking. Pretty soon we find ourselves on smaller D roads with some nice twists and turns. At high speed we pass several villages.
Aaaight, this is the fun!!!
After 7 hours and about 320 miles we make it to Ingouville.












The days there are spend doing nothing, driving the “patron” (a nice kit car) , trying to fix the window and doing nothing again. After a few days we’ve regained our energy and are ready to drive back home via a different route.





This time we drive along the coast of Normandy with a first stop in Saint Vallery sur Somme, a picturesque town near , u’ll never guess, the Somme. At the mouth of the Somme in fact. From here we move inland in the direction of Saint Omer via the D928 which, for obvious reasons, we had to drive. Next stop is Cassel a well-known place among tourist. Undiscovered by mobile food vendors because the roads leading up to the village are to steep.
At first we had planned to go home after Cassel but we decide to take a roundtrip to West-Vleteren. West-Vleteren is world famous for it’s beer. The West-Vleteren 12 has won the best beer of the world award several times. It’s very hard to get. U can order and pick it up at the Abbey only but they also have a bar were u can buy 6 bottles.
A drama would take place here. Arriving at the bar we’re greeted by a sign that says there’s no beer for sale! Despite this setback we are able to drink one at the bar and after this divine intervention we head home.
The home route took us 7 hours in total and 250 miles. After dinner the shark would have the final say. We can’t get it in reverse and after a push it’s stationed in the garage were it still stands today.

Tazzieman

Great pictures and a lovely blue 928! I'll be in Belgium/France in April (son's school trip to cemeteries/WW1 anniversary) and I'll give you the Aussie bushman's wave if on the off chance I see you on the road

mikeb7

I see you worked on the HVAC system. Early cars are different as you now know.

Had you seen this page, detailing the differences for very early cars?

http://928classics.com/4/post/2013/0...79-owners.html

It is very helpful.

Chuck Schreiber

Great trip, awesome views!!!

Igordiver

Thanx guy's. Hopefully some more in the upcomming weeks. Been working on the car instead of translating

Igordiver

While the search for a 928 specialist continues, they are hard to find here and I’m not willing to take any risks with the gearbox, I decide to deal with the electrical problems.
The oil pressure gauge is not moving, the fuel warning light has a short and the CWS sometimes has a mind of it’s own.
I think this is a good start:



At first it seems a difficult job but it in the end it works out fine. What i get to see isn’t that nice. Various parts are broken and even the instrument cluster itself has a broken part which caused a break in a circuit of the print. Food for thought.







The last 2 day’s of 2013 are spend fixing the instrument panel. I take it apart en put it in a box that helps me to keep things sorted. Cleaning the print is is the next step and a plastic L-profile will fix the instrument panel. Unfortunately the trip meter is beyond repair. Connecting the instrument panel again shows progress but also new electrical wonders appear. The oil pressure gauge is moving again but goes all the way up and stay’s there :-) (hey it’s moving), the fog light at the back says no but the fuel warning light is functioning as it should. After investigating the electrical stuff any further I come to the conclusion that the po deserves an interim job working in High voltage cabins.