marine928

Phil, welcome aboard. As everyone said these are minor issues, but there is a white elephant in the room....There are going to be other issues that will need to be addressed AFTER you deal with these minor problem and BEFORE you start driving the car.
Torque tube, motor mounts, VERIFY that the timing belt/water pump was done, brakes, fuel line under the hood, radiator flush, transmission lines, power steering lines etc....
As mentioned before, have some of our experienced owners go through your car from front to back, top to bottom BEFORE you begin driving her on a daily basis.
It's very hard to do but it is a must if you really want to enjoy this unbelievably great piece of German automotive history.
I went through mine for 13 months ( with a lot of help ) and am going on 2 years of problem free ownership. WYAIT is and will be your best friend, and will correct issues that "aren't" issues YET.
There is no other forum or group of owners who are more dedicated to preserving this great car than those right here.
Read the history, get the books...ie; " Project 928" ( if you can find a copy ) Brian Long's books Porsche 928 has just been reprinted and is another great copulation that details the unbelievable obstacles that Porsche overcame to "clean sheet" the 928.
Truly a remarkable story about a one-of-a-kind car that we are all privileged to
own and drive.
Enjoy the ride!

Lon

Jadz928

Well said, Lon!

Gretch

"compilation", or was it really as much "fun" as you suggest, Lon?

marine928

Gretch, when I open that door and slide in it's copulation.....

MJBird993

I stumbled across this thread after seeing Emerald's (Spun) eBay auction for his 928 S4 which I seriously like and would like to buy if I can afford it. Since it's an auction, I have no idea where it will end up. Probably with "reserve not met" if I had to guess. I don't like the chromed wheels and the white paint, but I can get over that.

I first drove a used 928 back in the late 80's, and it was the most impressive thing I had ever driven in my life. At the time I was deathly afraid of owning a Porsche, and it was ten years later before I bought my first 911. I'm on #5 now, a 991, my first new one, which depreciates enough each year to buy and maintain a 928. You see where I'm going with this.

And nothing ever goes wrong with the 991, and it's under warranty, so I have nothing to tinker with. And I can't help but think that a low mileage, fully-sorted cream-puff like Spun's car would be the way to go, rather than buying the typical bucket and spending a fortune getting it up-to-snuff. I'm the guy that someone here already wrote about - the OCD owner who will likely get quickly frustrated. But I'm not scared of a little DIY.

Comments, advice, wisdom to share that hasn't already been shared in this thread? Is there a good 928 resource (shop) in the Raleigh NC area?

yardpro

i would suggest since it seems you have the funds, to buy a very well sorted out gt or gts.

You should expect to spend 25K ish on one that is nice and has all current maintenance.

Hilton

You're completely right. Buy the best condition in-budget car you can find as a starting point. By the time its a nice car and needs only scheduled servicing, you'll be $10-30k dollars ahead of buying a cheap example of the same model year.

Emerald's 89 is an excellent starting point for a driver's car. I know some boring folk dislike the interior and wish it was black, grey or tan, but if you're going to own a 25 year old period car, it may as well look period.

The only significant gotcha with 928's is how tall you are, and whether they have a sunroof. Make sure you test-drive one with a sunroof before buying, as if you're tall (or have a long torso), the sunroof reduces the driving pleasure dramatically.

89 S4 5-speed is a reasonable way down the list of future-collectability, so I'd have no qualms about getting a body shop to remove the sunroof (using a new factory replacement roof panel) and gaining the 2 inches of headroom. IMO, that's one of the few modifications which won't hurt the value of a driver's car, as there are a lot of tall people out there and very very few no-sunroof 87-95 cars in the USA.

gmshtr

Wow, this post sorta picked up steam since I started it!

My 928 has been on blocks most of the summer...my water pump imploded after only 15K miles. I travel most of the time and haven't had any availability to work on it.

A couple of GREAT guys local to my city here in VA helped me through the process of the WP/TB change over the last few days. It's unreal how complicated these cars are!

I'm hoping my baby is back up and running shortly. I've still got a number of electrical issues to work out, but I'm hoping we won't run into a lot of issues on that job. (yeah right!).

gmshtr

As a side note...the WP/TB were allegedly changed 15K miles ago. I've only put 1000 miles on it since it's purchase.

Hopefully I'll get some serious driving out of it this time around.

checkmate1996

Key word allegedly...

If done right..should last over 100k or 10 years...
My shark was down 15 months just to rebuild transmission ...
These cars are a labor love...

85euro928

I'm not sure what "if done right" means but I changed out my WP with what was suppose to be the "right one" and it lasted less than 10k miles.

Jetdriver69

Oh yeah, and never reuse a WP!

I pulled my engine for rebuild and reinstalled a 4000 mile WP with new TB to try and save some $.

The WP bearing failed after six months. Guess what I did over Xmas vacation last year?

I was lucky the metal impeller didn't eat into the block. But it is a job easily done by the occasional mechanic and saved $1500 in labor.

But I wish I had spent the money when the block was out and spared myself the whole WP "experience".

gmshtr

SHE LIVES!!!!!

After all of the issues, broken bolts, forgotten clips, backwards washers, broken distributor caps, etc, etc, etc, we got my baby running today! I pulled the air pump and tightened everything up.

Just a small oil leak around the dipstick base to take care of tomorrow, and she finally comes off of the jack stands for the first time all summer.

The next big project will be a electrical overhaul. I've got a completely jacked up stereo/nav/dvd player with some sort of funky kill switch that needs to be replaced with a simple AM/FM stereo with an Aux-in jack...as I think that's screwing up a lot of stuff. Still have a right tail light that doesn't work, my right signal light doesn't work right when the brakes are applied, most of the interior lights are burned out or don't work, cruise control doesn't work, etc, etc. Labor of love for sure.

Thank God for John and Christian!! They have been amazing!

SMTCapeCod

I'll stick with the 60K/5 yrs, even if it is precautionary.
The manual doesn't really say 100k/10, does it?

Fronkenstein

Phil,

Welcome aboard the good shipper lollipop that's sucker to you pal "Buyer's remorse" is easily cured by spending more money - more money than your purchase will be worth in your and possibly your children's children lifetime

Seriously you've got a great place to start there. If you want to see my above statement is true life take a look at "Project 928"... to get an idea of what I meant by "more money". That is the story of my quest to prove the axiom "There is no such thing as a cheap Porsche".

My case is somewhat extreme - maybe I am one of those people that can't leave a loose thread alone. Once you start pulling you have to re-knit the sweater. I also subscribe to the "spend more money and you will get there" logic (illogic). Comes from 30 years in the technology industry where the common belief is that anything can be done if you spend enough money.

Being a glutton for punishment, I am now off to start "Project 944" for this winter. Who knows, maybe it will emerge the spring of 2016 a mere 8 months from now. That is what I said about the 928 which took 18 months The difference being its a one owner 944 in perfect condition other than a blown motor which will soon be a euro powered 944 B&B NA monster - I hope

Enjoy the car you will have a lot of fun! And don't get mad at her just because she rewards you with something else to repair after a nice ride. After all "there is no such thing as a free ride"

Fronkenstein