Igaffz

Hi guys, I'm new to the 928 forum but post now and then on the 964 forum as the luck owner of a mint C2 tiptronic. I've modded and restored the 964 to a standard I'm more than happy with and I need a new project. I love early 928's and have the chance to buy a 1985 S2 manual with 155,000 miles. It's silver with blue leather interior. The car is far from perfect though, the mechanicals are sound with a massive folder of work. It's just had an MOT and new front calipers. The interior will be ok with a good clean but the driver seat has a hole in the bolster but I'm not worried about this as I can get it repaired. The main problem is the body work, Theres no dents but a lot of patches of oxidisation to the wings and doors. It has corrosion around the filler cap, this seems common in these cars in the uk (wet climate?), baisically it need a full respray, this dosent worry me to much as I stripped my 964 and had it resprayed so I know what's involved. The asking price is £3000, do you guys think that's fair?
I appreciate your expert opinions.

Many thanks
Ian

James Bailey

I think $4,500 is very little for a car that you like...enjoy that 310 hp 5spd car !!

rnixon

Welcome.

I'd recommend that you buy the best that you can afford. The age of these cars will ensure that almost all will have more than enough work required for you to get your teeth into. It's very easy to buy a car that isn't economical to restore (on a profit basis), even with free labour.

You may be better off looking at your skills and choosing a car that only needs work that you can do yourself. Then price the parts that you will need. Interior work is expensive (if you don't have the skills), as is good quality bodywork. Time spend searching for the right car should save you more later. Good luck!

Hilton

Hi Ian, that sounds like a good price by UK standards for an '85 S2 manual with good mechanicals and a large history. The mileage is high by US standards, but not excessive by UK standards. However, the value does depend a lot on whether the folder of work done is just repairs, or includes preventative maintenance too. 30+ year old cars have a lot of issues which won't show up on MOT testing.

Join the 928uk mail list here

Plenty of people have had resprays done, and there's a couple of recommended 928-familar places.

Expensive stuff which you should be asking about includes:

Hoses replaced? (fuel (!!), coolant, power steering, oil cooler)
Metal fuel lines replaced? (they commonly rust out on UK cars, especially just above the offside rear tyre and behind the splash shield just in front of it)
Steering rack and tie rods replaced?
Suspension arms rebuilt? (rack/suspension play will be an MOT fail at some point)
Dampers replaced?
MAF rebuilt by JDS in Cambridge?
Aircon working? (if it is, its a good sign the car has been maintained to a good standard)

However you buy it, it'll be a project car.. so starting with a car which has "good" 2 out of the three mechanicals/exterior/interior is the best way to do it. If you're handy with spanners, then getting good exterior/interior is IMO the cheaper way to do it.

potdog

BIN before some one buys it for racing cheep car .But not has cheep as my se $5000

Igaffz

Thanks guys, I'm test driving it on Saturday morning. Should be Interesting as I've never driven one befor! You've given me a good idea what to look for, the seller says he will put it up on the Ramps so I can have a good look underneath. To be honest I really like automatics but I'll see how I get on with a manual, should make it more desirable in the future also?
Mileage is a bit of a funny one, I would say 155000 on a 30 year old car was low, I would guess these cars are capable of Stella miles?
I'll let you know how I get on.

Many thanks

Ian

oldfrat

If you haven't already done so, soak up as much as you can from the New Visitor thread near the top of this forum before Saturday. Lots of info there that will help you check out the car and make your decision.

Brad

dr bob

And advice we always share with those contemplating a purchase -- Find a local 928-saavy owner or expert to go with you to the first viewing and inspection. Then, before you hand over any serious money, have a full pre-purchase inspection done by a person familiar with the cars. The UK club will be an excellent source of local info on experts/shops that can help you with this. The PPI is money well spent.

Michael Collins

Newbie here...

Easiest way to tell between a 16 V or 32V 928s 1985 Euro model

Wisconsin Joe

32 valve has the "Pipe Organ" intake. Big, goes most of the way across the motor. Lots of pipes between two large rectangles.

16 valve has the classic "Spider" intake. Center rectangle with 8 "legs" coming off the sides. It should also have the "Twin Distributor" where there are 2 4 cylinder distributors right next to each other on the front left side of the motor (left as viewed from driver's seat).

AFAIK, the only 32 valves in 85 were US/Canada. Some markets had the 5.0 available in 86.

James Bailey

if it has a distributer with spark plug wires on the front of BOTH sides of the motor.....it is 32 valve

Igaffz

Hi chaps, quick update on the 928 purchase. Well I bought her on Thursday and brought her home. She's been standing for 6 months so I've been deep cleaning her for 2 days! I've already stripped and lubricated both rear calipers as they were seized onto the discs through lack of use. I managed to fix an inop passenger seat switch with some cleaning and wd40. I thought everything else worked but I've found out the trip and mileometer isn't working, I've read this is down to a worn cog wheel? How easy is it to remove the clocks? Also the ventilation system works great but it blows hot air all the time? Any advise on where to start with this would be massively appreciated.

The belt is also very over due so this will be my first major job, any links on 1985 belt/pump change would be great, sorry guys but I seem to be hopeless at using the search function!

Many thanks
Ian

Wisconsin Joe

Odometer gear replacement is covered very thoroughly in the "Dwayne's Garage" writeups. There is a link in the "New Visitor" sticky. Dwayne has a good writeup on the TB/WP change too.

On the hot air - does it blow hot no matter where the temp is set? Or maybe everywhere but all the way cold? All the way as in lever to the stop on the left.

The outside temp sensor is hidden in the alternator cooling hose. If it isn't working properly (or hooked up properly) it will give the "full hot everywhere but the very left and full cold there" problem.

Hilton

Hi Ian,

Hot air is likely a result of vacuum leaks. It may also be just failure of the vacuum-operated tap that feeds the heater matrix, but frankly, the odds of it being only a failure there and not other vacuum leaks is slim to none.

First steps to test for vacuum are to make sure the vacuum system is actually joined together.. starting at:

Blue check valve on the right side (of the car - i.e. driver's side) by the brake booster. Make sure it holds vacuum one way and not the other.

From there it goes to a multi-way splitter on the bulkhead just inboard, and from there it splits to the AC system, and across the back of the engine bay passing just under the coolant reservoir, to the vacuum reservoir and the cruise control actuator hidden in the aft side of the front-left wing. If all those are joined together with no obvious breaks or cracks in the rubber boots where they link, next step is to take the side panels off the centre console, and test the vacuum lines at the heater's vacuum manifold. One of the lines to test there is for the heater valve too, but odds are at least one, possibly two, of the others are split and leaking vacuum too, causing the system to run warm. (I bought two of my 928's from the UK - both had a failed comb flap which is the orange line)

This write-up covers it - http://members.rennlist.com/pirtle/svc_act.html

Just remember your RHD car is a mirror image - so once you've undone the screws on the plastic manifold cover, slide it out on the driver's side to test the vacuum lines (there's enough slack, *just*).
My money's on at least the Orange one having a vacuum leak, and possibly the yellow and the white ones. You can order replacements of just the diaphragms from Roger - replacing them is pretty well documented here.

Once you've made sure the vacuum system is leak-free, then proceeding to diagnosis of electrical sensors/relays is the next step.

Igaffz

Thanks for the help guys, looks like I'm going to be busy!

Well I did want a project!


Ian