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Hey Guys. A bit of history. From '11 to '13 I restored an '85 manual 928. Saved it from a guy daily driving it with a shop vac in the back while he cleaned offices (ah, the Great Recession). With the help of the most excellent Rennlist 928 community and some bitchin' dismantlers I got it back to as close to factory as I was going to get it and with a few choice bits (thanks Porken, you God) it was putting out about 320hp. I did't like the platinum manhole covers (yuck) so I put a set of staggered 951 phonies on it (yum) :
Wrenching on that car was one of the most empowering experiences of my life, and I fell hopelessly in love with the front-engined Pcars. Anyway, after 2 years and everything was perfect I was too afraid to drive for fear of breaking something so I sold it on fleabay to a great buyer in Houston where there is a very active 928 community:
Here it is in it's new home shined up like a new penny:
A few months ago the current owner reached out to me to review what I had done to her and it now sits in a collection in Germany (poor baby ) :
Soooo, when I recently started looking for a new project car I wanted something with less power (believe it or not you can indeed have TOO much hp). I was looking at Austin Healys, MGs, Triumphs, etc. In my mind I was thinking I wanted something that FEELS like its going fast without actually requiring it do so.
Not long after I started looking an ad popped up on Craigslist down in Florence, AL for an '86 944 in Sapphire Metallic.:
The ad read something like, "Everything is in good shape, everything works, OBO..." and I was like... yeah... the whole 2.5 hour drive down there I was chanting "don't be a scam, don't be scam" cause there's no way everything is in good shape and EVERYTHING works. I'd never seen a pampered and sorted specimen of one of these cars except on here and never in the price range I was looking in (>$5K), so I was not optimistic but I remembered the interminable "928 vs. 944" threads on the 928 forum and the overwhelming consensus was "they're different but both are awesome" so the bug bit me again.:
I rode down there with a buddy and when I got there I was greeted by the owner (imagine Santa Claus... seriously, I'm not firmly convinced it wasn't) saying "which one of you is the Porsche expert?... I said "that'd be me":
As it turns out the owner was a former pro race crew member that now taught electrical motors at the community college and wrenched on antique European cars as his passion. He had an '86 Lotus Esprit in pieces in his garage that he let us oggle ... Anyyyhoo, he pointed out the Fuchs rims and rear seat delete with Blaupunckt 10" and 12" inch speackers:
...and said he had done the timing belt, WP, rollers and fuel lines in the last 6 months. He also said that while he was doing those he noticed a leak so he took the engine apart and redid all the seals. His exact words were "I hate leaks"... Inside I was thinking "those aren't leaks, it's the car marking it's territory" but I was in a Craigslist buying situation so I simply smiled and nodded:
Needless to say I bought the car for $4K and I even feel a little guilty now for haggling the $200 off his asking price which I now know was probably what he had in parts in it.
So on to the questions....
Have y'all ever seen one of these? With the 928s that one particular Bosch odometer gear turns to mush and you have to do a sweaty, ordinance disposal job of replacing it. This one has this:
So I know how many miles she has on her (155K). Also I'm trying to figure out somewhat what has been done to the car. The "Protective Side Moldings" and rear seat delete are pretty obvious but it also has a plug where the rear windshield wiper would be and I'm not sure if that was an option:
It has the Owner's manuals and red plastic folding holder thingy, the roll out tool kit, collapsed spare and a big box of parts that came with it.
And yes, everything works. AC, cruise, mirror, sunroof, elec. seats, blah, blah, blah... I still can't believe it. The rear hatch actuator doesn't seem to work but I haven't determined if it's been deleted or not.
Except for replacing the steering wheel because the leather had worn out, buying some new Lloyd mats up front and a new #11 fuse since the cigar lighter appears to blow the clock and int. lights fuse it appears to mainly need to be driven... holy crap...
One thing, what is this angled thingy beside the muffler? I can't seem to find it on the PET but it looks stock and doesn't seem to be bent by impact:
I have to say I understand now what the guys meant by different but awesome. I am madly in love with this car. And now that my kids are driving age or about to be I'll have a backup car to drive when they use the DD.
Let me know if you need a hand, im in Antioch off Nolensville/Barnes. Though i may need to drive it
(My 944 has been without an engine for a year).
That mystery thing appears to be the muffler heat shield, just bend it back into place.
Hey, man I'm right down the road off Anderson Rd in Antioch. Always available to lend inspiration via driving if you'd like to take her out for a spin.
Looks and sounds like a pretty good deal, especially considering everything that works.
The rear wiper delete wasn't all that common from the dealer but it has become a popular option since they are a common thing to go out. It's easier and cheaper to put a $20 plug in rather than fix the wiper you rarely use anyway. If it was an option, not every car had every option listed on the option sticker in back so who knows if it came from Germany like that.
And that bent thing in back is a factory tie down. There should be another one on the other side too but they were used to hold the cars down to the boat on the maiden voyage across the pond. Most were removed at the dealer before delivery but some managed to stay attached, even all these years later (including on my own car).
Looks and sounds like a pretty good deal, especially considering everything that works.
The rear wiper delete wasn't all that common from the dealer but it has become a popular option since they are a common thing to go out. It's easier and cheaper to put a $20 plug in rather than fix the wiper you rarely use anyway. If it was an option, not every car had every option listed on the option sticker in back so who knows if it came from Germany like that.
And that bent thing in back is a factory tie down. There should be another one on the other side too but they were used to hold the cars down to the boat on the maiden voyage across the pond. Most were removed at the dealer before delivery but some managed to stay attached, even all these years later (including on my own car).
Well, I'll be durned... thanks for the tie-down info. I just looked and it's only on the one side. It's an odd looking thing so I'll probably remove it. Yeah, this is a sunny Saturday driving car. Otherwise she lives in the garage. No rear windshield wiper needed and in a pinch the front ones work fine.
Well, I'll be durned... thanks for the tie-down info. I just looked and it's only on the one side. It's an odd looking thing so I'll probably remove it.
There are 3 nuts and a bracket that hold each one on. Just reach up under the car and undo the 3 nuts and remove the tie down. In the rear cubby inside the car under the carpet on the side you'll then see the bracket that the 3 bolts are part of. You can either take this out and find grommets to fit the holes or do like I did and just replace the bracket and nuts. That's enough to keep water out of the rear cubby. This is what they look like when removed with the brackets and nuts:
The rear wiper delete wasn't all that common from the dealer but it has become a popular option since they are a common thing to go out. It's easier and cheaper to put a $20 plug in rather than fix the wiper you rarely use anyway.
In my whole 15 years of 944ing i think I've seen 3 cars with factory rear wiper.
All the others have had a delete plug and a blank on the console where the switch would go. Maybe lots of very thorough owner-deletes but my impression is that the rear wiper was an option with a very low take rate %, but they only wanted to stock 1 window...and then later in the run there were a handful of extremely rare no-hole windows too.
Hollywood, you around this weekend, maybe Sunday or Monday? Itching to drive one.
Great looking car. It seems to be extremely sorted out. Examine the fuel hose where they enter the engine bay closely. Ensure they are new. If original, you may have a ticking time bomb. I replaced the section over the exhaust header and rerouted towards the firewall. Several vendors offer kits for this.
In my whole 15 years of 944ing i think I've seen 3 cars with factory rear wiper.
All the others have had a delete plug and a blank on the console where the switch would go. Maybe lots of very thorough owner-deletes but my impression is that the rear wiper was an option with a very low take rate %, but they only wanted to stock 1 window...and then later in the run there were a handful of extremely rare no-hole windows too.
Hollywood, you around this weekend, maybe Sunday or Monday? Itching to drive one.
Nice car and it has the often missing original battery cover too. Those metal plates under the car are tow points not tie down points as they are mounted to the chassis which is sprung so won’t work as a tie down. I have some similar aftermarket tow brackets to those on my car.
Great looking car. It seems to be extremely sorted out. Examine the fuel hose where they enter the engine bay closely. Ensure they are new. If original, you may have a ticking time bomb. I replaced the section over the exhaust header and rerouted towards the firewall. Several vendors offer kits for this.
Great find!
Roger, that. The 928s have a rubber fuel line that goes down the valley on the plenum. I got in there and the one I had crumbled to gas spouting dust in my hands. That's how 928s die... I'll check it out ASAP. Thanks, man.
Sweet find, enjoy it. I had the speedometer replaced in my 16V Scirroco due to noisy operation while still under warranty. The dealer placed a similar sticker in the door jamb indicating the mileage at speedometer replacement. My S2 has the no hole wiper delete rear glass
Nice car and it has the often missing original battery cover too. Those metal plates under the car are tow points not tie down points as they are mounted to the chassis which is sprung so won’t work as a tie down. I have some similar aftermarket tow brackets to those on my car.
I'll bet you we know now not to do that but then they did not....
08-30-2019, 07:10 PM
Intro and Consult the Masters - Pic heavy :/
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