back from the dead
 

I'm thinking of buying an '81 928 , 5 spd, that's been sitting for 15yrs. Where do i start?....drain and replace oil, water, brake fluid? Pull plugs, squirt wd in the cylinders before tryng to turn it over? I've heard i should drain oil, put in 6 qts of cheap oil with 2-3 qts of cleaner.......run it for an hr.......drain again and replace with good oil? So much to learn......help please.
dan

All that makes sense, but it probably has the CIS fuel injection system. These systems hate to sit and you are probably looking at a big job to restore that system. Everything else is pretty minor. You might want to post pics so folks can have a better idea of the starting point.

Unless it's a euro - it's not CIS. That being said, check and double check fuel lines prior to anything. Already been like major car fires this year. Most likely - a full top end refresh will be required. Those are non-interference engines so a timing belt break won't be disastrous but should be thoroughly evaluated. Clean all the oil everywhere so you can check for leaks.
Also - drain the fuel tank and take a flash light and look inside the top from the trunk area. I found all kinds of interesting goodies in mine back in the day.. I would expect probably about $5000 to bring her up to speed plus purchase all things being equal...

Where are you? You can put your location in your profile, it will show up like Karl's & mine.

Is the car a US version? Does the VIN start with "WP0JB0..."?
That will be "L-Jet" with a 'barn door' Air Fuel Meter (AFM). Basic, early electronic fuel injection. A Euro would have CIS (K-jet) mechanical. It would have a "WP0ZZZ..." VIN. Totally different system. That's presuming an 81 has the 17 digit VIN. Does it???
You can put your VIN in the "Official VIN Check" thread (might be back a page or two) and someone will tell you what options it originally came with.

As I suggested over in the "How Long" thread, read through the "New Visitor" sticky. All of it. It has a lot of very useful info. It will answer a lot of questions that will generate a "did you read the New Visitor sticky?" for an answer.

I would pull the fuel pump & filter and drain the gas. It's junk. The fuel pump may be able to be cleaned up and used. Get a new filter.

Change the oil, Flush the coolant. Flush the brake fluid (clutch is part of that too). I wouldn't worry too much about 'cheap oil and cleaner', I'd just use decent oil and change it fairly soon (maybe 500 - 1000 miles, maybe sooner - keep an eye on it).

Pull the plugs and put a spoonful of ATF down each cylinder (before you change the oil). Let it sit a few days, then try to turn the motor by hand (27mm on the crank bolt - A deep socket will reach it without having to pull the fan).

Pull the battery out to charge it. At that age, I kinda doubt it's any good any more, but you never know. It's a generally accepted practice to remove or at least disconnect the battery before charging it.


Welcome. You've found the most knowledgeable and friendliest place for these cars. Search first before asking. If you can't find answers, ask nicely, say 'thanks', do any tests suggested and report results, let us know how it turned out in the end. You will get all the help you need to get the car on the road.
I think I saw that you could get it for $500. Depending on the car, it could be a bargain, it could be a fair price or it could be a total rip-off. The most expensive car you will ever own is a 'cheap' exotic. It's pretty likely that this car will take in the neighborhood of $8k - $10k to be 'nice' (depends on a lot of things). You will likely end up waaaaaay upside down. That's the simple reality of trying to get one of these going again.

And, as is tradition on here:

THIS...

THREAD....

Please tell us more about the specific 928 you are interested in.
Tell us where it is located.
Tell us the area where you live.
Tell us about your mechanical and electrical acumen.
Someone on this forum may live close to you and have knowledge of this particular car, or might be willing to look at the car with you

And...there might be a better 928 fit for you, car-wise, of which we will have a better understanding when you give us more information.

i've been upside down on any project i've done.......except for a shovelhead i built in '02., but it's the journey i like, not necessarily the end result. Thanks to everyone for the input. I'll keep you all informed as to the journey as it continues. The car is located in northern cali and i'm in the San Diego area........not looking forward to the 9hr drive north........but, we'll see. Everyone selling their problem cars seems to think they're 'rare'......gotta call BS on that. Thanks again....we'll be in touch. Dan

I'd take my tool chest, including a 27mm deep socket and breaker bar and at least see if the crank will move (Actually, I'd have the seller or someone else check that before I left for a nine hour drive!). Tools, a battery and multimeter, vacuum pump, floor jack and a sandwich and spend about three hours with it before I handed over any money.
I'm not sure what you are paying, what condition this car is in or how rare, or how much of a project you are looking for, but I think soontobered84 (John) is right...I'm guessing that you might find a 928 that fits your answers to those categories closer than a 9 hour drive.
Another user's recent revival: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...ars-sleep.html
Good luck! As Wisconson Joe said you've come to the right forum.
Jason

good info on the 'revival'...........thanks.
dan

what mm are the plugs........or just 13/16 and 5/8?

13/16

thanks........

If its an L-Jet car then is should be pretty manageable. I would:
-Drain fuel. New filter and Wabro pump ($100 ish)
-Pull injectors and send them to Witchhunter for cleaning and testing. You will want to replace the little rubber hose stubs and injector seals anyhow, so might as well do this now.
-Get the ~100 econo plug wire set from Mark or Roger
-Change oil and coolant
-Change the high pressure fuel line
Maybe $500 ish all in, and no futzing around trying to figure out which injector or plug wire is a problem etc. You can skip some of the above steps, but personally I tire of the 'guess why its not running right' game, so that's what I would do.

Of course the car will have other issues, but no telling what they might be until you get it running.