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The 928 has been my dream car since my early teenage years. My buddy in school was a Countach fan and we would get into debates about which car was better.
I remember when the "Win a 928" contest from Kool cigarettes was advertised, I sent in as many entries as I could under my older brothers name because I was too young to enter.
When I was 15, my mom came home from work and asked me what model Porsche it was that I liked so much and when I told her, she said that her boss had driven one to work that day. I begged her to call him and ask if we could go over and see it. His son was moving from Chicago to Denver and he was keeping the car until the move was finished. It was the first time I had even seen a 928 outside of pictures in a magazine. He was kind enough to take me for a short ride and it was better than any Christmas morning I had experienced.
Life moved on, but my interest and wanting for a 928 never wavered. My wife knew I was a car guy when she married me 21 years ago and has always been supportive of my interests. She helps me with my other car projects when she can and we try to attend a car show or two each year.
A good friend of mine is always looking for interesting cars for sale and would always send me a link when he would come across a nice 928 but there was always something standing in my way from pursuing one seriously. My reason of late was that I just couldn’t justify the expense until my kid was finished with college.
A few months ago he sent me a link to one that was local and asked me if I knew of the car. It’s a small town so a 928 would be hard to miss, but I hadn't seen it before. The ad wasn’t very promising though. The pictures weren’t very telling and based on the short description and the asking price, I figured there must have been something seriously wrong it as it just seemed to too good to be true. I did recognize the place where the pics were taken so it would be easy enough to drive by and take look at it.
It was a Friday night and my wife and I had dinner plans. When I mentioned the car to her she was enthusiastic about stopping there on the way home. I was about 5 minutes into my inspection of it and I was blown away and the condition of the car. By this time the seller came up and we had about a long conversion about the car, it’s service history and what he knew about it and how he had acquired it, why he was selling, etc. He was very forthcoming and all of his answers to my questions were genuine. It was getting dark so we agreed for me to come back in the morning for a test drive.
The Saturday morning test drive went very well, the car was everything that it appeared to be and the issues that needed attention showed themselves but overall, it was obvious that it was a very good car at an amazing price. I called my wife to verify that she was on board and she told me “You have been wanting one forever and you may never find one this nice again for that much money……you need to buy it”. So we made the deal and I don’t think I slept more than 3 hours over the next two nights waiting for the bank to open on Monday.
Basically, I bought the car with no known service history, and I was unable to speak with the last owner of the car as he was deceased. But the car presented itself very well and the story that I was told matched what the car was showing me. I looked at it as the same as if it was at an estate auction. I took a leap of faith and it has worked out better than I could have hoped.
The immediate needs were timing belt / water pump service (warning light was on) and tires as their date code showed they were from 2001. I drove the car home (less than 15 miles) and first thing I did was the timing belt service. I also found the usual leaking PS reservoir and oil pan gasket. Most of the oil pan bolts were loose as expected and I tightened them up for now and have a new gasket ready but snugging them up seemed to take care of it. Motor mounts aren’t sagging too much so will probably tackle both of those things at a later date. Replaced the front fuel line, all the drive belts and put a new set of Pirelli P Zero Rosso tires on it and then drove it to a friends that has a lift to check the crankshaft endplay which checked out good.
On my winter project list are shocks, PSD service, trans fluid change, remaining fuel lines, inspection of the fuel pumps, and a full brake service. Then set the ride height and get an alignment. Can anyone recommend a place in SW Michigan / NW Indiana for the alignment?
So far I’ve put about 350 miles on it via short drives of less than 75 miles at a time and there have been no issues or surprises so I think the main “shake-down” runs are finished and once I get the above service items finished over the winter, it will be ready for some real fun and a few overnight trips. The only disappointment is that the a/c isn’t working so I’ll have to put that on the list as well before the summer hits but everything else works, including the clock. Other than the tinted windows (which I’m not thrilled about), and a repainted front bumper cover, the car is unmolested and even has its original CD-2 radio.
The limited history I do know based on the paperwork that came with the car including the original window sticker and a Carfax report.
February 1992 - Sold new in Racine, Wisconsin – 437 miles
September 1994 – Second owner purchased from Knauz Mercedes in Lake Forest, Illinois – 14,539 miles
September 2018 – Towing company acquired the car
July 2019 – I purchased the car – 32,950 miles
And finally some pics to go along with my long post.
Nice looking car Brent and good story. I think a lot of us ended up here after years of anticipation. I still remember being gobsmacked cycling behind the first 928 I ever saw as a youngster. To realise the dream is still exciting...
I am sure you have done some homework but I thoroughly recommend starting here if not;
Great that you found such a clean one, and having the wife on side is key. Just done the same in last couple of months, but mine is completely at the other end of the condition scale, still never through I would own one - enjoy.
10-30-2019, 11:55 PM
My 928 story
