hikeman

Its been a dream to be able to purchase a 928 for many years. from the childhood til now.
Finally going to do it.
any suggestions on what to look for on 1984 928 S4? I noticed that the HP listed by dealer was not 318,
but I think I would like to refurbish the engine and would like some ideas.
Any Houston peeps out there that have performance garages they would recommend?
Im so excited i can barely stand it.

Mrmerlin

Welcome to 928 stewardship,
you would be wise to read the FAQ at the top of this page.
Sean Ratts is in your area a solid mechanic, for future repairs, same for Roger at 928s R us for parts.
and you might go to the DFW breakfast so to drive a few different machines.

Your asking about conflicting info the 1984 never had a S4, that started in 1987 and was a 5.0 liter with 316 HP.
NOTE the more info you provide as to what your doing the better our guesses will be.

Link for breakfast
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...kfast-gtg.html


Im sure Dr Bob will expand on this info.
Welcome to RL

dr bob

You might share a few more details about the one you are looking at. From your post, consider that a 1984 928 is NOT an S4, so that will explain the lower horsepower number. I'll also suggest that you read through the "new visitors" thread in the sticky section at the top. It has a lot of great guidance on what to look for as you shop. The Houston area has a bunch of enthusiastic 928 owners. If you are shopping locally there, it will be no problem coaxing someone to join you for a more experienced (read: cynical...) look at your candidates. It will save you a lot of later grief. They will be able to point you towards other local resources in the area too.

The general guidance from this (read: cynical) enthusiast and others here is to find the absolute best example available, and budget for bringing everything current on top of your purchase. I think most "best examples" will offer a new 928 owner plenty of things to do, where buying a 'project' can easily be overwhelming especially if you are planning on driving it from the day you get it.

There's another sticky at the top that lets you plug in the VIN and find out exactly what the car was equipped with when delivered.

Looking for a "performance shop" with a knowledgeable 928 person can be a real challenge. Plenty of "Porsche Shops" but very few with suitable 928 experience. Go with recommendations of the locals there, and plan on learning a lot of this stuff yourself. Paying a "shop" to learn on your car will get really expensive really fast. I dusted off the tools after a very early dealer experience, one who claimed a factory-trained 928 tech at the time ('90's). There have been no 928-focused factory-trained techs certified in well over 20 years, so finding one still alive and working is getting tougher.


And of course -- Welcome to Rennlist!



dr bob

rjtw

'84 USA model was rated 234 HP and, as noted above, is not the S4 model.

Not sure what you mean by refurbishing the engine, but here's my thread on restoring my '83 (virtually identical to an '84) so you'll have some idea of the type of work awaiting you: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...oses-83-a.html

checkmate1996

Welcome to the 928 world! If you are buying a 928 here's 3 keys (although probably many many more) to successful ownership:

1) Buy the best condition one you can find - that doesn't correlate relate to model year.
2) Have deep pocket$$$$. Older cars need TLC. This is for repairs (especially if you can't do them yourself or don't have the time),upgrades (wheels, stereos, etc etc) and driving events with local club guys! (you don't want to spend it all on repairs and not afford to go anywhere!)
3) Drive it. These cars hate to sit and perform better the more you drive them.

Best of luck!

hikeman

Thanks for the info.
I appreciate the time for your posting.
This is the one I was looking at
1984 Porsche 928 S For Sale | Gateway Classic Cars | 25111

The VIN decoder results

1984 Porsche 928S 2dr Coupe 5-Spd

VIN: WP0JB0921ES860598

Geo55

Did you get a carfax report? Car looks good but just saying.

karl ruiter

Lovely looking car, but at least 100hp short of what you are thinking. Having said that, when I had a 4.7l L jet car (which this is), I never really felt short of power.

Ghosteh

Welcome & congrats on your decision to join the club! This is a great place for info.

If you're looking at cars in the $20k range, I think you can do better than this one. I do like the 5-speed and year (dependable & non-interference engine). I haven't seen it personally, but from the photos, I noticed a few things that would concern me.
- Paint has quite a few issues. Not necessarily a bad thing on a driver, but I'd expect better in this range.
- Possible rust under driver's side quarter window. Underneath & engine bay also look like it's been driven rather hard. Certainly not an 80k mile car
- Odometer is probably broken. Trip meter shows 000 and the condition doesn't match the 80k reading
- Dash is bad. Recovering it will cost you $1k
- Seats & carpet are worn & dirty. Very expensive to replace them if you can't clean them.
- engine bay: missing jump post cover & air cleaner is upside down. Bad karma.
- Where are the service records? I'd be very curious to see how it has been maintained.

If you want more power, look for a Euro or later model car.

beran earms

UGH No jump post cover!

GT6ixer

I agree with Ben's observations and can add a couple more:

• Phone dial wheels are not correct for a US '84. The correct wheels would be the flat discs aka manholes, either in anodized aluminum or platinum color.
• Correct color is Slate Blue Metallic. Very cool and pretty rare on 928s (nice bonus IMO!)
• Listing is incorrect. Engine is a 4.7L not 4.6L
• The rear wiper is parked on the incorrect side. Could be a bad relay or rear hatch that is not engaging properly with the wiper cam.
• Hoses look original. All rubber flammable fluid carrying hoses on any 928 should be replaced regardless if original. Budget ~$2-3K to have them all done properly. A lot less if you do it yourself (not hard).
• Likely will need new vacuum lines if also original.
• Has the correct Monterey SQR 23 Blaupunkt radio. Another nice bonus. Those are about $1K in working order if you can find them.

Now all of this stuff is not untypical for any 928 being offered under $20K. This particular car may be a tad high but assuming it runs and drives well and has only 80K miles, it's easily worth $15K at the cheapest. My advice is that if the US '84 5-speed in that color combo is the 928 configuration you have always wanted, get a PPI and make an offer. Good luck!

Petza914

928s are great cars, but not cheap and they almost all need stuff. After doing a restomod convertible back in 2015, I just picked up a 300 HP '81 Euro. This was a running, driving car that didn't have much maintenance done to it in the last decade, so if you want to see what kinds of things you'll discover on a 35-40 year old car that's under $10k to buy, you can follow along in my "Added and' 81 Euro S" thread here on Rennlist - https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...l#post17251036

Mrmerlin

Here is a resto car I just finished . these are the repairs you could expect to perform.

1985 Garnet red 5 speed, Barn Find, Lola 710

Chuck Schreiber

I'd suggest you get together and sit down with the Houston crew. Great group of guys, you can actually see, feel, touch, ride in, and probably drive a few of them.
Talk w them, do research and get questions answered here. Don't jump in quick, make an informed decision and depending on your skill level, buy the best one you can for $20k vs a basket case.
Look for Don Carter and PM him or hit me back and i'll send you his contact info. Good luck w the search!!

MKA77

get an inspection! I was looking at one on Philly Gateway location that looked great from their “select” pictures. the inspection report and their pictures told another story. It was money well spent.