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So I don't know how or where to start, so I'll jump right in.
My name is Eric, and about a month or so ago I landed on a bucket list car and like a child with zero repercussions for his actions, I bought it.
I'm no stranger to odd cars as I have a small collection of gotta have it cars including a Lotus Esprit, a 1980 Mazda 626 Coupe, and a gaggle of proper era BMW's, most of which are modified, swapped or restored.
This '86 928, equipped with a 5-speed manual, just missed the 86.5 vin break by less than 100 cars. It was clearly owned by an enthusiast.
It has what I believe to be a "stage 2" Mark Robinson mid-mount turbo kit. Its an intercooled kit with no signs of a piggy back although I admit, I haven't dug into it too much.
The story I got, is in 2013/2014 the previous previous owner, who built this car, died in a tragic car accident and left his 928's behind. His wife or girlfriend sold off everything and the gentleman I bought this car from bought it.
I searched his name pretty hard and came up empty handed. The good news is that this car runs and drives pretty well, The bad news is that the guy who built this car "gutted" it to make it a race car.
At 37, the idea of having a stripped out car for the street is a little less than appealing. Also, I have absolutely ZERO maintenance history with it, I know its got a bunch of aftermarket suspension parts, and I will undoubtedly uncover more good and bad as I dive into it. The guy I bought this car from didn't do much with it in the 7 years he owned it, and was really in over his head as far as fixing its issues.
Ah yes, its issues. Well that list grows every time I look at it. From out of sync headlights with some butchered wiring, to a parasitic battery draw, to a melted hatch harness that was at one point on fire, to say I've got my work cut out for me is... well pretty accurate.
So in the next few months I'll be sorting these issues along with what I consider deferred maintenance like the belt service. The hardest and likely the most expensive part of getting this car back to its glory will be the interior.
I do own and run a full service niche market auto salvage business so I'll hopefully come across a complete car with most of what I'll need.
For those that are wondering, I'm in the Saint Louis MO area.
Fantastic. By all account the mid turbo was an nice kit and quite rare. You can surely find all interior parts you need from 928 international. There is also someone in northern LA and someone in Seattile who sell on ebay and regulatory part out 928s and sell interior bits. Also, 'listers often have parts cars, so worst case, post interior pics and a list of what you need.
I believe I talk to the widow some years ago when she listed it for sale. Don't remember much of the conversation, but ended up passing as I use mine as a daily driver and didn't wan to deal with replacing the interior at the time.
Looking at the engine bay it is hard to tell, but it looks like the AC expansion valve is missing and possibly the evaporator core. Does it have the heater box installed?
Mark definitely had a red one when I saw his at OCIC in 2009 and several years later at some of the 3rd coast events. He may have had a grey one as a development car too, but don't have any info on that.
Since it is a turbo, you should look up John Kuhn in Kentucky who has done a lot of engineering work putting turbos in 928s. A fellow Rennlister, user name "Ptoumov," has had a lot of work done on his 928 monster turbo creation by Kuhn. They have really explored the upper reaches of boosting the 928 platform.
Turbos are great, but with any boosted application, the tuning of the engine management system is key.
Welcome! I'm also in the St. Louis area and reasonably new to 928 ownership myself. Also a BMW guy here (E24, F34) and love that E34 Touring and Laguna Seca E46!
03-15-2021, 08:35 PM
New Member Intro. 86 928 Turbo!
