Hello, I just recently bought a 1986 Porsche 928 that has been sitting for 15 years. It was parked due to the previous owner running the car low on oil . The car was under a tarp most of its life so the interior is in really good shape. It smells musty but the dash is not cracked in the seats will clean up nicely. The underside is mostly rust-free except for some surface rust on the exhaust. The body is in really good shape. The front valance is broken due to it being pulled with a tractor


I will be honest in saying that this will be the biggest project I have taken when it comes to cars. I have fixed up quite a few motorcycles and an old ford escort but nothing this "complex". Everyone I have spoken to says these cars are insane money pits and to avoid them like the plague. I de do not have a lot of money to spend on the car, I'm currently in high school making 1500$ a month. I'm also trying to save up for college on top of that. I would say I have a budget of 5kish to put into the car. I have thought of the idea of buying a renegade hybrid ls swap kit. and a junkyard 5.3ls. But I'm really not sure yet. Their website claims its an "easy swap" ( I know an easy engine swap is an oxymoron)

This leads me to the idea of keeping the car and selling it after a few months of deciding what to do with it. I am getting a good deal on it so I believe I could make a small profit on it. I would appreciate "assignments"


The car will be getting towed to my house Thursday so I thought I would go ahead in introduce myself. I'm sure I will have a lot of questions. Here a few pictures and a walkaround video

 

Welcome to the shark tank. Hopefully you paid almost nothing for the car. Your $5K budget will not be nearly enough. It sounds like an engine seize if run with no or low oil. You will need to pull the motor, and that is a very challenging job for experienced weekend wrenches to fix one of these. And as to an LS swap, that’s a myth that it is a cheap or budget way to go. It is not. And when you are done, you have an undesirable car that nobody will want. Honestly, you should try to sell it as is now, and not invest anything in it. Wait until you are out of college and have a place with a garage where you can properly work on one of these. Regardless, good luck. If you decide to move forward, this is the best place on the planet for knowledge and advice.

 

It's worth at least $400 for the intake tubes from the broken filter box to the radiator (if the tubes aren't broken, that is).

Yep, that's what you're getting into. Some stupidly simple pieces are unobtainium to the point that parts cars are worth it just for them. The rest of the parts are pretty available, but be warned that this is not a car that tolerates parts from ebay or AutoZone. If you replace anything in the fuel injection control system with anything but a real Bosch part, when you're diagnosing a non-start issue, you're still going to be guessing what's broken since the cheap part you just put on may not have worked out of the box.

Hopefully the front rubber spoiler wasn't damaged from the tractor pull. Also unavailable, with used pieces going for about $500, if you can find them.

 

I would not recommend this car to a younger me before I went to university.

I bought my American spec 1984 L-Jet automatic for $7000 (it was running although not well). I've spent about $21,000 so far getting engine work done, a rebuilt transmission and a full repaint. I've also spent countless hours wrenching the car myself (electrical, perished rubber, vacuum leaks, etc etc). There is still more work to do, but the list is shorter.

But...the car is very nice now. I get compliments everywhere I go.

 

This will be a big undertaking considering your situation. But... you've found a semi-valuable / desirable model. It appears to be a 1986.5, which is a mid-yr model change where Porsche used better brakes and suspension vs the 85 and early 86. Having a good int is also a bonus. So here's what I would do - clean it up, buy a battery and see what works and what doesn't (headlights, windows, seats, sunroof, etc). Make sure the tires all hold air. Shampoo the carpets and get the funky smell out. Then advertise it here and on other Porsche sites. Some people like the 'barn find' appearance, but you'll have a better chance of attracting a buyer by making it look as good as you can. And that's something that anyone can do. Be truthful in your ads about the engine and driving cond. You should be able to add some value (and $$$) by cleaning it up and documenting it's condition.

 

Great interior and that is worth decent money. Consider parting it out or selling it as a parts car to someone that is needing an interior...

On your budget this car is not a good choice. If you can make a quick buck, sell it and move on.

Major salable items:

Pod
Dash
Seats
Center Console
Door interior panels/speaker covers/cards
Big Brakes
Carpets
1/4 panel interior pieces if they are not warped.
Tool kit
Body panels

Look out for trouble with the unsightly nature of a parts car wherever you live as neighbors/parents can be quite unhappy with backyard salvage operations...

Enjoy the cleanup and keep us posted on your 928 adventure. We love stuff like this...

 

I would be interested in the complete car,if it not to far away.

 

Listen to the guidance given. At your age, you should prioritize college. This car will require atleast 400-500 hours worth of labor/service. Every system will have to be gone through to be reliable and/or safe:
- Suspension (Steering rack, shocks, etc)
- Brakes
- Transmission
- Engine (Complete rebuild - top, bottom front end refresh) (Assuming it's good)
- HVAC
- Electric (Switches, panel, relays, motors)

You would be better off selling it whole and try and make a small profit and get out from it. It's just not the right time for you...

 

If you bought it because you love the car, I would store it somewhere safe until after college, if you can. Prices will only go up. Learn what you can about PROPERLY storing it, so you can slow down or halt whatever degradation has already occurred from improper storage. As stated, 86.5 is a desirable variety of 928. You can tinker with it when you want a break from studies, but don't expect to get it SAFELY running any time soon.

If it is not one of your dream cars, you have found a rare gem that someone with a lot of 928 knowledge and plenty of expendable cash could revive by doing everything we have learned it takes to safely bring back a car that has been sitting so long. Fuel lines and power steering high pressure line would be priority safety items. The "low oil" reason for it sitting is very concerning and a bit suspect. It is an automatic, so TBF (Thrust Bearing Failure) comes to mind, but I don't think it affected 86.5 and earlier cars as much.

It is such a well preserved car, that I hate to mention parting it. Be prepared to be kept very busy from the feeding frenzy you will experience if you do announce you are going to part it! You would learn a lot about the 928 from parting it however. Better would be to sell the car whole to an enthusiast that is willing to put in all the hard effort and finances to bring this car back to running condition.

Congratulations on finding a gem, however, and thank you for sharing!

 

That Blaupunkt Monterey SQR 23 might be worth a couple of hundred on ebay even if it is not completely functional. Once the buttons get repaired they go for more.

 

Say more about the "ran it low on oil" claim.

Because these cars are pretty tight.
They hold 9 quarts.

What's the chance that somebody misdiagnosed?

 

Don’t poison the mice living in it. They creep into dark, inaccessible recesses to die. And then smell very bad.
Sorry for that reference. I once purchased an actual barn-find, very sweet MG-A. My wife drove our car home following the tow truck, with me as truck passenger. I saw her swerve behind us and later found she was dodging the rat that leaped from the trunk of the towed MGA. Set mice traps bated with peanut butter around the 928 once it’s in the garage. Yes, that even before you refresh rotted fuel lines.
This is a lot to get into. I wish the best.

 

Quick update

The car is home. I discovered that the engine was leaking oil somewhere from the rear when it was put on the tow truck. I also discovered the engine is stuck ( I tried turning the crank shaft pulley bolt)

for now I am waiting on the owner to find they keys to the car... I have been cleaning up the inside of the car which is coming along nicely. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with the car but I will update you guys as I go along. Thanks for all the comments!

 

Is there a way for me to private message you 928FIXER? I am located in Richmond va

 

Seriously, Richmond? Which side of town? I'm still here for the next week as I finalize the move, and there are a few others as well. Fixer, a real pro, works out of Norfolk area. Am wondering why the engine is seized. Thrust bearing failure is the usual reason. That's not fixable.