911Dave

18 years sitting with the hood open? There's probably so much rust in there you couldn't even part it out.

For the money it would take to restore the car to respectable condition, you could buy a really nice S4 that will barely depreciate. Just maintaining the S4 is all the hobbying you'll need.

1981 Shark

Man, the truth can sure sting a little, or a lot in this case.

Look at what all Chuck Z had to do on his green one and it looked like it was brand new!

Not to discourage you though; you're a better man than I for taking on this task!

michaelathome

Come on you guys. Good for you Kary!

I am doing a similar thing with an '83 944. Mine is a mess too, the only reason that I am doing it is the original color. By the time I am done it will be a re-paint but at least the original color. I took mine on as a project and now it is at least running. Hopefully in the next month or two a weekend driver. Not going to be the prettiest car but not one foot in the grave where I found it. There is still a-lot of work to be done to say the least.

Just the other day my UPS driver stopped cause I had it in the driveway while I was trying to clean up the garage some. He said that he had/was working on a 76 TR6 that was a basket case when he got it 7 years ago. "Now it is ready for paint" were the words that left his mouth. Damn if that didn't have me worried. Yet it did tell me that I was making good progress in the short time that I have owned it.

He was complementing me on my efforts as I am trying to do with Kary. Keep the spirit and may it not take us 7 years to finish!



Michael

Gretch

A body off restoration of a TR6, including doing all the things necessary to the running gear, can easily cost $30k. The market value for one in excellent condition is about $10k. The one I own had $35k put in to it two owners ago, and about $3k put in to it by the PO....I paid $8,500 for it. (and compared to my 928 GT, it is a piece of engineering junk). I has a '60 corvette I attempted a body off restoration. I got as far as finishing the mechanicals before it broke my spirit. That taught me a lesson about going too deep into a car in one fell swoop.

If you are gonna take on a basket case, In order to keep your interest up, you should take on the restoration task in chunks you can deal with, while getting the car in running condition and keeping it there. Otherwise the potential for despair is there. What ever you do, good luck with your 928 passion Kary.....

lorenolson888

Yeah you guys are kind of pessimistic... but I can seee both sides...

I bought my car for 3K it ran a little rough...

I set my goal.. get the car running right for less than $1000 in parts (plugs MAF o2)... I did it for $700... At that time the $700 was a big gamble... registration and tax... $300... it was an out o state car was not even sure aboutthe CA DMV which I was able to sweet talk around a chain of ownership issue....

Now as someone above mentions the ante goes up... as the car get a little better you want to spend more....

In the end my goal is to have a reliable good cosmetically good car for ~14K

I am up to about $11000 and am almost done with mechanical...

In the end I did not have the dough to buy a perfect car off the bat... though over the last year I spent a lot!!! and will spend more I have learned a lot which is good... but part of me wishes I would have bought an S4 for like 18K or so... but that would need a few thousand put in it too...

My car will be in really good mechanical condition ... my body is straight and the chassis is good a 5 speed 32 valve.... wish I had better brakes....

I had lots of spiders, leaves and tree litter.. tha car was under a car port for 7 years.... but at least shaded from some of the sun... the sun is the most damaging thing.... but it is a real kick in the *** to drive.... no rodentia but I have heard many stories of that...

Live and learn...maybe he will put 15k into a car that will be worth 6K... but it is a hobby...none of us are doing this for a living or to get rich hahahaha... and he is learning to work on his 928....which may really help him on the next 928...

Oh yeah and working on you own car will save you the most money...leave certain things to experts and tackle what you can yourself...

Daniel Dudley

Yes start with the engine and electrical system. Then when you know you have a car, move to the restoration aspects. Just a thought.

michaelathome

That's what I did, basic troubleshooting on a non-running car. Didn't think to look at the TB first Mistake 1.

Battery, starter, coil, ignition then injection. Got them all why isn't it working? Hmmm, rotor isn't turning?? Broken Timing Belt. Took it down to block, new head seals and belts and... Well I now have a running car. Thanks Rennlist!!

Next is a few safety and tuning things to get her back on the road. Like I said not so worried about looks so much as running. Got plenty of time for the rest of it.

Who steals crappy looking cars anyway?

GO KARY!

Michael

kary4th

I knew what I was getting into when I bought it. I figured that for $960, I could easily part it out to make some or all my money back if I needed to.

Everything Jim mentioned went through my mind before I decided to do this (that was my original point to anyone else considering buying a $1000 car in such unknown condition). I decided to take this on as much for the education to be gained as anything.

The car was stored outside only for the last couple of years. Before that, I was told that it was stored in a barn that was used by the importers husband's business. She imported the car & had it federalized in 1987, but never bothered driving it again.

Not long after getting the car home, I developed a plan of attack. I made sure everything was sound (if the engine were started, it wouldn't damage itself), changed fluids, etc.
Charged the battery.
Gave it a shot of ether.
Started it up.
It ran very well for less that 10 seconds. My wife was watching from the door to the house. She noticed a mouse fall out from under the car - bad sign #1 - and a whole lot of acorns were ejected from the exhaust system - bad sign #2.

That's when I decided it was worth continuing. I tackled the nasty, gunked up fuel system (from the fuel distributor rearward) around the same time Chuck Z did his. I got lots of help from the thread he started on this topic & posted pics of my progress, too.

Once done with that, I decided to see if the engine was going to get fuel, but the battery was dead. That's when I decided that somewhere, something was slowing leaking juice because of the damn mice. It wasn't until this spring that I had the chance to start working on the electrical system.

I wasn't planning on having to deal with this type of wiring issues when I took this on. Regardless, I'm still having fun. I wouldn't discourage anyone else from doing what I'm doing as long as they understand fully BEFORE they lose themselves in it, everything that you guys have said here.

I appreciate everyone's comments, both pro and con - and especially appreciate the advise.

Thanks, everyone!

Thaddeus

You never know. I've pulled out longer shots than this. But acorns out of the muffler?

I've embarked on many crazy projects and they all have their own satisfactions and frustrations. Like when I restored a stone house a couple of years ago whose roof had been leaking for 15 years... The SubZero refrigerator couldn't be fixed because its chassis had rusted out. things like that... Maybe Kary gets a rush from doing the near-impossible. As long as he knows the risks, he can probably take care of himself.

Good luck man.

wrecktech

I have restored several cars and rebuild totals all the time and I always try to have a several projects going at once. If I was going to restore your car, and providing it was not rusty, I would strip it down completely and just use the body and maybe the suspension. I would gut it completely and restore it first. I would then look for a crashed 928 that was regularly driven and transfer the drivetrain and needed mechanical parts. when it was able to be driven I would run it for a while and when it was dependable I would replace the seat covers and carpet. It would involve a lot of work but you will get the best result for the time and money.

rixter

when I started the 77 most everyone told me I was crazy, and I admit there are still times when I feel it will never be finished.... HOWEVER, I would never discourage anyone from restoring an early car.. I only try to make sure they know what they are getting into
I've learned a lot doing this car and wouldn't trade the experience for anything... in fact, I'm ready to do another car... and I've decided to use the swampmobile as the base, 79 US 5spd, no sunroof.. sat nose down in a swamp for close to 5 years... amazingly the chassis is in better shape than another car I have that was garaged for extended periods prior to me getting it
we're all different, some of us only want to lay out the $$$ and drive away, while others of us have this overwhelming subconscious need to be knee deep in a project

Kary, keep the faith... when you're ready to tackle that interior let me know, I'd be happy to help you sort thru and get it up to snuff

V-Fib

928 ownership is not a hobby, it's an OBSESSION!

kary4th

Shhhh. Never use the obsession word where my wife might read it.

It's just a harmless hobby.

SteveG

You won't have time to read it for several years, well maybe next winter -- "The Gold Plated Porsche" is a light read about restoring a 911, bottom up, with side trips into drug runnng, and Mob, not necessarily connected. Great gift for the "hobbyist."

rixter

I almost bought that book a couple days ago!!!
of course I, and many others, can truly connect with that type of thing
bear in mind, he is recovering part of his "small fortune spent" thru this book
looks to be a good read though