eugkim

After mulling, searching, researching and pursuing for over a month, I finally committed to a 928. I admit that the ability to own one at such unbelievable cost initially caught my interest, as it has always been my favorite car since I was a kid. A long search costing countless hours finally led me to my soon to be catch - an 88 S4, 35k miles, 5 speed, totally stock, well maintained and in very nice shape. Cold_beer 829 was kind enough to put the current owner and me in touch. I'm scheduled to fly down to NC to pick her up later this week, hopefully have a meet and greet with the seller and David, and drive home just in time to take my kids to a soccer tournament 3 hours from home the next day.

My list to do: 1) new wheels - not a huge fan of the pie plates, but I'll probably stay with 16's. The D90/CS look has always been my favorite. 2) new stereo. I'm going to start with a head unit. While I'd like to go with a Blaupunkt to "keep it in the family," other manufacturers make it too appealing. I find that I can't live without satellite radio, and ipod capability is a must. Unfortunately, my Cayenne has neither capability, so I have an aftermarket setup that sounds great, but was expensive and cumbersome. Alpine, among others, offers an all-in-one that I'll probably go for. Luckily, I don't think I'll need anything else. From what Brad, the regional 928 guru, tells me, it needs almost nothing to make it perfect.

FWIW, what I've learned in my search. 1) trust no one. Ask a ton of questions. When you think you've fallen in love with a car, DON'T be impulsive. Sit back, take a breath, and order a PPI. I think I almost made 2 mistakes on the way, either of which would have been costly. 2) buy the best condition car you can. Unfortunately, many of the cars had a fault here or there that was obvious. Typical comments - "AC needs charging" or "AC has a vacuum leak, an easy fix." My interpretation - doesn't work, don't want to spend the money. Hell, if it's an easy fix, why not fix it, then ask for more dough for a car with less warts? The car I almost bought would have required, based on the PPI, at least 3k in mechanical work and 3-4k in body work. For an extra few thousand, I'm hoping to avoid all the trouble. 3) be patient. I was surprised at how many 928s cycle onto the market. Just when I thought there was one I couldn't let slip away, another one would present itself. Wanting a 5 speed made it a little tougher, though. 4) use the knowledge through the forums, especially Rennlist. It's surprising how small a community the 928 world is. It seems that cars are often known. 5) spend the $39 on a Carfax subscription. While it doesn't reveal everything (accidents often aren't reported), it quickly eliminated a good number of cars, at least casting doubt on a few.

I look forward to getting the car, finally driving it, then getting it set up in its final form. I'll be sure to post the pics.

A final word of thanks to: David, Nicole, Brad (Digital Chassis in Durham), Leif (Autoworks n West), and the mechanic from Scan Automotive in Vancouver. All were so patient and willing to devote the time and effort to answer questions.

Rob Edwards

Eugene-

Congratulations on the purchase! My first impulse was 16" wheels, so I bought some D90's, then some CS rims. Now I'm on 17" Cup I's, and am kicking myself for not buying Darien's TT hollowspoke 18's. And those lobster claw 19's are growing on me too....

For stereos, may I suggest Stefan at SWStereo? He can get you a head unit with Ipod connections but without flipping dolphins on the display, and a harness that'll hook you to the factory harness without hacking anything.


Can't wait to see the pics- 35K miles must be nice....

Nicole

Congratulations, Eugene! I'm glad I was able to help at least a little bit.

Can't wait to see pictures of your newly adopted pet.

Vilhuer

No matter how much one loves 16" wheels sad fact is that its geting difficult to find latest style high performance 245 wide rubber for rear. Its simply better to move to 17" or 18" as selection is much better.

eugkim

Yes, I thought about the rear tire availability. That's the one kicker. I'm hoping that Toyo will continue to make the T1R in the 245/45. I kind of resigned myself to possibly needing to use Sumitumos or the like.

Marine Blue

Eugene congratulations on the purchase and welcome to shark ownership!

Can't wait to see some pictures of the beast when you get it.

Getting a shark that meets you expectations is like being a kid waking up on Christmas morning. The little things are just as much fun as the major mods, enjoy it.

cold_beer839

Eugene,

Rixter (Richard a member here on the List) has a set of 17" Cup I replicas like on my GTS. He had them for sell a while back, and I think he still has them. From what I remember they are in perfect condition and he had a very good price on them. PM him or call him at European Performance in Cary NC (919) 851-5084. He lives about 45 minutes away from me. If his are sold, they also pop up here for sell every now and then so keep an eye out.

If you want new wheels, get at least 17"s, 16"s look too small, IMO.

Here are some black ones on eBay, not sure if these offsets are good for a 928, the front seems right but the back may need a 10mm spacer (they probably carry the silver ones also):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-P...mZ160284638240

Also, these eBay wheel sellers will often times accept lower offers then what they have listed as the buy it now price. They did on my Carerra III's.


This is his '88 with the Cup I's installed.

kevinod

Congrats on your purchase, it'll be a long week until Friday!

bigmac

Go to 17in now as you will want to soon. Congratulation. Mac

DANdeMAN

Don't get the Sumis, they are crap on wet....

eugkim

Tell me about it. Except for my 1st overnight camp where I was horribly homesick for 2 weeks, time has never stood as still as it has since I bought my airline ticket to NC. It'll be interesting if the 9+ hour ride back in the middle of the night will feel really long or very short.

Altharos

If the drive is in the 928 chances are it won't feel long enough.

I would agree with David on the wheels, the cup wheels are a definate positive in terms of value and of course the 17" makes tires easier. When I bought my 928 the yard wanted to keep the cup wheels and put some of the stock wheels back on because they had got a lot of interest in the wheels themselves, and so far I've had two (pre 996) 911 owners size them up for their own cars. They are definately popular down in NZ.

cold_beer839

Before someone hits Eugene with the "This Thread is Useless Without Pictures"

Here is a pic of his '88 S4 5-spd LSD 32k mile all-original.

Marine Blue

Looking forward to seeing more pics, he should have it by now!

6mil928

Pretty car.