That same $19K would buy you a better 91 GT in very good condition, or a 91 S4 in excellent condition.

Look folks, spending lots of money on these cars will never, ever, be a good investment when you calculate the total costs of ownership. It is a fact and reality. That is not why most of us here keep putting money into these coin operated beasts. It is irrational but it is passionate.

I speak from a very high horse on this subject, because well, I can. I am dumping more money than I care to admit into a unique colored 91 S4. It is currently in for a total repaint at a SoCal Porsche dealership (cha-ching), after that its going to Doc Brown's for his special rub-and-tug (some call it stroking) cha-ching again, followed up with a full Champagne treatment. You can surmise the $$$ this will cost.

I understand there are many out there who will say that Dan is an idiot. You would be right from a financial perspective. But to me this is a very personal endeavor and in the end I will have something worth more to me than anyone else. No doubt others will look at my car and see it's intrinsic beauty and be pleased with that. For those that choose to deride me for my perceived waste of money "Dan, its only a car...". I imagine you sitting on your couch with little 16 year old Fifi the teacup poodle, family pet, no I offend, family member, that you spent $8k on last year treating her skin rash, hip displasia and tumor removal. To this I and many others would say "But (state your name) it's only a dog..."

So if you own a $10k 928 and think dropping $15K for a complete engine rebuild is too much or not a good idea, sell or part the car and get another one.

People like Ryan, god love em, are pragmatists and the world certainly needs them to keep things in perspective. They are realists and can become dispassionate in a heartbeat. Others of us are just a bit off as we dump money into our pets and our cars well beyond the return on investment.

All I can say is I collectively spent more money on my beloved Tasha (best damn yellow lab on earth) during her last two years here than I did on my first child through highschool. Foolish? Finanically you bet. Rowena, my 91 S4, is and will be no different.

Dan - dog and 928 lover.

Having spent quite some time doing blackbox testing of the 928 ISV, I can assure you that while, yes, the ISV control is proclaimed to be "closed-loop control" that it isn't any kind of closed-loop control a control systems engineer would create.

And I are one of those (in a past life.)

So, I would not expect any random ISV to function precisely as an actual 928 ISV. It might be worse. Hell, it might even be better in a non-stock 928. But, I doubt the same.

Further - and directed at the general audience, not you -

a couple of months ago I spent a long long time looking for the mythical cheap Bosch ISV with the right part number. I couldn't find it for less than 95% of what I can get it for from the usual suspects. Not Autobone. Not AdvancedAutoPharts. Not teh interweb. Nowhere.

Possibly I should have lied about my zip code as evidence suggests that some parts are priced by location. I'm not saying that the mythical beast doesn't exist just that I wasn't able to find it at the time.

Dan

I hear your sentiments loud and clear. I do however see that when i look at 928's i love them for the unloved cars they are frankly. They are so undervalued. But if i had $60K to spend on making the most unique 928, or even more then that, well i would just start with something different i guess. I currently have a bug up my ass to find the means to buy myself a nice 07 Aston Martin Vantage and then find a way to get one of the newer AJ-V8 5.0L short blocks into it to of course give it some more power. I am a few years from one of those though, and who know, maybe in those few years the price of the currently for sale V-12 Vantage will be within my budget and i can just plop down for one of those.

I love cars like few do, but i have to try and make sense of them, because i do get bored after a few years. I dont think i would ever find a single car that i would want to keep forever. I like to change it up. I may stick with 928's but not THE SAME 928. This is something ive realized so i try not to get in over my head to the point that it wouldnt make sense to part with said car. Which i think people do when theyve got 5x the cars value into it.

I bet you forgot some expenses from the spreadsheet that tracks the costs of your firstborn...

Mine is 3 years and 4 months old and perfectly healthy, yet I've already dropped twice my 928 project cost so far on her schooling alone. And that's not a lie or an exaggeration.

:) I should have clarified that statement to mean medical costs.

I hear where you are comming from on the wanting to change the car up... But for me, the 928 will always be it. Unless Porsche does a miracle with the 2 door version comming up...

My neighbor (older guy who likes Porsche) said yesterday as we were looking over my new 928 said if he won the lottery, he would spend $200,000 on a new Austin Martin. I said back to him that if the same happened to me, I would find the nicest GTS I could find, and have $150,000 left over for beer. I do believe I could be happy with a GTS for life....Bury me in it ok?

:cheers:

[QUOTE=RyanPerrella;6727578]Dan

I currently have a bug up my ass to find the means to buy myself a nice 07 Aston Martin Vantage and then find a way to get one of the newer AJ-V8 5.0L short blocks into it to of course give it some more power. QUOTE]

Aston Martin..... having trouble typing as saliva is drooling on the keyboard. I lust for those cars but this is where I am trying to be a bit pragmatic.... When I set on my quest for a great car I looked at many things besides a particular make/model. I looked also for a strong community of owners and, generally, ready supply of parts and online know how. Not interested in American cars per se so for me the decision first was for a low mileage 91 944 S2, then a 93 968 and finally here with the 91 S4. Though an Aston Martin still stimulates me like an older sister's hot best friend did in high school, there just isn't the same type of community as there is here. To me the 928, in the end, represents the very best performance super car value and community par none.

Ryan - good posts. I'd buy a car from you in a second if I were looking for one.

Wowzers. I have a gifted child and she is 7. I probably haven't spent $4,000 total on her for schooling. She's in an advanced program in the public schools and I guess sure, if you count my taxes I paid for the school it is more but that is going to be charged to me regardless.

The bottom line is shop around and find someone who makes you happy. Sounds kind of like a relationship, well it is with engine builders. I can't tell you how many times I've run into A-hole know it alls in racing that will build you a "fast" motor that doesn't last a season. These guys always blame you and never stand behind their work. I finally found someone I trust and is interested in hp gains rather than my wallet.