WallyP

I have never owned an automatic 928, and love my GT - but if I had to commute in Atlanta area traffic (which ain't NEVER gonna happen again!!), I would rather have an sutomatic.

I find it interesting that, despite the fact that reports indicate that newly installed water pumps are now failing at many times the rate of unchanged pumps, it apparently still makes sense to many of you to automatically change the pump with the timing belt. Not me...

leperboy

That sounds reasonable to me based on my experience with a neglected 86.5:

- TB/WP
- plugs, wires, rotors and caps
- motor mounts and pan gasket
- blue house and PS pressure hose
- pads and rotors, dampeners and brake sensors
- intake refresh with injectors and new sensors and fuel lines
- new shocks
- fuses and various relays
- new window motor
- rear hatch receiver
- A/C
- X-pipe and new cats

A good piece of advice I got was plan for a lot and what you don't need you can spend on cosmetic improvements like wheels.

Matt

Iwanna928

To me the reason I bought a 928 was because I loved the lines, the V8, and the hatch. I love hatches. I am about to dump 3k in the car. Still up in the air with what I am doing. It is going into to be painted on Friday. That money has already been allocated which isn't much. I bought the paint and am doing all of the prep. Nothing fancy, but she will look a lot better. Cost will be about a grand.

Then I will add 3k in improvements of some sort. This will go on for years until I am done and will upgrade areas that I have already done with a clear picture in my mind with what I want. Eventually a bad *** 928.

I am not doing this as a investment or to sell her. I just want to play, make her into what I want and then I will buy another car, probably a 95 5spd Thunderbird SC and fix her up. Then I will have two cars that I have always wanted!

I recently had a Thunderbird SC w/ a 5spd and that car was awesome. Rebuilt the motor w/ all forged parts, bigger IC, blower the works only to have it stolen. That car would leave a GTS in the dust, that is unless a GTS can run high 11's with a total investment of 4 for the car and 8k in the motor!

Then I will be old and senile and will have to give them to my kids!

Stephen

Want to be

EC928NC, did you actual see this car (IRL)? If so, do you have more photo's and information on her?

I really like the color combo. Put on a S4 wing, and my thoughts its good to go! (well except for the PM"s, which i am ready to tackle)

I want a 5.0 liter, with a good price that would be used for 1-3k miles a year. If it needs some paint or interior, no worries.

erljive

I agree. If your worried about this basic maintainence on a car priced at $4000 go buy a Prelude.
That's a lot of car for the money and even if you have to spend another $4000 it's still only $8000.
What do you guys who keep saying your looking for a 928 want? A free car and a $2000 voucher for repairs?
Maybe a 86 Nissan 300Z is more in your range.

Landseer

I've been buying them for the maintenance. Challenging. Therapeutic.

Iwanna928

And people say boats are a big money pit! At least I get to enjoy mine evryday!

Stephen

dr bob

Had big boats, and the advantage of a car is that the costs pretty much stop when you park it while you gather funds or time to make it well. Boats cost even more if you do that.

My thinking on the car, as stated here before, is that it ALWAYS needs to be reliable enough for a coast-to-coast run with no concerns at all. I enjoy the "bought it for $not much, have only done a fluids change and she's great!" stories, but that's not a common longer-term experience unless you are really really lucky. A co-worker 20 years ago mentioned that a friend had a 928 and drove it for close to 100k doing just the normal maintenance on it. He thought that was just oil changes and stuff. I met his friend and found out that he was religious about keeping the car maintained because it was his daily driver, and it was a lot more than just fluid changes.

The more common experience is that someone buys one that's in somewhat reasonable shape. Not knowing what it's really supposed to be like, they maintain it cosmetically and maybe mechanically at the level that they received it. When the looming/accumulated/deferred/expensive stuff starts to reveal itself, the car goes back on the market and the cycle starts again. I've driven only a few 928's in all these years, mostly because I really don't want to find out things that other examples do better than mine does. The few that I have driven have not spoiled me yet, if that's any comfort. It is to me.

Fast-forward to the subject car--

Looking at the typical list of things that need to be done to any of these cars, it's a long checklist. You can get an item off the list if it's been done in less than half a normal service for that item. Some items are pretty easy. Example: Dirty on the bottom and the engine low and rigid? It will need MM & OP gasket for sure. That's somewhere between $100 and $500 depending on mounts choices, and can be a lot more when you discover that it needs rack bushings, boots and power steering hoses at the same time. And there are few that don't, realistically. If it has over 100k on it, that job expands to include shocks, tie rods and lower ball joints too. All common, and all "detected" because of a droop in the engine and the oil film underneath. Many buyers don't discover this lurking $1000 1.5- to 2-day project right away because they don't know what they are looking at or for. They just change the oil and filter, and drive merrily on their way. I'm not trying to be critical or disrespectful of the guys who buy cheap and just do a fluid change. It's a hard pill to swallow if you have to justify to a spouse or the savings account that your new $few-thousand toy is going to need 3x your original investment just to make it safe and reliable. The first stage is denial, by the way.

The $5k budget is usually light.

Sailmed

Fixed it for ya...

I must just be lucky I guess - I buy them at great prices and have yet to spend anywhere near the money I watch others dump in these cars. Well - Maybe I buy more rear tires then most...
I'd drive mine across country ANY day!
I've had a few automatics, don't care for them at all, and would still much rather drive my 5spd in town.... but then again I have never owned an electric start Harley through all these years of riding Strokers - and just placed 5th overall in the 26 floor stair ran - and it is all right hand turns, that left leg being stronger comes in handy....

Iwanna928

Bill I do understand your point. I was stating the fact really as I got lucky with my purchase, The car was raced at Sebring and had the motor taken out and they refreshed it , replaced the main seals, replaced all of the hoses, vacum lines etc. It also came with fuel lines and tie rods as it seems to me that they new what was needed and what needed to be replaced. The father passed away at an early age, 42 in Sept and the son didn't know what to do with the car and didn't even know how to get her running. The alt belt wasn't on it so it wouldn't run for more than a couple hundred yards. The father also had two spare engines and a tranny so he was into 928's. He was selling the whole package for 5k and I got the car for 2.5k.

Interior was redone, car was lowered and came with turbo twists and new rubber. All she really needs is paint, A/C and syncro's and some interior lights. I will be putting in the fuel lines and tie rods and synthetic oil for the tranny. Hope that helps.

She is far from perfect but a solid car. It will also be a money pit in the years to come and one day she will be a really nice example of a OB.

Stephen

Landseer

The two 32 valve cars that I have were purchased inexpensively.
Their mileage was low. Ownership history was simple. 2 owners. 1 owner.
Both had just above 70Kmi. They've needed virtually the same attention.
I can drive either one across the country today.
Am at $5000 on one, $4000 on the other, actually maybe a little less on both.
That includes purchase price. Both involved owners wanting them to be appreciated more than wanting dollars. The cars had been long ago paid for. The second one also had a rennlister brokering it --- wanting to get it to a person who would spend time and rescue it. (And I will find that opportunity in the future, too, to pay it forward in some way for the hobby.)

They are strong and safe and smooth.

No cosmetics except polishing compound and wax. AC compressors run jumpered, but not yet sorted with orings, oil, drier and R-12 (but I have a cylinder).

On the second car, bought S4 rims and tires inexpensively (take-offs). Same with brakes --- a rennlister upgraded to late brakes and sold me 4 nearly new rotors, 4 sets of pads and 4 rebuildable calipers for the cost of 2 new rotors. So, eyes open for parts.

Only money spent on non-essentials: 87FPR & Porkchip last week. One Sony stereo running through existing speakers. Done.


The black car, subject at hand, is real nice looking in the PS profile. If the driver's side was similar, and the engine ran smoothly, it would be a fair buy. Budget $3K additional, up to $5K if possible, for parts. Buy Porsche parts wherever possible. At the best price --- shop it, you will find the path.

Then again, you're in for $7 to $9 or more if you bought at $4K. Not a good equation especially adding the risk factor that something big can go wrong. Dilemma.

ew928

Hey. Just noticed that. I only get to do 7 flights of stairs and by golly, they are all right turns when going up. Hand rails on the right to exercise the shifting arm.

Hilton

"All she needs?"

That list is $$.



The refreshed engine is a good score tho' - but my next 928 I'll be looking mostly at cosmetics (and hence mileage), paper documentation, and also at whether the other bits are original.

For my third 928, I just don't give a crap how much mechanical work/parts it needs, as long as at the end of it, I have a car that is mint (i.e. looks and runs like it did from the factory).

Iwanna928

Tell me about it! Hard to find a cheap OB that doesn't need syncro's! She shifts fine, but doesn't like downshifts. So a late model 5spd will replace mine one day. A/C will be 500 so there is 3k alone

Nothing is free and nothing is cheap. I just know that I have a good starting point and am happy about that.

By the time I am done I will be SO upside down on this car that I won't even want to tell people what I spent! That will take time though.

In the next week I will be spending my purchase price on parts and labor.

Stephen