Mike LaBranche

and scored big I believe. 80, 5spd, white/tan, 98k on the clock. Won it on ebay, not expecting to really. Under 3k. So I flew to Vegas this morning, and met the seller with a very fine 928 and a salvage title. Yeah, I know. I looked it over briefly, it looked exactly as represented, paid the man. Followed him to a gas/market from the airport and filled her up. While it gassed, I crawled around underneath 4 corners, made sure all the basic parts were there and looked to be straight. Found a bent left front lower swing arm mounting bolt, nothing else amiss.

So off we went, across death valley, up thru Bakersfield, the I-5, some twisties jumping from 5 to 1, up to Santa Cruz. The first half up to the first gas stop in b-field, I kept it under 70ish. OB brakes, they still suck. L-jet, works as it should. Pissy idle while hot, I figured vacuum leak. Runs like a scalded cat on the gas though. Gas it up. Temp gauge was excellent across the wastelands. Didn't run the AC, I figure why press my luck? Second half, I decided wtf? lets go. I-5 moves like a runaway train so we blended in and ran 80+ for a good spell. 5th gear, 3 grand, 2.7 tranny... and Off you go. Geez, it ran good. But man the shocks are toast. Get it home, 8hrs, 525 miles, and it was quite content. Probably the best workout the beast has had in a good long while.

So I get it in the air. And it's clear right off it's been put back together by a body shop. Stuff is just in the wrong place. Front brake shields are on backwards. An upper a-arm ball joint is clunky, that kind of stuff. And it's all new stuff. New rad, new condenser, new compressor, dryer, hoses etc. Front end collision and they replaced everything, put it back together best they could. Hell, I can make it worth more just putting it together the right way. lol But hey, it drove straight and true, 1 finger on the wheel, no drift, behaved as expected with merde shocks. I'm very pleased. And... it's got headers, no cat, stock back pipe. No wonder the beast rev'd like that.

So, went to Vegas, took a chance, got a fantastic early example, and... got to drive the **** out of it on the way home. Right on.

Mike LaBranche
84 S, AT
80, 5spd grin

Mrmerlin

looks like a keeper, congrats on your score

pcar928fan

Get that thing all fixed up and sell it to Brian here in Austin...that would be the perfect car for that boy! He is dying down here...man he looked depressed at the GTG yesterday w/o his shark!

Jadz928

Great story! Reads like the house didn't win this time.... you did.

Erik N

Great story!
I had a similar experience years ago buying a grey-market 635csi in San Diego and driving it home to Napa. Good times.
That stretch of Hwy 1 from SLO to Monterey is fantastic!

Your new car looks like a spaceship with that tinted glass.

Mike LaBranche

Yeah, that was one stellar day. I so lucked out across the board. That it ran so well was just amazing. The tint is pretty annoying, especially out the back and it's destined for the trash bin. Center console has been put back all loosy-goosy, has a dash pad, radio sucks. lol No worries, plan to yank that straight away as well. I'm very pleased how dry everything is, no leaks that I can see anywhere. Rear fenders have been rolled, kinda, and the rear ride height is way up (probably so he could clear some fat tires) so that's on the list of early fixes. Needs spacers, and right after I swap some long studs they can go on. Upper A-arm joints are toast. Shocks are dead. Bearings are probably tired. t-belt, h20 pump, vacuum hoses, cap, rotor, plugs, brake pads, reassemble correctly... all on the list. Should be a sweet animal in a couple months.

Hold On

LOL Just an observation. We must love these cars alot. A 928 gets bought with a list of fixes needed that would scare off a normal car buy....and we look at it as a super deal and cant wait to spend more $$$ on it. Ya gotta love all these maniacs !!!

pcar928fan

^^^^^^
I was thinking the SAME THING! LOL!!!

Iwanna928

He shoots, he SCORES! Another 928 will be loved again! With a little elbow grease she will be very happy!

Congrats and good luck!

Landseer

Nice job, that's the way to find them.
PPI talk only slows you down and risks you loosing the car in a case like this.

Its sweet when you can drive it home.

That's outstanding.
(Mine usually need to be winched onto a trailer).

Jadz928

Or driven up...

Tampa 928s

I only drove one out of four home the rest were in boxes or towed.
Another nice save enjoy!

CrossT

This has me thinking I need to do some CL hunting. Been thinking about picking up an early 928 for awhile now. Getting a little tired of my Benz sedan. Need something more GT-like.

todd
99 996 Coupe

Mike LaBranche

Thanks all for the warm wishes. She's a beaut. Ton of new parts, only 98k on the odo (which still works lol), everything dry, argh... fresh legs and we're in bidness. This is my second ebay 928. First one was probably 5 or 6 years ago, 78 5spd in Boston, had to tow it home... it had sat for awhile, brakes were toast, but we had some fun after I got her squared away. Love these early, simple, 2 valvers. Same chassis pretty much as all the others but so much more straightforward to maintain. (Says here in the 928 manual... lmao) I'll keep you posted on progress. This one's gonna get some exercise!

Mike
84 black
80 white

James Bailey

The early cars are a 95%/ 5% ....You get 95% of the newest GTS experience for 5% of the cost !