cpayne

Well I found my Shark and went for it. My first Porsche.
It has many service records, but the last replace of the TB/WP I could verify was at 110,000 miles. The owner said at 151,000 it was completed, but no paperwork on that.
The seller had an inspection done and it had some small leaking here and there. The throw out bearing needs replacement and input diff seal was leaking a bit as well. No leak down was done.

It had 154,000 when I picked it up.
I flew to Seattle WA and drove it back to Richmond via North Carolina, then to Richmond VA where I live. Some 3,200 miles in total with No A/C . Car was a pleasure and I probably looked like a Cheshire cat on the highway cameras. Especially that night leaving the rest stop outside Billings Montana at 1 AM . I woke everyone up I think. I reached 120mph and the RPMs seemed high about 3,800. I looked down for a sec and realized I had another gear (I was tired). What a car!
The belt tension light came on in Faremont MN the next night as I was entering the hotel parking lot. The next day I prayed and waited 15 minutes after starting it, no light. I drove to Dayton Ohio and pulled off the road to check my map , when I hit the brakes to pull over the tension light came on again. I turned the car off then on again and no light. About 15 minutes later, I had to brake again and the light comes on again. I turned the car off and on and no light. I stopped for the night.
I found a great shop in Dayton Ohio. P3 Automotive http://www.p3automotive.com/ . The owner was young man Dan King I believe but had owned a couple of 928s and had about 1 million in 911s and Bmw's in his lot to be worked on. He tightened the belt a couple turns and charged me nothing. I gave him a 20 for his troubles.
If your in Ohio this guy is honest and ASE Master mechanic and truly loves Porsche cars.
Now that I have it home I need some pointers and advice from the Oracles of the list.

Here is what I have learned about the car through my travels.

Mechanical
Engine uses very little oil but displays signs of some leaking
Engine is strong pulls really well and sounds incredible
No oil leaks after being driven when sitting over night (Actually no leaks on the ground)
I have records of the clutch being replaced at 150,000, but the inspection report said it needed a throwout bearing. (When put into reverse it shakes as the clutch is starting to fully engage)

Suspension
When in the parking lot creaks and squeaks galore (Embarrassing for such a head turner)
Suspension and steering seems tight to me

Electrical

No A/C (Belt is not on) I'm sure there is more to the story. PO didn't use it
Electric seats on passenger side don't move

Sun roof some times gets stuck and won't go back. Have to move it forward and then back to get it to open. Sunroof leaked a bit when I took it through a car wash. When it rained hard the other day, I saw no evidence of leaking.

Power mirrors don't easily engage on passenger side and won't move up. Drivers side will move out, but no other direction. The switch for the mirrors doesn't click all the way over to the drivers side. It feels like it's stuck.
The drives side power window switch has to be pressed just right to come down. Feels like something is under the switch.
LCD clock in console screen cracked
Motorized hatch release ***** don't work
Horn doesn't work and it appears to be disconnected ( 930 wheel and Two wires. Two posts . I have tried different combinations to get it wo work.
Stereo Sounds like crap. Only picks up one station and drives side speakers have no sound.

Interior /Exterior

Some missing metal clips here and there on trim.
Couple of small dings and a few chips of paint gone
No rust
Driver and passenger seats have small tears in the leather.
Missing decorative front for drivers dash b storage shelf
Visor clip broke on drivers side and today noticed the drivers side won't hold the visor in place

I have posted some pics for you all

With your help and suggestions.
Project Plan
I'm bringing it into my garage and want to go through it and do the majority of work myself.
What tools will I need to add to my kit to do all the maintenance?
I have the manuals do I purchase the tools listed in the manual?
I have a growing list of sites thanks to the list
Someone made mention of a CD



Some questions and Ideas

Interior/exterior
Replace hood insulation and put one in with Porsche crest.
Wrote Paul - We have spoken by e-mail about getting on the list
Add Donoley rear view with compass and temp gauge
Trick out the dash or console
Touch up paint until I can get money for a really nice paint and body work.

Mechanical
* looking for the best perfromance parts here.
Engine (Rebuild?) or seals and gaskets
Chipset?
Cams?
Motor Mounts for sure
Supercharger?
Exhaust?
Tranny (rebuild?)
Cutch ?
Brakes-vented rotors
Suspension
Shocks?
Stabilizer bars?

Electronics
Any updated HVAC ?
Update Stereo and speakers with latest B/T C/D NAV system



Thanks

Look forward to the responses

RKD in OKC

Very nice looking pics dude. I like those wheels too. And it's great you've started your list we all have one!

I am a wimp when it comes to wrenching and electrical, I usually break two things trying to fix one. But those sound like pretty common list items for ANY older Porsche.

This site is the best resource you will run across for the 928, it's the bomb diggity. Check out the console replacement thread before you do any stereo upgrades! My head is going out and I am saving all my pennies for the console car computer Hans and Paul are working on.

jacal128

Nice, I would change those fuel lines also.

pcar928fan

Looks pretty good to me from the pics anyway! Hope you got a great deal on it! What an adventure for a first drive!

Keep us posted on progress through your list. Some of it (a lot of it really) is no big deal just standard stuff for an older 928... Nothing that sounds to difficult or outrageous either.

polecat702

Use the search feature at the top of this page. It's packed with all the answers to most of your questions with pictures and how to step by setp fix's.
That car looks great, beautiful wheels, sport mirrors, and seats. Looks newer than an 87.
BTW, join the 928 owners club, it's another great resource, and you may be able to research your cars history.

Landseer

Looks great inside and out.

There is a set of CDs that includes the manual, wiring diagrams and, most importantly to me, dozens of ancilliary porsche documents, such as the year by year manuals sent to the service departments. And the PET with parts listings you will want.

There are a couple of us in Richmond active with events and DIY, so help is not far.

ammonman

Sweet looking car. Welcome to the asylum That road trip home is priceless. Hell, any 928 road trip is priceless. I have spent the last 18 months doing what you are starting on. My suggestions are to :

A. Change the engine compartment soft fuel lines and all soft power steering lines. Both have burned many 928's into the parts bin.
B. Do the TB/WP job. That is the next most lethal threat to the car IMHO. There is plenty of info here abouts (stock versus Porkensnr, new WP vs rebuilt, etc.)
C. New throwout bearing (and guide tube if needed.)

Get these three killers behind you, then worry about the rest.

As far as engine rebuilding, I wouldn't unless there are problems that require it or you want to build a stroker. These engines were built for running 140-150 mph for hours. The miles put on it here in the states are nothing like those kinds of stresses As long as yours hasn't been abused it has another 150K miles in it at a minimum.

YMMV

Mike

cpayne

Thanks for the great welcome and kind remarks.
I paid well under 10,000 plus the cost of the trip out to Seattle, The ride back was sweet even without music and AC. The hum of the engine was enough.
I will keep you posted on the progress.
I have done tune ups, alternators, strut changes, calipers on Lincolns and Nissans.
The electrical is what I'm worried about. and weather or not to supercharge the engine without a rebuild.
What is a stroker? I'll make a guess and assume it is a souped up bored and stroked engine.

Thanks again!
Charles

mickster

I wonder if this was the car Smyth1 was looking at...

Tom. M

It definitely looks like the same one. A local here looked at it and gave it a good review....

I saw what I think was this car heading out of Seattle (near I90) a little while back .. I was in my gray/blue Acura Integra...but gave a thumbs up when I passed it. Was this you? The driver was in the slow lane..as if he was just getting used to the "new" car ...


Anyway...enjoy the car... You really did get a good one ...Congrats..

Imo000

The first thing you should do is check the timing belt tension. Since your belt was border line loose, couple of turns on the adjuster is WAY too much. This can easily bend the pivot bolt and eventually cause the belt to slowly chew itself apart on the crank and water pump pulley sides.

cpayne

Hi Tom,
Small world I was heading out on I 90 and I remember a guy giving me the thumbs up. I believe it was a Sunday back in July just about three weeks or so ago.

I'll bet it was you. Small world

Tom. M

Haha..too cool... Sunday July 25th around 11:00am... I was heading up in my Integra to pick up some Volvo rims (northbound I405...near the I90 interchange)..and lo and behold.. a 928 sighting... Found it odd that you were in the right lane kinda poking along..but glad I could catch up and give a thumbs up. I posted on our local PacNW 928 list to see if it was anyone local..and thought maybe it could be the new owner of that 87

Congrats on a great deal..

Hilton

Awesome buy and drive.. great start, and very lucky on the timing belt job.

First tasks on a new-to-me S4 (my 3rd arrived in my driveway yesterday so I've been thinking about this lately) are:

1. Replace all fuel lines (some people do just engine bay ones - I prefer to replace the ones in the rear too).
2. Check timing belt tension, rollers, cam gears, water pump and belt tensioner - rebuild/replace as needed (includes mandatory minimum of a brand new belt).
3. Plug into a diagnostic tool (Bosch Hammer, JDS SPanner etc.) borrowed off a local owner and determine if knock sensors, throttle switch etc. are ok, and if there are any ECU faults.
If knock sensors are duff, do intake job including new gaskets, sensors, oil breather hoses etc.
4. Check exhaust gasses and mixture (pre-cats), and if needed, buy O2 sensor and/or MAF
5. Fix anything else broken/leaking

I won't drive the car if I can help it until 1 and 2 are done. After 1 and 2 I'll give it a good detail (claybar, orbital polisher, leather treatment, clean the carpets etc.).

3 and 4 will potentially give the biggest performance improvement until you add an X-pipe. Note that '87's won't talk to a diagnostic computer by default - you need to replace the LH and EZ-K chips with ones from an '88 S4 to gain support for the diagnostics. Someone in your local area may well be able to burn you a couple of chips with an EPROM burner - the binaries are available to make them easily enough.

Great looking car! The 930 wheel is interesting - I bought one recently (from Porsche), but the logo on it is embossed into the leather, rather than a badge on top of it.

What's the VIN number and engine number? Early 87's have a few unique features like a hinged rear wing (both mine have that), piston oil squirters (my red 87 has them), metal oil filler neck etc.

PorKen

That looked to be a sweet car for the price, by all accounts.


It's a well equipped, late '87, #2066, with some nice upgrades.

018 - sports steering wheel with elevated hub (30mm)
220 - LSD
387 - Sport seat right
383 - Sport seat left
474 - shock absorber sporting front and rear
481 - manual transmission
494 - additional amplifier
490 - sound package
570 - air conditioner with improved efficiency