For 87-91 5-speed's, there's a good aftermarket parallel condenser available - I think they're made by a US manufacturer (there's some discussion in an old thread here somewhere)..

I bought one a while back, same width/height and mount points as stock one, including the fittings to take the drier bracket etc.

Check ebay item 120619760192 (no affiliation other than as a customer)

(Auto owners - don't buy this - it will not fit your car as you have a trans cooler above your tiny condenser)

 

Correct, this will only fit the 5-speed cars. The Ebay seller Hilton mentions is actually this company: http://www.ineedarad.com (same phone number)
I called them first as their price is hard to beat, but got a very bad impression from them, not returning phone calls, then telling me they had one, then telling me they didn't, so I decided to get it elsewhere. If the condenser they are selling is the same fit and quality as the one I got from Griffith, then it is an excellent deal. The fit and finish is very nice on this unit.

Cheers!
Carl

 

I finally received the factory rear seat insulation (manufactured 11/2000) along with the only available center tunnel section insulation. Being told the rest is NLA, and no word if they will ever be again. A word of caution, if they do become available again, I suggest to NOT buy them until Porsche figures out how to make rubber/plastic that does not fall to pieces. These items differ from what was originally in the car in a few different ways. First off, they are much lighter (great!), and the open-cell foam has been replaced with a closed-cell foam that seems to be slightly thinner. The vinyl/rubber top coating that used to be a thick rubber/asphalt type damper is now replaced with the most flimsy rubber/vinyl coating I have ever seen, and will crack and crumble if you stare at it too long! I am suspecting they are made of the same material as the earlier rear fender liners for the GTS, which means very fragile. They are shipped with a baby powder like covering, which is the white stuff in the pictures, before I cleaned it off.

Since these parts are no longer available, I decided to use them, they cracked and crumbled in a few places, but overall they work out very well, the fit being much better than what I could ever accomplish by cutting and gluing foam myself. So those pieces are now in place, and I have test fitted the rearview camera into the rear bumper cover. Apologize for the really dusty paint, it does not do justice to the paint job.

Also finished putting on new connectors on the turn signals and finished the wire loom on the rear taillights. I am using WeatherPak connectors, with each power item in its own flex braid sleeve, which is then bundled in an outer flex braid sleeve. Each connector will be labeled and coded with heat resistant metal foil labels with reference to what it connects.

All the tail lights and turn signal lights are LED CANBUS type, which are brighter than their non-CANBUS counterpart. I will post how they look once the wiring is complete. The bulbs are from www.superbrightleds.com and are the 26 SMD bulbs in 1156 and 1157 flavors. These bulbs have a wider base and will NOT fit in the front turn signals and center brake light unless the socket hole is widened up. They fit without modification in the rear light sockets. It is not very hard to do, and took me about 10 minutes per light to enlarge. These bulbs fill the lenses very well and are very bright. The instrument lights and all interior lights are/will be LED as well according to Ed Scherer's excellent write-up on "Converting Porsche 928 Interior Lighting to LEDs". Must have reading!

Now that the big insulation pieces are in place, I can finish up the 1/8" closed-cell foam installation that will cover everything else. So basically, the car has 3-4 layers of insulation, depending on the location: One base layer of Damplifier Pro, followed by one layer of Cascade Audio VB-2 (VB2DH in trunk area), followed by OEM insulation in rear seats and front transmission tunnel (the rest will be 1/2" foam between those two pieces), and finally a layer of 1/8" closed-cell foam. Non-sunroof panel has one layer of Damplifier Pro covered by 3/8" closed-cell foam.

Cheers!
Carl

 

That's going to be the quietest 928 on earth. Is that a rearview camera you have mounted in the rear (euro ?) bumper cover ? Everything looks great T

 

I'm hoping that you're one of those people that enjoys the build more than driving, so will sell this once it's complete . I can't imagine how much this is all costing, but the results are nothing short of spectacular . We all owe you a few beers for your dedication to preserving a fine car .

 

Hey Tony,

Thanks, yes the camera is a "bullet-type" camera mounted where the rear tow hook would normally go. Right now it has a angled spacer on it, which I may remove once the suspension is on and I see how it is angled. It is much smaller than it looks, and basically disappears when viewed direct from behind.

Carl

 

Thank you for the kind words, I must confess that I am more of a driver than a builder, and I am currently suffering from withdrawal syndrome for not driving the car for this long
Even though the building is a lot of fun, it is working towards having a 928 "my way" that I can use regularly. I sorely miss having it as a frequent, if not daily driver. The more you drive these cars, the better the run. It will be very hard to give this one up

Cheers!
Carl

 

Looks Amazing

 

It's not just an amazing job. It's inspiring.

 

I hope thats the spare room!

 

Hehe, luckily yes...parts everywhere. Never knew so much stuff would come out of one car

 

Carl is building a 2015 Porsche 928

I used the same LED bulbs in my 240 Volvo wagon. The incandescent bulbs were melting the cheap Chinese replacement tail lamps. The LEDs are fantastic. I have the ones that are dual brightness for tail light and brake lights in one bulb.

 

Hi Jon,
I'm hoping to call it a late 2014, but you're most likely right about it being a "2015".
Good to hear you have a positive experience with them. I am wiring the car similar to the ROW way, so the rear brake lights are single brightness (1156) and the two outer tail lights are dual brightness (1157) for use as rear fog lights as well, and can also be used via the ISIS to come on as extra brake lights during hard stops. Looking into a G-load sensor to trigger all tail lights and have them flash if deceleration exceeds a certain threshold.

I never could get used to the way the 928 was wired here in the USA. The human eye sees contrast (dark to bright) much quicker than varying shades (dim to bright), so the brake lights will only come on when the brake pedal is depressed.

I have lost count of how many times I heard the flight engineer mutter "Oh Sh$#" from behind me when he realized he had run the tanks empty, because Boeing decided to use a bright/dim indication in the classic 747 for the fuel pumps. More modern models follow the "dark cockpit" concept in which the state of a switch is usually dark as long as everything is normal and only illuminate with an abnormal state. Same theory goes for the brake lights.

Cheers!
Carl

 

+1.
Superlative job!
A lot of people's dream here I think... Mine at least!
Keep up the beautiful work.

 

I agree on the wiring of brake lights. I have always hated the dim to bright type that is so common in USA. You can't take your eyes off the lights or you'll not notice the change in brightness (only the high center light saves you). The idea you have for the brake lights with the G-sensor should be standard on all cars. Very cool. You're going way beyond a restoration...and beyond typical resto-mods. You may be creating an entirely new category of restoration. In many ways you're updating the 928 for the 21st century. All 928...but faster, better, stronger. Hopefully it isn't the Six Million Dollar 928