928 Weissach rolls into my 911 house
 

Well her she is after 3 years in a barn. I always dreamed of a barn find. A 928 isnt exactly what I dreamed about but I will take it. The 928 motor runs like its brand new. The Clutch feels like a GT3 clutch but almost heavier. I purposely drove my C2S out there to get a direct contrast to the 2 cars. The first thing I forgot was the 5 speed pattern of Porsche. I took off in 2nd gear. And the Key is in the wrong spot. I couldnt get in to a position to see what the handling was like but the car is HEAVY. It feels like a well....... a Viper, big heavy slow feeling.

Its important to remember I havent driven ANYTHING like this for years. The car feels 2000 heavier than a 911. But once I got it on the hiway, I was surprised that the throttle response is pretty damn quick. Even though you can feel the weight, the pick up and go is quick. Its nothing to go from 55 to 70 with a tap of the throttle. Not GT3 or C2S PDK quick (the PDK is THE QUICKEST thing I have ever touched) but completely surprising for this size of a car. I didnt get to line it up or anything or do any redline runs but when you consider the 928 is 29 years old its an amazing car. The interior is still PORSCHE no mistake except for the Key on the wrong side. Everything works but the AC and the Windows. I think it has to be upgraded to Window 7. EVERYTHING in the interior is Leather. Even the rear passenger sun shades. There is a special Weissach plaque on the jockey box with the # of the production run (#81)
The seats are all power and all work, The mirrors are power and all work. The radio is a Blaupunk and works. The ONLY thing is the windows or AC, a bad combination in the desert. But I think I can recharge the AC I think. It started working a TINY bit about 20 minutes into the ride.

OVERALL, the car is light years away from a C2S PDK, but I couldnt quit thinking if Porsche had continued to build these things, the current 928 would be ONE AMAZING car. It only has 220 HP but it feels MUCH more Powerful and is a WONDERFUL example of Porsche engineering from 30 years ago. TRULY ahead of its time and I cant WAIT to get to put some miles on this wondrous motor.

When I rolled up and I saw the C2S in the garage the 928 reminded me how pretty the 911 is, but the 928 held its own in MY driveway. Two of the prettiest cars in Porsche history.

It doesnt look like much now but these pics arent good, but let me have some time with some paint restoring system and it will look like a show winner.
The owner didnt do much to get it perfect and its not, but it wont take me much to get it to a 8.5 out of 10

Looks like you got a winner there!

Would love to see an interior shot. The interior design is specific to the Weissach.

I'm glad you are enjoying you new Porsche. :)

Very Nice!
(If you ever take one of these "up to cruise speed" you'll appreciate the "heavy" feeling....)

Nice unmarked original wheels too.

Do NOT use wheel cleaner on them - they're anodised, and wheel cleaner will damage them. Factory advice is to use regular soap and water, then rub with vaseline and a soft cloth (yes, vaseline).

Nice initial impressions.. the 928 full leather interior is nice to have, although high maintenance.

Glad you got it home safe. Now comes the fun part :)

Very nice. Congratulations!

Looks good ! do NOT use ANY wheel cleaners on those platinum anodized rims. It is often better if the original owners never waxed polished or had their car detailed because it gives you far more paint to deal with.
You do realize that your newish "911" is more like the 928 than it is a 993 or earlier 911. Including size, weight, rear suspension, interior room,mode of cooling, wet sump.....I doubt that the 928 weighs much over 200 lbs more than your 997.

That is a beautiful car, nice find! I have always loved this special edition.

Did the luggage come with it?

More pics once polished, please.

Welcome to the club, OG! Looks like you found a good survivor, she should clean up quite nicely.

As to your "heavy" comments, I've found driving mine around town to be work. The controls are heavy, the car feels heavy, and you start to wonder whether or not you're really driving a Porsche. My E36M3 was a much more pleasurable car to drive around town, just pure joy as a daily driver.

Then you get it out of the city, get your speed up, find some high speed twisties and you begin to understand. This is a car that comes alive at about 80mph, and it gets better from there. What previously felt heavy now feels solid and secure, like it's on rails. About this time you'll find yourself with one huge grin on your face and you'll laugh out loud. Have fun! :thumbup:

What a great find. Congrats.

Thanks guys, interior pics to come. Thanks for the tip on the wheels.

I can hardly wait to get working on the car. There is not a whole lot to do but compared to a new 911 there is a TON to do. The interior needs to be cleaned and vacuumed. The carpets need to be shampooed.

JWise you hit the nail on the head there, it just feels heavy. Like some one said its probably not 200 lbs more than the 997.

I was imagining what it felt live to drive brand new! Must of been cool.

Any tips on getting the rubber on the spoiler black again?

I am amazed at the smoothness of the motor and how much power the motor has given its low HP ratings. It sure feels like MUCH more than 220hp! You dont get your head ripped back in the seat like the 911 but you KNOW you are GOING and QUICK!

At these kind of prices I could see getting another one.

Jim, I was thinking the EXACT same thing when I read this. In fact I had a job interview on Friday (yesterday and I thought it went very well) and at the end we got to talking about cars and one of the managers said how he thought the current (and previous one if not two) 911's were far more like a 928 than they were like the original 911 and I told him that was an EXCELLENT and quite correct observation.

Of course the one things 911's DON'T have and NEVER WILL have is the PURE Porsche development history! The 928 was conceived and built from scratch by Porsche FOR Porsche. The 911 has its roots squarely in the 356 and it is an offspring of the VW Beetle! The 928 is more of a TRUE PORSCHE than ANY OTHER Porsche (save most of the race cars of course and I suppose the CGT as well). ;)

Oldguy, you got a winner there! Enjoy it! BTW, if Porsche had continued to develop the 928 it would probably have nearly 600HP today and cost between $150k and $250k! OUCH! When the PanAm was in early development and folks started speculating on the 2 door version (928 successor they would often say) the speculation was the car would be set to go head to head with the 599! CHA-CHING!

Very nice. Your fuel hoses in the engine bay are likely rotten and need to be changed as soon as possible. I'm doing this right now to my 82 Auto.

The second most important thing you need to do is go through the entire car and scrub/replace/TIGHTEN all of your ground terminals. I just went through hell troubleshooting a no-start condition that was finally cured by tightening the most important ground terminal in the entire system (beside the battery ground), the fuel injector ECU ground, which is hidden under the auxiliary (smog) air pump.

WD40 works great on old electrical contacts. I saturate everything in WD40 every few weeks.

Congrats.

OG - the best I've found for the rear spoiler and front air dam is a product called "Black Again"

http://www.autogeek.net/blackagain1.html

Brings the color back without being too shiny IMHO, and it has UV protection built in. Works good on the window trim, too.

The heavyness is something you can reduce a bit if you choose to. But its always there.

Hey, Oldguy, I used to live in Ridgecrest. Was there from Nov 02 to Feb 05. I kind of miss that little town. You may have seen my advertisements in the Green Sheet from time to time for a recording studio: "A Priori Recording".

My '79 feels light. I've driven other 928s that feel heavy. I don't know what the difference is, maybe the tires or the effectiveness of the power steering pump(?).

I was running very old Firestone tires, and the steering was very heavy and difficult. I installed new Yoko Nvigor tires, and the steering heaviness vanished. Granted, the car easily lane wanders now whereas the Firestones helped the car track perfectly.

You might have a steering universal joint that is going bad. Should track straight on radials.

All the early cars I have driven have "felt" light compared to my S4 and GTS's... Tire pressure has a TON to do with it btw and condition/age of the tire as well. Even on new well inflated rubber the early cars feel noticeably lighter on the steering front though... YMMV.

Another 911 owner converted. A few Hundred Thousand more to go... oh, wait - we'll run out of 928s! :icon501:

Congratulations! It's nice to hear you are enjoying this new toy.

I'm running standard size Eagles. Nothing special, but maybe that's the key; run the tires it was designed for.

excellent find good sir! that 928 will make an excellent addition to any garage! keep us posted with the interior pics and progress! do you know any history on the car? how'd you find the car?

I think I am the 3rd owner. I know a guy here in Ridgecrest that had a whole barn full of 911s and 914s etc etc. My son is looking for his first car. I had been in the barn before. I went back to his house and we went through the barn and all the 911s were gone. I didnt know that in another building he had this
928 sitting there. I asked him if it was for sale and he is going through a divorce, and he was selling all his cars. The others were pretty much junk, but the 928 was a recent driver and in great shape with 68K miles.
He got it back running. I went over there today and we went over the car. I inspected all the hoses I could see and they all look fresh. SO deal done.

No luggage though, I wish I could see what the luggage looked like.

IIRC, somebody posted a picture of the luggage in your earlier thread.

As far as Porsche development go, Dr Porsche developed the VW Bug for Hitler and the 356s that led to the 911s. Thats about as pure Porsche as you can get.

As far as the 911 being more like the 928 than the older 911. This 9A1 motor and the PDK for that matter are going to be hi lites as far as Porsche history goes. A water cooled 911 still carries 9 qts of oil. A GT3 racing at lime rock a few years ago with 20 laps or so to go got hit in the radiator and lost all its fluid and FINISHED the race.
A friend has a 2004 twin turbo and came up and drove mine. We lined them up with HIM driving mine
and the C2S beat the Twin turbo (500hp chipped) to 120 when we shut down.
This 9A1 motor is now in the Turbos. This 3.8 liter motor with the PDK is SO fast and quick, that I had a 2008 GT3 RS BOUGHT but after I drove the PDK I canceled that. This 911 is SO GOOD I am not going to be looking back at older 911s even though I have owned some of the best.

HOWEVER having said that
the 928 offers more value with the most performance of any car in Porsche history. Right now you can get SO much technology and history its amazing. I just dont see another car that has so much going for it right now in history than the 928. Thats why I HAD to partake.

Welcome to the Weissach club. Do you know what number yours is - missed that #81 nice.
The luggage is special and completes the package - I may know someone who has a few sets.

Have you had a chance to read the #6 history thread ?

I am not sure being associated with a bug and Hitler are good things.
At least the 928 was designed from the ground up by Porsche and not VW.
But if you like 911's - each to their own and I can live with that.
You now own a Weissach and are one of about 220 who can lay claim to that.
How many own a 911?

Great score Paul! Welcome to the 928 world.

My '79 feels light and my '82 and my S4 feel the same, heavier. I recently updated the the almost the whole suspension on my '79 and it still feels light. My current theory is that the difference is the front sway bar, which is about the only part I did not update.

Rog,
the 911 wasnt designed by VW. It was designed by the Porsche company. Where there cues used from the 356? yea, but there are no VW parts on any early 911s. They had Porsches first 6 cylinder design for a motor and there were no bug parts used in 911s. There were trades from early 356 design from VW but those didnt follow onto the 911. The 914 has some VW linage as does the 924. But youre mistaken that VW had any input in to the early 911, only Dr Porsche and his team designed it.

The only thing the 928 had is was the first Porsche car to have a clean sheet when it started.
By the time the 911 came around the 356 and the 550 had such a successful racing history there was NO way that the new Porsche Model 901 was going to NOT take cues from those designs. And as history shows us the 911 carried on that great racing heritage all the way through to todays racing history in LeMans and the American LeMans series as well as Grand AM.

Only NOW does VW for the FIRST time have some input into 911 development since they now own the company.

Roger
thanks for the pictures that clears up alot.

Karl remember when I say HEAVY I am comparing it to the newest 911, AND the car has sat for three years. I believe if I take it out and get some miles on it, it may loosen up and feel less heavy.

I just look forward to working on it and driving it. To me it looks havent aged much.

Seems as though Porsche can do that, ageless designs?

Road trip it to Santa Barbara soon, we have Cars & Coffee every Sunday morning.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-...24523314273193
I'd love to see it, drive it. A Weissach here would get some interest I think.

X2...and above all remember you now own and drive a "classic"..not a light weight " toss about" 4 sec sports car. Be prepared for the encounters at the gas station where people come up to you and ask questions about it and say "i always wanted one of those".."wow...you dont see many of these around" etc etc. Happens to me all the time!

And mark SHARKTOBERFEST on your calendar!

For the rear spoiler, window rubbers, vinyl interior bits, etc. I use 303 Aerospace Protectant - http://www.303products.com/ - it works just fine on the S4 rubberised wing.

It has no silicone, and provides UV protection too.

I spent a while looking for silicone-free UV resistant treatments for plastics and rubbers - the shortlist I had is these products (303 was the easiest to find locally).

Lexol Vinylex
Harley Polyguard
Meguairs #40
303 Aerospace

Nice event! Looks like your fine OB is in good company. Need a Weissach there too, no doubt! :)

Don't form all your 928 opinions on a Weissach edition, add 100 hp and some better condition and then you will start to see what driving a 928 can be. Some of us have driven 997's. Enjoy the experience.

i really enjoy special edition cars and am not properly educated on the Weissach edition but would like to be. what was special about the Weissach edition as compared to the standard 928 (i know they seem to have special paint, anodized wheels, and luggage)? what was the reason for producing this special model? how many were produced and were they all a standard package or could they be individually optioned?

The "Weissach" package was an appearance package only. It was a $5940 option and included special paint, two tone leather interior, special wheels and luggage set. First car in the US with standard front and rear spoilers – only available as part of the competition package until that time.
In theory only 205 were made available to the USA market only. We know that more were made than the 205. One of mine is #210 and I have seen #218. The “Jubilee” edition was made available to the ROW market with a run of 140 cars.

outstanding info, thank you!! seems that Porsche didn't release teh exact number or built extra Weissach editions because of customer demand. its a fine looking car!

Awesome car, welcome to the shark tank. Post some pics of the interior when you can.

I was there two weeks ago. They had a variety of interesting cars from a Ford Model A to a Mercedes SLS. Many historic Ferraris, but few Porsches.

I am just glad to be in your group. I have to admit, there is a soul in groups like this, thats missing in newer Porsche groups. Guys buy 997s with no interest in the history of the company, or understanding what this car is all about and by that I mean all Porsches.
As far as Santa Barbara goes I would love to, I would love to take both, the 928 and my 911. Maybe this is a time to bond with my 21 year old and let him drive the 911 over and I will follow him in the 928.
Lots of love and fun to come!!!

Roger what was the regular MSRP on this car?

Well, they did use the development money from VW for the 924. They wanted to try out the transaxle concept, and got VW to foot the bill for it. Then they 'piggybacked' the 928's concept on that...


Obviously it's a lot more refined, but if you squint you can see the connection :icon501:

Great car. She looks well preserved. Welcome to the tank. :rockon:

Paul--

Ridgecrest is the home of one of the most careful 928 owners around. Look fro posts by Dwayne, and find just excellent how-to's. You probably couldn't ask for a better neighbor, except he doesn't have any 16-valve cars (yet).

Enjoy your new toy, and welcome to the group!

Doc,
I know Dwayne. I called him the other nite, and he was on travel. I talked to his wife. SHe told me how ugly 911s are and how that the 928 is THE pillar of the Porsche company. The 911 was one of the mistakes that Porsche made in its development. No matter what view you look at its ugly. I begged to differ with her but her mind was pretty made up. I called to ask if they had one for sale and the answer was NO and HEC NO. They have SIX 928s. I thought maybe they had one for sale, but no. And all of them have names.

I tried lots of different products on the faded spoilers on my 82S, and the 303 Aerospace Protectant was the best.

Congratulations on your purchase .... I hope you realise you won't be able to stop at one :)

WRONG! 928 concept (as evidenced in the definitive 928 book PROJECT 928) was completed WELL before the 924! The 924 borrowed from the 928!

LOL! So funny! Now that woman is a KEEPER THERE! Kind of like my wife! She puts up with my EIGHT 928's! Mine are not all named though. Only BLUE82 and EURO85 get names, though I should call the '92 something...

Great looking 928! The 928 and newer 911s are completly different animals. I have owned a few 996s and driven every 997...GT2, GT3, Turbo...The 928 has that special hand built feel that is lacking in newer Porsches, but having said that the newer Porsches are AMAZING. The new Porsches are sooo good at everything that you really need to be breaking some laws to have any real fun. I plan on keeping my 928 forever and having the newest 911 that I can afford...I'm also on the hunt for a nice 914 2.0.

Oooo. Beautiful car. Don't put in Windows 7 though. Replace your switches with Paul and Hans's switches and not only save some dough but customize your interior and light the switches at the same time.
Or get a Mac and then you don't need to worry about viruses coming in through those Windows. :)

Hi Paul,
CONGRATULATIONS on acquiring the Weissach! I enjoy the 928 VERY Much and as you may have noticed, my wife has taken a liking to them as well. I hope you have many enjoyable miles in the 928!

Sorry about the schedule....Work has been eating into my 928 time lately and it doesn't look like it will let up for several weeks - look forward to seeing it sometime soon!

Wasn't Porsche the one who designed the Beetle?
And wasn't the first prototypes actually named Porsche before the name was changed to VW meaning "peoples car" by Hitler?
This whole thing about 928 being a clean sheet design doesn't make sense.

A car that is derivative from another car is clearly NOT a clean sheet design.

A car that is thought up out of the blue that has never been done by that manufacturer before is a clean sheet design. I hope that helps you make sense of the statement.

And YES Dr. Porsche was integral in designing the Beetle. I am NOT SAYING the 911 isn't a wonderful car. I am just saying it has its roots (and many parts in the beginning, including the basic lay out) in the Beetle and the 356. Porsche had done nothing like the 928 when it was designed because its design preceded the 924 by a couple of years.

James,

I just don't think it means anything when people say "the 911 came from a VW Beetle" while Porsche himself was heavily involved in the Beetles design.
I am not trying to pick on you buddy, I don't even have a 911, but I have seen many 928 owners use this statement to bring the 911 model down. I have been around VW Beetles for 15 years and any air cooled VW fanatic will tell you that the 911 or 356 models are everything that the VW is NOT no matter how much you modify your VW. Their just built a lot better while sharing similar design features.

Ali,

Whatever man... The guy who designed BOTH the Beetle and the 911 (technically that is not even true as Dr. Porsche designed the Beetle and Butzi the 911, but I digress) and used the same layout and early on the same parts (in the case of the 356 mind you) and you can't see the lineage, man I just can't help you...

I LOVE the 911...Let me say that again so you can hear me Ali... I LOVE THE 911! The first Porsche I ever drove was a brand new '84 911 Cab! SO MUCH FUN! I am simply saying that the 928 was a new design for Porsche and it took no parts and no layout plans from any other design from the company...(ok, maybe there were some relay's or wheels along the way, so don't get technical with my boys, ok?! ;-) It was as if they took a clean (blank) sheet of paper and said, what can we do? What is the best we can make? Then, OUT CAME A 928! Hence CLEAN SHEET OF PAPER DESIGN... Some do use that argument to denigrate the 911, I did not use or mean it that way.

I was not asking for help...
I did not mean that I don't see the lineage, never said that. What I am saying is linking both models in order to "bash" one is meaning less given their history.

I think what James is saying is history is history. And while one is entitled to ones own opinion, history is history.
No one is bashing here. I LOVE the 356 and 911 too!
Matter of fact, if I ever get a 356, it will be rusty, and I will use it in my garden as a planter.
And if I ever can afford a 911, I'll throw a 928 engine in the front just so I can remember where the door is. ;)