karl ruiter

Last time I sold a running motor from a '79 I only got $100, and that included a engine hoist. So yes, running motors 4.5l motors can be had for cheap and would be a better start than fixing yours.

Jadz928

S/N 2070

Save it!

Podguy

I could be wrong on this but I thought certain people when bringing in the EURO cars were exampt from federalization. This could be diplomats and I think certain rank military people.

After 25 years there is no requirement for federalization. There is nothing that I know of unless it is at the state level that will require you to make the car more than smog complient. Although personally for safety reasons I would put in the interior door side bars. You can get them out of old doors and they bolt right in. A side hit with a thin aluminum door can be nasty.

There are no bumper shocks. They will bolt right up and give you some parking lot potection.

tlister67

The VIN is 9288102070. From my searching it sounded like a later year car. The miles translate to ~60K but I don't know if the odo works.

I have two EPA papers from 1983 that state that the car was not in conformity with emission standards but will be brought into conformity under bond (paraphrase). It has been in Idaho for a while. The PO bought it as a project from McCall. Sounds like it was in the same family quite a long time. It did pass an emission test in Boise in 1997: 0.9% CO and 453 ppm HC. Besides a couple aftermarket speaker wires in the trunk it appears very original. Even the radio looks original.

I try to optimize my fun to money ratio. I don't have an open garage space to keep it either although despite our cold winters the dry climate helps. I have some resources around to help pull off an engine swap. I am pretty good with fixing little things and buffing out paint. I am on the daily driver tinker side of the hobby versus show car with truck load of cash.

I appreciate the interest, I am getting swayed.

Eplebnista

My vote - pull the heads for a carnage check then make the go/no go. I would also see if historic vehicles in Idaho need to be emissions compliant and if you will have problems getting plates.

Importation and federalization of vehicles in the eighties was a mess. Lots of hackers, charlatans and frauds in the business. In theory, the conversion outfit should have gotten a bond release letter from the EPA. Good luck finding it today. You probably won't need it, but every state is different and within individual states, different DMV offices act differently. The last thing anyone wants to do at a DMV is ask them to do something they haven't done before. Some states, however, will issue plates for a Little Tykes plastic car if you show them an MCO.

BTW, on the safety side, cars over 25 years can be imported without meeting US standards if they were that age when they crossed the border. Otherwise, noncompliant vehicles can only be imported if they are brought into compliance by a registered importer, are imported by foreign diplomats or FOREIGN military for use while in the US, or are brought into the US under limited exemptions for racing or show and display.

There seems to be widely held belief that U.S. military personnel can buy a car overseas that does not meet US standards and import it. Not so. A few have found out the hard way that it takes 20k to federalize a Nissan Skyline if it can be done at all.

KLVA

Save it...that would be a great project car for Idaho...Mark can get you a motor easy

Jadz928

If the car was properlay imported, the NHTSC (USDOT) has record of the bond release. They can reissue a substitute bond release for a nominal charge.
Contact: Kristi Bragdon (202) 366-5291 Kristi.Bragdon@nhtsa.dot.gov

tlister67

I have an Idaho title and we do not have emissions testing on this side of the state. I am not seeing an issue but I could be wrong. They do not have inspections either. This region is frozen in time (sometime in the 50's).

KLVA

Sounds like a good thing......!

Sometimes I feel like I am frozen in time.......Ole Blue

AirtekHVAC

If you have seen the photos of mine......save it!

(I want it)

Landseer

Remember, the states only get away with that so-long as the Federal EPA allows it. If they decide to play the parent card and force more old cars off the road to fulfill some federal mandate, our world will change. That's one reason having the paperwork, and also the emissions hardware tucked away for a rainly day, is a good thing.

vze2jshn

"Although personally for safety reasons I would put in the interior door side bars. You can get them out of old doors and they bolt right in. A side hit with a thin aluminum door can be nasty."

Sorry, don't mean to hijack. But does my US '78 have the above mentioned side bars?

Jadz928

Yes. Would've been factory installed, prior to paint.

The following was added upon federalization. Notice the Porsche P/N sticker.

Considered removing it, but came to the same conclusion as Dan.

SQLGuy

Why is (or was) that?

My local dealer has expressed fairly avid interest in working on my car now. The main place (3rd party) I actually have do work I don't want to do myself has always liked working on 928's, even though he does a lot more 911 work.

I could see 3rd parties not liking 928's, since you'd need a lot of extra manuals, tools, training, and knowledge about odd parts sources for a relatively small number of potential cars to work on, but a dealer would have had all of that stuff already, back when the cars were in production. What was to hate?

Hilton

I say save it.

I sort of disagree with Nicole on the value - if you save it, a 78 "euro" actually has quite a good market value.. in Europe. Especially if it doesn't have much rust and the mileage is documented. You don't have to ship it there yourself - more than a few early 928's are being bought from the US by collectors/fans and shipped back there. Very few early 928's remain in Europe; most were taken off the roads due to strict annual safety checks coupled with salty winter roads.. and they got junked.

Original pasha interior, 5-speed, original paint, and documented mileage are a very good starting point and puts your potential value pretty high by 928 standards.

I'd try really hard to keep the engine matching the VIN - take the heads off, determine if the block is useable, and if it is, swap needed bits off a used 4.5 motor. If its not, drop in the used motor and drive - but don't throw away the old matching numbers block.

Talk to Jim (jadz928) for advice on value, rarity and early cars in general If you decide its too much of a mountain to climb, he might have ideas on how to start afresh with a different project, and what to do with your early Euro.