928 owner again after a 22 year break
11-08-2012, 06:18 AM
#1
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Location: Los Altos Hills, CA
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928 owner again after a 22 year break
Hi, I've been enjoying this forum and thought it was time to introduce myself. A little background to start with...
I remember being very impressed as a teenager when I got my first look at a 928 at the Palo Alto Concours in the late seventies. In 1986, about a year after graduating from college, I saw a classified ad for a 1979 gray market 928 and convinced my dad to cosign the $17K loan (I still paid for everything). The car was metallic black with a black interior (including pinstriped cloth inserts) and had cool Euro features like a super-bright rear foglight and a headlight aiming **** next to the seat. I later found out it was missing one of its mufflers - no wonder it sounded so good! Even though problems cropped up frequently, I used it to commute daily to my engineering job at Lockheed for four years. Finally the automatic transmission started acting up, and Carlsen Porsche said replacing it would cost more than the car was worth, so I traded it in on a used 944.
Over the years since then I always missed the 928 in spite of all the troubles I had. I also knew that someday I would have one again, preferably an S4 like the ones I drooled over in dealer showrooms back in the eighties. Well last summer I finally started looking, and in late September found a 1991 S4 on eBay with only 68K miles and an AutoCheck score of 82. I ended up hitting the Buy It Now button - sight unseen and no PPI, but my wife actually told me to go for it, so who am I to argue?
The next afternoon I flew down to Orange County, the seller picked me up at the airport, and at 3:40 PM I started driving my new baby back to the Bay Area. It was a very hot day and I was happy to make it through the slow LA traffic without overheating. Continuing north, I chose Highway 101 instead of Interstate 5 to avoid construction, and also because it's a more interesting drive. After stopping for dinner in Santa Barbara and enjoying a gorgeous sunset, I pressed on in darkness (listening to the old Blaupunkt stereo) and reached home at 11:40 PM.
This car turned out to be a great find in my opinion. A retired airline captain owned her from new until earlier this year, so the eBay seller only had her a few months. He said the pilot didn't even allow eating or drinking in the car, and I believe it after seeing the dark blue leather interior - aside from some slight wear on the driver seat bolster, it could be a new car inside. The original paint is in great shape too - Marine Blue Metallic, which is interesting since none of the color charts I've seen show that as being available in 1991. In fact other than maintenance items, everything is completely original and unmolested (or at least it was until I came along!).
I inherited complete service receipts from new, so I know the water pump and timing belt were last replaced in 2010 at 66K miles. Of course I did discover a few issues, some of which I've solved already (with the help of this forum's Search feature), but I'll save that for another post, and will try to take more photos too. Bottom line is that I'm very happy to finally rejoin the ranks of 928 ownership!
- Allen Hastings
Some iPhone photos taken during the drive through Santa Barbara:
Hmm, apparently I *can* drive fifty-five...
[edit: see post #72 for interior pics]
I remember being very impressed as a teenager when I got my first look at a 928 at the Palo Alto Concours in the late seventies. In 1986, about a year after graduating from college, I saw a classified ad for a 1979 gray market 928 and convinced my dad to cosign the $17K loan (I still paid for everything). The car was metallic black with a black interior (including pinstriped cloth inserts) and had cool Euro features like a super-bright rear foglight and a headlight aiming **** next to the seat. I later found out it was missing one of its mufflers - no wonder it sounded so good! Even though problems cropped up frequently, I used it to commute daily to my engineering job at Lockheed for four years. Finally the automatic transmission started acting up, and Carlsen Porsche said replacing it would cost more than the car was worth, so I traded it in on a used 944.
Over the years since then I always missed the 928 in spite of all the troubles I had. I also knew that someday I would have one again, preferably an S4 like the ones I drooled over in dealer showrooms back in the eighties. Well last summer I finally started looking, and in late September found a 1991 S4 on eBay with only 68K miles and an AutoCheck score of 82. I ended up hitting the Buy It Now button - sight unseen and no PPI, but my wife actually told me to go for it, so who am I to argue?
The next afternoon I flew down to Orange County, the seller picked me up at the airport, and at 3:40 PM I started driving my new baby back to the Bay Area. It was a very hot day and I was happy to make it through the slow LA traffic without overheating. Continuing north, I chose Highway 101 instead of Interstate 5 to avoid construction, and also because it's a more interesting drive. After stopping for dinner in Santa Barbara and enjoying a gorgeous sunset, I pressed on in darkness (listening to the old Blaupunkt stereo) and reached home at 11:40 PM.
This car turned out to be a great find in my opinion. A retired airline captain owned her from new until earlier this year, so the eBay seller only had her a few months. He said the pilot didn't even allow eating or drinking in the car, and I believe it after seeing the dark blue leather interior - aside from some slight wear on the driver seat bolster, it could be a new car inside. The original paint is in great shape too - Marine Blue Metallic, which is interesting since none of the color charts I've seen show that as being available in 1991. In fact other than maintenance items, everything is completely original and unmolested (or at least it was until I came along!).
I inherited complete service receipts from new, so I know the water pump and timing belt were last replaced in 2010 at 66K miles. Of course I did discover a few issues, some of which I've solved already (with the help of this forum's Search feature), but I'll save that for another post, and will try to take more photos too. Bottom line is that I'm very happy to finally rejoin the ranks of 928 ownership!
- Allen Hastings
Some iPhone photos taken during the drive through Santa Barbara:
Hmm, apparently I *can* drive fifty-five...
[edit: see post #72 for interior pics]
Last edited by Rendergod; 01-06-2013 at 02:32 PM.
11-08-2012, 07:00 AM
#4
Rennlist Member
Welcome back to the tank, beautiful car!
11-08-2012, 09:57 AM
#6
Three Wheelin'
I also had a 928 back in the day and wound up appreciating them after 15 years of random other cars.
There were never any other cars that I would randomly take on multi state drives out of the blue.
These cars are just perfect!
Congratulations
There were never any other cars that I would randomly take on multi state drives out of the blue.
These cars are just perfect!
Congratulations
11-08-2012, 10:29 AM
#7
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Welcome back to the family!
Beautiful find and I really like those wheels and how it seems to be an unmolested example.
One of the first things you should do is check the front flex plate and crank shaft end play. Might as well get that over with sooner than later and establish a baseline of findings for the future.
Best regards,
Beautiful find and I really like those wheels and how it seems to be an unmolested example.
One of the first things you should do is check the front flex plate and crank shaft end play. Might as well get that over with sooner than later and establish a baseline of findings for the future.
Best regards,
Trending Topics
11-08-2012, 10:47 AM
#9
Race Director
This tread made me look up when it was that I owned a 928. Sold it in 2003.
Maybe I should get back in one soon. Nice to see that there are still nice ones available!
Maybe I should get back in one soon. Nice to see that there are still nice ones available!
11-08-2012, 01:05 PM
#14
Great looking car and welcome back.
