944J

I think this is the logic that people use who end up spending $45,000 on their old Porsche... Any used 928 will have an interior inferior to Paul's, you guys realize this right?

So I should buy a $10,000-$45,000 928 then replace the interior with brand new leather like Paul's?

Here's one for around $10k that still needs the interior worked on to look as good as if I put a brand new one in my car.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...398609423.html
Cost to get equal quality > $15,000


Here's one for $13k that has rips in the seat and is not as nice as the new interior from Paul, yes I know it's an S4 not a regular 928.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/ant...368885894.html
Cost to get equal quality > $15,000

I added up nearly all the installed prices for brand new leather from Paul's site and it comes to $7,385.00. You realize Paul is great but you can get it cheaper and just as good for some of the things. You may not get the level of detail into the ***** and stuff, but the goal for me is to restore the 928 for 1/3 to 1/2 it's value.

I can also get a great paint job for $2000 or less. I've seen people on here paint their own cars in their back yard (you all remember the green 928 restoration on here) for much less than the prices you are quoting and I've had my car painted by an independent with the best paint money can buy for very cheap. The paint came out great, but you guys couldn't get over the fact that he painted my throw away wheels, lol. The wheels were meant to get a little paint on them. Too funny some people can't see the forest for the trees. I sold the car for more money than I spent on it, including driving it for 5 years and keeping the nice wheels (the ones with no paint on them) to sell later for $500-$1000 more.

My friend got his concourse winning 911 cab seats recovered by an independent in the Oxnard area for really cheap, talking $400 or less installed with no need to ship anything. The car went on to win a lot of prizes at SoCal events.

My goal with this thread was to see if anyone has ever actually fully restored their Porsche themselves without breaking the bank. And yes I know that I can buy an expensive used 928 then pull out all the interior on it, but that wouldn't be such a great idea. THere are

Even this super nice 928 S4 has worn bolsters on the drivers seat and probably lots of dirty and grime in every crooke and crevice.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Porsc...item2ec336f2d8
Cost to get equal quality > $15,000

But instead of buying an expensive 928 I got one for $500 that just needs a new carpet and other interior stuff and new paint which can be had for less than the cost of a new 928 and then my 928 won't have a scratch on it and the interior will be brand spankin' new. And I get to enjoy restoring a car with my Dad.
Cost to get equal quality >= $5,000

Landseer

Minor mechanical refurb alone will be 5000 on a running, driving car.

I agree that you can self paint and perform semi-presentable interior work one.

But the flip for profit will never ever happen, so don't kid yourself.

944J

Willhoit is only spending $5k on his end and marking up 10 times or more. He's probably paying his shop workers $3k-$5k a month to do the restoration grunt work. If you're spending $10k on a paint job for an old car you aren't making sense unless it makes sense somehow like it's a collector car. The $10k paint jobs don't have magic pixie dust in the paint, it is sprayed on just like the paint at Maaco and Earle Scheibe, with a spray gun and by some guy in a paint booth... and 356's didnt come with clear coat so a guy who did the prep work himself and got a nice single stage paint and then buffed it out will have a really nice looking paint job. Really nice top end paint (materials) for 1 car + clear coat is only around $400 to buy.

My car already has used parts in them, why would I want to swap out used parts for more used parts. You can do this with mechanicals and body parts but not with interior unless you still want a grimey dirty interior. Any car from the 90's is full of gunk everywhere, even the ones with 10k miles that have been sitting in the garage. Restoring the interior with new leather or alcantara will make all the difference.

And thanks for the welcome, but I've already got over 2,000 posts on here. It's more like welcome back, I haven't posted much in the last 4 years because of the lack of fresh info on this board.

Landseer

And you've been whining like that and being beat-up by the 944 group the whole time.

Time for a chevy?

944J

I've have experience flipping cars for profit. I've actually never bought a car that I didn't sell for more than I paid for it, even after driving it for years...

And why are you paying $5,000 for minor mechanical? I'll change your oil for $4,000 you should have come to me first.

My car doesn't need any mechanical other than a new gas line, just needs paint and some interior work. I'm going to actually see if I can lighten it up a bit by removing outdated sound proofing and replacing with more modern lighter soundproofing and keep it looking stock.

Landseer

Post some pictures.

944J

Thanks for the advice. I don't know what I'd do without it.

944J

Anything else I can do for you while I'm at it? And (off topic) what are you spending $5,000 on that's is categorized under minor mechanical? I've got to hear this.

944J

Anyone have any cost saving tricks/tips or do all spend mega bucks on your crappy old 928s? I'm not going to lose money on a car restoration, you don't need to worry about that part.

NoVector

Or, you do some/most of the labor yourself--i.e., a “project”; something to look back on with pride or sense of accomplishment.

944J

Aren't all 30 year old cars, including Porsches, "projects"?

I'll be getting the prices from the independent resoration experts soon and if it's not sensible to fix it up then I'll be selling it or parting it.

What's the value for an excellent restored 1981 928? Last I looked it was about $10k in Excellence magazine.

danglerb

Either you or whoever buys it will. There are not a lot of ways to save money owning a 928.

Do as much work yourself as possible.

Take your time, many parts have three prices, new, used in a hurry, and used when you can wait for some other local owner to part a car.

Some non 928 can be substituted.

Settle for less or much less than original quality.

Landseer

...

JHowell37

I think we're getting trolled here.

linderpat

sounds like you already know the answers. Also, as I assume you know - it ain't the paint - it's the prep and finish. Or is this lost on you?