leperboy

I have no interest in beating you up, but you may want to take a step back and think about the fact the people you are fighting with already have 928s, already maintain them, and in many cases are very, very knowledgable. You can argue with them, but I think the value play here is in listening to them.

I have only done minor mechanical and easily have over $10k into my 86. I do my own work, mostly. Here are some costs in parts (no labor) for things that will almost always need to be replaced eventually:

Water pump, timing belt, rollers: $1000 (done it a couple times)
Brakes and pads: $700
Intake refresh with new stabilizer valve, sensors, vacuum hoses, fuel lines, injectors: $2000
Every oil change: $60 in oil and filter
Shocks, OPG, motor mounts: $800
Replacement (used) interior quarter panels: $250
Leatherique: $100
Clutch work: $500 (not a new clutch, but bearings, master, hoses)
Relays and fuses: $300
Replacement bumpers, hood (used): $600

That gets you started. I am not an expert. I do my own work. I pay the best price I can find on parts. There aren't shortcuts. You say the car needs nothing, but to compete with the $10k cars for that year, it truly needs nothing, and that's a lot better quality than just "it's not broken so it must be fine".

Matt

Alan

Given you say this - I think maybe your standards are very different from everyone else on here responding to you. So maybe you can be happy with the kind work you are suggesting.

I don't think you'd be able to sell the end result to any rennlister - but there are lots of folks out there who don't know 928's - if that is your end goal...

However you have a lot of ***** coming here for advice then telling everyone here that they don't know ****. Actually this forum is the most knowledgable (and almost only) place to get real 928 know how. You will at some point need this...

I would suggest its unwise to **** them all off with a ****ty attitude before you really even start...

Alan

erwalker

As far as car "restorations" are concerned, the way I see it there are three types.

1) Fix up and flip - mediocre job, looks ok but done as cheap as possible. If you entered it in a car show, it would not get a second look. OK to drive around in and looks ok from 10 feet away. Done with the objective of selling fast and making a quick buck. Not a "restoration" - more like a superficial repair job.

2) Full restoration - take a car that has a known high value when restored, strip it down and replace with the best components - new interior, new paint (GOOD paint, not orange peel or drips - looks as it did when new). Make it appear as it did when driven out of the dealership. Sell it and make some decent cash.

3) 928 Rennlisters - Love their cars, repair and restore knowing that in the end, they won't get what they put into it but will have had more enjoyment out of their cars than most classic car owners. Appreciate/love the car for its styling and sexy lines. Will invest $10,000 in their cars with no expectations that they will see that back. Keep their cars for many years or sell to upgrade to another 928 that is better than what they had.

Dude, I think you are in the wrong place to get advice on how to take a $500.00 car, try and make it look like a $10,000.00 car and only spend $3,000.00 to do so. I bought my '82 5 years ago for $3,200.00. Lucked out, got a good one but have still put $7,000.00 into it, want to put another $4,000.00 or $5,000.00 yet. I know I'd only get $5,000.00 or $6,000.00 (7 on a good day) for it. I know I'm not a financial genius and I'll never get rich off the car but I don't intend to sell it for a long time (if ever).

You've come to the wrong place to get advice on how to fix up a 928 and make a pile of money flipping it. The standards here are a lot higher than you will strive to achieve and for that reason, you will never like or take the advice you receive here. For your purposes, it will cost you too much.

Jerry Feather

Two points of wisdom that I have learned recently, and maybe even on this Forum, are:

1. The two most common elements in the Universe are Hydrogen and Stupitity.

2. You cannot win in an argument against Stupitity.

Just thought I would send it back where I think I learned it.

bronto

Here's the thing...

928s were Porsche's flagship. They came with nice paint in beautiful colors. The interiors were significantly more sophisticated than other Porsches contemporary to the times. The mechanicals were very reliable as long as they were maintained and kept in spec, and driven regularly. That's a 928.

A 928 buyer wants that. Even if they are buying a used 928.

Your 928 doesn't have nice paint, and if you repaint it as you propose it still won't have nice paint.

Your 928 needs an interior. You might be able to get a nice interior installed in it, particularly if you find a kit somewhere. There are carpet kits too. But most 928 buyers will want something that at least appears like an original 928 interior, or better. A knowledgeable buyer will know it's not original, and will probably care.

Your 928 runs, but no doubt has deferred maintenance. At the very minimum, all the belts, hoses & seals should be looked at and might need replacing. Including the timing belt and water pump. Anyone who buys a 928 without a PPI is a fool or a gambler who will buy at a significant discount. So, you should get a PPI from a knowledgeable 928 mechanic so that you can anticipate what the buyer is going to object to, negotiate on, or have to deal with after purchase.

You can do your paint, interior and mechanicals the way you propose, but you probably won't be finding any typical 928 buyers who will want it. Basically, you will be looking for a sucker, because you won't be selling a 928 that represents what a 928 was supposed to be. Just so you know...

DC 89GT

Those 2 L.A. CList have been sitting for maybe 6 months or so, if I recall. And the one on ebay/NY 928, was PPI by a rennlister here recently, and he walked due to non-disclosure of "issues" by the seller. Just mentioning.

Then this car will be your first. Just saying'... Parts and maintenance, and def. maintenance are not cheap. Especially if you put an exquisite Paul C. Interior on your $500 purchase.

Sell your car tomorrow as is, runs great, @ $550... (seriously, no joke!) This reply is in no way trying to put you down, just shedding some light for your grandiose aspirations, and the 928 in general).

James Bailey

Really funny read thanks for the chuckles

rsrguy3

Interesting read..... I too have an old $500 928, mine is a 78. This is MY perspective. I love Porsches. I do most all of my own work. My wife bought me a 72 911t 15 years ago, I have been working on it since. I don't get to drive it all that often, but I get plenty of enjoyment from it. I love painting, and the requisite prep work, I can spend 18 hours straight in my shop(where I have all the required tools $$$$$$) and love every minute of it. The 928 needed paint, so I painted it. I used PPG Omni base/clear. Because I do flawless prep, the less expensive paint looks fantastic! As to why I use less expensive paint: 1. I like to drive (like it's stolen) 2. They stay garaged(minimizing fade) 3. I don't get wrapped around the axle over chips and damage..... because I can fix it. Yes a good PJ will cost 6-12 k and the paint will last longer, however my contention is, if you drive regularly, the pricey job will look like my paint in less than a year. I know from experience that you CAN find great upholstery guys that work for reasonable pricing......but to do a quality job in leather, with french seams on my Acura, it STILL cost 1200.00! I save $$$ on mech and paint so I can spend properly on my interiors, THAT you should not cheap out on, unless you can find the right border bro to promise you he can copy pictures of Paul's work, the main reason being he builds his stuff to be durable. A TJ interior guy just doesn't do that. Lastly I have an axiom "I buy Porsche's I don't sell them" to me, this makes it easier for me to spend what is needed when I have to. When I started spending on my 911 the car was not worth the attention it received, now because I did it right it is worth more than I have in it. Don't get in a hurry, it's a love thing take your time and do it right.-Guy

danglerb

I have yet to see anybody outside of Paul or Rob that makes a 928 seat look like new. Good upholsters still need to do half a dozen before they figure out how to do it right, and I have seen a lot of not right.

944J

I didnt mean this to be a fight or do I derserve a beat down. I guess I'm all wrong, sorry guys. I didn't know break pads cost $700. Luckily mine aren't worn, if they were id get the $32 ones, I hear they stop the car ok. Im not building a race car. I'm also going to get the $103 water pump if needed. I hear it's very similar to the 944 water pump which I've changed before, but this isnt "minor mechanical" in my book. My 928 already handles great and I'll never track it so no need for fancy shocks, but I had Koni yellows adjustables on my 944 that I got free with only 100 miles on them from a friends 944 that burned, I switched them before insurance took his car. My $500 944 looked nice enough that I still see it as an icon used by many users on the board.

We have a different definition of what "minor mechanical" is. I think we should agree to disagree. You keep spending $700 on brake pads for an old car and I'll keep buying old Porsches for $500.

To the other guys... I have plenty of "TJ" buddies (racist a little?) who do the work for the high priced interior and paint shops you use. They are much cheaper doing side jobs. You guys can go to your white bread shops and pay $10k, I'll keep going to independents and get the same thing for much less. It makes sense to go to the most depressed town you can find to buy things. I've even got free paint jobs with high end paint by trading services. I even imagine that I can strip my 928 to the frame and acid dip it (not sure you can on aluminum though) to lighten it and paint it better than factory for less than $10k you guys are quoting, by doing it myself and trading.

It seems you guys like the money your cars represent more than the car itself.

My interior just needs new seat covers and dash, pod, center, carpet, the rest is in acceptable condition, to replace little by little or cover in leather myself.

Will my car look like new? No. But face it guys, I've been to the car shows, neither do yours.

944J

In many ways Paul's look better than new, but he's not perfect, no one is. I don't know who Bob is.

Paul isn't taking full leather interiors at the moment but he said they cost between $9k and $15k. You can get the same work cheaper on cars that aren't "Porsche."

Perhaps I can get him to do the seats and do the easy flat items myself or with a "TJ" buddy. There are guys doing acceptable hack jobs with $8 sewing machines shown on YouTube.

944J

I don't think our old 928s are in the same league as the newer S4's that look relatively new that some of these guy have.

I got a free paint job using top of the line ppg paint, can't remember exact name, but it was very nice and deep guards red, turned heads even with the crappy wheels driving home from the painter. Better paint than I've seen on any factory $20,000 944 at car shows. I paid $400-$500 for the paint supplies.

NoVector

Robert Budd: http://www.928leather.com/

944J

Btw, for those who think my "TJ" buddies are low quality, one had a very nice almost exact replica 959 that he built, he was cheap becauses he was an eccentric independent who loves Porsches. His 959r was like his top secret baby, all secreted away.

944J

I've seen hiss site, don't like the defrost vents on the 944 dash.

A lot of his stuff (not all of it) looks like Paul's and like others who sell 928 leather, I wonder if they order it from somewhere?