curtisr

Very nice! Hope you'll keep the colour.

M. Requin

Looks like a great project! The above should be your first priority IMHO.

chrisjbell

Thank you, all, for the welcome and the suggestions. Exactly what I was hoping for.

@vanster - a Sunbeam! very cool!

I like white cars. I live just outside Sacramento in CA and it gets nearly Arizona hot here during the summer. No sunroof - white is good. If I were to change colors I'd probably go for one of the greens but to do a repaint right requires a fully stripped body. Not sure that's happening with this car, definitely not soon. White it is.

I'm going to start putting together some lists of parts and such, prices and relative ease (or lack) of installation and then prioritize. Don't worry - I was really paranoid about my fuel lines. When I smelled the burning of the brakes I almost had a heart attack. Pulled over REAL FAST and was actually quite happy to figure out that the smell was of overheated brakes.

No more drives until I've fixed at least two things - fuel lines and probably full intake overhaul at the same time, and the brakes. Intake overhaul will probably mean that I retire that awesome custom wood that is holding it together now. Maybe I'll do wood trim somewhere else but that just doesn't look right.

(It's a PO thing... this is not a car that has had everything serviced and replaced properly. It's something of a "save", which is fine since I want to go through most of the car to get to know the 928's ... proclivities.)

I'll look around since I'm sure that both of these questions have been asked and answered but suggestions always welcome.

Once I've got the engine far enough apart to do the intake overhaul should I just go ahead and do the timing belt? My guess is "yes, definitely". I do plan on pulling the engine someday since there are a few oil leaks and I also want to do complete suspension rebuild so if it is kind of a wash I'll probably wait.

Brakes - this is a 1980 and definitely needs brake work. Rotors actually look pretty good from what I can see with the wheels on but the calipers definitely need some love. I'll do all four corners, for sure. Looks like an upgrade to S4 or better brakes is going to be in the thousands - looks like about $2k is a good guess. What's the vote on that? If I'm going to definitely dispose of the current brakes, no sense putting several hundred (at least) into them. Should this be a no-brainer?

Last thing that is a "now - before I get to drive it" is at least some suspension work. It feels like there are no bushings left, and what I've seen are rock hard or splitting. It doesn't feel just like a really stiff ride - it bounces too much. Full suspension overhaul will have to wait for more funding since I can only sneak so much past my wife. (She doesn't see the money but she can count boxes being delivered and knows that they are usually expensive.) I'll make sure that the ball joints are not aluminum so that might be a factor in my decision... if they are I pretty much have to do them.

Time to start poking around at prices now. It'll take some time to spend the $10k to get the car to be worth 5.

karl ruiter

Looks very nice. Clean and classic. Exactly the early 928 that everyone imagines.

On the brakes: think about upgrading to the S brakes instead of the S4 brakes. You will have to change out the front spindles also, but even with the spindles you can probably get the whole package: calipers, rotors, and spindles for a couple hundred bucks. I think I paid $150 for the complete upgrade set I put on my '79. Nothing on ebay right now that looks like a good deal, but post here or keep your eyes open.
Absolutely all the brakes you will ever need for street or light track use. Also I think they are more reliable for street use than at least some versions of the S4 calipers. Some of the S4 calipers don't have dust boots so the sealing walls of the pistons are directly exposed to the elements and they can become pitted with leads to fairly expensive rebuilds.
As an '80 your car should have the 10 inch booster, but if not I would suggest changing to this (used). Should be able to do the whole system for under $500 even if you need the booster and master, and the results will be really good.

vanster

When I brought my '80 home , that first weekend was putting up on stands and staring at it. I would try to make everything serviceable before doing any upgrades. The men at Porsche built a very strong and reliable car. The '80 is not all that complicated once you get past the initial shock knowing you own a 928. As a mechanic in Berkeley told me "928's are the pit bulls of Porsche's" This is because most are afraid to work on them. With the support here you can accomplish anything yourself. Just take your time
Don't forget to go to Sharks in the Park on May 4th. Even if you don't bring your car, you will learn a lot and make new friends
Thanks for the Sunbeam compliment

upstate bob

Thanks for rescueing a great car. From my point of view, you are better off just bringing everything up to a driveable car and not worrying about "upgrading" a bunch of stuff. Less money = more fun. My brakes are original. -work fine. I don't race, and at 72 don't intend to start. Fixing little things like burned out panel bulbs, inspecting wheel bearings, etc. will do for now. Enjoy.
79 stock, except for the short shifter my predecessor put in. I wouldn't have bothered.
This is a wonderful car and gets a ton more attention than a new corvette

vanster

Check out Parts Heaven in San Leandro. Spencer will let you crawl through bins of 928 bits. Last time I was there he said that 928 parts are becoming a bit more scarce but he has a lot of usable odds and ends.