dr bob

Plenty of hidden functional improvements for sure make a better driving car. Most collector cars aren't driven, for precisely the reason they are collectible. 'There aren't any more' is one. I've added sound padding under the rugs, sub'd aftermarket carpeting in a few wear and fade places so I could keep the original Sliverkinit pieces stored away safely out of the sun. Hoses and other maintenance parts are upgraded as technology changes and improves, but the original pieces are carefully stored away for the time when indeed they are valued for serious originality.

Nothing I've done to the car is irreversible, and everything has been carefully documented along the way. I've been the victim of cars that were close to original in appearance, but had hamfisted butchers doing maintenance and 'upgrades' to them while they were still "used cars". Look how he cut that suspension bracket so he could use a Chevy-II shock on my DB-7. (!)

yardpro

the stock Z28 only had a whopping 180 hp.... SLOW.. the 928 blew its socks off...


I remember the 928 well... i always wanted one, as well as a 930.

i remember i had a brand new beretta GT in 1989... i thought it was hot stuff... I has 50's on it and it was cool.....

i was behind a 928 one day going through raleigh on I 40. traffic was thick but moving at about 75.

we were zipping through traffic at 90 and i thought i was hot stuff staying with him... we hit an open area and i punched it and tried to get around him.....lol..... i actually THOUGHT i stood a chance... not even close... he left me like the prom date that didn't put out.....


i know then i would have one one day

Cole

Unless you have a completely untouched, well documented car I don't think it really matters. Look at the 356 market! A pile of dust that was once rust 30 years ago before it were totaled in a fiery crash sells for $60k!

jcb928

With all the money printing the last couple of years and money flowing into classic cars, stocks, bonds, art, wine, jewelry, and luxury real estate, Why are 928 prices not up more?

If you look at http://collectorcarpricetracker.com that takes sold auction (not asking) prices on Ebay prices are not up much at all (it does not track 1991+)

Prices,

77-84 928's from 2005-present average sale price $4000 and over the last year sale prices averaged $3714

85-86 928's from 2005-present average sale price $6,259 and over the last year sale prices averaged $6449

87-90 928's from 2005-present average sale price $9,862 and over the last year sale prices averaged $10,046

Gonzotiki_666

Outstanding article Jim! I was born in '68 & had some Porsche toys (including a sweet, sweet black 930 RC car from Radio Shack), and the pops had a 911SC targa that I loved running through the gears in the garage when no one was watching. Loved the 911, but I never actually pined for one.

I first noticed 928s around 1979, after my dad had taken me to see Alien in the movie theater. There was-to me anyway-something HR Giger-esque about the shape of the car. It remined me of a space ship or pod. The headlights, the shape of the early cars leather seats, and dat ***! I've been hooked ever since. So yeah I'm that demographic!

dr bob

Substitute "unmolested" for "untouched" and you get the idea. Later maintenance parts are used when necessary, and every change is documented and the original part cataloged and stored safely. This is what makes a particular car collectible/desirable. You know everything that's been done, why and how it was done, with a clear path defined back to original when that need arises. It's an amazingly painless process that begins with a version of the Golden Rule. What do you look for when YOU are buying an interesting car?

James Bailey

One of the better known resellers of 928s as part of the staging of photos made sure to get all the tools for the tool kit put stock wheels on the cars everything possible to make it look like that poster on the wall from when the car was NEW !! All the personality of the prior owners being erased.

Even if the very first thing the new owner did was "update" the wheels.

robot808

Jim,
I love the article. I'm Gen-X and I fully remember the very first time I saw a 928 in real life. I was downtown (Chicago) and I saw one pass by me. I was just a kid, but I remember thinking two things: 1. That car looks really fast. 2. That f***er must be filthy rich.
Of course Risky Business, Scarface and Weird Science were all big time, and the car seemed big time to me too.
I had forgotten about it for years though. You just almost never see them in Chicago. Several years ago though, I was selling my wife's Honda on Autotrader and just searched Porsche for fun. I saw what is now my car for sale, and I felt the need for this car in my loins. It was a bit of a basket case, but I didn't care. I was going to buy and fix, no matter what.
I bought it, and fixed a bunch of stuff so far...

robot808

One other thought about Gen X driving prices up. For us to do that, we will need to have real money. That hasn't been the case so far for the original Honeycomb Kids.