James Bailey

The seats look recovered and the shine looks like vinyl...for the original poste,r you ever DRIVE a 928 ?? because wanting one is one thing a dream or fairytale but you really need to drive the early 928 to understand what it is and what it is not !! Go test drive some running early cars to see if the level of performance meets your expectations ....it will just barely out run a normally aspirated 944 in a straight line and more often than not be humbled on the shorter road race tracks.
And realize that most of these old neglected 928s are ten thousand dollars away from being a $5,000 car AFTER the purchase price......and that is reality !! But they can be a great hobby and good fun !

docmirror

The good:
Body and glass appear in decent shape.
Int isn't too bad, considering age and location.
5 speed
Borla I think
Phone dials, maybe 16"
Non-interference engine so even if the belt breaks - no prob

The bad:
You don't KNOW if the front of the engine is all that's wrong, cuz you can't run it.
Fuel tanks are getting rare, but can be sourced. Maybe try to fix it with a F-glass kit.
Hasn't moved in 10 years.

What I would do: 1) Decide if you really, really, have time and energy to put into this. 2) Think about it again. 3) If you decide, pick any number from $1000-2500 and do the deal. The car isn't going anywhere fast. Dead 928 are so hard to sell it's not funny. If you come to a price, then get a new batt, time the belt with the current stuff and put some tension on it. Check for compression. If you do get compression, put the plugs in and try to start it with some carb cleaner in the intake. If it fires, take it home and get on the phone with Roger at 928sRUS. Looks like the car is in TX, if you are in TX, we have a ton of 928 resources. It's a great place to own one.

upstate bob

That must have been a dandy "mechanic" that guy hired. The buyer of a non-running car always has the upper hand. Unless he is nuts he will take less than his original asking. If it is only the pump and belt, that is an easy job, especially if the parts are there I'd buy it.
upstate Bob, 5sp 79

docmirror

This is almost exactly how I found my 968. It was in the back yard of a guy with most of the front of the engine missing or in the trunk. I had a timing belt, so I timed it and started it on carb cleaner. After resto, it's turned into a nice driver, but will never be a beauty queen.

Pfc. Parts

But James brings up a good point in a sort of backhanded way This might be a nice track car. If the guess about seat covers is right the interior isn't worth much, but if you're just going to put a set of Sparco's in it anyway, who cares? $1000 for a nice chassis and a good block isn't bad. If it really IS a 16V Euro it's even better! Then there IS the manual transmission, which is nothing to sneeze at.

I'd seriously look at it.

Pfc. Parts

One thing you need to be careful about is making sure you understand the differences in performance between the different model years too. Of all places, Wikipedia is one of the best sources I know for tech specs on the different model years.

The 928 went from a normally aspirated 4.5L engine in 1979 to a 5.4L N/A engine in 1995. It's a pretty large performance range and as James mentions they don't all perform as well as you might think...

Pfc. Parts

If it's a Euro Spec '82 it should be a 16V 4.7L engine. Otherwise it will be a 16V 4.5L.

soontobered84

The Euro engines were CIS. The US versions for this year were L-Jet. The pictures show an L-Jet engine.

That being said, the engine was built in Germany and is therefore European.

And someone may have replaced the engine with a Euro version and just left the original engine fueling in place.....but I doubt it.

Pfc. Parts

I'd be interested in knowing the visual differences? What gave you the clue it was an L-Jet?

Pfc. Parts

I agree. There's something not right. Could it just be the wrong lamps? The car looks like it has a thyroid problem...

Rotmilky

I bought an 84 a few months back. In my case, the paint and the interior are shot, but the car ran when I bought it. I paid $2700. If it were local to me, would I drag it home for $3k? Yea, probably. Because I'm a sucker for old cars...especially if they don't run.

I can't tell you if you should pay that much or not. I think it's up to each person buying a car to decide what they really want. If you've got the time and DESIRE to work on the car on the weekend in your garage, then you can look at it as a project that will give you satisfaction as you bring it back to it's glory. Then $3K plus sweat equity and some parts isn't really all that expensive when it comes to a hobby. Heck, just check out the cost of a high end road bicycle these days. You're looking at similar costs for the bicycle and it will never do 60+ mph.

On the other hand, if you just want to hop in and drive the car, e.g, you've got no desire to fix broken parts yourself, well that's a different animal altogether. Parts are expensive. People who know a 928 are expensive. So, 3K for the car, then another $10k-20K in labor costs to fix stuff for a car that then has a value of under $10K. Financially unwise, but I'm not sure that a car is ever a wise purchase.

As a rough estimate, and I'm just guessing based off of my current car, cost of parts to make you feel comfortable that the car isn't going to leave you stranded is on the order of $2000-3000. That's on top of the purchase price. If you're comfortable with the purchase price plus the cost to fix other broken crap along the way (plus your personal time to do these things), eh, why not? It's a great HOBBY. It's not a great INVESTMENT.

So, in summary: Porsche are great cars to restore. Loads of information and lots of helpful folk...so if that's your thing, I'd say giddyup. If you want to hop in and drive it and leave the maintenance to others, well you might want to look elsewhere.

Landseer

I can tell you not to pay that much. 1000 max / parts car (although it probably can be made to run). Too much risk in this deal all shifted to the prospective new owner, along with a bad stuff that a hobbyist can see with the naked eye.

Its an Ljet for sure, which in itself isn't bad, just not Euro. Zoom on #5 cylinder shows an electronic injector (see the Bosch connector?). This car in Euro trim should have CIS injectors for year range 80 thru 83 inclusive ( whether Euro S or not). And no, its not an LH-Jet. Also, see the cobbled engine harness?

Clearly a repaint in what appears to be a cheap two stage paint (probably had a guy do that too at Earl Schieb's) showing what is likely a bent engine cross brace which is highly indicative of a front end collision that hasn't been repaired correctly.

Ok but somewhat bleh interior, hard to tell condition and whether it smells or not. Can't verify how well the "known to have issues" 5 speed actually upshifts and downshifts. Parts price now quite high with waterpump topping 435 for an alternative to the 900 Porsche pump, etc. Even if the waterpump that is installed is fresh, its likely one of the notorious rebuilts and needs discarding. And, if its nearly completely reassembled, regardless, it needs to be completely disassembled because it was done by an unknown half-baked entity.

Owner tried the "have some cheap guy" approach to making repairs, which is terrible and indicative of a low info cheapskate owner. Pass.

Too many known and potential problems to inherit. I've BTDT, exactly like this, and suffered when I should have been riding.


If you have 3000 to spend on that, come on over, we'll put together a nice basket case of parts for you that can be made into a running car from my stuff.

Bushytea

Thanks to all that have replied with their advice and comments.

I am not so much concerned about the 928's performance to be honest. I figured it would have enough performance to be fun but I have a 91 LS3 RX-7 if I really want to go fast. So, I can relate to putting more money into a car than it is going to be worth worth.

The car has been owned by the current owner since 1996 and he claims it has been garaged the entire time including the 9 year it has sat. I did not see any signs of a repaint but I did have some thoughts that the seats might be recovered. Just doesn't seem to be enough wear on them for 125,000 miles. However, I have seen high mile cars with great seats before so I don't know for sure.

I still believe that this is a US version 928 as there isn't a Z in the VIN at all. The owner said that it has Euro headlights but he also isn't 100% on the car being a euro version either.

I have always been the type to pull cars from fields, barns & garages just to get them back on the road again. Some say I just enjoy the punishment of it but I enjoy it. I also do a lot of home work to try and not get burned either which is why I came to you guys.

I have no plans of paying $3k for the car though. I will probably offer him somewhere in the area of $1K to $1,200 as I feel it is a fair price based on what you guys have said so far. On a side note, if this car was running/driving what would it be worth just for my own knowledge?

Thanks again to everyone.

MikeinBloomfield

Just for point of reference, I bought my 82 (automatic) for $3900 a couple years ago, in great condition and needing only minor maintenance items.

In 82 I believe Porsche still offered the Competition package (with those spoilers), but not the S (in the US). In any case, that wording on the back wasn't offered. If the speedo is not the 85 MPH version, than this might have the competition package, which makes it slightly more desirable. On the other hand, the speedo and spoilers could have been added by the PO. Worth a check via VIN lookup.

Those headlights look like later model year headlights to me. 1982 headlights should have chrome trim around them.

Borla, the headlights, the spoilers, the interior, and the custom paint on the rear end all point to a car that was being taken care of. Then someone parked it for 9 years. What does that indicate to you?

docmirror

A good runner without being in pristine shape in that year is anywhere from $3500-8k depending on miles and the cleanliness.

Put your location in your signature so we know where you are. There are a lot of good folks on here who would be willing to go over with you and give it a better eval. I've had folks do it for me, and I've done it for others. Also, if you decide not to move forward, one of us will scab the car away from you! muuuaaahahhahahahaaaaa (j/k)