Update - S4 5-speed shark hunt
 

After about a month long drought with no real prospects working, I am happy to report that I have located 3 very nice S4 5-speeds. Two have what I understand to be rare options. One is a guards red/black '87 with no side moldings. The other is a silver/burgundy '88 with no sun roof.

Both of these cars have my desired LSD and sport seat options. Both are beautiful, well maintained, with good documentation, under 100k miles and... amazingly, both are within my modest budget. Also of note, BTW, both are owned and operated by persons of the female variety.

As I continue to mull over the two front runners mentioned, I came up with a couple of questions. It may not influence my purchasing decision, but I am curious to know. 1) In an S4, which is more rare, the sunroof or the molding delete? 2) What appreciable differences exist between the '87 and '88 MY?

As always, input and advice much appreciated.

Thanks!
Bill

Sunroof delete is a very nice option IMO, very rare on US cars too. Side molding delete is much more common.

LSD and sport seats nice combo too, if it wasn't for the burgundy interior I would say the Silver one was the one to go for, presuming both are in equally good condition.

88 model years have minor changes, mostly electrical from memory, lot of later 87's have these 88 features too.

Chris

Bill-
Both sound like great prospects!!

As for which option is more rare, think about what YOU want. Personally, I love my sunroof and wouldn't want a car without one. And I think cars without the side moulding look much better.

Then there's the color - both exterior and interior. Do you have a preference?? The two cars are quite different in this regard - which one is more your style??

Just my thoughts. . . . . :cheers:

You know, I'd have to say the silver is more my style, read: arrest me red was not my first choice, but then again the burgundy interior is not either.

The red one is $3k less expensive in asking price, but has higher mileage. It has very nice Cup 2 rims, which I like, while the silver has Design 90s which are pretty nice looking too. Red one comes with a car cover and 2 extra sets of wheels/tires. Both cars are about 1000 miles away from me... no big deal.

The red one is just... well, HOT!!!

I'd post a photo if I knew how to... image sizes are huge.

- Bill

I'd go with the red one. No side moldings are awesome, and a sun roof will only increase the value for MOST people, even though you might not care for it......same for the red on black combo......will always be in demand if kept up.

Sounds to me like you found a couple great ones. I would love to have found a car with the sport seats. I would also say that if you are over six feet tall, the sunroof delete is pretty attractive. I like sunroofs too but, the 928 has more of a mail slot than a sunroof anyway. I would prefer the headroom myself. If you ever plan to go to the track or autocross this gets critical. I do not fit comfortably in my car with a helmet on. I also think you are right on insisting on a LSD, the car needs it IMO. I would be partial to silver buy I really despise the burgundy interior. I had it in my 944 turbo, couldn't stand it.

Thats the thing about used cars, especially rare ones like a five speed S4, you kind of have to pick from what is out there, which isn't always exactly what you want. Adding a budget to the mix really complicates things. Good Luck

Another difference between the 87 & 88 models is the intermeadiate mufflers. They are smaller on the 88 models - so if you ever decide to add the RMB to the 88, your exhaust will be a bit more intense (this could also read as obnoxious) above ~4500 rpm.

There you go Jay :)

http://members.rennlist.com/t_max/Resonators001.jpg

May I ask, what is your budget? I'm in a similar predicament. I'm still open (slightly) to the fact that I may have to settle for an auto. I'm stuck between a manual S2 or an auto S4. I'm asking to see if a manual S4 is even in my range. Thanks.

Porsche has a book that states all the differences (wkd 494 421) but the changes are somewhat minor but include
piston squirters dropped
modified fuel pressure regulator and hose
some fault code storage
shift program in automatic cars
folding rear wing dropped
seat memory on drivers side added
shoulder harness for rear seat
tempostat (cruize control) is now electronic

Thanks Mark for the info. On your list, the only thing I have even an inkling of a concern about is the squirters being deleted.

Do the '87s have a more pronoucned problem with oil control than the later cars? I've read a lot of posts/discussions about having to modify the breather system to better contain suspended oil. Probably more a concern with DE and racing.

- Bill

Where were the pistons squirted? I assume the underside? Can it be added as an afterthought for piston cooling?

Didn't Porsche add airbags in '88?

Bill,

I was in this same predicament 3 yrs ago. I had a choice between a silver 87 auto and a red\blk 87 5spd. The silver car had less miles and was in overall better shape than the red car, but once I saw the red, I immediately forgot about the silver. The paint on the red car was better than the silver, but the combination of the red and the 5 spd sold me. Sometimes, the red car just seems "too loud" as far as the color is concerned, but when it's detailed, it really grabs attention! You certainly don't become lost in the crowd!!

Steve: Airbags were not available in the 928 until the '90 model year.

wild Bill: How tall are you? If you are tall, get the onen without sunfroof. I never use the sunroofs on my cars, but I'm small, so it doesn't matter to me. If you are tall, or want to go racing, listen to Brent!

You should have both cars checked by a Mechanic with 928-specific experience. Another one you can look at is a beautiful S4 currently for sale by Steve Smith (Crossworth@aol.com). This car has been maintained by a perfectionist and has a long list of maintenance and upgrades done.

Since we have not heard of major mechanical problems specific to '87 models, I think you are safe to choose the one that best suits your taste and driving style.