I know that all too well. Be really sure you want a project like that, the experience is half the fun with these cars though.

Just remember, the more money you spend in buying a good car now, the less you will need to spend in the future.

It is much wiser to buy a $7,000 well sorted early 928 than to buy a $800 basket case thinking you will save some money believe me, you wont.

 

Sorry for the delay busy at work. My dad did not buy this car new so there is no sentimental value for me. I could care less if I keep it or not as far as saying it is my dads car. I just want it because it would be free and it is a 928 which I like, but free is not always good He has a 1979 corvette that I started restoring but he took it back after I painted the outside and gutted the interior. Now both are sitting and I would rather have the 928 over the vette, but the vette is under a carport and a car cover. I know the vette would be way cheaper


1985 5 Speed. It is at my sisters house and she is going to take a picture of the VIN and the car for me. I will post once she sends them to me Friday.

That is what my wife is saying. She wants me to just buy a used one for about 8grand and go from there.

Yeah If I did mine it would probably be a 10 year project. I could easily do the body and frame in about 2 years, I am just worried about the dang interior and trying to find all the odds and ends for the interior.

Well I like assuming, individuals . I actually live in GA Atlanta area, Austell to be exact. He lives in Columbia, TN so upkeep for me is null and void from where I am at. The car was last drove daily by me in high school (2002) and all it needed was an interior refresh and your average maintenance. When I went to college in Nashville, TN, he drove it a little and one day the fuel pump went out and just so happen that the window went out too. He did not tell me but when I saw it sitting I asked him to give it to me but that was BIG H NO. So I put a big 45 gallon trash bag over the window. A few years later I notice that the bag was gone when I went down to visit. So I put another bag on the window. A few years later I noticed that bag was gone again. I gave up... I asked him to move it under two carports we have but he never did so there is sat with the window open. I moved to GA and stopped trying to see about it. The car was not abused as far as driving and maintenance, other than sitting outside now since about 2004-05.

Money is not an issue because I will be doing it over the long run and not all upfront. I am thinking about making it a 10-15 project. I have two boys 2-4 which this will keep us busy for a long time. I am a certified autobody tech so I can do most of the work but I just do not want it to be something that will take 20k just to get it to a good weekend warrior status. Plus , I do not want jump in if parts are going to be an issue.

Yeah that is what my wife said. The car is free and still being free I know how a restoration on a car can be. Free is not always good. I love the 928 body style and would not have any other Porsche but a select few new ones.

 

My father in law has a Mach 1 1970 mustang, original owner. He has 4 kids. His oldest does not like car. The next to oldest treats everything like crap so I doubt he give it to him. The Next to youngest could car less about the car and honestly makes enough money to buy a 928 GTS easily . My wife which is the youngest, loves cars and treats cars well. So I hoping he gives it to my wife.

I am not biased on car makes. I just love classic cars not matter who the maker is.

 

I paid $650 for mine, and it is a true basket case, I now have about $1200 in it, maybe less.

It is strictly fun, love for the 928, and therapy for me. Parts are and will be an issue, but not impossible. Restoring anything has it's risks and rewards. Good luck with your decision. If you want it towed away, I'll be happy to come haul it off for ya. I have an empty bay in my shop ready for another basket case. #30 gets lonely at night....

 

As an auto body guy, you have a decided advantage. You know about trim, and body/moulding clips and how things generally go together. The ext will be only materials for you and this is a pretty big plus.

Since you mentioned "the frame" it appears you don't have a lot of background on 928s which are basically unibody construction. This is kind of a negative. If the car was running and driving fine up until the fuel pump, that's good. Also, being a 5 speed is a bonus for most people, and the 85 is the first year of 32 valve which is also good, unless it's a euro which is fine as well.

Due to your background, I'd say this would be a good project for you as long as you are ready to spend some money on interior bits. I suggest you call Roger(817-430-2688) right away, and ask him about the stuff he has up in his shed. I was up there yesterday, and it looks like he has almost two or three complete interior sets. Might get a super deal on some nice seats and carpet.

There are three big systems that I evaluate when contemplating a restore. Int condition, ext condition, and drive train(incl brakes). I'm guessing the paint is pretty thrashed as well as the interior and we know it doesn't run so that would be a deal breaker for me. You have more history on the car, so that's a plus. If he decided to give it to you, first thing is to have the title transferred over to you before you start so there's no chance he'll take it back from you after you invest some work. Jus' sayin'.

Get started on the fuel pump, replace all your fluids, clean out the fuel system real good and see if it runs. A running car is a lot easier to work on than a dead one. If it runs, then get the whole drive line in good order with new rubber fuel lines, and whatever vacuum and cooling lines need work. After that, strip out the interior and tackle the body and paint. Leave the interior to last. Getting it running should be less than $400 in materials and that will tell if you get a good deal to move forward. If you get it running and want to part it out, or sell as a roller to someone else, your investment will generate maybe a $1000 or more selling as a roller, or parting it out and letting another 928 live.

 

Thanks that is the information I needed. Yes, pretty much all I will be looking at is parts, labor is on me . I can even do most motor and drive train work. Yeah I will have the title transferred ASAP if he lets me have it. He did exactly that right after I fixed up the corvette and gutted the interior. That was after about 2k worth of money out of my pocket. I was pissed

I will post up more information as I get it. I should have all the pictures and VIN by Friday.

Thanks for the replys guys

 

Sounds like your father in law is a cheap SOB.

My guess is that the problem was the fuel pump relay, not the pump. That relay is a common failure point.

Here's some advice given to someone at your similar crossroads:

https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...economics.html

 

Remember that this is an interference engine, so changing the timing belt and either refurbing the tensioner or replacing it with a Porken is just as important as the above. Don't want to start the engine on the old timing belt.

 

Cool I will go over all the mechanics and change the fluids before I do any start up on it. I actually have a relay for the fuel pump I purchased it for my dad back when it stopped running. I think I care more for the car than he does. I just guessing

 

The only FACT is that the car stopped running.....why remains to be determined. Focus on getting it running if possible at minimal expense. The extremely high costs for replacement parts is hard to avoid and adds up very, very quickly. And sadly resale values still are still quite low for all but very rare or exceptionally low miles cars.

 

It costs almost nothing to fiddle with it a bit to see where it is going to go. If you decide to take that route you could probably bounce things off the group here before you do things or spend any money. At a team we have a lot of experience with these cars and many of us are cautious about pumping money into them. Your best bet would be to buy a membership here so you can post pictures (I think membership is required for that, but not sure). That will really help with the quality of the feedback we can give you. You can easily lose your shirt on one of these cars, but if you are careful you can usually keep it to just a cuff, or perhaps just a sleeve.

 

As mentioned, the timing belt deserves a good looking at, and some rotation by hand prior to trying to start. You may have a timing system full of corn nuts or straw in there, so check it out before cranking. One broken belt can ruin an engine.

Your dad-in-law is a piece of work. Although I've seen and heard the same thing before, which led me to advise about the title. don't be fooled again, get it in writing.

When you get over to the car next time, open up the hatch, pull up the carpet in the hatch and look for a square white label on the hatch deck with a bunch of codes on it. These are the option codes, and the engine trans codes. Post them here, and we'll decode it pretty quick so you know what kind of goodies you are getting with the car. Some to look for are 220 which is LSD, and 474 which is sport shocks, etc.

Oh, and some pics.

 

any pictures of this beast?

 

Nope no pictures yet. My sister still have not sent them to me yet. I called my sister again Saturday to remind her to take pictures and she still did not. I am probably going to see about getting the vette first and put the Porsche in place of the vette under the carport until I am ready for the Porsche. That way at least I can get it out of the weather until I can start working on it. I should be able to knock the vette out with about 3k.

 

Ok I got the vin it is actually a 1982 and not an 1985. the serial number for VIN position number 13-17 are 22074