I once had a Cord radiator that hadn't been cleaned since the 50s. Lotsa miles on it. Since a new one was unobtanium I sat for 7 hours one day with a long sliver of stainless steel and cleaned all those fin gaps. Old rads are fat too, so it took a while with each one.

Nice work so far, looks like in good hands. The plan to stay stock is good, and what I would have done too. The GT is too nice a basic car to start messing with.

 

It drove really nicely on the way from Mark's to home, much more comfortable than my GTS (I'm tiring of the Bilsteins....) It felt a bit sluggish, could have been because of the air filter (?) , which theoretically was replaced 13,000 miles before it was parked in 2008. The thing was nearly opaque with sand and leaves and crap. Even if a mouse lived there for a while, the filter was clogged pretty badly:

 

He did say t was a DD for awhile.......
In Chicago.....
Near the lake ........
How's the overall condition of the exposed
Aluminium components....???

 

I have to admit that I'm very impressed (and more than a little surprised) at how nice the underside looks.
I would have expected a lot more rust, given that it was driven in Chicago winters.

 

When this was still up on eBay i contacted the seller specifically asking how it had held up during those Chicago winters of daily driving. His reply was along the lines of "really well".
If this were any car of lesser build quality I'm guessing the rust would be widespread - top to bottom. Can you imagine this being any steel bodied car - domestic or Italian (or even one of its Pcar brethren)? It would've been a donor.
The corrosion on the radiator is telling.

 

Here are a couple of shots of the underbits post pressure wash- Compared to the California cars I'm used to, it's a bit of a mess- lots of surface corrosion on steel hardware but nothing that can't be bead blasted away, and the aluminum is all in pretty good shape. All the exhaust bolts came undone without any issue. Try that on any other 23 year old car in Chicago.

FWIW, the car was 1st owned by the wife of the then-mayor of Amarillo, TX, and then moved to Chicago in 1999. Then bought by Dan Larson in 2001. So it's been in the Chicago area for the past 15 years.


As much as I hate to admit it the cosmoline did its job....

 

Wow...the cosmoline looks nasty, but it is really effective. I've cleaned it off a few parts as part of my MM & OPG project...but this has me considering going now further. I've had a lot of bare aluminum engines in other cars get that flaky-fluffy oxidation (on the block, intake, etc. etc.). It never looks good again unless ground off and polished.

 

I'm envying the "rails"...doesn't look like anyone ever put a jack under them.

 

At least the filter isn't upside down.

It isn't the body of the 928 that suffers from winter driving: it's any steel bit that isn't painted along with any of those where the paint integrity has been compromised. Lucky for us a lot of the unpainted stuff was Cad-plated and that does hold up well for several salty winters before the underlying metal begins to disappear.

Since Cad-plating is now verboten you can imagine what newer cars look like underneath after a couple of years of salt. I don't have to imagine this as one of my 'regulars' is one that spent its first few years as a DD in Canada.

Rob's likely to find a lot of corrosion on spots he's never before seen it...

 

On the off chance that anyone was _that_ curious about the volume of a GT/GTS external oil cooler and hoses that wouldn't get changed in an oil change, it's about 16 to 18 oz:

 

16 ounces? My brain struggles to compute that.. does it vary based on the density of the fluid? Is 16oz of water smaller than 16oz of oil?? Presumably its something like "same volume as 16oz of water"? I don't get US measurements (despite a 'murican wife).

Looks like around 475ml if your pyrex jug is the same as mine?

edit: OMG.. I just looked up "fluid ounce" and its waay more convoluted than I expected.. dating back hundreds of years and relating to the weight of "wine gallons"? Metric is just easier!

 

Popped out the motor today, with Mark's able help. The one sticky point was actually separating the bellhousing from the block- bit of corrosion around the dowel pins.












Bit of wear on the cam gears, but I have to imagine these were changed at some point and didn't make the receipt, somehow. No way can these be 163K miles old.....

Let the cleaning begin!



[

 

Make sure to inspect well and snake your exhaust system. One of my cars was sluggish and I found half the exhaust filled with seeds and shells.

 

Rob,
The car ended in capable hands. Have full faith you will bring it back to its former glory.
Best of luck. Keep the pictures coming.

 

Not on my 928s, on others....

I've found nests on the front A/C evaporator.

I've found desiccated mice in the wheel wells behind the liners.

The PSD system seems to be like skyscraper girders for construction-minded rodents.