oldfrat

I'm happy for you. A great start at $1,000 with plenty of room to turn this into a 928 that is actually a smart investment. Have heaps of fun with it!

Brad

The Forgotten On

Welcome to the $1,000 928 club

Adk46

Very good. But whatever you do, don't read the "most hated jobs" thread.

docmirror

I'm a bad, bad boy...

Eyegore

Too late...and the head bean-counter in charge of our budget dept. (the wife) has already begun singing me the song of her people...oh, what fun!

Wisconsin Joe

Welcome. You've come to the right place if you want to get this car back in shape. There are "superheroes" here who know these cars inside & out, back to front, even upside down. Post your questions, with pics if possible and you'll get advice, suggestions and encouragement.

For your car, it sounds like the intake is off, and the timing belt and accessories are off.
Cam covers on? Cams in? Timing gears on and in good shape? (or present and in good shape?)

To be honest, you'd be taking it that far apart to do the usual 'catch up' work anyway. They just did the "disassembly" part for you.

The "spectacular oil leak" could be as simple as bad oil cooler lines (not too uncommon). Or it could be a catastrophic failure somewhere.

If you haven't already, read through the "New Visitor" sticky at the top. Lots of good info in it.

IMO, the best info in it is the "Big 4" vendors. People who know and love these cars, have the parts you will need, and have the knowledge and honesty to make sure you get what you need, but don't get stuff that you don't.
And unlike some "E-Bay Weirdo", these vendors sell quality stuff that they stand behind. Not junk knock-offs. As a matter of fact, I just had a conversation with Roger (928s R Us) about using an aftermarket kit from a different place. He said that he wouldn't carry it because he couldn't trust it. And his OE kit was about 10% cheaper than the other place's.
Guess what I'm going to get and from whom?

Edit to add:

I almost forgot. The work on these cars is hugely labor intensive. The biggest task is always cleaning 30 years of crud off as you are fixing stuff. The parts aren't cheap, but if you're willing to do your own work, then you can own and drive one without breaking the bank.

Tom. M

Are you in the PacNW? We do have quite the 928 contingent up here... and a local email list too....

OTR18WHEELER

, been there,... She will like it, drive it, and like it more, but she will never admit to it. Nice find.

danglerb

What she doesn't know won't hurt you, don't talk about parts costs except in code.

Replacing all the high pressure ancient rubber fuel lines before testing fire extinguishers a good idea.

docmirror

^^ What he said. Do your fuel hoses yesterday. No more carbeques. ^^

Eyegore

Tom M. Yes, I'm on the Kitsap Peninsula.

Wisconsin Joe, The cam towers were already removed...and have leaked so much there is about 1/2 inch of hardened crud on the exhaust manifolds. My cam pulleys look terrible-I've never seen them so worn on any other car. At least, whoever took this apart left the fuel injectors hooked to the intake tubes and rails so I don't need to play the wonderful game of "which intake tube goes where?"

My plan to this point, (we know how those change...) is to remove the engine, re-seal it completely, replace any/all of the rubber lines, especially the fuel injection and brake hoses, service the entire car, and drive it every day.

After over 38 years turning wrenches for other people, it is sure nice to be able to do something for myself!

Wachuko

Congratulations!!

By now you must have washed and polished that baby... where are the 'after' photos!!??

karl ruiter

Sounds like the spectacular oil leak is likely the cam tower gaskets. There is an high pressure oil passage to that goes up the to the tower through the gasket. They can be tricky. I've had some motors where they leak, and replacing the gaskets with stock only fixes the problem for a little while. I've had other motors where they are just never a problem.

Suggestions:
1) Check the tower mating surface for flatness and thing about getting it milled. If you have the heads off look at the tower mating surface as well as the block mating surface.
2) Greg B. makes an improved cam tower gasket that he sells (but does not tell anyone about) for stupid cheap. It is stronger around the oil passage.
3) You can totally do the cam towers with the motor in the car, but if you are going to go deeper than that, pull the motor. Even if you are not going to go deeper than that, think about pulling the motor. It comes out pretty easily and, while you can do the towers with the motor in the car, it is hard to do as good a job as you would like. There are some cam tower bolts where you absolutely cannot get a torque wrench with the motor in the car, for example. If your towers start leaking again after a little while you will be kicking yourself if you did not do the best job possible the first time.
4) If you are going to pull the motor, ascertain the condition of your CIS components first. This is where the real work or cost is likely to be if you have major gummage uppage.

karl ruiter

You should be able to find a set of the square tooth cam pullies for cheap. The round tooth pullies are expensive and hard to find, but not the square, I think. If not, let me know. I think a have a couple of sets I will never use.

Eyegore

Thanks for the tips on the pulleys and tower gaskets, Karl.

Danglerb-the "code" is firmly in place-here's a few examples that may help some of you guys out;

Washing dishes=cleaning parts
Cleaning house=interior detailing
Grocery store run=out riding the Harley and/or going to the parts store
Mowing the lawn=anything from the detailing kit to the pressure washer is out
Doing chores=having a cold one

I'm sure I've missed a few but you get the drift...