Kiln_Red

I've picked up a number of compliments on my avatar since I changed it about a month back when I painted the main body on my '84 928. Thanks you all for your kind words. I wouldn't have thought about starting a thread before for fear of looking like I toot my own horn. Then, I thought, "What the heck? Why not?" I enjoy everyone else's progress threads. I guess I can contribute as much as I like to observe what everyone else is willing to share.

A little about myself.. My name is Austin Embry. I live in Bowling Green, KY and I work as a pro refinisher. I have played with 928s for years. The only model I've not ever had anything to do with is the GTS. Never owned one. Never worked on one. Never even driven one. If it didn't come airbag equipped, then I've been there done that as they say. Some of you might know me as that other dude that serves as Trustee on the 928 Owners Club Board. Mr. Wally Plumley casts a damn big shadow! Haha

Personally, this particular 928 has been my favorite. As a paint and body guy, I really appreciate the OB and the color. As a driver, the US L-jet have been my favorite. I don't drive them hard really, so the difference in power isn't a big thing to me. They, to me, are the simplest of 928s. Even if you've got an '89 GT in your garage (and I don't), these make good cars to drive IMO. Keep the cream puff in the garage. Still yet, you can enjoy driving a 928 every day if you like. Best of both worlds.

I drove this car for a couple years in pretty rough shape. It had an internal water leak and I still drove it without issue. Ran pretty well. Then, the water pump went and all of the fun went with it.. After all, who's going to do the TB/WP job on a car with an internal water leak? It was time to quit fooling around. So I pulled the heads and found where acidic coolant had once feasted away on the tops of a couple of the bores. Pulled the head with the engine in the car by the way. I wouldn't recommend that and I certainly won't do it this way in the future should I need to..



I don't have a good shot of the affected bores, but the damage was more than I had any interest in repairing on the passenger bank. I picked up a good engine from a crash donor in Atlanta. New TB/WP were installed before I dropped it in. The injectors had already been replaced. Must have been recent as they looked new. I had to switch L-jet harnesses as whoever pulled the motor from the donor cut the harness in two at the firewall. No biggie, but I was still amazed by their laziness. What a way to ruin such a valuable part, and with total intent.

Also, note the delaminated paint on the top of the fender. This is how the whole car looked. Can't really tell it in this picture of the car when it was still assembled in '07, but the paint was already toast by that time..





After the engine swap in '11, I drove the car about 500 miles and was very pleased with how well it ran. Since I had only done the minimal to this point, it was time to give it further attention as it appeared to be much more worthy. Roger got a sizeable order. Everything from the fuel sending unit gasket down to each spark plug.

The interior was completely dogged and I wish I had a picture, but I don't.

The upholstery wasn't much of a concern for me as I had a pretty nice one from an '85 donor car that I picked for cheap several years back. Removed the upholstery from the '85 parts car, cleaned it yp, and safely tucked it away to come back to on a later date. It was time to get to the refinishing..

People are pretty well uninformed in this area. Not all paint is created equal. This is especially the case with metallics or tri-coats. Yes, you can pretty well paint your car with anything and it can "work." However, Porsche and Glasurit have held a long withstanding relationship for many moons. If you want the color that your car had originally, you better go with Glaso.. These colors are unique and that isn't by mistake. Porsche and Glasurit wanted them this way as they would be hard to duplicate by other car and paint makers. See how the color of my car from '07 has a more bluish effect than the '15 avatar photo. This car was repainted in '96 using AkzoNobel products. That is why. They simply didn't have the formula as Glasurit did. This produced a more rust-like color than the vibrant bright red with an orangish flop as Porsche sold it with.

Here are the photos of the car after disassembly, prep, and primer..





Final prep and in the booth for the chip guard re-application..



Finished product in the booth before the bake cycle. Glasurit 923-450 clear. Their best. Unfortunately NLA..







Unmasked and out of the booth..





Back home. Interior stripped out. Odo gear replaced and CE refresh while convenient..





I really like the staggered chrome Manholes against this body color..



I'll go out and take a photo of what I've gotten in of the replacement interior to this point. Just painted the mirrors and other small bits this last Monday, so I may build the doors this weekend and finish the interior. Still waiting on H4 8" headlights. Still need to spray both bumpers and the replacement hatch. A little buffing and we're back to '84.. or better.

Rob Edwards

Fan-tastic. I love a good progress thread.

Kiln_Red

Interior as it is now. That's my daughter sitting in the back. Waiting on a windshield, also. Oh yeah.. Pics of the mirrors disassembled and painted.

Dave928S

Wow!! That Glasurit base colour and clear is just beautiful. Kiln red is one of my favourites. Looking forward to seeing a pic of the car complete, and outside on a nice day, to show off that paint job in all its glory.

I used Glasurit on my 82, and it beats other paints by a country mile.

Ladybug83

Beautiful color, it's so rich. Love it, great job. Thanks for sharing.

Kiln_Red

Thanks, Dave.. I get tickled when people approach me about painting old P cars and they say, "But, Austin.. Look at the spray out card he did with the other paint. It looks the same." A 6" piece of cardboard with paint on it and you honestly think you know what the outcome of an entire car will be based on that??

928 owners know that you get what you pay for. Paint chemicals are no different.

The Deputy

Looking good....but you did give me a bit of a scare about my eye sight...when I looked at the first picture...and saw no daughter...lol.

Love that color!

Good luck, with the rest of your project. And I feel the same way about my 84, ain't the fastest made...but that keeps me out of trouble and I drive it accordingly.

Brian.

ltoolio

Austin- I take any post I see on here of "hey, look what I did" as education for all rather than bragging to all.

Thanks for sharing....looks really good!

medipedicman

Absolutely gorgeous !!!!

AirtekHVAC

Fantastic Austin! Thanks for sharing!

Kiln_Red

Yeah, I guess your right. I suppose the things I see people post on social media makes me hesitate. No doubt that many of my Facebook "friends" use it as a resource for bolstering their reps.

I don't want to partake in that kind of thing in any way. I certainly wouldn't want to attach what I do for a living to such a cause. I'd rather my work speak for itself.

Kiln_Red

Thank you all. I really appreciate the compliments. I apologize about the pic sizing. I'm not very tech savvy. They certainly need enlargement.

FLYVMO

That color is gorgeous. My new favorite "red" color. Very nice job!
Now we need more high resolution pictures

Cheers!
Carl

77tony

Nice to see you have finally come out of your shell a bit. You have offered a lot of great advice over the years and it's much appreciated Must be nice to be able to sit & fit into the back seat of one of these cars. Looking good, looking real good. Keep the pics flowing. T

Kiln_Red

Thanks, Tony. I appreciate it. I'm in a lot better place now to get back to bringing a few more of these out from the pits of hell. I have a huge advantage in that I do 100% of my own work, so I can keep costs down. I can save sharks that most wouldn't blink to allocate as a parts car. Of course labor isn't free.

Truth is very simple. I just love 928s and consider them a joy to work on and drive. It doesn't hurt that I have BASF connects, either.