supercedar

Bought my first in 1980. It was a lowered 1978 5 speed. All upgrades were performed by original owner with funds from the cocaine industry. The car was used up and down the west coast and every interior panel had been removed at one time or another from its duty. It definitely was a magnet for the ladies. Bought my second one from the caretaker of Bill Gates auto collection 1988 S4 and very pleased to still have it to date. Just bought my third one 86.5 5 speed 70,000 second owner garage queen.
I try to do most everything myself from all the helpfuls on RL.
Thomas

upstate bob

petrol blue 79. not perfect but really nice
Time: hoo boy, time flies, going on 9 years now
years 928 exp: just this one
outside exp: started with bicycles.. model A Ford (still have it, since 1956), lots of noisy oil burning V8 hotrods, drunkmobiles, crude machinist abilities, good gas welder, FAA licensed A&P mechanic.
some autobody/paint experience starting back with nitrate lacquer, straightened and reshot my left rear quarter panel. millwright, HVAC/plumber, master ******.
number of 928s: one
auto resto: nice job on a 62 VW bug, modal A Ford still waiting. age 75... think I will do it?

side job: restoring 1957 Trotwood trailer that I'm living 4 mos a year in Floral City, FL. looking good.
maintaining: 10 acre place in western NY, Case 530 backhoe, Kolb MkIII homebuilt, Allis Chalmers model G, Massey Harris 20, MM BG, old Gravely, and more. -plus consuming copious quantities of good booze, hiking with my rat terrier. some day the clock will run out.

Eyegore

I bought my first 928 a year ago and have spent the past year obtaining most of the hard-to-find parts for it and collecting as much data as I can to try and solve "do-over" issues before they arise. No other 928 experience.

No formal technical training.

Started in the automotive field at age 13 as an apprentice mechanic and spent 36 years turning wrenches, earned Master Tech. Cert. in the 90's. Spent 3 years in machine shop work re-building engines. Extremely damaging grand-mal seizures and subsequent medications ended the career in 1997. I can still do everything I used to, just slower.

I have finished a few frame-off's including a 57 Fury, 55 Chrysler 300, 47 Cadillac, and more general repair on 1940-present cars than I can remember

NC928S4

Time:
I always thought the 928 was beautiful and almost 5 years ago on a whim put in a bid on eBay for an 89S4. Woke up next morning to find out I won at $7400.

I hadn't worked on a car since college which I did because I was dirt port. My car at the time was a Fiat 124 Spider. When I graduated only the left front brake worked which made driving on snowy roads exciting.

When the 928 rolled off the delivery truck my tool box consisted of a hammer, bent screw driver and some weird looking pliers. I've upped my game with real tools and do all the work myself now. The TT replacement has been the most memorable repair so far. Defroster actuator bladder comes in second.

I'm probably an 8.5 because I also help out a buddy who works on all the 928s and 944s in the area and he is a pro that I learn from daily.

Technical education:
BS in Mechanical Engineering but have been doing Computer related things and writing software the past 20 years. I tutor HS kids in Math so they don't hate it like I did because of bad teachers.


Outside technical or shop skills which are relevant:
Really enjoyed Metal Shop in HS. Do all plumbing, painting and electrical around house.


Number of 928s you have repaired/restored:
I've worked on 20+ 928s ranging from engine pulls, WP replacements to HVAC troubleshooting.

Auto restoration/repair work other than the 928:
I keep the family fleet(wife and 3 daughters) maintained and use their needs to justify tool purchases and I'm saving up for a Max Jack.

SeanR

I worked at Culligan for 2 years and stayed at a Holiday Inn Express a few times so I got this.

Joking aside, one of our 'vendors' was taking jabs at me outside of Rennlist calling me the Culligan Boy so it took a few e-mails to set him a bit straight that as he was playing with Chevy's I was working at my fathers shop from about birth until he closed down. The normal occupiers of the garage space were Porsche's, Ferrari's, Astons and the like. If there wasn't a series 1 Jag in for a total restoration it was a slow year. I swept the floors, dusted the shelves, and spent more time on the parts washer than I care to remember. By the time I was out of High School I had enough of that and had zero desire to be a monkey with a wrench so college I go.

Fade back, short story that the family always loved to tell. At my grandparents place when I was about 4 years old, they had an exterminator (those guys that kill bugs) at the house in Denver. I barely remember this but apparently the guy did his thing and left. A couple hours later the guy called my grandparents place asking if there was a possibility his head lights from his truck were anywhere abouts. Sure enough, it seems that I had a screw driver in my hand and took it upon myself to pull them out of his truck. He really should have parked on the street instead of up at the garage I guess.

The first 928 I assisted with back in 1980/82 was helping daddy do the head gaskets on an OB and it was depressing to hear as we picked up other parts at the Porsche dealership, the TSB about going a 3rd 90% on the nuts. We had to re-pull that motor and do it all over again. Dad was unhappy about it and I remember every damn nut and bolt. From that point on he had me in the shop during the summer doing that on all the Audi's, Datsuns and I have the valve cover from the 308 I helped with on the wall. Ferrari heads came with valve covers when you replaced them.




First love affair with a car was a 78 911 Targa, that lasted until 1978 when the first 928 showed up in the shop. It was like looking at my first boob. I still have that emotion when I see a nice 928 but I've since learned to control my boners.

Learned to drive a stick in a 928 and dad was laughing at me that I could kill the engine as many times as I did. Taught my daughter to drive in a 928

Stopped playing with cars in the mid 90's and messed with Seadoo's (raced 2 seaons) and boats with big CI motors. Modded a few and was quite content with life working towards life as a small business owner in various adventures. When I got out of a couple of franchise stores I worked with my brother at Culligan Water here in DFW and love the hell out of it. Sold my 3 boats and was sitting back on the computer wonder what I was going to do now. Needed a hobby and looked at the market for the 928 and saw that the prices were so damn rock bottom that it was time to by one after looking at them in the doctors parking lots and dads shop.

Bought mine in 2006, hooked up with the DFW crew and things went from hobby to full time. Roger and I had spent every evening and weekend working on other peoples cars that we decided it was time for me to get off my *** and do it full time. To this day 7 years later I still wake up amazed that I can do what I'm loving and can support myself and my family doing so. Perfect time and place I suppose.

So Technical Education. Taught by the best man I know. Dad. The rest was self taught and my desire to read everything I can. I'm learning everyday.

Outside technical or shop skills which are relevant: Certified for a bunch of things officially. Not going to pay for SAE Tag next to my name. I do kinda know 928's.

Number of 928s you have repaired/restored: I honestly would need to go back and look at the records but last year was 65 cars and I spent the first two months closed down.

Auto restoration/repair work other than the 928: 99% of what I work on is 928's but I'll work on a Dodge if I need the work. I've been getting a lot other European car work the past couple of years so we've got the Merc Star system, VAG software and a few of the other things to play with. I end up turning more away than I schedule in, so far this year I have a waiting list of 17 cars and don't have a clue how I'm going to fit them all in.

Ain't bad for being the Culligan man.

Rodrv6

Time: I bought my 928 about a year and a half ago. Prior to that I had a 911 for about 34 years and a 944 for a couple of years. No 928 experience prior to purchasing this one.

Technical Education: I'm a licensed A&P technician with 33 years of aircraft work for Delta before retiring about 4 years ago.

Outside Technical or Shop Skills: I love doing mechanical work the most. Electrical runs in second place, followed by body/paint, which I usually try to avoid......

Number of 928's I've Repaired or Restored: Mine is the only 928 I've ever touched. I've done the timing belt/water pump and installed a Constantine Super Clamp, which involved removing the transmission and torque tube.

Auto Restoration/Repair Work Other Than the 928: Too much to list, but it does include engine rebuilds on a couple of 911's, a 944S, several VW-air cooled and water cooled, a handful of GM small blocks and big blocks, one BMW, a Nissan Maxima, .............
I also took my 911 down to a bare metal shell and did a complete restoration except for the welding, which I farmed out.
Not auto related, but I've also built my own airplane, a Vans RV-6 powered by a 3.0 Subaru flat six.
I guess I love twisting wrenches!

GregBBRD

No matter how much experience or knowledge one has, there's something that everyone needs to remember:

"You are only as good as the last job you did."

I keep telling people, on this Forum the same thing:

"Do it right. Do it once. Be done with it, forever."

BC

It torments me when I am aware of this realization and live it by having to go back in on some system or job on the car.

I don't know if it's just being a bit clueless in certain details or things break or fail in slightly different ways.

Many of us do this for enjoyment. But I don't enjoy working at night, in the cold, or in a cold ground or on dirty cars. So what that leaves is assembling clean parts.

At this point, because it's a hobby, and not a job, it feels like a journey with an end. Or maybe a milestone. I think I have to hit a milestone (or the end) before I can comment on most of the above questions.

But I've had 13 928s. Maybe 10 other non 928s. The 928s are the only ones that didn't always make it out alive. I don't know what that implies.

Rob Edwards

Time: Bought 1st 928 ('90 GT) in May 2006.

Degree of 928-specific repair/restoration experience: Performed mid-life crisis work on the GT 2006-12, blew up and upgraded my GTS from 2009 to present. Did some minor assembly on Dan H's Turquoise car 2011-2012, bought and did some trivial refreshing of Mark A' Zombie 2013-present, did an engine-out cleanup of Mark A's 91GT 2014-15, doing a more involved cleanup of William A's '78 last 6 months.

Technical education: MD/PhD, Baylor College of Medicine '97, AP/CP residency '01, Post-Doc at UMich '02. None of that included any automotive work...Everything I know about 928s is thanks to the internet, factory literature, Greg, and Mark A.

Outside technical or shop skills which are relevant: None.

Number of 928s you have repaired/restored: 6.

Auto restoration/repair work other than the 928. Changed oil on my MGB and Civic, 1984-2000. Did routine PM on my E34 525iT and Odyssey, 2000-Present. Completed the details of restoration of a '62 vette, 2004-2006.

James Bailey

Rob it is OK to admit your Corvette work too most will not hold it against you !

Rob Edwards

Oh yeah, the vette! Seems like a million years ago.

James Bailey

In terms of the technology it IS !! Pretty style pretty horrible drive But that was not what it is about. Route 66 nostalgia .

The Deputy

Back in the 90's, we spent more time than any parents should down at the Taubman center at UofM. My daughter's third surgery (there) was ten hours, talk about a long day. They warned us that the chances of her ever talking again were very low, so brace yourself for that. But, things went better than planned...and now...when I get off the phone with her, after two hours of her talking about everything under the sun...I kind of wish, maybe, they could have at least put an on-off switch on her somewhere...lol.

For anyone that takes this 928 restoration stuff to serious...just spend a few days at the children cancer ward. That will align your prespectives on life pretty fast.

That's a beauty.

Brian.

The Deputy

I disagree...when evaluating another mechanic in the shop...I look at their overall performance. No way would I pass judgement on one job.


I'll remember this the next time I change my oil...lol.

Brian

John Veninger

Amen!!