TJQuill

Model: 928S
Model Year: 86.5
Color: Weissgold Metallic
Mileage: 119,392 miles
VIN: WP0JB0928GS861573
Registered PNO
Asking: $4500 (lowered from $5000 on 5/12/17)
Location: West Los Angeles

It has been a long time since I have been on, but some of you may remember me from the early days of SOCAL 928 (so early we all could have fit into one 928). I was at the first meet up with Dr. Bob, Keith, Dan and Jeremy. I co-created the name “Sharktoberfest” and was the guy who lugged the projector screen to 928 International for the inaugural event.

Life has gotten too busy for the 928 and it causes me stress each time I go into the garage and see it sitting there. I would love to start working on it again, but that just isn’t going to happen in the next few years so I am going to sell it.

Bottom line up front, it has been sitting for the last three years. This was always a very solid car mechanically and 20/20 cosmetically (not a concours car by any stretch of the imagination, but looks great from 20 feet or at 20 mph). About three years ago the timing belt light came on, I drove it the two miles or so home and parked in the garage until I was ready to get it worked on. I promptly went overseas for a year, then have been back to LA off and on since then and haven’t touched it except to put a battery tender on it, add some STA-BIL to the gas tank, and roll it around a little to keep the the tires from developing flat spots.

I imagine that it would fire up if I cranked it (it was always a first crank start no matter how long it sat when I was traveling), but between the timing belt light which I parked it for and the long time it has been sitting, I’m not inclined to see. So I’m selling it as is. Obviously potential buyers are welcome to do a very full inspection.

This is a 2 1/2 owner car. The first owner drove and loved it, was getting ready to buy a new Porsche and pressed it on a family friend to try for a weekend test drive even though it wasn’t her type of car at all. He dropped dead of a heart attack on Sunday of that weekend. She bought it from the widow because she didn’t know what else to do, parked it in her garage and bought a Honda Accord which she drove for seven years. The 928 didn’t get touched for that entire period, but when she went to trade her then-seven year old Accord in, she wanted to get the 928 out of the garage as well.

She worked in my office and a mutual friend knew I was looking for a Porsche and told me she might be selling one. We traded a few emails without actually meeting, but she balked at the idea of selling to someone she worked with in case something went wrong. I didn’t press her and dropped the idea without seeing the car.

She went for the trade-in and was told how much they were willing to give to her. She told them that she had a friend (me) who might be interested and asked if it would be sold at that dealership and how much they would sell it for. They told her that it would be sold for double what they were offering her. She was a kind enough person that she called and offered it to me for what they were offering for the trade in. That was in February 2000.

It had been sitting for seven years, so I hired out the timing belt/water pump immediately (at Porsche of Beverly Hills, which might not have been my cheapest option). And then I started replacing everything else as the old rubber failed, either on my own or with the help of other SOCAL 928 owners.

The car ran very well until I parked it. It was a always a first-crank start and no issues with the engine or transmission. The only “major” work I had done was both head cover gaskets to cure the minor seepage which was annoying me. I replaced the windshield at Sharktoberfest a few years ago. As time went on and I traveled more and more, I did defer some other issues which were annoying, but didn’t effect the performance which I will detail below.

Known issues:
- has been sitting more or less untouched for about three years
- timing belt light came on, but it continued to run so I’m assuming the engine didn’t wreck itself. Needs the timing belt/water pump swap before anything else.
- heater core valve (or the vacuum line leading to it) needs to be replaced. I currently have the fancy zip tie repair in place.
- rear hatch release sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t (today it doesn’t)
- has always passed smog with no difficulty, but at some point prior to my purchase someone replumbed the exhaust and put the line in from the smog pump in at the wrong place. So if the smog pump is running and the line is connected it fails. But if belt is removed from smog pump or air line underneath is disconnected, it passes with flying colors.
- some minor paint issues - all documented in photos below. Driver’s side door has a temporary fix which I never got back to, passenger’s side door has 25 years worth of other stupid people’s driver’s side doors tapping it, a scratch on the driver’s side rear panel, and a few small spots where the paint is starting to lift.
- interior is in good shape compared to most. Curling leather around center vent on top of dash and a single crack in the pod - see photos.
- currently has a rear muffler bypass installed, but I have the original muffler so that can be reinstalled.

The paperwork for selling a PNO vehicle is fairly straightforward. The only hassle is we will need to get the one-day permit to move it from my location to yours unless you are taking it out of California (even though it will be towed or on a flatbed). That permit number is required when the new owner registers it.

My sense is that with my meager mechanical skills, the car is $2000 in shop work and a few weekends worth of my own sweat equity from being back in pretty good shape. 15 years ago that would have been a awesome project and I’d be elbows deep, but I'm just way too busy with the day job, working on a startup, and family these days. I would not recommend this car for someone who isn't a decent home mechanic - this one could be very expensive if a shop is doing all the work as you bring it out of mothballs.

I’m happy to email out the photos below in all their full-size HDR glory if you want a closer look. And happy to answer any questions either in the thread below or through PM.

Thanks for looking - TJ



















Dark spots on the driveway are not from the 928 - that's from a slow power steering fluid leak I haven't gotten to yet on the Range Rover you see in the background.






















Temporary paint fix I never got back to.




Scratch on driver's side rear.




Dash leather.




Crack on dash pod.

linderpat

wow, nice car, and great price. Even if you pay the $2.5K +/- for a shop to do the timing belt, that is still a great price. GLWS.

rlich8

Nice ride. GLWS.

bureau13

That seems like a REALLY good deal.

TJQuill

Two out of three responses so far talk about what a good deal this is - maybe I've underpriced.

Quick thoughts on how I arrived at that price (which I put very little thought into):
- I know what I paid for it 16 years ago, and I think I got my money's worth
- it has been sitting long enough that there are going to be issues to troubleshoot and repair beyond the TB/WP replacement
- it isn't worth it to me to try to squeeze every dollar out of this sale. Now that I've decided I want to sell it, I want for it to go quickly. I've got more money than time.
- I've only put it up on Rennlist so far, and that's a community where I've known a bunch of people for a very long time. I want whoever buys it to feel like they got a solid deal, even if they wind up having to put some unanticipated work into it.
- those photos were taken with some very flattering late afternoon lighting. It is a reasonably good looking specimen for an 86.5, but up close there are no end of little blemishes.

I received a question about the tires - they look brand new and only have 2500 miles on them at most, but they have been on there for a pretty long time (probably about seven years). I will dig out the file and figure out what year I put those on.

dr bob

Mike-- Glad to see you back in the states and in good shape!

Yes, it is more than a little under-priced.

This will be a very good buy for someone. It's always run well in the time we knew it regularly in SoCal. Plus the seller is an absolute straight-shooter, whom I trust implicitly.

-----

docmirror

Someone here WRITE THE CHECK before I do.

You know I will, don't mess around here, grab this up now.

VanD

I'm thinkin...and thinkin...got a great offer to go to LA for a bit for some 928 stuff already...but wife, kids and hockey... but this is a great deal, and thinking some more...but I already went to Dallas and had fun...but it's an 86.5, thinkin....oh boy...

docmirror

You NEED this car. If you do the drive, you can stay in my cabin in N NM overnight. Covered parking, bed, grill, canned food, water, toilet.

TJQuill

Thanks very much for the vote of confidence, Dr. Bob. Considering that we joined Reenlist within a month of each other back in 2001, but you have 14,298 more posts than I do, that carries a lot of weight.

Lopez

ugh - if it were a 5 speed I would already be at your house with a bag full of cash...

VanD

I appreciate the offer, lok like I'll have to pass on the car for now. I will still see if I can make it work but not looking good...

docmirror

Bastage. You're gonna make me buy this car dammit.

So - here's what I'ma thinking. I have a mangled body, rough int 85 with an LSD 5 sp in it. Put it up on the rack, yank out the manual, driveshaft, clutch BH and shifter stuff. Then put this up on the rack, do the same job with the auto, and stuff my 5 sp up in there. Do the pedals, and the inst panel, and viola, 86.5 5 sp LSD with fair paint and int, plus a spare auto trans, TT, etc. Or, stuff that back up in the 85 and trade it in for a new Prius C.

The 85 has a very fine motor in it, and some other features but the body/int is fer shilt.

Chris has a bag full of cash for me when I'm done.

Would you do it? Should I do it? What's the meaning of life?

VanD

BY the way, if I DO buy this car or any other one for a while, I may be hitting you up for that cabin full time.....just sayin'....wife's patience getting thin...

Wisconsin Joe

In a heartbeat. An 86.5 5 speed is really cool.

You betcha.

42. Duh.