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A twist on the familiar barn find story...my new 928S
This chapter of my Porsche life began with a phone call from my significant other one afternoon in early August. "One of your Porsche-freak friends just walked in the front door and wanted to talk to you." She was working at home, and apparently an older gentleman had knocked gently and then walked in without her fully taking notice. "He asked to speak with the guy that owns the Porsches in the driveway." I had left my 964 race car and Cayenne out that day.
"Did he say he was a club member?" I asked her. I was pretty sure it must have been. I was the president of our PCA region for 2014 and 2015, and I do get phone calls and drop-ins occasionally from the membership.
I don't think so," Suzanne answered. 'He didn't know your name." She paused a second and added, 'I gave him your cell number."
Sure enough, about an hour later I receive a phone call from this nice gentleman to talk about his recently-acquired 928S. I enjoy talking about all Porsche, but the 928S is kind of a favorite from my youth. An image of that car graced my locker for years. As we talked, though, I learned that this was not actually his car, at least yet. He has a side business as a limousine service, and a client of his had a 928 buried in her garage from her recently-ended marriage. Unlike most "barn find" stories where the angry wife wants to give away the husband's car, this one was a bit different. He apparently left the car behind as some kind of F-U to the ex-wife. This gentleman apparently asked his woman client about the car regularly, and if she thought her husband might be wiling to sell it. He finally made contact, and surprisingly the ex was not only willing to sell the car, but he was willing to sell it for $1.
At this point, I'm imagining what a $1 Porsche might look like...torn seats (no seats?), faded paint, a broken motor, a family of living creatures in the glove box. The gentleman insisted that the car was nice, though. He wanted my advice on the car - should he sell it or keep it, how much would repairs be, etc. As the conversation continued, I became more curious, and I offered to go take a look at it with him that night to give him my opinion.
When we got the house where the car was being stored, I could not believe it. This was a mansion - not a home, and the garage building more resembled a home in size. We flicked on the lights, and way in the back in a dimly lit corner sat a very nice 928S. As I walked around the car, the story became more difficult to piece together. The car had what appeared to be original paint, and only 35,000 miles on the clock. It is a 1985 automatic. The seats were very nice save one bolster that needed attention, and the dash free of cracks. Aside from a layer of dust and musty interior, the car appeared to be a time warp, right down to the armrest full of cassettes. Piecing together the clues in the car in the form of paperwork, this car had been parked in 2007 one day, and never started again.
Initially I think he planned to keep the car, but he had adjusted his thoughts to a buy and flip of the car from a price greater than $1. I need another Porsche like I need a hole in the head, but this one is special. I ended up with a $5,000 35,000 mile 928S.
Now that said, it is going t need some work - I don't think the timing belt has been changed since the Reagan Administration, and belts, hoses and fun lines will need replacement. Still, it's hard to argue with a $5,000 Porsche that was once one of the most expensive cars sold in the country. Despite the automatic, it's fun to drive, and it feels like a 35,000 mile car, thanks to its garage-mahal storage tomb. What impresses me the most is how solid and complete it is. Everything still functions as it should, and the doors close with a solid thunk. Even over bumpy back roads there is nary a rattle or squeak.
I'm looking forward to getting it fully serviced and officially on the road. Any suggestions on what to do or look for are welcome, as I'm an air-cooled 911 guy for the most part, and I know very little about these machines. Here ae some pictures.
1. Someone will point out you have a $30,000 car on your hands
2. Doc will explain how you paid too much and should just crush it to avoid any further loss
3. Some smart-*** will offer you $5,001 for the car while expecting you to buy them lunch when they arrive to inspect it
The 928 market is an odd place right now. Congratulations on your score, my next 928 will be blue with anything but black interior. You scored a beautiful car.
Congratulations on recognizing an opportunity and pulling the trigger.
You skipped over the part, apparently, where it started right up after the nine years of storage. Nice. Drive it to the Frenzy event Sept 23-25 near Dulles, VA. You can get an opinion about various things, a second opinion, a third opinion .... You'll meet some amazing people.
Many will tell you not to drive it until all rubber bits have been replaced. I think a good agreed-value insurance policy and a halon extinguisher will do in the interim. Certainly, get it up on a lift for a good visual inspection. The flex plate coupling / thrust bearing bugaboo is worth checking soon.
That is a beautiful car for sure. Get all the differed maintenance done soon. You'll make us all happy...RE: Fuel lines! We don't want to read about another Car-b-Que.
Wow! What a story. Great find, and it looks identical to my 86.5 that I had. I would caution, however - do not drive it again until that timing belt is changed - that is a long time for a car to sit without running, and you have an old belt on it. This is an interference engine car, and you could turn this great story into a nightmare with one more twist of the key.
I also recommend that you read the FAQ thread at the top of this forum - it is a great primer on the car, and tells you everything you need to know and more, at least from the starting point.
Two other things - I have that Spyro Gyra tape - Breakout - lots of good driving tunes on it
And this is absolutely priceless - so shark typical
Originally Posted by 2002M3Drew
.... Unlike most "barn find" stories where the angry wife wants to give away the husband's car, this one was a bit different. He apparently left the car behind as some kind of F-U to the ex-wife. ....
Thanks for the comments and thoughts. Don't worry - the maintenance is going to be done immediately before it is driven anywhere (I did put about 10 miles on it).
Some updates - the first is that I apparently have every single receipt for this car with the manuals. I went through them all last night chronologically and I have the 1000 mile inspection receipt from 1985. Pretty cool! They fixed everything as it came up, too - doesn't look like they spared any work (or expense) on the car. There ae even a couple of speeding tickets from the 90's in there! Funny, but nothing more impressive than a 51 in a 30...meh.
Even more amazing is that this car essentially is a one owner car. It belonged to the parents and I believe the grandmother drove it. The car lived between NJ, Florida, and Virginia at different homes. Later in life, it found its way to the son, which is where my friend bought the car from. The mileage is all documented in those receipts, and everything tracks.Funny thing was that once the speedometer did break, and they had it fixed immediately, and the receipts leading up to it show that the mileage is still accurate...pretty cool.
All of the tools are still in there! I know those are valuable in the Porsche world. A clean tool kit fetches a fortune these days. The cassettes are priceless, but they don't seem t work. Perhaps they are messed up, or maybe the Monterey's belt drive is broken. I'll have to check on that. The vintage radio is pretty cool, and it looks great. Why doesn't anyone make a radio that looks that good anymore?
Here is kind of a weird thing. So I lost my dad back in 2000, and he was such a big part of my life. He taught me to love cars, and especially Porsches. I was at my first or second NY Auto Show with him when I first saw a 928. It was an annual trip we made that quite honestly stand out as perhaps some of the best fifteen or twenty days of my life. I remember him telling me as the car spun around on the carousel, "Isn't it wild, Drew? It's just so wild looking." He didn't like the 911 shape, at least at that time. This 928 was in his sights as his next car, but alas, at 6'6", he did not fit. The dealer offered to alter the seat to make a good fit, but he didn't like modifications. He passed, and I was crushed. A few years later, though, he finally bought his first Porsche - a 944 Turbo. That later led to one of the first 964 C4s in the country, and then a 993 cab. Despite his cooling off on the 928, I never did. It adorned every locker (along with the 944 actually), every bedroom wall. So anyway, I'm digging through the back area of the 928 and I came across two unusual items. First was this men's comb. Now, nothing unusual about that, except I don't think I've seen that exact style and size of comb since my dad was alive. He always carried that kind of comb, and whenever we were out together, he'd take that to and comb my hair. "You go out of the house like that?" he'd muse, with a half-smile. It was kind of like he dropped it there. The other oddity was a paintbrush. We would go on weekend errands with whatever special car he happened to have, and one stop every weekend was "Channel Lumber," a local large hardware chain that disappeared sometime around 20 to 25 years ago. I can still hear him yelling, "Drew, want to go for a ride to Channel Lumber?" Anyway, I took the brush out and was about to toss it in the trash when I noticed a price tag on the back - it had been purchased from Channel. Pretty weird stuff, and a bit of a reach, but I'd like to think that once in a while he can see things from wherever he is.
2. Doc will explain how you paid too much and should just crush it to avoid any further loss
I was going to congratulate him on a nice find, and good deal. But - since I've been called out. I guess I'll just take a number and go sit over there.
09-13-2016, 02:03 AM
A twist on the familiar barn find story...my new 928S
