Guy

They will make the car!! Love mine. One of the biggest improvements you can make to an OB

Ghosteh

Time to fix the broken door handle hinge!

1. Open door from inside:





2. Take door panel off.




3. Remove dreaded security plate. (*cursing optional)



It helps to lower the window at one point, then to raise it. That plate just doesn't want to come out easily!



4. Peek inside and admire the homemade looking crash protection side-bar, and the vacuum operated door locks.






5. Scratch you head as you compare the new replacement part to the original '78. Oh well, they must have beefed it up on one end in the later years.






6. Here's where the little rascal broke! I can see why they fail. Not much meat there, and it's cast.





7. Back together! Spent quite a while adjusting the turnbuckle so it opens just right, and tested everything with both the inside and outside handles. Finally felt confident enough to close the door, and it still works! Nice!

Then I screw on the **** for the lock and something goes wrong. It no longer functions, and the door is shut. Locked. With the door panel back on & no easy way to access the latch. (*insert more cursing.. not optional this time)

Finally I shut down for the evening & will sleep on this, and try to get back in there tomorrow. I'm not sure if the additional material on the hinge is rubbing against the lock linkage, or if I just twisted something off inside. Either way, it has to come apart and I'm NOT looking forward to that again!

Ghosteh

Also, I noticed that the door panels on this are the same fiberboard that the spare tire cover is made of. Is that a '78 only feature? What are the later ones like? I'm going to need a replacement, and wouldn't mind a more durable base, if the later ones will work.

Guy

Yes, they are somewhat fragile. You can use some fiberglass resin to reinforce the panel from behind. Works well and helps make it moisture resistant

Ghosteh

After fixing the bad door lock, I jumped into the radio project.

The 80's era Alpine was wired incorrectly, and would slowly drain the battery after sitting. Today it was pulled out & replaced with a Blaupunkt Heidleberg, which is the non-Porsche branded version that the car had in it from the factory. This one is the Euro version with the limited station range and "ARI" button, so it's right for the car.

Before:



During:




After:



Now we'll see if that fixes the electrical drain.
I also got my clock fixed.

Jadz928

That radio really looks no e!

Whatcha plan to do with that seat ejection button?

Ghosteh

It's far from perfect, but I think it's much better than the oversized Alpine. It's also not draining my battery.

Ghosteh

Can anyone post a few photos &/or a description of how German license plates mount to a 928?

I have seen plates with holes drilled in them (usually in the middle) and some with no obvious holes. I have a nice set of plates, and I'd like to get what's needed to mount them properly.

Ghosteh

Installed & modified the '83 exhaust to use the original '78 rear hanger, so it looks right from behind.



Although I bought a very nice Y-pipe, when I got the car up on a lift, I realized that it still had the original Euro pre-muffler, and in great condition! I put a coat of hi-heat paint on there, just to help preserve it from rust. Honestly, based on the condition of that, I'd say the mileage on the car is accurate. How many unrusted '78 mufflers are still around?



Here it is, all installed! (Excuse the dirt, as I had to drive it through some puddles when I pulled it out of storage.)



Big difference in sound! It sounded like a cheap Camaro before, and now it's much quieter but still has a nice hum when accelerating and at cruising speeds.

Ghosteh

They're not adjusted perfectly in the openings, but the H4s were restored (re-silvered) and installed. (Here's the link to how the headlights were rebuilt: https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...storation.html

Nobody in my family noticed, but to me it's a big difference visually. The front end looks so much smoother.

Ghosteh

Then I re-installed another vintage Blaupunkt that I bought, since this one was fully functional, and much cleaner. Although it works perfectly, I may end up pulling it out again & sending it off to have a DIN cable added, so I can plug my cellphone in and listen to whatever I want. My supply of cassette tapes, which was once really large, is now down to about 3. Plus, I had really bad taste in music back then!





I think the next step might be to repaint the rims. Although the gold looks ok, I'm going to stick with the original color. Plus, IMHO, I think it makes the car look less brown.
Maybe then it will be presentable enough to drive it to one of the events this summer!

Ghosteh

I don't get to work on the 928 often, but I was able to jump back to it this weekend.

First issue was to replace the odd looking "ejector seat button" with a correct German seatbelt warning light. I really had no idea what was in there until I got it out of the car. Hmm... someone took a plastic bottle cap and painted it black, then drilled a hole and glued in the ugly LED alarm light. WTF were they thinking?? I've seen some odd things in cars, but nothing like this:





But now it's back to normal, although I have to track down the correct wires and get the light working. Honestly, I was just happy to get it snapped into place. Even though it doesn't light up yet, I think it's a HUGE improvement in looks!

AirtekHVAC

Ghosteh

This one was just for fun: I had to get the 1978 Car of the Year sticker!



Then back to more serious issues. I was lucky to acquire a missing belly pan, and got it on the car. No idea if this will help with cooling (which isn't an issue), but it was there for a reason from the factory.
I really need to clean more on that front suspension.



Then I jumped to the other end & finally got those U.S. bumpers off. I was expecting a huge triangle-shaped hole under them, but there was just a little slot. That should be easier to fill when it goes in for paint.
IMHO, this is one of the best things I've done yet for looks, at least on the outside. I really think the huge blocky rubber pads ruined the lines of the rear as it was originally designed.



The original European-style license plate bracket was there, with the ends curled back & bent into position for U.S. plates. That was simple enough to straighten. And then I had to mount my plate!
Luckily, Illinois will let you run "year of manufacture" plates if you register your car as an antique, and keep the current plate inside your car somewhere to show if asked. The law isn't specific as to what state (or country) that the plates can be from, just that they were the same year as the car. I'm curious to find out if I'll be questioned on this!







The passenger side mirror came off next, and I was very pleased to see my earlier suspicions were correct; it was not factory installed. That was obvious when you looked at the shape of the holes under the mirror, as well as the drill tip marks. If that was done by someone on the assembly line, he probably didn't last the week.
Anyway, I've decided that the holes will be filled & the mirror stays off - just as the car was when it rolled off the assembly line.

77tony

Great progress Ben and look forward seeing it with new paint T