Wisconsin Joe

Well, first off: Welcome to the asylum. You definitely qualify for admission.

With a few possible pitfalls, you probably have a solid foundation. There is a ton of work ahead of you, but none of it is all that hard. Anything you get stuck on can be resolved here. The big investment is going to be time.

A couple suggestions:

If you want air, find a gas driven compressor. That way you don't have to worry about the electricity. Trying to go gas engine > generator > electric compressor isn't usually the best idea, at least not for any reasonable amount of air.

Use the 110 in the storage unit to run a small fridge. Stock it with beer. That will attract local 928 owners. Set a hard and fast rule: "No work, NO BEER!"

I think your list is reasonable. Depending on your attention span/OCD level, you could do stuff in parallel. For example, start tearing down the motor. Do that for a day or so, then move to removing the wiring harness.
It has the advantage of not getting 'stuck' on one task and keeping it 'new and different'. It does have disadvantages, getting lost or confused is the worst.
Some would suggest picking one task, getting it all the way done and then moving on.

Your car, your project, your choice.

Good luck.

skpyle

What he said!
That is some excellent advice.

RangerRN4

Well said Mr. Fish...well said...or well written...or whatever

Yes Sir Mr. Red, my thoughts exactly. I need the parts manual to identify everything that is damaged and also what is missing. Remember, some stuff just melted away LOL. Also, I heard a legend of a 928 graveyard up near Mt. Airy, MD., which is about 70 miles from me. I wish I could make Hershey this weekend, but work got in the way.

Thank you, Sir. Stand by.

Thank you, Fred. I am ready to dismantle but want to identify the parts first. Do the Morehouse CD's still exist? I need diagrams and labeling.

Thanks Joe and Seth. I completely agree. Compressor will be the Sears 27 gallon gas powered one. (Its on sale!) Beer for the fridge? You don't even have to mention that! Only its a cooler with ice right now.

I am going with a two pronged pincher move with Smokin Joe. Gets the heads removed and off to the machine shop, then remove the crispy critters. Remove the burned paint with stiff bristle brush. Paint and reapply seam sealer (or whatever that stuff is).

For the group: I watched a factory video on YouTube about removing the heads and it stated I needed 3 special tools. Are these available from the big three? Or do I even need them? According to Mark Anderson's post from 2010 about head gasket removal, I need a breaker bar for the head bolts. Said his 1/2" Impact would even budge them.

So, in order: Gas compressor, manuals, special tools (maybe), breakerbar. Fridge will come much later. And wheelbarrow full of money

I know you guys love photos, so here is one of the motor getting steam cleaned and the result. Take care and much Aloha, Rick






Just getting started



clean motor

77tony

Welcome Rick. PET online parts catalog:http://www.porsche.com/usa/accessori...artscatalogue/

Mrmerlin

Well your right you are in the deep end,
its great to bring back a 928, this one should be fun.,

NOTE after your done I have a 1989 928 GT that you could take on,
not fire repairs though and I have most of the parts.

Good luck and lots of pictures will give better results

FredR

One thing you might consider doing with the engine is to get hold of an endoscope and take a look into the state of the bores- you never know you might just be lucky and they are in perfect condition. If you see no signs of corrosion problems and the motor turns ok try a leakdown test albeit such should be done with a warm motor but even cold it may be a useful performance indicator.

Needless to say given the motor is out now is as good a time as any to take a look deep inside the motor isn case there has been some incident related degradation.

RangerRN4

One bite at a time.

Hello everyone,

I wanted to update you on the state of JoJo (current name until I can find one that fits). I have removed the front wiring harness. I chose to disassemble instead of just cutting wires so I have a sequence to put things back together; Assembly is the reverse of disassembly. Overall, the car has come apart fairly well. I found a few interesting bits: A giant wasps' nest underneath the passenger fender, a poorly installed radar detector behind the nose, and an aftermarket alarm system made in Hong Kong; All of which were removed.

The plan has always been to disassemble/repair/reassemble. At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by the task of taking the car apart. I decided that the engine bay must be repaired. And that required stripping off all the parts and grinding down the damaged factory seam sealer/fire retardant/road noise reducer. BTW, if anyone knows what that stuff is made of, please let me know because trying to get that off is like trying to scrape 10-year-old gum off a New York sidewalk. It will not come off. Which, in reality, is probably why so much of the car survived. When I removed the passenger side fender, three bolts to the rear of the underside were covered in that stuff. I thought, "wow, that dude must have emptied his gun on the underside of this thing" because I had to heat gun/scrape/wire brush the area just to get the bolts exposed. Easily a 1/2" thick.

As you can tell from the photo, here is part of the damage from the fire department where they opened the hood with an ax. I will pound out the sheet metal and drill out the hood latch. Not sure if I will re-install the rivets in place or nut/bolt job; time will tell.

Take a look at these A-arms and let me know if they need replacing. The shocks were fairly new and the driver's side is toast, but I am unsure if I should replace both.

I have ordered the Hazet socket and if it arrives by Friday, then engine disassembly will begin this weekend. I have crossed my fingers the motor is still good. If not, then I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Something that did not help is the Army has determined I need to work on Saturdays for the next two months.

I make it to the car every day after 1600. The manager of the storage complex walks by just about every day, "just checking the grounds". She told me, "you know when I said you bring your car here I didn't know you were going to dismantle the thing". I told her I was just changing the fluids LOL. She told me technically she was not supposed to let me do car work, so we compromised and formed a timeline. I said the car would move under its own power by mid-July and she said OK.

Now I have a Gas Monkey/Overhaulin'/American Hot Rod type scenario of 'will he finish in time'? I can hear Mike Rowe's voice in my head as I work: Will Rick get the car done in time? And is the motor any good? And if so, can he order the parts in time to put the car back together? Find out...on the next episode of Porsche's American Hot Rod... At least I don't have a douche bag, Dwayne, following me around getting in my business.
Statements from passersby as I work: Is that a Toyota Supra? How much does it cost? Um, so, are you like a mechanic or what? And finally the #1 question - What is it?
Done- Lights in shop, breaker bar, 32-gallon air compressor, removed fender, nose, wiring harness.
Next- Engine, suspension, HVAC, and most likely torque tube if I get a set of lift bars.

RangerRN4

For some reason I can't figure out how to add pictures, and then write about them underneath. I also want to respond to what other folks have written with text and pictures, but can't seem to figure that out either? WTH?

FredR

I see Darth Vader came with the car [He was fire damaged as well wasn't he?].

Looks like you have made some good progress removing things -looking much better already.

Taguid

July you say! That seems like an unrealistic timeline.. just sayin but then again I am a bit slow!

RangerRN4

Seth you weren't kidding man. I have a budget now!

Yup, agree. The MM's look pretty good. I have to get the car up higher to pull the rack.

Thanks Daniel. Can I go ahead and contact Randy V then??? I need the help for sure. (See response to Seth)

Thanks Fred, the motor should come apart this weekend. As for the list, I am getting there

Thanks Joe. Couldn't get the gas compressor because it was $1K. Beer is always in the ice chest, and yes, I am working in parallel.

Thanks Tony! works perfectly.

Thanks Stan. I will take you up on that, but I better get this one done first

Hmmm, Darth? I kinda like that That has potential. As for the endoscope, you are correct. I probably should have brought that when i looked at the car to purchase. As for now, I am yanking the heads. Car as 150K miles on it now, which is nothing for a 30 year old car. If all goes well with the bores, should I have the valves ground? My dad always said it helped a high mileage motor.

Here are the 3 videos I have been watching to prep for the motor teardown.

awilli6

Rick,

You are making good progress man. I'm working Friday-Sun 12 hrs each but can stop by at about 1900 if you are still into it. Look at the paperwork I gave you. Torque tube was done by Memphis motor Werk. There was absolutely no issues with it prior to fire. I also did motor mounts a couple of years ago. Got the from Roger. Receipt should be in documents. I'm curious to see inside the motor. Oil & coolant changed regularly. Royal purple fully synthetic used. Might be some debris from removing charred bits could have fallen in. Text me tomorrow if you'll be around at 1900.

awilli6

When I had her she was called J Lo. Why? She's a little older, Sexy as hell with a fat a$$.

skpyle

Keep up the good work, RangerRN4!

SMTCapeCod

I would definitely recommend new motor mounts given the drastic "heat cycling."
The personnel at Ft Belvoir auto skills shop were pretty accustomed to seeing a blue 928S on their lift, though its been a while now. There are a number of enthusiasts in the vicinity, if you get to a task that requires some additional hands send a shout out. If you are getting it moving by July, driving it to sharktoberfest should be no problem at all.
;-)