I was at the LA experience center with Derek Bell when he opened the door to the 962 he won Lemans with and the security guard yelled at his as well.

 

Look at that... two early 928s I was involved with are both at PCNA! Signs are telling me I need to get to Georgia.

 

 

It's looking good Doug. I got to see it at Hershey when TSB had it. That is a sweet car....

 

Jim,
Sounds like a number 6 roadtrip...

CT

 

Thanks to everyone for the positive comments.. I'm fortunate to be having a lot of fun with this car but I feel there are greater implications for all 928s. First off ... thank YOU for being part of this project. By "you" I mean everyone here who has helped this process along. There are dozens from this particular board community who gave energy into getting #1 where it's parked today. The community has provided moral support, advice, marketing assistance, connections, labor, towing, loading, unloading, pushing, sweat, bodywork, beer, encouragement, wrenching, bloody knuckles, technical knowledge, parts, and very importantly even the car itself. Some of you I've never had direct contact with, but your well presented deep dive detail threads about restoring some particular system on your own car gets saved in my library for future efforts, and it's one less thing I need to "learn by doing" because one of you took the time to lay it all out for all of us.

A few years ago Porsche would rarely mention the 928 in the context of a classic status, look where we are now... a crusty one is sitting in the museum! In the Rennfilms video i said something to the effect of "it's just another old 928.. but if the vin makes someone pause and take another look into these cars it makes this car important" Most of my efforts with the car so far are in this direction.. Getting it, getting it complete and mobile, getting it presentable, getting it out there on the 40th anniversary, getting some press on it, and finally getting Porsche to acknowledge it. The list has been checked off only with the contributions from this community. Thousands of visitors will walk by number one in the coming months, and some will take a second look.

While we reflect on some accomplishments over the last few years with #1, the most glaring reality is there is so much more to be done. Every system on this car requires restoration, but fortunately it benefits from being substantially untouched aside from the ravages of spoiler and side molding installations, federalization, damage, and resprays of the outer body.

I’ve managed/done other Porsche restorations.. 356 and air cooled 911. Managed/done means performing the majority of the work while subbing out services and processes to those with a much higher competence level than myself. Things like engine machine work, bodywork, sewing seats, and painting immediately come to mind.... there are others. For most cars in this condition the basic execution is the same:

• Full disassembly
• Strip chassis to metal, rust and damage repairs, refinish, etc
• Restore every system
• Restore entire driveline, suspension, etc
• Lots of new parts, glass, rubber, trim, upholstery, every wear item, etc
• Lots and lots and lots of hours

*not even remotely a comprehensive list

But on this car the basic execution strategy is not so obvious to me:

Restore for judging points?
Over restoring has been going on for decades, and there’s a lot of good reasons for it:

• The cars are “better” than they ever were, immediately obvious in the areas of paint finishes and body fitment.
• The “somewhat quantifiable” judging points and the competition it fosters just keeps increasing the quality of these types of restorations.
• These shenanigans are further fueled by the monetary values paid for the top point cars.

There’s an argument to be made if there are any 928s that should get this kind of restoration, this one might be it. Not really my first choice though.

Restore accurately?
These pre production cars are their own animal. They were thrown together, in a rush, by hand. Think of some mechanical project you threw together in a rush, fabricating parts along the way… how did it come out? There was probably some reasoning in the back of your head; “I’ll come back later and fix it” or “I only need this to work for a short time” This car has that written all over its DNA.

• Panels don’t fit that well, and I can see it in original photos.
• There’s afterthought-after-paint welding in a number of areas on the chassis, where the white paint was beat off with a chisel, a part was welded on, then it was brushed with black paint. (the brake hose attaching clip brackets is one example)
• Areas of really inadequate coverage of original primer, undercoating, and paint on the undercarriage (compared to production cars)
• Areas of really really heavy coverage of original undercoating (compared to production cars)
• A lot of the original work looks like a high school shop class built it.

The interior presents one of the greater challenges. It’s a huge part of the car’s presence and remains in amazing condition due to its rugged pre-production construction. It is hardly “restoration” quality though and faces some difficult realities:

• Green vinyl: NLA
• Green sliverknit carpet: NLA
• Green dashboard: NLA
• Green whatever: NLA

Even if I could source this stuff am I supposed to rip all of the original upholstery off of all the hand-made fiberglass interior parts and recover them? That would bother me forever. The chassis requires media blasting and rust repairs, does one replicate the shoddy undercoating job that would be disturbed? What about the hacky afterthought welding and black paint brush work….you can make it look similar but that originality would be gone forever.

Now plug these facts into the normal “928 that needs everything” equation:

• Full mechanical restoration required (76 date codes on pretty much everything, so grabbing a better whatever from another car is out)
• Electrical work (did I mention the hand painted wiring harness?)
• Glass (some original, some not)
• Chassis to bare metal repaint (the outside has no original paint left...but that underside?)

The next place one’s mind might go is to “compartmentalize” what gets “restored” and what gets “preserved” I’m working through this concept now but drawing the lines is proving to be difficult. What would Porsche do? Going to the museum is more than fun and photo ops. I suspect (and hope) that some Porsche employees will really pour over the car to evaluate it...maybe even share their thoughts on it.

What would YOU do?

 

 

IMO, aside from being #1, the importance and significance of this car is what you describe under "Restore Accurately". Particularly your first sentence.
Anyone can throw serious money at a full restoration for judging points, but when that is done, the original DNA (to use your words) is lost and can't be recovered. The story has become edited. Correct me if I'm wrong, but when it comes to important and significant cars, hasn't 'original patina' become a consideration of judging and valuation standards these days? I recall seeing an important European exotic (Ferrari?) with race heritage. The scratches and grime were still on the car from the last race decades ago. I believe that added to its value and its importance - and its story.
If I walked into a museum containing some of the most important cars of all time, I'd be drawn to this:


I know that this is an extreme example of my point


My answer is that it's all about the DNA and the story, so DO WHAT YOU'RE DOING!
And thank you.

 

If this is the car I think it is, I've seen it at the Mullin museum in Oxnard. Pulled up from the bottom of a lake. It does get a lot of attention.

I vote for "accurate restoration". There's only one #1. You can build a concourse car out of any other 928.

 

That Bugatti story is Here. I guess #1 doesn't need that much work after all. They're some of the most fascinating machinery from the 20th century, I had the privilege of doing a little work on my friend's 1935 59/50s in 2016 before we went to Amelia Island Concours with it. Yea..that's gear oil in my hair.

 

#321 is a great post Andrew. Exceptionally thought out and reaffirms my opinion that this car found the right owner to be its custodian during such an important phase of its existence.

IMHO I think it needs to be preserved with factory induced warts and all as much as possible. You can never recreate that. Logic dictates that in the upcoming decades there will be at least a handful of 100 point restorations done on the OBs. Those cars will provide the interested public a glimpse into what an ideal first generation 928 was and could be. If that happened to #1, then it just becomes another fully restored 928 at that point and ceases to be "special".

The fact that you can drive this car is amazing in itself. If it sat preserved in a museum from now till the end of time it would still be an incredible piece or Porsche history. I think the only things that should be restored are the bits that necessarily can't be seen but are needed in order to provide functionality to certain functions. And in each case these bits should be restored rather than removed and replaced, even if period correct parts are available to do so. However, if a part or parts are known to have been replaced in the past by a previous owner and are not original to the factory installation, then I think those parts are fair game for R&R.

For certain this is not an easy task, and likely one that could consume your entire time as the owner of #1. But in the end you will have preserved something for future 928 enthusiasts that can never be recreated or duplicated. There is only ever one #1.

 

Solid posts Drooman and Nate,

The case for preserving this car "As Is" is a strong one. The patina and story of it's life are written clearly everywhere you look. Andrew has done all the right things to make it presentable, functional, drivable while keeping it authentic. This is the same rational that keeps me from over-restoring the U-boat (XX8) GT.

Some cars deserve to be honest representations of long lives on the road with the visual scars and road rash from a dynamic life the has been well lived.

There are plenty of stillborn garage queens, I have several, they beg me to stretch their legs. Do I dare risk a rock chip? Park them where they might get a door ding? NO! In the rare moments where time is not standing still they tell me that living in a bubble is not all that fun... Kind of like being the prettiest girl in the class being without a date because all the boys in her class are scared to talk to her. So --- to answer droomans question "What would you do?" I'd do what Andrew is doing, put this car in front of as many people who care to enjoy being around it. Drive it, and play with it. After all it IS a press car and it is still getting great press reviews!

On that other subject... No number one is not for sale...

Honor, Enjoy, Share and Drive, because sometimes men are wealthy in proportion to the things they can afford to leave alone...

.

 

Great post Andrew. This is something that I do think about from time to time, especially after our visit two years ago, and spending quality time with #1 in Pittsburgh.

My humble advice would be the "hybrid" approach that you seem to be leaning towards. In this regard, I would re-spray the exterior (white, of course), and leave the interior alone.

With respect to the exterior, it has always been common for manufacturers to repaint pre-production show cars multiple times to show different color perspectives (Shelby was the most famous for doing this with his original 260 AC Cobra - he made one prototype, and repainted it often, so that folks would think he had a bunch of them to sell). Anyway, the point is, a re-sprayed exterior does not, or at least should not, negatively affect the provenance of a car like #1. Besides, the front fender has been replaced, and the car primered already anyway, so a proper re-spray just finishes it off. I wouldn't do a strip to metal refinish though, because the factory would not have done that either. Instead, I would correct any issues with the primer you've already applied, and paint over that. I'm not sure I would even do any disassemble, but instead just mask. The purpose is to have a nice finish that shows well under the lights, but not necessarily a concours level paint job.

The interior is a different story altogether. I would not touch it. It really is amazing the condition it is in considering the life it lived before Jim found it and rescued it. The pleats are still good, no tears in the pasha, no cracks on the dash, still soft carpet, etc. The history in that interior cannot be duplicated or re-created.

I also agree with Nate's excellent point. To the extent any privateers have made non-standard changes, I'd be inclined to reverse those, and go back to originality as much as possible, based upon availability of parts. Likewise, for non-visible safety improvement things, like steel ball joints and so forth. I do know one owner put in an after market box store auto parts electric fan That has likely already been rectified

Regardless of where you come down with it, and even if you do nothing more, I thank you for being the steward that you are for this most significant car. It's my favorite model of all cars and models made, and your efforts have crystalized and elevated it's importance on the world-wide auto stage

 

Andrew, What a great thread I didnt know you took #1 to the Porsche center.
Thats so very cool brother,
your the perfect caretaker for this machine