Carchickz06

This is my first post- My spouse owns two 928s. So of course, I live in a very biased household. Yes, I voted for the 928 out of respect for the spouse.
But I love the 914! They're compact, tough as nails and I love watching them on the track. The first time I was at Lime Rock Park for the PCA club race, a 914 pulled into the pits smoking something awful. The driver gets out, opens up the back, pulls out something, jumps back into the car and takes off like a madman. I think the car came in 3rd overall and won it's class.
Besides, They're soooooooooooo cute in orange ( sorry, girlie girl moment).

Doug Hillary

Hi Jane,

welcome to RENNLIST - a great place to be. I like the 914/6 range too!

I suppose it is very easy for all of us to overlook the Porsche/VW relationship that spurned the breed in the first place

Dr Porsche had such a rich career and his legacy is probably more in watercooled engines than aircooled ones. His time with D-B and in what was/to be "Eastern Europe" was particularly fruitfull
After all the original VW as we know it could easily have been water cooled and produced by MB, Opel Ford or others. We are no doubt all grateful Porsche's design was chosen and our cars came into being as a result - direct or otherwise

He of course designed many V8s, many supercharged and etc - but well all know these things don't we?

Regards

cobalt

I spent a fair amount of time in Switzerland in 1984 and 1985 buying grey market cars. I purchased several cars along with my friends uncle who sold about 75 cars through the papers. One of the cars I found was a rather nice 80 928 with a euro 5.0 liter engine form the factory. White with white and black checkered interior. The interior was a bit garish but the car was a wolf in sheeps clothing. It had 29k kilometers on it when I bought it and it was like new. I believe I paid about $6k (exchange rate was great) When it started getting up to about 40k miles on the car everything started to need replacing.
Shocks, water pump, sunroof seal, clutch, etc. What was the real killer was the electrical problems that started occurring. Trying to figure out the mess of wires beneath the passenger floor foot well was a nightmare. It was constantly acting up and in the shop. I tried several reputable shops and none were able to resolve all the issues. I had several friends at the time who had S4's (the euro 5.0 was actually a faster car without all the spoilers) They were also having problems at about the same mileage including some electrical issues, but not as bad as mine.

All said the car cost me about $12k in maintenance in 1987 dollars, which was a bundle. I have owned several Porsches and none have come close to costing me that much. My SC's cost me fewer then $5k for all the years and mileage of ownership. I have only put 3k miles on my current turbo and other then oil changes I don't foresee any great expenses other then the mods I have done. The early 911's are some of the easiest cars to work on yourself. The 928 although doable is more of a pain and I would leave it to the professionals to get frustrated over.

Needless to say I sold the car for about $19k which was cheap for the time but all in all the car cost me nothing. Then again I have never owned a Porsche I did not sell for at least what I had into it.

I still think the 928 is a great car. But for seat of the pants driving pleasure any pre 98 911 or turbo far exceeds the joy derived from other models, IMO.

Flott Leben

Any early car (pre-1970's, I assume you mean by "early 911's) is vastly easier to work on than a car from the 80's. Emissions restrictions, the advent of onboard computers, climate controls, various engine sensors and combustion monitoring, advanced fuel injection, etc. all made cars far more complex in the 80s. But when you compare same year to same year, you can not say that a rear engine 911 is easier to work on than a front engine 928. Engine access alone is far superior in a front-mounted car. There is just more access room in the front of the car than the trunk.

A 5.0 1980 928? How many valves did it have? Do you have the engine serial number?. If it was a 5.0 from the factory it was very unique and a collector's car.

cobalt

Don't remind me. As is with most of the Porsche's I have owned, I wish I had never sold it. I sold the 928 in 1987 or 8 and honestly kept little to no records on the car. I don't recall the specifics but it looked similar to my friends S4 engine, but not 100% the same. Yes I am sure the car was a rarity. I was told Porsche made several in 1980 just prior to the release of the S4, which I vaguely remember was released there before here. I never really looked into it, at the time nobody was really interested in rare Porsches unless they were RS's or special 356's back then.

As far as maintenance, I had 2 911 SC's at the same time I owned the 928. The SC's I found to be a piece of cake to work on. Very basic in design and I could easily access anything in the engine compartments, or drop the engine in a matter of hours.( I would not think about dropping a 928 engine unless absolutely necessary. The 928 on the other hand was a marvel of engineering firsts. Many things like the multi disc clutch and accessing engine parts I found to be a bit more complicated on the 928 then the 911. Especially the electrical system on the 928 was quite confusing. the 911 was so basic and if push came to shove one could easily remove and replace a wiring harness on an SC, I did not have the nerve to attempt it on the 928. Maybe all these years later and after restoring several Porshces(mostly 914's, some 911's) I may have a different opinion, but I don't think so.

Nicole

Well, if your 928 was a 1980, it certainly wasn't a 5.0 liter. If it was a 5.0 liter, it can only have been an '86 because that's the only year the 5 liter 4-valve engine (288HP and cat) was an option in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Porsche changed and upgraded a lot of the electronics for the 1989 model year. I've had an '88 and two '91 - none has had any electrical problems. However, the first 928 I ever drove - a '78 Euro - once started the engine but no other electrical system was working. After turning it off and restarting, everything was back to normal. It was scary, though...

cobalt

Fair enough, however, I can assure you it was a factory 5.0 liter engine in a 1980 928. The factory paperwork associated with the car all specified it, that I am sure. My friends Uncle checked it out thoroughly before we bought the car. I remember him being very skeptical and finally saying it was a rare find. That is why I ended up buying it because at the time I was really interested in 911's only.

I vaguely remember the previous owner (now granted this is through an interpreter, I do not speak Swiss German) said a few of these cars were built by Porsche and eventually sold to execs, he acquired the car through his friend, whom worked for Porsche. I unfortunately do not have any other info. I wish I did. I now wish I still had the car.

I guess it was why no one could fix the electrical problems because its wiring was different from the other 928's I saw of that time. It used to freak the mechanics out when they saw the car.

I recall the problems being similar as you described. it was like a ghost in the machine. One day everything was fine the next the windows wouldn't work, then the windows would work and the gages would not function. That is why I sold the car. Come to think of it the person who bought it did not seem to care about the problems but was highly interested in the car. Maybe he knew something I did not realise.

It would be nice to track the car down today, if I only kept the serial number or some paperwork about it. I think I have some pictures I will try to locate.

saphriel

Wow, haven't been here in awhile and this post is still up.
So, has there been any verdict?


I propose that the winning decision should be based on the LEAST number of votes! The logic here being that the car with the least number of votes is SO good, that owners have no time to spend behind a computer. They are so busy driving their beloved car!

Therefore, it's a tie then! between the 914 and 924 as the best Porsche ever!

fixnprsh

the 928 is ahead, how odd. Us Porsche techs hate these things, expensive German Z28, these things cost a fortune to keep up, are you people bloody mad? My personal fav is an early long hood 911 with MFI, purest essence of sport driving IMO. no frills, no PSM, ABS, just a hot flat six and road feel. Of course the 356 paved the way for them all , the pinicle being the "Super 90" so dont forget your roots, but I also would have a tough time picking between that one or a 930 for second place as the 930 is Thors hammer in its prime, a crude weapon, a real mans car that will teach your *** to drive and not rely on electronics to save you from your poor driving skill

saphriel

It's simply a reflection of just how many 928 owners there are here in rennlist, that's all. Be warned fixnprsh: don't even think about saying anything remotely close to a semblance of negative about the 928 here, lest we extend this thread three times more than it needs to be !

fixnprsh

oh i like 928's, rocket ship fast, comforatble, beautiful design. I just hate working on them (as do all Porsche techs) and I almost pass out evertime I have to quote one of you guys a steering rack, intake reseal or ein wasserpumpe!

saphriel

I know EXACTLY what you mean. Maintenance, one parking space, and the fact that it was an automatic were major factors in making me give up my shark (maintenance being the killer, as I am NOT that mechanically inclined). Still, I have an eye out for a manual GTS if the right one comes along. But then again, there's a 968 turbo S, a 993 C2S, a TechArt Boxster, and a whole huge range of Porsche choice out there!

Anyway, back to the topic: the best Porsche ever? Wasn't it Ferry Porsche himself who said that the best Porsche is the one that isn't built yet?
Seriously though, I myself am pretty surprised with the answers here, since I thought the answer would be pretty self-evident: the Porsche 911 is the best Porsche ever made, isn't it? If not, why not?

SharkSkin

If the 930 is Thor's Hammer, then the 928 is Odin's eight-footed steed, Sleipnir. Where, pray tell, does my eight hooved steed question driving skills with electronics?

fixnprsh

no no, I was refering to our PSM equiped, 30 year old, O.C. living, 996 driving, doesnt know what a 356 is, yuppie Porsche driver. which I think is safe to say, Isn't on this site. I see it all the time. I make fairly good $$$ pulling 996 motor/trans assemblies for 996's that need a frame straigtening for a single car accident. LOL

Flott Leben

What?!? That is like saying early 911's are just expensive VW Beetles?!? With the exception of a watercooled V-8, the 928 has virtually nothing in common with a Z28. I would expect a more knowledgeable response from a "Porsche tech."

No offense meant, but the feeling is mutual - most of us don't exactly love "Porsche techs" either - that is why we choose to work on our cars ourselves whenever possible. And it is an easy car to work on - at least for me.


Not true. There are more "911" variant owners on rennlist than all other models. We are just passionate about the 928 and feel that, all around and for many, many reasons, it is the "best" Porsche.

You can say whatever negative things you want. Just base them in fact, not bs. I prefer to expound on the positives of our cars, but to each his own.

P.S. Consider the thread extended