Observations and Questions on new ownership
 

1985 928

PPI is today.

Compared to my 911, I have the following observations

• Heavy steering: The 911 is quick, the 928 feels heavier (yes, it is a heavier car)
• Torque: Doesn’t seem to have as much torque as I would have expected for a V8. As well, it doesn’t have as much throttle as I would have expected. That being said, it still moves down the highway and just keeps moving the speedometer to the right.
• Kickdown on auto transmission. I was expecting that when I floored it, I would feel the kickdown of the transmission and then hard acceleration. I’ve observed that when you floor it, it’s just smooth acceleration. Is this normal or is there an issue with the kickdown on the tranny?
• Comfortable. I haven’t pushed it through turns or anything (haven’t paid for it yet), but it is a nice ride down the highway. We’ll see how it does on the mountain roads around here this weekend.
• Windows. They go up and down with the key out. Is this normal? I haven’t looked into the wiring but something seems wrong with that.

Michael

Heavy steering.
Check your tire pressure. I have two 928's, US 83 has a much heavier feel than the Euro 84. I've heard something about a flow restrictor, but I don't remember any details.

Torque and AT.
AT and 5 spd are different animals, but there are some things to look at.
Is the flappy thing in the intake working correctly?
All the throttle linkage, bowden cable, and kick down relay thing.
What some guys try is put one foot on the brake, bring the rpm up just a touch, then punch it off the line.

No clue on the rest, many cars have features they didn't leave the factory with.

Asinine is a little harsh. Sometimes you just want to get in front of people at a highway merge light. Agreed, it's a great way to fry your transmission.

Thanks for the input. Didn't know about the drive ratio.

Will just have to see what the PPI says.

Michael

I haven't really heard of anybody damaging the tranny from anything but lack of servicing. I didn't say it was smart, just that its what a lot of the AT types do to pretend they are happy.

More than a few of us have a clear preference, some AT, some 5 spd.

One of the reasons I encourage people to drive several cars is that unless you do you really can't tell when your car is normal or fubar.

The steering is heavy.

The 85-86 ignition advance is conservative, and makes for a bit of a mushy feeling when you floor it at low rpms, especially with the low 2.20 final drive. Chips really wake up these years, moreso than 87-up for this reason. Chips + X pipe will give an honest 290-300 RWHP on 85-86.

The kickdown sounds like it is not working, through misadjustment or a disconnected wire.

If your kickdown switch is working correctly, you will really feel it in your pants. When I first took my car out this spring it just accelerated very smoothly under full throttle. It wasn't the holy crap feeling, I removed the gas pedal and the little magic button was not being activated. 10 minute fix. That is the first place I would look if full throttle at cruising speed does not impress you.

Windows should work after you turn the ignition off until you open a door

This is triggered by the interior light pin switches - so if your interior lights don't switch with the doors your windows wont turn off either.

This is an issue you should fix - because your battery will dischage quickly if the window regulator stays on...

Late model ROW/Euro windows always work whenever the doors are open (A smart idea that I like! - mine do this now too!).

PPI didn't turn up very promising. A lot of little things that are livable, but then the big one. Upper and lower ball joints on both sides are shot. One is completely separated and probably a few miles from breaking off and doing some serious damage. Repair bill is a little less than $2300 (seems the upper ball joint is integrated into the A arm – Porsche price is $644 each). Leak down was good but the engine isn't running properly and that would need to be sorted out. I can get the cost down on the A arm however that's just the big item. There are a lot of small items that would need to be addressed that are just going to add up.

Not sure next steps but for now I'm passing. I really like the car. I'm just guessing it's going to be $3000 to sort everything out to where I would want it to be, before I then start to fix the little nits (like the windows, turn signal, horn, brakes, voltage leak, warning lights, A/C, etc). I had counted on having to put about a grand into it to get it to where I wanted it for now before attacking the nits this winter, not $3000.

Alan, thanks for the info. He actually put a battery tender on it because there is a drain on the battery (one of the many nits I was going to attack this winter). So, there’s a lot to discover and track down on the electrical side (one of my least favorites but can be done with patience).

Porken and Penrod. When I mentioned this to him, he mentioned that it had been adjusted when he bought it and maybe it just needed more adjustment. Good information.

Michael

Sigh, brings back memories of my own PPI and how X amount was going to do Y stuff. 928's don't work that way, and other than pristine cars selling at large price premiums NONE are going to have just a grand of work to sort them out.

$3k in the first year starting from a totally clean PPI is about average.

If you basically like the car, now that its faults are known to both you and seller can't you come to an agreeable price?

I'm not sure on which years it covers but Carl has a ball joint rebuild kit, and 928Intl is about to start offering rebuilt A arms.

*** BTW since you are passing, why not spill all details so we can sit around and poke the entrails and make comments? (prices and full PPI maybe)

Look what showed up in my driveway today. I'm now the proud owner of a 1985 928 S. I won't disclose details but we worked out a price. I think I got one heck of a deal, only time will tell.

There's a lot of things to straighten out, but nothing that can't be done over time.

I'm going to have a lot of questions going forward.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1183237850.jpg

Michael

Pretty car, don't see how you could think of letting it get away. ;)