Help me get this 928S up and running!

[blepkowski]

Hello,

I have been a long time pelican'er and have previously owned a few 911's. Today is a new challenge as I bought this 86 928 that suffered an interior fire. The price was right and it doesn't look too too bad. I also am working with chesireisuragee who is helping me some used parts lined up! The fire looks like it was mostly on the drivers side behind the cluster but the fuse panel on the passenger kick panel is completely intact. I figure I need pretty much everything from the firewall to the steering wheel and the headliner and hopefully will be able to make a harness again from a donor one.

I'm sure I will have a lot of questions over the next few weeks as I start to piece it together.

I's there anything special I need to take into account? Where is the heater core on this car? ( the blower and everything under the windshield are intact)

This car in a 6/86 build date is it a 86.5? what exactly are these half model changes?

Thanks in advance for the help!

[chesireIsugaree]

It's a good car! I love 928's without rub rails... Now man, you will ALWAYS carry a fire extinguisher with you from here out so this doesn't happen to you, right?

Ouch, that's a bad blaze that did that !

The heater core is directly behind the center console- square in the middle of the dash.... Lots of plastic in the heater core assembly.

[Shark_GTS]

check the timing belt condition, turn the motor over and test compression each cylinder before you do anything.

[chesireIsugaree]

Checking the belt is prudent...

[gattaca]

Originally Posted by blepkowski

This car in a 6/86 build date is it a 86.5?

Production started Nov. 1985 for 1986.5 so if your VIN's (located on driver's door well) last 4-digits are 1000 or greater, then you have an 1986.5

'86.5 or "S3" as some might call it, was the last year of the "older body" (slang- OB) style w/ the "S" front & rear spoilers before the newer S4 style was introduced.

The '86.5 has the same floor pan, suspension, brakes & ABS, and dual exhaust (rear muffler) as the S4 with indentations in the rear hatch for attachment of an S4 spoiler if the S3 owner desired.

The S3 differed from the S4 in the following ways:

1. Less rated HP: 288hp vs. 316hp (but some have gotten 300hp with proper tuning)

2. Less curb weight: (3,439 lbs. auto/3,351 lbs. manual) vs. (3,549 lbs auto/ 3,505 manual)

3. S3 has more aggressive cams but has smaller valves than the S4. GT's have the same cam specs as the S3 (85-86.5) but with a smaller lobe separation angle. Basically, GT cams are near identical to S3 cams. Some have noticed that the '85 cams seem to have a HP peak slightly higher than the GT cams due to 8 degrees advanced intake timing. But it didn't seem to have any wider HP range and it didn't show any difference in idling characteristics.

4. S3's had no knock sensors like the S4 (so the factory chips were tuned very conservatively -opinion).

5. The early '86 engines were essentially identical to the late '86 engines except the early '86 engines' have the small metal vapor recovery valve at the fender instead of on the fender brace located over the engine as on the later '86 model.

[blepkowski]

Thanks for the input guys!

chesireIsugaree is that heater core coming as part of my parts package??

[Danglerb]

I was looking at that auction a few days ago, and wondered if it would be parted or repaired.

The reason to check the compression is that thrust bearing and timing belt failures don't have an insurance payoff, but fires do.

If the engine is ok, then in a sense you are lucky because most of what is damaged with your car are items most dismantlers send to the crusher with the chassis.

I would start by removing the fire damage until you find the extent of it. Then inspect the car and come up with a list of items to replace, and weigh the cost of fixing it vs parting and buying a running car with a non salvage title. Also be sure before starting repairs that in your state it can be retitled and registered again.

Fire seems contained under the pod, but damaged wires could be anyplace from further shorts created as it cooked off.

How was the fire put out? Look for damage related to that as well.

[N2O-SHARK]

Ahhh, the very rare "Hickory Smoke" interior option.

Should be a fun project. Post progress.

[blepkowski]

Ha ha yea it's a very rare option!

Danglerb thanks for the input, I am getting it home today and will start the assessment.

Whats the best way to check compression on a car with no electrical system? Should I manually hook a jumper back to the starter terminals? Take out all the plugs and crank it 7 compression strokes by hand??

[Tass 928]

I was bidding on that car also as I need a full nose for another project. I did buy an 84 that I am picking up in about an hour.....It should have the parts you need to repair that dash. I only need the nose and will be getting rid of everything else. Drop me a note and we can work it out. I'm assuming I must be geographically close to you.

Tass

[MPDano]

So you guys were bidding. What was the final bid?

[Tass 928]

Originally Posted by MPDano

So you guys were bidding. What was the final bid?

I didn't actually place a bid... it went over my very low price cap. I only wanted the front sheet metal and a few other bits.

I did however buy another car (just got back with it) and it is complete less engine. Perfect body, so so interior. $200.00

All of its guages, switches, blowers, keys etc seem to be in fine shape. Dash itself has normal cracks. Original poster: if you are close and want to remove parts your self, I will likely give them to you for free. Also......you should check out our annual Wilbraham tech session, you would run into people who have already been where you are now.

[Danglerb]

Were you bidding through a third party like Ridesafely.com or directly at the auction?

I can't bid directly at insurance auctions here in SoCal, so I follow them on RideSafely.com, but have never bid through them (crazy high bids most of the time, which I think include a huge middleman commission).

[Tass 928]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

Were you bidding through a third party like Ridesafely.com or directly at the auction?

I can't bid directly at insurance auctions here in SoCal, so I follow them on RideSafely.com, but have never bid through them (crazy high bids most of the time, which I think include a huge middleman commission).

Directly

[MPDano]

Originally Posted by Tass 928

Directly

So what did you pay? It's all moot, just curious.

[Danglerb]

Start telling Leo there are $200 928's for auction and the next thing you know he will have 20 acres and a farm house in the boonies of WV.

[MPDano]

Hey, come on now. They have to be around $300

[Tass 928]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

Start telling Leo there are $200 928's for auction and the next thing you know he will have 20 acres and a farm house in the boonies of WV.

My cap on the burnt-dash car was 500.00 because I also had a line on the car I bought for 200.00 ( non-auction private sale). Either car had all of the parts I'm looking for and I have no interest in parting out cars for $. I don't need another engine and there is always the chance that the burnt car has unknown engine/drivetrain problems anyway.

These cars are out there ! It is not that hard to find complete cars for 500.00 or less. If you are working on a project car, having a parts car is great. If you get a couple of good major parts (body panels, engine or tranny) that you need, the rest is pretty much "free".

[blepkowski]

I won the car for $750 which I thought was an awesome deal. I'm guessing the car could be parted out for double that If I needed to??

My intentions are to get her running and driving though if the drive train is solid.

Today I got it home and just starting pulling the dash apart a bit, I'll have a full assessment of the burn hopefully in the next day or two.

[rhjames]

you can do a compression check and a leakdown check.

I would do both for good measure.

Yes, jump start is OK for comp test, just be sure to disconnect coil wire to prevent starting.

then remove all spark plugs, insert comp gauge in one cylinder, and turn engine over at least 8 times. Do this for each cylinder and record your results.

After doing the entire engine, squirt a little oil in the plug holes, and do the comp test again...recording your results.

comp numbers should be in the 175 to 185 psi range for a good reading. if your numbers are better, that's OK too.

if you have low numbers, did they stay low after the oil squirt comp check? if they came significantly up, say from 130 then up to 185, you have bad rings. if they stay low, you have either valve damage---head gasket issues---or possibly a broken piston or rings.


a leakdown check will give you more detailed results if you have a leakdown tester.






--Russ