buying 928 questions?

[911ballin]

ok i wanto to buy this 928 1986 the car us manual transmission , that is basic what atrack me the most, i did ask if was the s3 with better brakes and suss and is not! so i know has 5.0 engine ////that engine is motronic or j tronic ?what is best motronic ?because you can change eprom chip and is more reliable? right?
if the car is jtronic what are common issues is difficult to adjust? and tune?
second the dash and pod has common cracks! i know there is dashes at 928repair shop but 500$ plus labor of remove it is too much, is there a easier way to use filler in cracks and sand them and use some kind special paint and carefully repaint ita to make it look great!any ideas or topic? other owners that have try something like that with good finishes? any web lnk about this will be a plus the car has 100k and asking 5k ...

[Mrmerlin]

for the 1986 model there was a mid year change starting with VIN numbers above 1000 Note car # would be 92GS860000 onwards, after the 92GS861000 these are the S4 versions with the old body style, these cars came with the S4 brakes and other suspension mods.
The dash and pod can usually be filled with bondo then resprayed with SEM paint.
Other outfits also will recover the dash/pod and console with leather or vinyl.
if you looking at a early 86 then you out to hold out for the later version one will soon enough pop up.
Porken makes chips for the 85/86 cars and this will boost HP to over 300 and then if you add a Motorsport X pipe you should be getting about 330 at the crank

[Danglerb]

$500 is about right for labor to R&R the dash, but its not that hard to do yourself, and refinished dash is about $600 to $800 plus shipping. If that spooks you as too much money to spend on a old car, best you do some more research on owning a 928. Average used 928's have $5k to $10k or more in work that needs to be done to them, and can still look nice and run strong as is, just not for very long.

[MPDano]

I did the DIY on fixing the Dash Cracks with Fiberglass Bondo, then painting it with a Texture Paint then Color. It looked Awesome!! Well, until sun hit it for about an hour, then all the previous cracks re-opened right up. My Dash looked like the San Andreas Fault that goes right through the State Of California. I ended up taking it to a Tijuana Shop since I live in San Diego.

With that said. "Do NOT" do the Bondo Fill Dash Crack fix. Classic9leather or Paul Champagne are your only real good vendors to get this Resto down.

Here is a link to that Bondo Resto:
Porsche 928 Forums dot com - View topic - Dash DIY Restore

Pics of when I did the Bondo Resto on my Dash:
Porsche 928 Forums dot com - View topic - Pics of my First 928 and Current Project

Pics of my Tijuana Dash:
Porsche 928 Forums dot com - View topic - Pics of my First 928 and Current Project

[XLR8928]

Holy S--t Leo, you really had you car interior torn apart. I think you have way more ambition than I do, looks great though. So how much did the TJ leather cost?
-K

[MPDano]

I'm not totally sure, but I believe it was around $150 for the Dash and Center Console.

[XLR8928]

Originally Posted by MPDano

I'm not totally sure, but I believe it was around $150 for the Dash and Center Console.

Well, my B-Day is in June (1/2 century) so...maybe the wife will have pity on me and let me spend some money. She's still ragging about that Dodge Diesel PU she wants. At this rate, i'll never get an S4.
-K