Rough 86 - 145,000 Miles

[JK McDonald]

A buddy asked me to help look over an 86 928 before making a decision whether to tackle it as a project. It turned out to be pretty rough and in need of a lot of attention straight across the board. Just a basic check list included neglected paint - a few dents - interior - motor rattly from sitting and smokes some - brakes - typical toe-in alignment screw up (new front tires scrubbed to the steel core) - the headlights work but the heat-A/C vents inop, etc.....

I finally got it running fairly well after draining the tank of old fuel and jumpering the fuel pump. It needed over a gallon of trans fluid before it came back to life and shifted up through the gears - second to third slips a bit. We let it idle for a while, then drove it very gingerly - especially considering a potential timing belt catastrophe. All four of the man hole cover wheels are damaged from someone using an air chisel to remove a set of locking wheel lug nuts.

Didn't have a camera with me and doubt he'll want to be going back for another look-see. Personally I recommended that he consider this one a parts-mobile and should pass. Especially at the firm asking price of $5,000. The owner supposedly has come down from $8,000 to $6,500 to $5,000. I told the owner to monitor Ebay for some general pricing.

Michael

[honerboys]

there is this one here in Denver - I have no affiliation with it - same year - not sure about the color combo but looks fairly well sorted -
1986 Porsche 928 S SKU:GS861694 Porsche 928 S 2dr Hatchback

[JK McDonald]

Hey Honer - The 86 928 you mentioned for sale in Denver is probably twice the car we looked at down toward Waxahachi last week. After listening to the sales pitch - I gathered that it had been initially worked on by a questionable garage and the bills kept adding up faster than a reliable heartbeat could be reestablished. One other issue casually mentioned by the owner was that there was an old mechanic's lien lurking somewhere in the background.

I had told my buddy before we arrived that we'd hear at least one of the well known and notoriously famous catch phrases used to try and sell a "NEEDS SOME TLC PORSCHE. "It ran fine when parked and just needs a tune up" - "The (rock hard/split) seats just needs some conditioner and the (faded/peeling) repaint will buff out" - "Another guy is supposed to be bringing over the cash this afternoon" . We hit the trifecta

There are some nice 928's around if you take the time to look. I've see several new owners jump the gun a bit and talk themselves into buying a project before doing their homework. The sad part is that their baby is still sitting under a tarp disassembled 3 years later.

I think that a well sorted out 928 Porsche is one of the few super cars still available to the working man.

Michael

[honerboys]

hey mike - yea I was one of those guys with a non-working 928 three years after getting it - sometimes my brain doesn't catch up with reality for a while - it's all good now - i'm on the road in the 84 - I was surprised at the "reasonable" price of the one here as it looks to be in nice shape and is only about $2500 more than what I have in mine - but I've got like 100,000 hours of labor in mine - but I do know how a 928 is put together now

[JK McDonald]

Hey Honer - I suspect that we all have had projects where once they were finally up on their feet, we didn't want to count up all the labor . Luckily my wife has always had a high tolerance for my Porsche-mobile therapy. For me, simple persistence is the key and well worth the time and satisfaction of tackling a difficult task. There is also the enjoyment of breathing some life into a project that others (for what ever reason) have given up on.

I recently sold a couple of my Porsche after finally settling on a price that I couldn't turn down. Some I have had long enough to consider them part of the family and were difficult to see drive away. I wound up only keeping my 84 928 - Miss Purdy and a sweet running 87 911 - Frau Helga. Oh-boy, now have some room for another project -

Michael

[Danglerb]

If you are willing to use some patience, very nice cars show up from time to time, but they can last no more than minutes. What seems to work best except for dumb luck, is to get your money ready and make it known to as many people as possible that you are willing to pay some specific amount in cash for a very nice whatever specifics you want 928.

Fixing up an abused 928 is about the most expensive way to end up with a nice one.