I'm always looking at 928's but this is pretty clean, running with some body work needed and clean interior. 80k+ miles and I plan on taking my long time friend/mech. with me to give it a once over!!! The phone dial wheels will go first

electrical gremlins, lots of them and DYI clip and snip repairs are common. The "S" is a nice car. Otherwise I think you will be un-impressed. Poor upholstry.

Also tons of rotted vacuum lines, some that may be unobtainable. Power steering leaks, AC problems, ect...hard cars to own.

Well here is a response from someone who actually owns one. I have been DAILY driving my 1982 928 for over 6 years now. Only been down and unable to drive it to work twice. Both time were clutch related (first was a hose and second the pressure plate). Electrical issues are not Porsche's problems they are previous owner problems. If you can read a schematic then get a copy of the wiring diagram and go over the cars issues in a systematic approach and fic it correctly and you will never have to revisit the issue again. When I first got mine 6 years ago that is what I did and hvae never had an electrical problem since. The 82's don't have hardly any vaccuum lines on them. I retrofitted my A/C system with 134A 6 years ago along with a new reciever/drier and it has been blowing cold since. Yes to the power steering leaks (944 are also plagued with them) but new hoses are available and they are not that expensive. The non-euro engine is a non-interference engine (unless the belt brakes at high revs) so the timing belt issue is not as scary as the 32 valve engines. If the interior is in good condition you are way ahead of the game as they can be expensive to fix. Mine is bare as I took it all out a few years ago to lighten up the car (I am the only one who ever rides in the car) and I dont care about how this car looks but more on how it runs. It is very quick (5 speed not an auto) and gets lots of looks.
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How can a non-interference engine suddenly become an interference engine only at high revs when a belt brakes? I mean, without breaking a rod?

Technically the engine is a non-interferance engine, but some people have had cases of bent valves when the belt broke at high revs. Don't know if these cases were a true stock engine or if the heads had been removed prior and possibly shaved a little and closing the gap more. Ask at 928International about the 4.5 L engines and they will say the same thing..."technically speaking the engines are a non interferance engine"

I disagree wholeheartedly about the electrical " on issue " I know of 3 of these cars I have worked on myself with the mystery drain. Virtually very electrical component on these cars runs through the alarm system. If the car is driven 2-3 times a week it is not an issue, but when the car sits for 2-3 weeks at a time ( as many seem to do ) they kill the battery. There is no work around, disable the alarm, disable the car. I have actually talked to electrical " genious " friend of mine about making an aftermarket harness for these cars that eliminates the alarm system completely, but in the end, we both decided it just wasn't worth the effort. the cars aren't worth that much, and the owners are cheap asses that wouldn't pay 1000.00 + for a hand made wiring harness, then XXX.00 to have it installed.

My opinion, find one with a blown mototr and go LS!. It just makes sense.


A slight side note. I had an early 16 V engine at one time that I wanted to put in my 53 chevy. I was looking at making an intake to run webers

I have owned three 928's. 1980 euro 5-speed, 86.5 928S auto and 1988S4 auto that I have had since it had 24,000 miles. I don't care if it is a 79 or 95GTS, its all about how it has been maintained. Any after market alarm installed sooner or later will cause issues. Parts are expensive, but used parts are common. Great touring cars and fun to drive long distance. Find the best one you can for the money you can afford, Documentation is key! Auto transmission seem to be bullet proof, 5 speeds cost big money for replacement parts. Good luck in your search. Euro cars are non interferance, belt can break and you will be ok in most cases.
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I have an 87 928s4 and love it. They can be quirkey at times with electrical issues, Window switches and such, Gauges that bounce and things like that. These cars are a joy to drive and are hard runners due to the V-8 power. I had some issues with the auto transmission and replaced it several years ago. This is not a daily driver but a fun car instead. Parts are not hard to find as there are more non-runners than working cars. I have had had 4 of different models over the last 10 years. You will need manuals and wiring diagrams to work on the car but it is worth the time and just part of the fun.

944 Turbo with chev v-8
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.hines.35#!...4707&type=2


Enjoy the turbo untill it blows, Then Chev LS1 or more conversion and enjoy 0 maintenance.

That's not a good sign...

This is due to cars not being maintained by past owners and current owners not wanting to spend needed bucks to bring the cars back up to standard. The show\p labor rates are over $100 per hour at the dealership and new parts are pricey. The people who are able to work on and repair their own cars come out ok but those who must pay for work loose interest and just let them sit. Sad story but true.

I was looking at the 85-86 or 87-98 5.0 ones too earlier this year Andy, as both a fun trip cruiser & around town, as well as to tow my wife's "new" restored vintage 1960 Avion T20 travel trailer (similar to Airstream & has electric brakes) - they're factory rated to tow up to 3527 lbs. on a braked trailer (1/2 that unbraked) & Porsche had the tow bar, electrical hook-up & mirrors as options in their PET (NLA though).

zambezi with the silver 82 928 tows with his & you can just see the end of his tow bar receiver between the rear bumper guards.

They seem to be phenomenal GT cars, but DAPOs & the fact that they're in the trough of their value curve - which is good if you can find well cared for one, as they'll probably go up in the near future. We drove a beautiful met blue/ivory 89 928S4 in Camarillo in April, but my wife gunned that V8 coming out of a driveway & freaked out, so now she's worried about all the steep cross gutters in our streets in Orange (not a problem if you don't mash the pedal).

We got off the hunt when my wife balked at driving it, but we may revisit it again. She needs to be comfortable with it as our "3rd car" when another DD is in the shop, but we're only racking up about 6k/year on both cars now that the kids are gone, so we'd split that & maybe a bit more added between 3.

Talk to 928international in Anaheim for the stuff to look out for, and he can recco the 928 mechanic nearby who does PPIs.

PS - go on the 928 online forums & SIG & Pelican, as you'll find a lot of great info & owners there, as there are 3 or 4 good ones.

Good Luck!
Tom
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love the 928 burnout in Weird Science




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmkNWAX6CGU

This movie

I just sold my 83 928s. It was my daily driver for 7+ years from march to end of November (didn't use it in the snow). I put about 100k miles on it and it never left me stranded. It really is all about how it was previously maintained and how/who modified it. With mine, I was the 3rd owner and nobody had touched it other than a Porsche dealership.

Any car can have the problems mentioned above if it's been messed with. Mine was cool, always got stopped by lookers, started first crack every time, likes to cruise well above any legal speed limits anywhere (oh, and you can have the sunroof open and listening to your favorite music as if you were parked!), large support forums, 3 major 3rd party parts suppliers...I could go on forever.

They get a bad rap for electrical but it's usually a result of someone messing with it or (they are old cars) poorly repairing a problem from age. These we highly complicated cars in their day...miles of wiring, twin analog computers, lots of relays and sensors on everything. Easy for Someone to create ongoing issues if not done properly.

Only thing I really did was preventative maintenance...oil, filters. Schedule belt changes (always do the water pump at the same time...good insurance while you are in there). I did upgrade to gt tires and rims...fills the fenders out nicely!

Andy,

Here's a link to my similar 928 query post I made last Spring...

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...=2&t=172008

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Another area of concern of which I was made aware, is that the aluminum body parts can be hard & expensive to repair, if that's where the 82 you're considering has damage. The hood & door skins, & front fenders IIRC were made from aluminum on 928s (someone correct me if I'm wrong on where it was used).

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Also FYI, another benefit of you're getting a 928, is that you can eventually use it to tow your 914-6 resto to concours events....Monterey?....see pix below.

That is - if you can get a light enough braked trailer to keep the combined towed weight below the 928's factory manual's braked trailer wt. 3527 lb limit (or 4,123 lbs according to the tag on the Porsche sold tow bar/hitch made by ORIS as OEM/OES of this part listed in the 928 PETs - see pix below). This rating applies to ANY & all 928s - no special "towing package upgrades" to suspension, AT cooler, radiator, etc. required - although the owners manuals recommend keeping your speed below 120 when towing!
... pretty awesome vehicle IMHO!

However, you'll need to get a weight distributing hitch to spread the tongue weight onto both front & rear axles, in order to keep within the 110 tongue weight limit (165 lbs. at the ORIS hitch tag pic below - note that auto mfgrs didn't publish tongue weight max. with wt. dist., but today it usually is about 2x the basic limit, & tongue wt. is usually 10-15% of the total trailer + cargo wt. fyi).

Some pix from Europe, where they used the 928s - & autos in general - more for towing, than we do here, due to less truck/suv availability & the 2-3x higher gas prices there....

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And some from here in the USA....

This guy made his own hitch bar behind the rear bumper cover with the receiver thru the license plate...

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And zambezi at post #4 above has a Draw-Tite hitch hiding just above his plate in similar manner & uses it to tow his other cars....

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There's a guy up in WI or MN who tows his track car with his 928, which was mentioned in some of the 928 forums, but I don't have any pix of his set-up, but I think it's another 2" reciever type of "custom towbar - and not the factory removable 90-degree bent-hitch type towbaqr/hitch from the factory PET as shown in the pix below....

Another guy in Tulsa I visited & talked to back in June, who hunted down a factory tow bar for his 928 & uses it for his motorcycles....

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And this is the factory sold tow bar/hitch out of a car (download the early & late 928 PETs to see it in the parts catalog) - unfortunately long NLA, as well as a snip from the factory service manual's towing specs (note that they never retested & updated it since the initial 4.5L 230 HP V8 thru the 345 HP 5.4L with uprated brakes to larger diameter & 4 piston in 86.5 MY 1000th car on improvements....

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Good Luck with your hunt!
Tom
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The car was ratty inside and my buddy was not available. It ran a bit rough and had signs of some electrical chops and splices so it was a pass and I will look more after Xmas

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments!!

There is a BLK/BLK 944 turbo bad motor ebay , In CA.

Chev it

If I pull the trigger on one it will be a 928s and I think I will pay more and get a solid car that I can add my cosmetic tweaks to and drive.

83-84 is the 4.7L S & 85-86 928S has the 5.0L, the 86.5 (VIN ...1000+) has the bigger Brembo brakes, 87-89 (90/91) S4 is the sweet spot IMHO with the 317 HP 5.0L & not so pricey as the 92-95 few 5.4L.

I've got the Excellence buyers guide & last buyer's guide article & a few other 928 articles, if you want me to copy them for you, & I can bring it over the the 914 VIN sticker stuff later on.

PM me if so....