Speaking of Porsches [again]

[Bret]

The current issue of Road & Track has an interesting historical tidbit in their “People, Places + Things section titled “Years Ago”. In it they recap a test for their April 1983 issue of the Audi Quattro RS4 at Sears point with the legendary Phil Hill and some staffers. Basic idea of the test was to determine if the new Audi was all that it claimed to be. To test the Audi properly they pitted it against a Porsche 911SC and a 928.

Results? While the Audi RS4 was indeed quite capable & all they claimed it to be, as expected the 911 trounced it by about 1.3 seconds. But what I found interesting was that the 911 was beaten by the 928 by 0.15 seconds.

That little bit of information is firmly in the realm of things that make you go “Hmmmm?” /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Bret]

BTW I am looking at a pretty nice 928 this week that according to the advertisement is an early 78 that is set-up exactly the way I’d want one. Supposedly the seller is the third owner had has all of the maintenance records for the last 20 years.

Anyway I’m going to call the guy this morning to set up an appointment for a viewing, inspection & test drive. I’ll also be asking him for the VIN # so I can run a Carfax report.

Not saying this is the one as I've seen some cheaper priced specimens that werent all that great. So I've started looking at 928 that are priced slightly higher in the hopes I'll find something in better condition.

Wish me luck.

 

[GB1]

Bret:

Saw my friend yesterday with his 944 turbo, exhaust manifold and torsion bars went south. If you want I can keep you posted on how much it costs him a month to keep it on the road - hehehe /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devilgrin.gif

Patrick

 

[tony barnhill]

Torsion bars ain't cheap!

 

[kennypinkerton]

First time I looked under my toyota, I wondered where the springs were. Didn't even know what a torsion bar suspension was.

 

[DrEntropy]

*THUD*

 

[kennypinkerton]

What can I say? Every car I'd owned up until then had regular springs. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[AngliaGT]

Chrysler had back in the 60's on most of their cars.

- Doug

 

[coldplugs]

Ditto Vee-Dub in the fifties. Our '57 BMW had torsion bars also.

 

[SteveL]

[ QUOTE ]
Chrysler had back in the 60's on most of their cars.

- Doug

[/ QUOTE ]

Desoto had them from about '56 on...

SteveL

 

[Bret]

Ok I spent a little more than a half an hour on the phone with the seller. The car is (as I guessed) a 1978 and is actually #630 of the total 928 production (57,998). Now if the seller is correct this was special ordered from the factory by the original owner and was one of the first 300 to come to the USA. The seller is the third owner & says he’s had it since the mid-80s (84 I think?). So that tells me that the first & second owner didn’t keep it that long, and that this guys has owned it most of its life.

I’ll verify all this when I view the car on Wednesday of course, but the seller says he’s got much of the original paperwork that came with the car. Plus all of his own records spanning the last 20+ years of maintenance and the names of the shop where he has most of the work done. The car is bone stock black on black with a manual transmission and just passed smog about a month ago. If true these answer most of my major concerns & are plusses to me – I’ve seen some cars that have been hacked away on by morons who shouldn’t be allowed to put a bumper sticker on a car let alone try to modify one.

Anyway it’s got a 110K of the clock & the timing belt and clutch (among other things) where recently replaced and/or serviced. I also have a friend in the local MG club that owns a 911 (can’t recall the year but it’s one of those annoying flat nose jobs with a Waletail), anyway he doesn’t know anything about 928s but he does know the Porsche shop where the seller has had it serviced over the years and says it’s a pretty reputable place. Always good news if you ask me.

Other than that & compared to what I’ve seen already – she seems to like a pretty nice specimen. I’ll let you know what I find.

 

[kennypinkerton]

Even though they all look the same... I'd like to see a picture of this one anyway. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif My favorite color of them is black... I can never get the one from Weird Science out of my head. Same story with Kelly Labrock.

 

[Bret]

Well here are the only pics I have right now. Not great but good enough to show you what I'm looking at.

But I've learned that just because they look good in a small pic dosn't mean it'll look like that in person.

I guess we'll see.

 

[kennypinkerton]

I'll swap ya even for a 1993 Eagle Talon, a 1984 Alfa Spider, and my wife's new 1986 Ford LTD /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[tony barnhill]

If ia 944 is expensive to operate, what's a 928? Better look over his records closely!

 

[Bret]

Not to worry Tony,

The first thing I'm going to verify is that he was indeed the owner for the last 20-somthing years. I'm also going to talk to the shop where he has had it serviced for so long.

As for cost of ownership? Well I think I’d be safe in saying that they ain’t cheap to care for and even less so to fix something when it breaks – but then what Porsche is?

For now I have my homework assignment & the rest of my Fourth of July holiday will be doing some on-line researching of the nuances of the Porsche 928.

Oh & Kenny, Thanks for the kind offer but the Shark ain't mine yet. Besides if I do buy it I going to have a hard enough time trying to find a place to park the one - let alone three vehicles. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[GB1]

Good Bret, I am glad that you are doing some homework, did you get the tweeks or Performance Poducts catalogues? If you ever whine here about the costs of parts, Doc and I have first dibs.

Best of luck,Patrick

 

[kennypinkerton]

Awww Shucks... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/jester.gif Looks like good one in the pics. Hope the rest checks out good for ya.

 

[tony barnhill]

I know where there's a pair of 928's just sitting in a guy's yard...think they're for sale but I've neer stopped.

 

[coldplugs]

Bret, try to stay as objective as you can on this one. Early 928's should be very reasonably priced - Sports Car Market lists all 78-82 928's at < $8000 for v. good condition. That seems low to me but not by much. There isn't likely any appreciation for cars like this, either.