History

I purchased this car with a bad engine.  The timing belt was improperly installed and jumped the right cam by four teeth bending two valves on the right head.  The body is in exceptional condition with all original paint, automatic transmission and nice interior.  While the car has 150K miles, it has had excellent care and was probably garaged all of its life.

The Engine

Since I had a parts car with 90K miles there was little reason to fix a broken engine.  Still after 20 years and 90K miles there are a lot of items on the engine that needed to be refreshed. 

Tear Down:  Before beginning on the engine restoration the compression was checked. All cylinders are within 10 lbs. or less.  All of the wiring, manifolds, covers and oil pan were removed, the rod bearings were checked for wear and the end play was measured.  The internals of the motor showed virtually no wear, everything is within tolerance and very close to a new motor.  The block was de-greased and pressure washed. 

Restoration:  While apart everything was cleaned. The manifolds, valve covers were stripped and powder coated.  All of the either cracked or rotted rubber hoses and wires were replaced.  With 20 year old German rubber this means most everything.

Timing Belt:  Since the engine is out it is always a good idea to replace the water pump, timing belt and set the valve timing.  Rollers were replaced, cam gears inspected, the tensioner rebuilt and the front seal replaced.

Wiring:  The injection harness and engine harness were rebuilt.  The plug wires, plugs and caps being near new were refitted and routed properly. 

Accessories:  Part of an engine is the accessories.  The smog pump was disassembled, cleaned and painted with high temperature paint.  The alternator and fan clutch were checked.

Here are a couple pictures of the reconditioned engine. 

Installation

Engine Bay:  Before installing the reconditioned motor the engine bad had to be cleaned up.  New motor mounts were installed, all of the external hoses were checked.  The entire engine compartment was pressure washed several times.  The coils and other electrical components were checked, electrical contacts cleaned and insulated.  Any parts bad parts were replaced.

Motor Mounts:  The motor mounts are after market NAPA solid mounts.  Besides being reasonably priced they will last much longer than the commonly failed liquid filled Porsche Mounts.

Gas tank – Drained and cleaned with Berryman’s B12.  The internal tank screen was replaced.  Over time these become brittle and will eventually fragment and kill the pump.  The hose from the tank to the fuel pump was replaced.  These fail over time and begin to leak.  The fuel pump was cleaned with Berryman’s B12 and lubricated with Marvel Mystery oil.  This treatment increases pump life while quieting its operation.  The fuel filter was replaced.

Fuel Lines – The fuel lines to the engine were flushed.  All flexible fuel lines in the engine well and one the engine were checked.  Old and stiff fuel lines were replaced.  The injector seals were replaced on all of the injectors.

Drive Line

Brakes:  All of the brakes were inspected.  The pads and rotors are over 50%.  The calipers, backing plates and hubs were cleaned and painted with a high temperature paint.  The brake hoses were inspected.  The emergency brake cable and bands were inspected and adjusted to spec.  The front wheel bearings were cleaned and re-packed.

Transmission:  The torque converter bearings were replaced and the transmission serviced with a new filter.  The modulator is adjusted to give smooth clean shifts.  All of the cooling lines were inspected.  The torque tube had been recently rebuilt and was used as is.  The transmission mounts were inspected. 

Suspension:  All of the points on the suspension were inspected and cleaned.  The shocks do not leak and are fully functional to factory specs.  The suspension is set to the factory ride height and has been professionally aligned front and rear.  The axles were removed, the CV joints cleaned, inspected, repacked and new boots were installed.  The boots and seals on the rack were replaced.  One tie rod was found bad and replaced. The upper and lower ball joints and boots were inspected.   The front and rear wheels were balanced and aligned.

Under Carriage:  With the car on the tilter the entire under carriage was cleaned with degreaser and pressure washed.  Any dirt on the under carriage was removed.  Beyond making the under carriage of the car look nice, cleaning facilitated inspect of all of the many lines, hoses and bushing under the car.  Any thing worn or broken was replaced.  The exhaust splash shields were removed, cleaned and painted in high temperature paint.   The inside of the wheels were cleaned and the splashed shields removed, inspected and replaced as needed.  The gas vapor recovery system and charcoal canister were inspected for integrity and the Y connector replaced.

Wheels and Tires:  The wheels are the stock bronze anodized wheels that came with the car.  They have a couple of minor scratches, but have been cleaned, polished up and clear coated.  The center caps have hand painted crests.  The tires are the stock 225 R 50 with Dunlop Sport 9000 Z rated tires on the front and Yokohama on the rear.  All the tires have over 80% tread life left.

Body and Paint

Original Paint:  It appears from inspection the left front fender was repainted prior to my getting the car.  I did not find any body repair or replaced parts so I can only conclude the repair was minor.

Rock Chips: The mirrors and front bumper were severely chipped and have been repainted.  The cowl and sunroof were scratched and have been repainted.  Wanting to leave the paint as original as possible I touched up the remaining scratches and chips by hand.

Imperfection: Life is not perfect and neither is the paint on this car.  There are a few nicks and a couple of minor dings.

Black Interior

The original interior was Brown with the typical cracking dash and pod.  While the brown was probably a great compliment to the car when new, with carpets faded to orange I wanted something a little sharper.  For this I chose an all black interior. 

Seats:  The seats were removed, cleaned, repaired as necessary, the leather conditioned and re-dyed with natural Leatherique dyes.  The motors were cleaned and the tracks lubricated.  The switches were treated with DeOxIt D5 to insure continued and reliable operation.  The seats are eight way power seats without the heater or adjustable lumbar support. 

Panels : The arm rests where the plastic typically fails were re-welded with special plastic welding rod and the holes re-drilled to the factory size.  There is no warping on the rear quarter panels, but there are some minor creases in the vinyl.  The headliner had a little warping on the edges and the front and has been secured with additional upholstery screws. 

Dash:  The dash and pod have been repaired to remove the cracks using my custom process.  The instrument cluster was removed, the speedometer rebuilt and all of the contacts cleaned.  The trip odometer reset works correctly.  Any burnt out warning lights were replaced.  All of the gauges and warning lights work.  There are no warning lights triggered when the car is running.  The contacts on the fuses and relays on the main fuse panel have been cleaned.  All of the main ground points have been cleaned.  Bad grounds are a common point of failure on the 928.

Electrical Systems

General:  Rightfully the biggest concern of the new 928 owner is the electrical system.  The 928 is a luxury sports car implementing many luxury car functions before solid state electronics reached today's accepted level of reliability.  Relays, fuses and meters of wiring too often fall prey to incompetent and over zealous stereo installers or misguided mechanics.  Fortunately being an electrical engineer having formerly worked on the space program and jet aircraft, the electrical system of the 928 poses no special problems.  The entire system has been inspected and any real or potential problems dealt with.

Sunroof:  As mentioned above the sunroof was removed and painted.  The cables were removed the tracks cleaned and lubricated.  The plastic guides were replaced and the drains were flushed out.  The most common cause of leaky sunroofs comes from clogged drains.  The sunroof operates smoothly and without any manual assistance.

HVAC – The external blower fan was removed and the area cleaned.  The rubber drain below the fan was removed and cleaned.  The A/C evaporator was vacuumed.  A common source of leaks is the accumulation of debris around the fan.  This debris clogs the rubber firewall drain causing water to overflow into the passenger compartment shorting out the fuse panel.  The heater valve was replaced and connected to the block with silicon hose.  These valves are vacuum driven and often fail in the open position causing the heater to remain constantly on .  The HVAC control system was tested for vacuum leaks and solenoid failure.  The center console was removed and the center flap actuator was replaced – again a common source of failure.  The climate control unit was removed cleaned and the slide knobs replaced.  You will find very few 928s with good sliders.  The cap on the interior temperature sensor was replaced and the outside temperature sensor was tested and connected correctly to the alternator snorkel.  The A/C system was evacuated, checked for leaks and filled with Freon R12.  R12 was what came in these systems.  They do not have the capacity to handle the lower efficiency R134.  For maximum efficiency R12 is a must.

Doors and Windows:  The door locks were adjusted and lubricated.  A common symptom is for the doors to self lock.  While I strongly suggest removing the key from the ignition every time you exit the car, properly functioning door locks can prevent phantom lock outs.  The central locking button works.  The window guides in each door were replaced.  The guides are plastic running on a metal post.  Over time the plastic wears and the windows begin to jump and rattle.  All of the moving parts in the door and windows were lubricated.  The windows now operate smoothly as new.  The vapor barrier was glued in place when replacing the door panels.  Many people leave this important part out when working on the doors allowing moisture to warp and rot the lower parts of the door panel.  The doors close smoothly and tight.  All of the locks were cleaned and lubricated.  It is common for the locks to get moisture and the tumblers to hang up preventing the key from going into the lock.

Cruise Control:  Like the majority of 928s between 80 and 87 the amplifier was burnt out.  The cruise control has been tested and functions properly with a working amplifier.

Lights:  The entire lighting system with fuses, relays and motors has been cleaned, checked and tested.  The horns work, the headlights pop up correctly, the auxiliary running lights work on high beam and flash with the turn signal flasher.  All of the light bulbs are balance for equal resistance and all of the warning lights work and are off when the car is running.

Mirrors and Window Heaters:  The mirrors are electric controlled and heated.  The mirrors operate on both sides of the car and the heaters in both mirrors and the rear window work correctly.

Beautiful as Porsche Intended

It took a while, but the car is together, running, and detailed.  After 1200 miles the car runs great with no issues.  The automatic is smooth and responsive.    Everything except the exhaust is stock matching how a 928 came from the factory.  Here are the pictures.  If you want to see more ask and I will add them. 

Issues and Modifications

It is difficult to find issues with the car.  I have the front spoiler.  I do not like how they look, so I left it off.  The front spoiler comes with the car, but will not be installed. 

It is impossible to do this much work without making a few modifications.  The intensive windshield washer system has been removed in favor of a simplified windshield washer system.   A kick down switch has been added under the pod and an indicator light is added to the center console.  I am not sure the kick down switch adds much since I have set up the tension on the throttle kick down so the car responds to a light touch of the throttle.  This makes the car more responsive around town - of course at the expense of a little more gas.  Mileage around town was 14 and on the road over 20. 

The middle and rear mufflers have been replaced with a merge collector and straight pipe back from the catalytic converters to a small rear muffler.  This is the exhaust system that came with the car.  It makes a nice deep rumble, but not so loud as to drown out the stereo.

There is no air compressor.  I rarely get one with a car.

There is some oil on the engine and transmission, but parking in the same garage for five months after frequent forays into the world of California bumper cars there are no spots on the floor.  I have one more pass at servicing the car where I will check the belt tension and change the oil.

Note: Some of the pictures show a rear seat shoulder harness.  These have been replaced with the normal rear lap belts.  There are also a few details in the pictures that have been corrected since the pictures were taken.

Parts Replacement Policy

I notice people are always selling 928s "as-is".  Given the historic reliability of the 928 and the fact that performance cars are often abused, this makes sense.  However, I want whoever owns this beauty to be happy with their purchase. 

I have done extensive work on the car and while I am not a brand name shop I do have an engineering degree and have owned several successful automotive businesses in the past.  I do not work on 928s for profit, but for enjoyment of seeing my efforts produce concrete results. Due to the cost of repairs it is impossible for anyone guarantee a 928.  A single repair can easily cost more than the price of the car.  I can offer two things that will maybe ease your mind and give confidence.

1. During your ownership or as long as I remain interested in Porsche 928s whichever ends first, I will provide reasonable technical support.  The definition of reasonable, the place, time, amount and methods such technical support is delivered remains solely at my discretion and can be terminated at any time.

2. For a period of six months or 6000 miles whichever comes first I will provide replacement parts for any part that fails on the car.  Such replacement parts will be either new or used at my discretion.  The part must fail due to normal operation and not abuse or accident.  The part failure must be diagnosed by a reputable repair facility with a history of 928 repairs.  I reserve the right to ask for a second qualified opinion.  *

Price complete

Clear California title.  Currently registered with Clean Smog.  Will consider trade for another 928 parts car or builder.  $12,500.00 U.S. including delivery anywhere in the US by DAS.  I will adjust the price for a local pick up and provide transportation from San Francisco International Airport.  If do not want the parts replacement policy deduct $1000 from the list price.

Contact Dan at dbrindle@kondratyev.com