Porsche 928 questions...

Go lurk on the pelicanparts.com forums for a while, you'll get a good feel for what you'd be in for if you got one...

nate

Oh, boy...this sounds good!!!

I realize this is a high-strung European car...which means be prepared to make a pile of repairs.

I can get it for $400...the owner says it overheats.

I'm just looking at it as a toy (yet another toy...)

I didn't mean that to sound scary... could be something simple like a fan thermoswitch. My 944 (very similar, engine is basically half of a

928 engine) would overheat with the fan disabled, even at "reasonable" speeds - you really need the fan to suck the air through the rad.

Or, it could be something really, really expensive. Only one way to find out :)

if the interior is in good shape, you could probably get your money back parting it if the deal goes real pear shaped.

It is most definitely not a typical Porsche though... instead of a sports car, think of the 928 as a very oddly shaped GT coupe, sort of a fast, nice-handling German competitor to an old Cutlass or something. But way nicer.

nate

This is what I like. A good highway cruiser that handles well enough in the corners.

You know I have a Supra and a Corolla GTS, right? I am assuming it's a similar setup with just a little more HP...

The interior was OK, nothing great. There wasn't any surface rust; I didn't get on my hands and knees to look around. It seems like a good buffing might bring the paint back.

A few missing trim pieces, but not many. I think I'll go back this week and see what happens when it starts...

I'm a fool for somewhat 'unique' cars...

I hear you... I wish that American cars had trended towards better handling etc. rather than devolving into FWD appliances. The old GM, Chrysler, et. al. compacts and midsizes could be modded into decent handling cars but the later models were just... blah.

but anyway back to your hypothetical 928. just rememebered a nugget of information that may or may not even be pertinent to your issue. I don't know if the auto trans (a lot of 928s were slushomatics) was the same ZF box used in the old BMW 5ers, but it's a distinct possibility. Anyway, if it is, NEVER rev the engine while the trans is in neutral. It's OK to do this if you've just started the engine, but if you do it after having selected a drive gear and then shift back to Park or Neutral, the tranny will eat itself. I remember this being an issue back in the day with BMWs and certain states' emissions inspection tests.

I guess the Krauts weren't familiar with the procedure that we know as the "neutral drop" :P of course, their response would probably be something like "if you vant to shred ze tires, chust add more torque, zere is no need to abuse ze transmission" :)

nate

(whose 535i had a proper 5-speed, so I didn't have to worry about this)

Nope! 5 Speed! One of the draws of the car. I would probably pass if it were a Slushamatic (already having enough trouble with the Supra in that department...know of a good W58 anywhere?)