Project Lazarus

[husker boxster]

I just bought an 87 928 S4. It hasn't been driven for 7 yrs (maybe less). The owner recently passed away and the estate wanted the car gone. I love a good adventure, so a friend and I drove 3 hrs with a U-Haul truck and trailer to go get it.

Tale of the tape:
81K mi
automatic
started life in CA with stops in IL, IN, and finally IA. no rust
amazingly CarFax goes back to 1991 and 30K - no accidents listed
it has been repainted
seats are in surprisingly good shape
cracked dash

It is a cat in the sack, as I don't know if the engine runs but is has good oil in the block. The plan is to get it running and cleaned up (should double in value at that point). Then I'll access what needs fixing - headlights, sunroof, etc, fixing what I can to make it more valuable. If that goes well and I feel really adventurous, I may tackle the timing belt & water pump. But that's quite a ways down the road. I plan to sell it in some sort of running state as a project for the next owner.

So to get it running, I'll pull the gas tank and have it cleaned. Should I blow out the gas lines or replace them? Once the fuel delivery is good to go, anything else I should check before trying to start?

While I had it on the trailer, I stopped at a car wash and got the leaves and pollen off. These pics are prior to the wash. My brother says I'm crazy. We'll see. Should make a nice winter project.

[piper6909]

Originally Posted by husker boxster

I just bought an 87 928 S4. It hasn't been driven for 7 yrs (maybe less). The owner recently passed away and the estate wanted the car gone. I love a good adventure, so a friend and I drove 3 hrs with a U-Haul truck and trailer to go get it.

Tale of the tape:
81K mi
automatic
started life in CA with stops in IL, IN, and finally IA. no rust
amazingly CarFax goes back to 1991 and 30K - no accidents listed
it has been repainted
seats are in surprisingly good shape
cracked dash

It is a cat in the sack, as I don't know if the engine runs but is has good oil in the block. The plan is to get it running and cleaned up (should double in value at that point). Then I'll access what needs fixing - headlights, sunroof, etc, fixing what I can to make it more valuable. If that goes well and I feel really adventurous, I may tackle the timing belt & water pump. But that's quite a ways down the road. I plan to sell it in some sort of running state as a project for the next owner.

So to get it running, I'll pull the gas tank and have it cleaned. Should I blow out the gas lines or replace them? Once the fuel delivery is good to go, anything else I should check before trying to start?

While I had it on the trailer, I stopped at a car wash and got the leaves and pollen off. These pics are prior to the wash. My brother says I'm crazy. We'll see. Should make a nice winter project.

Is it a belt, not a chain? I'd change the timing belt first! I don't know if it's an interference engine or not, but if it has been sitting for so long, I wouldn't risk it breaking while trying to get the engine running.

P.S. Looks like a fun project! She'll clean up nicely! Best of luck!

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by piper6909

Is it a belt, not a chain?

It's a belt.

Originally Posted by piper6909

I'd change the timing belt first! I don't know if it's an interference engine or not, but if it has been sitting for so long, I wouldn't risk it breaking while trying to get the engine running.

Point taken. But it's a massive job changing the belt with all the crap you have to remove before getting to it. At this point I don't even know if the engine actually runs. If I get it running, I won't be doing a bunch of driving - prob just moving it around. I know it could break at any time, regardless of how it's being driven. Will probably lean towards replacing it myself if the engine does run. But going to the effort to change it before knowing if it runs could be a lot of wasted work. Like Tom Cruise says, "Sometimes you've gotta say WTF".

[RedTele58]

928's are dangerously addicting. I have three in various states of disrepair.

1st thing - use the Rennlist 928 group - lots of information for everything you'll need to do.

2nd and 3rd - it's an interference engine. Don't risk an old belt - if it breaks you'll have valves and pistons meeting in ways you don't want them to. Replace the fuel lines before you even attempt to start the engine. 928's like to burn when old fuel lines break.

Have fun - keep us informed.

[The Radium King]

fascinating combination of green algae and black mold. an automotive petri dish.

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by RedTele58

928's are dangerously addicting. I have three in various states of disrepair.

1st thing - use the Rennlist 928 group - lots of information for everything you'll need to do.

2nd and 3rd - it's an interference engine. Don't risk an old belt - if it breaks you'll have valves and pistons meeting in ways you don't want them to. Replace the fuel lines before you even attempt to start the engine. 928's like to burn when old fuel lines break.

Have fun - keep us informed.

I've been reading a lot on Rennlist and will defn be posting there with questions.

Originally Posted by The Radium King

fascinating combination of green algae and black mold. an automotive petri dish.

This morning I was able to knock most of the green junk off the moldings. Pics to come.

[Burg Boxster]

SHARK!!!

Hope all goes well in bringing another back from [almost?] having a wheel or two in the grave.

Good luck

[Racer Boy]

Good for you for rescuing one of the coolest cars that Porsche made. Please keep us informed on your progress with the project!

[husker boxster]

Originally Posted by Racer Boy

Good for you for rescuing one of the coolest cars that Porsche made. Please keep us informed on your progress with the project!

Originally Posted by Burg Boxster

SHARK!!!

Hope all goes well in bringing another back from [almost?] having a wheel or two in the grave.

Good luck

Thanks. I'll keep everyone informed as I move ahead. That's why I started this separate thread vs updating my Wheeler Dealer thread. Figured this one is good for its own conversation.

Hopefully it doesn't prove too daunting. My brother said his indy mechanic friend won't work on sharks and I'd be stupid to buy it (and I've been warned!). I can understand why his mechanic wouldn't take them on - if he's chasing a problem he could run up a huge bill. But my time is free, so I can afford to chase a few shadows. Who knows? I might have an alley cat or a Persian or something in between.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by RedTele58

928's are dangerously addicting. I have three in various states of disrepair.

1st thing - use the Rennlist 928 group - lots of information for everything you'll need to do.

2nd and 3rd - it's an interference engine. Don't risk an old belt - if it breaks you'll have valves and pistons meeting in ways you don't want them to. Replace the fuel lines before you even attempt to start the engine. 928's like to burn when old fuel lines break.

Have fun - keep us informed.

Soon after winning the lottery I will own the best 928 on earth!

[Cunningr]

I regret not buying a 86 928 S 5 speed i found in Germany on the lemon lot for $8500. Always loved the sound, lots of torque too. Good luck getting her going again.

[rexcramer]

You're a better man than I am Gunga Din.

[TeamOxford]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

fascinating combination of green algae and black mold. an automotive petri dish.

LOL and +1
Hope your credit card is bulletproof!

I love the transaxle Porsches, but that was the 80s, and it'll cost a lot to recapture that feeling. And in my car owning experience, "recapturing the feeling" never works out.

Just sayin'...........

TO

[husker boxster]

Been doing some cleanup the last 2 days. Looks much better but the paint is still a 5 footer. Needed to use my swirl compound (mild rubbing compound) by hand to get the black off the hood. And used a bristle brush to pick the pollen / mold still left in the rubber moldings.

Will move to cleaning the interior and start getting her on jack stands to get the gas tank out. Also will read the owner's manual, as that's one of the prerequisites to be able to ask questions on rennlist.

[thstone]

Wow! I commend your aversion to risk and wish you the best.

[husker boxster]

I replaced the hood struts, so no more 2x2 holding the hood open.



I bought a new battery. Problem is it goes in the left rear trunk and the hatch won't open with the key. I crawled into the trunk area and found there was an old battery that was disconnected. I connected it, which will allowed me to use the jumper posts in the engine compartment. I connected some jumper cables to my new battery and the jumper post to see what electrical items would work.

1st item of business was the electric trunk release. The passenger side button wasn't doing anything. The driver's side was making noise like it was trying, but the lid wasn't popping open. My neighbor happened to stop by so I had him pull the button (which is how you do it in a 928) while I pulled on the trunk lid. It came open. Yay! The 2x2 has found a new home. That lid is very heavy. I can see why the struts would wear out. I'll be able to access the lock and see why the key doesn't work in it.




Then I tried running the windows up and down. Nadda. No sounds. Might be the switches or fuses (or something worse). On to the next test.

The headlights popped up. Another yay! Obviously this is a big deal.




Tried moving the seats, as I'll need to be able to move them to get to the bolts that hold them to the floor. Want to take them out so I can better clean the carpet. They move up and down OK, which is done thru a separate knob. The front back is its own knob and both the driver & passenger knobs are broken off. Dang! However, there is enough of a stump on the passenger side to make it move fwd and back. There isn't enough stub on the driver's side but I was able to get it to move slightly. Need to find a strong, sharp plastic poker that I can try using to move it around. Also off to the Internet to find those switches. So the seats were kind of a success.

Finally, I tried the sunroof. I could hear things running but nothing was happening, so I quit before something got really wonky. There's supposed to be a hand crank at the back of the sunroof, so I may investigate that at a later date.

All in all, a fairly successful day. This week she goes up on jack stands and the gas tank comes out.

[rfuerst911sc]

My understanding of the sharks is they are " generally " reliable but are prone to electrical gremlins . I would check/clean/dielectric grease every ground point as a baseline . In the past I had a 944S that snapped a timing belt No way in hell I would risk the same fate with a 928 . Good luck with the project .

[PaulE]

Nice find and best of luck to you in bringing it back from the dead! I'm going to follow your adventures so please keep updating. I suspect you could recover your investment by parting it out if it comes to that, but I'm really hoping it is brought back to life.

[husker boxster]

I'm in that stage where I'm ordering parts and removing parts. Some of the parts are arriving or will in a few days. I've got the fuel rails removed and just got the fuel injectors pulled out before lunch. Still need to disconnect them. Upon inspection, the rubber O-rings looked good - nice and plump and supple. However, I ordered new injectors and they will be going in. Rubber fuel hoses are coming. I need to verify, but I tried to siphon the gas out of the tank, but none came out. When I pulled the hose out, it wasn't wet. So maybe the tank is empty. The fuel in the rail looked fairly new.

The seat buttons for fwd / back motion arrived. When I run out of fuel system work, I'll remove the pass seat, which still has enough knob to move the seat fwd / back. Will then see what the underside of the seat looks like so I can plan an attack on the driver's seat. It doesn't have enough knob left to go fwd / back. I read an option might be to lift the seat high enough with the 2nd knob to get a wrench on the seat bolts.

I am running into issues with the key & rear lock. The only key that works in the ignition doesn't have a cap on the end of it. I've gone to 2 locksmiths. One said they couldn't cut a key because they couldn't get the blank. The 2nd thought the key I had was a valet key and wasn't sure they could cut one (they did have a blank for it). He thought he could get the trunk tumbler to work, but he suggested going to Porsche and have a key cut based on VIN. Will see where I go on this...

I found out the color is Granite Green Metallic (Felsengrun). My understanding is that color was only avail in 87 & 88 and is fairly rare. When I open the garage door and let some sun into the garage, you can see it's green. I need another green car.

I also had rennlist decode my VIN. Not a lot of options other than audio stuff, but it looks like the story about it being a CA car isn't true. Maybe it started life outside of CA but spent some time there. Who knows? It's still rust free, regardless.

1987
C02- 49 state US model
M28.42- engine serial # range 81J 05001>10000
A28.12- transmission serial # range 16 H 00001>05000

I158 - Blaupunkt radio Reno SQR46 - 87-88
I302 - Type designated on rear end
M418- Protective side mouldings
M490- Hi-Fi sound system (8 speakers, 1987-88)
M494- 87-88 Additional amp Blaupunkt BQA 80
M650- Sunroof

I posted a question on pelicanparts. Someone from KC saw my post and wants to buy my shark as a project. Have to get back to him with my decision (sell now or when it runs). I don't normally become too attached to my Wheeler Dealer cars, but the more I read about 928s, the more this one pulls at me.

[ivexpron]

Can't wait to see how the project turns out.