OT, The 928

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mycar
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OT, The 928

Post by mycar »

There's a PistonHeads thread, The Brave Pill, running atm, extolling the pros and then the cons of owning and running the mighty 928.

I've always loved them. For me they're something between the Spectrum Patrol Car, the SPV and the MSV and I've wanted one since 1978

But I am timid and the Pistonheads thread confirms my fears... Beware all that enter here ! A car like this will rob you your life savings ... your life... and all you hold dear. :shock:

So once again, it's agreed, never ever buy a 928.

What ever you do.

And then someone only goes and posts this.

"My car only ever really settled a little beyond 70, and really came in to its own somewhat north of that.

The suspension, always a bit stiff and fidgety around town, begins to settle, smoothing the road below beautifully.

The steering, initially heavy, lightens as the wheel begins to dance ever so gently in your hands.

And the automatic gearbox - which most everyone loves to hate - conspires keep the revs right where you needed them.

A simple flex of a toe and you're hauled forward, no kick-down required, the engine sounding like it's rising deep from the bowels of a ship.

And if you do kick-down, things take a savage turn, the V8 revealing a zeal for revs that marks it very much a member of the Porsche family.

On my first proper road trip, I took her around the Roßfeldpanoramastraße near Salzburg.

Harder and harder I pushed, and the car just seemed to shrug and say "Yeah? Ok."

Nothing seemed to surprise it, and therefore nothing seemed to surprise me.

Between huge mechanical grip, a primitive active diff, and brakes for days, it was a car that, as I said, could extend your capabilities, and do so in a completely unflustered way.

A contemporary ad for the S4 stated "It's about as fast as you can go without having to eat airline food". The comparison is apt.

The 928 was built for a world in which traffic wasn't the impediment it has become, and a world in which travelling across Europe by plane was yet to be popularised.

It was also born from a different culture at Porsche, one that prioritised high-speed safety above the visceral pleasures of driving we (and they) now tend to revere.

Perhaps, in some respects, it's not too dissimilar to Concorde: a towering achievement of its time, and so well-engineered that it lived far longer than many expected. Yet it never quite had the opportunity to fulfil its brief, because the world around it changed."

:P

Which reminds me, I must have a 928 before they put me in a box.

I know there are those amongst us that have dabbled in the 928, notably Burma Shave who has had the full experience. I would appreciate any stories that would dissuade me from taking this any further.
Gary71
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by Gary71 »

Do it.
We won’t regret it.
You might, but we will enjoy reading about it
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AndrewSlater
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by AndrewSlater »

Go for it - Gary will give you a lift should you need it. :lol:

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Re: OT, The 928

Post by Cortina »

As someone who probably knows them a little better than average (average is not high !) I think they are great. I am in the middle of a full rebuild of one presently (as a rally car) and it's a mighty well engineered car - the electrical side would be their downfall - but as it's all hard wired , with a brain , the correct diagram , and a meter - it's all very tracable and fixable. I have been removing underseal now for months , and only see about 3 or 4 small repair areas to do - underseal , galvanising , aluminium , paint - rust is NOT the enemy on these (assuming they have NOT been damaged). I reckon the bare shell is going to be lighter than a 911 one ... work that one out !! (by a mixture of measurement and calculation , I'm heading towards the 200 kg mark rapidly - err, well slowly actually)

PS I look forward to putting the wiring loom on ebay to see what happens ... and I mean the entire loom , I have never seen anything so .... large !!
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Gary71
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by Gary71 »

AndrewSlater wrote:Go for it - Gary will give you a lift should you need it. :lol:

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Ralph
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by Ralph »

In 1987 a mate of mine bought a write off 928 and repaired it in his parent's drive.

I'll never forget doing 120 mph in a partially repaired 928 in a 30 mph zone! It was an awesome car.
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by Ian Comerford »

A sadly departed friend was a car dealer and he always had some very smart cars around, lots of high end stuff. We were at Le Mans a few years ago and were discussing cars, i asked what car he liked the best of all he had owned, the one he really missed. It was a 928 GTS. He went and bought it back after that trip. He had subtly uprated suspension as he occasionally took it in the track. It was a great place to sit whilst going very quickly, huge brakes, power and stability. He was part of a casual group of 928 owners who organised a couple of track days a year solely for their cars, a nice group I recall.
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bjmullan
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by bjmullan »

1978 car of the year, and I remember pressing my finger against the bumper at the NEC Motor Show that year. Always a favourite especially the early cars 8)
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jonno1
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by jonno1 »

Owned 2 - 1978 auto red with pasha, and a manual GT.

They are fantastically well built and not too hard to work on....

The thirst is prodigious. Oliver Reed prodigious which became a bore even with sporadic use.

Manual is fun and the noise with a stainless exhaust was epic....

https://youtu.be/EJxKNhguipI

They really can shift.

Dont buy one that hasnt had thousands of pounds and years of loving care lavished on it.
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Sam
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by Sam »

That’s the key. But one that’s been regularly used. Ideally covering about the same yearly mileage you’re going to cover.

It goes wrong when you drag one out of storage and start putting miles on it.

As a massive generalisation, budget £2k a year to run one. If it hasn’t had £20k spent in the last 10 years you’ll need to include the shortfall of that too.
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210bhp
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by 210bhp »

In the real world, how thirsty?


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Cortina
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by Cortina »

Driven hard (very hard) on a stage .... about 4.5 mpg
Driven sensibly - 70 mph cruising etc ..... 26 to 28mpg

But a really well balanced drive - I would say much easier to drive quickly than typical 911 !
Royal Enfield .. still in India
GL 1800 Tour DCT, for pleasure / Fantic 240 Professional - play
Rally 911 (1966) build parked for a while
Rally 928 (work started again - inc serious weight loss programe !)
.... and now another VW Up GTI owner.
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richkaz
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by richkaz »

“Much of the social history of the Western world over the past three
decades has involved replacing what worked with what sounded good "..

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jonno1
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by jonno1 »

Cortina wrote:Driven hard (very hard) on a stage .... about 4.5 mpg
Driven sensibly - 70 mph cruising etc ..... 26 to 28mpg

But a really well balanced drive - I would say much easier to drive quickly than typical 911 !
My GT was great around roundabouts. No body roll, just amazing really. The vacuum system is a bit of a fiddle and can be the source of a myriad of issues but once understood its not that complicated to sort. Parts availability isn't brilliant albeit Porsche are bringing more out steadily. And the enthusiast group is smaller (but enthusiastic), with not much in the way of forums etc.

I think a manual GTS is probably a very nice car to have in a collection. Preferably in silver with black leather, sensible mileage on it.
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Re: OT, The 928

Post by DustyM »

When they are all sorted they are a lovely car (albeit a cruiser) especially a GTS or GT

When they are not working they are a nightmare. Unfortunately that means that most of the ones that come into us are a nightmare !
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