At $17,500, Is This Updated 1986 Porsche 928S An Upfront Deal?
According to the ad for today’s Nice Price or No Dice 928, when it was new, it cost as much as two Corvettes. Let’s see whether its current price has you pining for that double dose of ’Vette.
Jonathan Bennett And His Late 1980’s Honda Accord | My First Car
The 1981 Lancia Zagato we looked at on Friday was like a half-shell oyster in its attraction. Not everybody enjoys slurping down a shell-full of briny snot, but for those who do, the more power to you. And, for those who want or, for some reason, are compelled to own a Zagato? Well, you also do you. Except, you probably shouldn’t do it at our Zagato’s $9,500 asking price. That was the message implied by the 70 percent No Dice loss the car suffered in our voting.
You’ve all no doubt heard the joke about the woman asking her husband whether a new pair of jeans makes her butt look big, and he’s terrified to respond because he doesn’t know if she’s going for a big-butt look or not.
Today’s 1986 Porsche 928S has a big butt. Not only that, but it has the wrong butt. Well, it’s actually a later butt, which engenders the question, what happened to its original butt?
According to the ad, this 928 has seen a number of updates over the course of its current owner’s 25 years of possession. Those include the bigger brakes and suspension upgrades the S received at the end of the 1986 model year. There’s no word on whether it has the later exhaust as well, but it does sport later Turbo Twist wheels in place of the original platters.
This 928 is almost 40 years old, but per the ad, it’s only done 66,967 miles. That’s a shame, considering the specs. Being an “S,” this car sports the bumped-out 5.0-liter all-alloy V8. With its 32 valves, this mill makes 288 horsepower and a hefty 302 lb-ft of torque, with the latter making itself known at a relatively low 3200 rpm. Making the most of those ponies, this car is fitted with a five-speed manual. That, of course, sits in the back and is connected to the front-mounted motor via a torque tube in the goal of a 50/50 weight distribution.
Those are all solid specs, but they’re for a car that seems to be a bit of a head-scratcher. What was the impetus for fitting this early car with a later booty? And why wasn’t the nose updated at the same time? The paint is a respray, made obvious by the copious amount of overspray seen under the hood and around that rubber nose. Was the car’s factory paint the same yellow? What was the reason for the new coat? So many questions!
Despite all that, the car, as a whole, looks fairly decent. On closer inspection, there is something going on with the driver’s door, which looks in the pics to either be misaligned or fitted with some sort of edge guard on the rear-most side. The cabin presents well, although it does suffer from the wavy gravy dashboard covering, as do many of these cars. There’s also a set of floor mats that probably won’t meet everyone’s tastes. On the plus side, it has a more modern stereo head unit in the dash, and the leather upholstery appears to be in great condition.
Other points in this car’s favor include a recent timing belt replacement, a new battery, and rebuilding of the wiper motor. The shifter mechanism has also recently been refreshed. Finally, the title for the car is clean.
What might such an oddly presented Porsche realistically be worth? The seller asks $17,500 for this car, and we now need to weigh in on that price tag. What do you say? Is that a fair price for this 928, as it’s shown? Or would you demand a lower price, considering the high number of questionable modifications the car has seen?
You decide!
Space Coast, Florida, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to John Goodman for the hookup!
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