> I said: No informed person would buy this car at any price.
>
> ...Well, would you say that if this particular example didn't seem to have
> been tastelessly customized?
>
That is only part of it. Adding that ugly doghouse and whatever else was
done eliminates most buyers but it does drive the price down to nearly
nothing. The early 928 with it's Mercedes-sourced 3-speed automatic was plenty
troublesome because of the electrics and electronics which Porsche had little
experience with. The twin-disc clutch has already been discussed. My friends
GR and his wife bought a new '79 automatic (about 28 grand) and it's been
their Concours car ever since. It's Metallic blue and is perfectly preserved
but has been driven coast-to-coast and down to California a time or two. It
had early valve train problems which were finally warrantied after a long
debate since in those days Porsche blamed everything on the owner. Now it
just
runs and runs, but not often.
>
> ....Would you say the same of a 911 of the same year, or a 924?
>
>
Apples and oranges. A '79 911SC is still a desirable car and can bring
prices in the middle teens if in decent shape. And considering that these were
about 20K when new, that's not bad. The 3-liter engine is well known as a
long-lived engine with over 200K without repairs being not uncommon. Unlike the
previous series 2.7 (not the RS) which had a few design faults including
pulling case bolts. Probably all of those have had major overhauls and updates
long ago. What a buyer needs to realize these days that a complete re-do on
a 911 engine can easily top 15 grand. That's the air-cooled models but the
water-cooled engines cost a bit less but are often times are just replaced.
When the 996 came out many engines were replaced under warranty because of
oil leaks from the rear main crankshaft seal. That little defect took years
to defeat and the only real fix is a mod kit produced by an independent shop.
The end of the crank is not directly supported by a bearing and when the
crank starts to whip it's too late so these kits are being installed all over
the country. Discussing these engines would take a long time. The new D.I.
engine in the 911, now 991, and the Boxsters has eliminated about 30% of
the internal parts including the intermediate shaft which used to drive the
oil pump. Now, like the newest MB engines, an electric variable speed oil pump
is used so a lot of hp is saved there plus eliminating parts to fail.
The last of the run, the GTS, was expensive and still is but is
comparatively rare. In fact just last Saturday my Porsche Club Region had it's
first
Concours of 2012 and a very nice 928GTS was entered in my class, Preservation.
My 944 won the class handily, one reason being my friend AC's '71 911S has
moved into Restoration class and our two cars are about equal. When the Blue
'79 928 shows up then it's a tossup. But, it didn't.
As to the '79 924, well..........
It was an underpowered sparsely equipped 4-cylinder 4-speed with a
hobby-horse ride. It was cheapish but you didn't get much. The 240Z was really
a
better car for about the same price. The 924 Turbo was faster but had
problems with the turbo system which required removing the entire exhaust
system to
repair it. And it's performance just about equalled my normally aspirated
944 which in turn is no match for the 944 Turbo which is still a rocket ship.
But, one had to realize that repairs are still geared to a $50K car even
though runouts can be bought cheap, only to melt your VISA card later on.
>
> ....Why all the disdain among Porsche fans for the 928? This is a car
> that period reviews called the best GT ever, indescribably better than its
> competition. Yet the things now are routinely seen for sale for under $5000,
> sometimes way under, for an early example. None of the other watercooled
> cars--944, 924S, even the 924-- goes that cheap.
>
At that time, what was it's competition? Not the SL which was a cruiser and
made no pretensions at being a sports car. Nothing Italian, of course.
Buying an old 928 now might be like buying an old boat. Looks
great but nothing has been maintained and she's about to go to the bottom.
On the other hand, I know two other owners of early cars which have been
turned into track cars ($$$$), both 5-speeds and they are fast and reliable
enough but not without the occasional fix. But, it takes a good income to keep
a car like this up to snuff and use it vigorously. One of these guys is my
now retired Opthalmologist and the other an Alaska Airlines Captain who also
owns a restored 356 Speedster and a 997S.
> .....Even the 914 which used to be the black sheep of the Porsche family
> now
> gets more respect. I don't get it....
>
Well now just minute there.....
Before my present car I owned a '70 914-6 from new. When I sold it 13 years
to the day later, I doubled my money and now it would easily bring double
that so some cars can still be unplanned investments. These days, only the co
llector cars are rising in value, sometimes bringing eye-watering prices
because lots of people still have money.
Unrusted 914s of certain models ('73-'74 2.0) still bring good money
because they were never superseded by anything but just replaced.
What really got the 911 owners in a twist was the watercooled 911 and then
the Cayenne. Ohh the blasphemy.
Then the Panamera caused anxiety attacks all over and yet those two models
have sold like hotcakes worldwide.
RLE
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