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Feature Listing: 1978 Porsche 928

Is it possible that the early 928 is an even more futuristic looking car than the later models? Typically we’d probably consider the inverse where a model evolves and advances as it gets older. The 928 surely did advance and its evolution is clear, but I still think the earlier models look farther ahead than the later models. Some of that surely is down to their look relative to other options available at the time, but I think there’s more to it than that. Their spaceshippyness (that’s definitely not a real word) seems more pronounced. The round-in-the-back and pointy-in-the-front design is more apparent. The interior…well as soon as we take a look inside this one I think that part becomes obvious. It all seems like it’s looking farther into the future and then with its evolution Porsche dialed it back some and smoothed all of the rough edges.

This forward looking design is a testament to Porsche’s ideas and it really makes me wish the model had continued to live on so that we could see where it might have gone next. The Panamera isn’t it.

These were my thoughts as I looked over this 928. It comes from early in the model’s production so it showcases those early design cues and its black-white pascha interior is something few marques would ever consider utilizing outside of the ’70s. This is very much a period-correct 928 and its restoration looks top notch.

CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1978 Porsche 928 on 928 Classics

Year: 1978
Model: 928
Engine: 4.5 liter V8
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 63,446 mi
Price: $26,900

1978 Porsche 928 – US #338, 5-speed, Silver over Black w/Black-White Pascha

Very good condition early Porsche 928 5-speed, showing just over 63K miles on a working odometer. Recently repainted in its original Silver Metallic, finish shows good with some blemishes. Interior shows very good with reupholstered seats and Sliverknit carpet installed by Bob Budd at Classic9. Substantially mechanically & electrically serviced and restored.

This 928 has been prepared for consignment and offered here by 928 Classics.

VIN: 928 820 0338
Production Number 1739
Build Date: January 1978
Engine Number: M28/03 – s/n 8280348
Transmission Number: G28/03 – s/n 1181595
This is a ‘numbers matching’ original engine & trans, even though they don’t match exactly
Exterior Color: Silbermetallic (Silver Metallic) #936
Interior Color: Black w/Black-White checkerboard velour (Pascha)
Original specification was Black w/Black-Blue Pascha

Key characteristics:
Early build, numbers matching, original silver w/pasha 5-speed 928 – no rub-strips, no sunroof.
Original spare tire, jack w/bag, lug wrench, tool kit w/yellow screwdriver, OSRAM spare bulb kit, spare belt w/tag, spare spark plugs (2), tire changing gloves, spare tire cover.
Many 78-only features – stainless steel gas cap, battery box cover, small-louver vents, chrome door locks
Matching and working locks & ignition – one key

Recent restoration:
Timing belt/water pump – rebuilt tensioner, new tension arm roller, idler, bushings & bolt
Camshaft carrier reseal – front & back, cam sprockets replaced w/excellent used
Fuel delivery – new fuel pump, feed hose, strainer & seal, fuel accumulator, fuel pump check valve, fuel filter
Clutch & clutch hydraulics – uprated release arm bushing, new throwout bearing, new clutch master & slave
Exhaust – Borla stainless steel ‘cat-back’ w/custom Y-pipe
Smog pump delete – w/correct fan belt tensioner and rear head plugs
EGR delete – w/correct ‘euro’ r-side exhaust manifold and custom intake plenum block-off plate
Ignition tuneup – Bosch ‘Copper’ plugs, cap & rotor, Beru plug wires, and ‘Green Wire’
Fuel hoses – Greg Brown ‘Lifetime’ fuel feed & return hoses
Lower ball joints – new uprated steel
Steering – new inner/outer tie rods, and delrin rack bushings
Shift linkage – new front ball cup and shift lever bushings, rebuilt rear coupler
Lube – engine (Brad Penn 20W-50), coolant, gearbox, brake & clutch
Misc mechanical- coolant hoses, vacuum hoses (cloth-braided), air filter & intake seal, new engine dampeners

Interior – reupholstered seats w/period-correct-grain vinyl & properly-patterned Pasha cloth inserts. Dash, pod, console, glove box door, door panels, tool panel covered w/ period-correct-grain vinyl. Proper German ‘Sliverknit’ carpet installed (not domestic grade). Steering wheel, shift boot & surround recovered in leather. Center console restored including nicely repaired uncut bezel (often cut from DIN radio installs). Beautiful original rear quarter panel insert w/the early-style plastic substrate (doesn’t warp).

Electrics – cleaned central electrics panel, new fuses, cleaned all ground points & 14-pin connector, new positive battery cable, new window switches, all lights, gauges, & primary electrical functions are operational.

Paint – Repainted original silver #936, 2013. All glass removed, headlamps removed. Doors & rear hatch jambs left original. Some seals replaced, new trim seals for front and rear bumper cover. Has some blemishes w/some fisheye and ghosting on the hood, and mild crazing on the left b-pillar. Polished w/compound & waxed but could use some wet-sanding. New front windshield.

Body – Generally very straight, but the car was tapped on left-front corner at some point. It was a non-structural impact, meaning the front-inner bumper beam or left longitudinal was not affected. Only superficial damage where the outer panels were tweaked. However repaired, it’s most noticeable around the left headlamp fitment.

Chassis – Very clean and straight for the age of the car. Very little oxidation w/much original plating intact. Straight longitudinals.

HVAC – Rebuilt controller, all vacuum functions operational. AC inop but the system is intact, pump spins freely.

Misc restoration – new OE hoodliners, period-correct cold air intake tubes, and refinished phone dial wheels

This interior really is wild. I have never seen a pascha interior in person and really would love to because I have no idea what it would be like to live with on a daily basis. The pattern itself gives me a headache if I look at it too long in pictures. I admit it looks in excellent shape though. This isn’t the original color palette as originally this was a black-blue pascha rather than black-white. Black-blue must have really been something!

The exterior is still in this 928’s original color of Silver Metallic. The seller classifies it as “good with some blemishes” but in pictures it looks pretty great. I’m sure those blemishes are present, but they don’t detract from the overall presentation here. I’m a little confused about the numbers-matching engine and transmission, which are stated to be numbers matching “even though they don’t match exactly.” I’m not quite sure what that means. We’re also told it had a light accident at some point that was largely superficial though does show fitment issues around the headlamp. This is another thing that I can’t make out in the pictures, but might be apparent in person. It does sound pretty minor though. Otherwise, the rest of the car and chassis are said to be straight and clean.

Overall, for an early 928 this one looks really good. There are a couple points to nitpick as the seller has pointed out, but many of these seem the sort mostly apparent to a discerning eye and may be lesser issues than you’re likely to find on other 928s on the market. Bringing us to price: At $26,900, we wouldn’t consider this price low by any means. We certainly see plenty priced almost $10K lower. Those certainly are in lesser condition though. In this sort of condition and with this unique interior you might just find the extra cost worthwhile.

-Rob

12 Comments

  1. Fstntq
    Fstntq February 20, 2018

    Kudos to the seller for the epic write up and pix. Long pooh poohed, the water cooled Porsches are on a roll with the 928 riding the crest. Fair warning, the 924s are also starting to catch a bid.

  2. Carter
    Carter February 20, 2018

    For those not following what 928 Classics is doing, it’s really impressive and worth the follow on social media. Check them out!

  3. Jim Doerr (928 Classics)
    Jim Doerr (928 Classics) February 20, 2018

    Rob, thank you very much for the excellent feature!
    Market values are on the rise for the 928 and particularly strong for the early ‘Normal’ & late GTS. Hagerty’s valuation is $33.5k for Condition #2 ‘Excellent’ and $18.7k for condition #3 ‘Good’ examples (This is for manual trans variants, of which a high majority of 78’s were MT).
    I follow the market closely, and what I see in terms of comps falls into two major camps – good and excellent examples. For this lets simplify by throwing out the ‘roached-out’ and uber rare ‘unicorn’ ones.
    Good examples in the majority of the two and generally trade on the open market for approx. $18k. This falls in-line with Hagerty and we have many comps that reflect this (search BaT, etc).
    Excellent examples are hard to come by but they do come up (they’re certainly not unicorns). On the lower end of the #2 range, we have an very good ’81 5-speed in a great color sell for near 24.4k (with buyers premium) – https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1981-porsche-928-5/
    And on the higher end we have an excellent ’81 5-speed with lower miles sell for $37.3k – https://www.ebay.com/itm/1981-Porsche-928-/302610930506
    Worth noting is that both were later early 928s, which shows how difficult it is to find a first model-year one in excellent conditions. There just aren’t many out there in this range, mainly because most are original and need a repaint or other general resto. So those fall into the #3 range, which makes sense because they’re average. They’re great cars but need some hours put into restoring them.
    Another interesting ‘list price’ comp: ’80 in pretty petrol blue, MT, https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/porsche/928/2069532.html
    Looks like a nice car, too.
    Silver ’78 with Pasha is hard to beat. $26.9 for a near condition #2 seems very good to me. Esp for an early 928, gotta love ’em!
    Thank again, Rob. I enjoyed you’re reverse evolution concept!

  4. Andrew
    Andrew February 20, 2018

    Pascha interior is the best. What a pattern.

  5. tirefriar
    tirefriar February 20, 2018

    I always liked the 928 but was deterred by their expensive (when compared to then prices of $7k for a clean examples). Given the condition, price seems a bit on a high side at first but then everything is relative. Pasha looks great in a sliver car. This one seems the one to get. California buyers will need to bring the car back to smog specs (reinstall the EGR, etc). GLWS

  6. John
    John February 21, 2018

    Good looking car! The only thing better for me would be pasha with brown instead of black.

  7. Jeff Miller
    Jeff Miller February 21, 2018

    Just made this #3 from GCFSB that I’ve purchased over the years. What a great resource of information. Thanks @Carter, Rob, Andrew & Crew. And Thanks @Jim Doerr

  8. Jim Doerr (928 Classics)
    Jim Doerr (928 Classics) February 21, 2018

    Congrats Jeff, you bought a great car! Looking forward to when you will take delivery. I trust you will be pleased.

    Shout out to Rob and Carter, thanks guys! Love this site and the work you do.

  9. Carter
    Carter February 21, 2018

    Congratulations, Jeff and Jim! Look forward to hearing more about it! Enjoy the ride!!

  10. Jim Doerr (928 Classics)
    Jim Doerr (928 Classics) February 21, 2018

    As an append regarding market values, it’s worth noting that many excellent condition early 928s trade privately, and don’t ‘hit the radar’ of the public market. Most of my 928s have sold privately (and very quickly), and I know of many others who have gone the same way.
    This may be why there are not a lot of comps in the excellent condition #2 range.
    For what’s it’s worth, this car had 2 other offers before it was even listed.

  11. Rob
    Rob February 22, 2018

    Thanks for the updates Jim. Condition 2 cars always strike me as some of the hardest to value so this certainly provides us with good data point. Congrats to you on the sale and to Jeff on getting a great car!

    I love when everything comes together like this.

  12. BRENT SCURRY
    BRENT SCURRY February 25, 2018

    Great to see restos of early 1978 928s. I have one in OwZ 9288100175 very early car undergoing Resto I have spent $20K on this car so far Silver Manual and it will have new Pascha interior in due course. I believe it may be oldest 928 in Australia

    Great info: and news Interest and Values increase and rightly so.

Comments are closed.