Though my S4 was not abused, it was driven. It was serviced by a local shop with a reputation for overcharging and doing unnecessary work on cars. The engine/trans cover pans were missing; the power steering pump was leaking furiously; the air box was packed with leaves and garbage. The car needed more than just a light cleaning to restore it how it was the day I sold the car in 1997, and I undertook a painstaking and comprehensive 'refresh', servicing all mechanical systems while paying attention to the correct finishes and makings. No stone unturned and no detail to be overlooked.

​

I methodically worked through the car; with 72,000 miles on the engine, there was no need to dive into the block/heads, but every other component was fair game. I kept Roger at 928sRus quite busy with weekly parts orders. A comprehensive service on the engine included timing belt/tensioner rebuild/water pump/silicone oil pan gasket and studs/cam cover gaskets/all fuel lines replaced with Coline hoses and ferrules as OEM/new Bosch injectors/knock sensors/new plug wires-ignition parts/belts-hoses/refinished intake and cam covers/motor mounts/ground wires/clutch-pinion bearing-throw out bearing-slave cylinder-clutch arm pivot. 

​

All suspension/transaxle/torque tube were removed, mechanically refurbished and refinished. The torque tube bearings were perfect The rear coupler and front ball joint on the shift mechanism were replaced; it has a short shift lever fitted. Careful attention was paid to markings. Where factory VIN tags were worn, I duplicated the tags on the engine and transaxle. Nothing was overlooked, and the undercarriage appears as new. The car rides and drives like a new 928S4 with not a sound to be heard. BTW, this car features the limited slip differential option, too.

​

The interior is perfect. No marring of the leather surfaces; the original silver knit carpeting is fresh. The original Blaupunkt Stuttgart radio and amplified 10-speaker system is intact. The in-door tweeter cones were trashed and I sourced rare replacement ones; the remaining speaker cones were in great shape, but the speaker foam had long since disappeared. I sourced and re-foamed each speaker and they work as original. The rear quarter panels are perfect and not warped like so many 928's.  There was a crack atop the instrument pod, and I had Fibrenew repair the crack. The dual zone A/C system works perfectly.  The window guides and wipes are new; the gasketing is perfect. All instrument bulbs were replaced along with the HVAC lighting. The sunroof works perfectly with a new gasket. I replaced the digital clock with an analog clock from a GTS.  The steering wheel is a Porsche factory sport wheel; I have the original wheel. The color code sticker/bar code and VIN sticker were scratched, and all were replicated and replaced. Even a correct bag for the emergency sunroof crank handle is there. I sourced the luggage cover from the very Porsche seamstress that fabricated the covers for Porsche 'back in the day'; she still had the patterns and access to the material!!

​

The absolutely rare Speedline 3-piece Alessio wheels were taken apart, polished, the inner drums refinished back to the correct coloring and cleared with a 2-part epoxy finish for durability. New Dunlop Direzza tires are fitted.

​

I've only scratched the surfaces as only a few paragraphs can summarize hundreds of hours of work on this car.  It is back to living up to Paul Resnick's assessment of 'the best 928 I've seen'. It has been a labor of love and a serendipitous journey that took me, my family, and my 928S4 to time when our lives had taken a decidedly positive turn. My son, Matt, whom I lulled to sleep in the 928 in 1996, drove the car to his High School Senior Prom.

​

Sadly, the person who played a pivotal role in my 928...Paul Resnick, was lost to us and the Porsche community this year, as he succumbed this year to pancreatic cancer.