As soon as you have one 928, you'll start finding more. They show up in your yard, you find them under the couch cushions, and remember you bought it for the nice trim piece that it had, and said "Oh, but it's too nice to be a parts car, it almost runs."

Never ever get tired of hearing stories from Ficarra. His storytelling ability and passion makes it impossible to not get invested in his story.

I've said it once and I'll say it again. Jeremy Clarksons 928 story has made me want one since I was a kid. Awesome story John.

“I can surround my house in 928s”. John’s wife heard that and got scared for a second 😂

Met a gentleman on Amtrak train to San Diego from Australia that was buying 928 parts to restore his 928 back home. It was fascinating to hear his stories about searching for parts all over the west coast.

-In 1978 I was riding my bicycle down Burning Bush road in Grosse Ile, Michigan. My friend Drew Pellegrino's dad was a sportscaster in Detroit, and as I rode past his house I saw a silver '78 Porsche 928 in the driveway. It was his dad's and one of the first 928's in the United States. I stopped, dropped my bike in the road, and walked up to the car in the driveway; I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life. I walked around the car and noted the name Porsche on the back. I told my dad about it later and he said it was a 911, but I knew it was something new and eventually found out via car magazines exactly what it was. In 1999 I finally started earning decent wages and I bought one and drove it for nearly 20 years....

The timing of this VinWiki story is perfect, after having to do a engine rebuilt and spending way to much, I finally got my 928 back last week. The car was my fathers and its an 82 928S RHD Manual (4.7) with pasha interior. Happy to see other people still appreciating the 928.

ALWAYS such a Treat to hear Johns stories.

928 is my favorite Porsche hands down. Scarface, Risky Business and Weird Science made me fall in love with them as a child in the 80’s.

Love the Pasha upholstery. Steenbuck in Germany has it by the yard in several colors if you’re retrimmimg

The 928 is one of the best cars ever made and certainly the best Porsche ever built.

I have 3 928s myself. An 81 that was my first car (now in pieces due to blown head gaskets), an 89 with 218k miles that was my daily in Los Angeles traffic, and an 85 with 42k miles that is borderline showroom. They really are an obsession, but most of us stick around because of the owners groups.

"THE COUNTY'S COMIN' FOR MY CARS!!" Had my stomach hurting from laughing!

I had a 928 as a company car and I loved it! It reminds me of the class that the BMW Z8 had. Everything ROCK solid! I would gladly give up a left testicle to feel that secure again. Girls didn't know what to make of it at first but after the first ride, they all came back gladly. A true sleeper!

I bought my first Porsche in 1985 but never got around to buying a 928. I found a mint condition 1989 GT last year with 16 thousand miles on it. I had to buy it ($89 thousand). The guys who stare at it are either nostalgic because they haven't seen one in forever or because they've never actually ever seen a 928 and wonder what it is. The coolest frickin' Porsche I ever had. Although I also have a '67 912 which is also very damn cool.

I MUST show this to my wife. This sounds like my adventure with the 4 first gen RX-7s that began last year. I have similar goals as John.

In 1977 I was at the Toronto Auto Show and saw my first 928. I was a teenager at the time. I just stood there and stared at it. It became a, someday car for me. Finally in 2014 I bought a 79 Porsche 928 from a close friend. He was the original owner. It had 32K on the clock. The car never saw rain or snow. It was a five speed car. I was blown away how well this car drove. I would argue it was the most advance car you could buy in the seventies. Anyway, I did upgrade the cooling system because these cars do run hot in traffic. Last year a got a offer for the car that I just couldn't refuse and sold it. Parts are not an issue but finding a technician that will work on the car was a bit of a challenge. Anyway, as the old saying goes, find the best example you can afford with maintenance records. If you don't work on your own cars do some research and find a Porsche Tech that will be willing to work on your car. In my opinion the 928 is the greatest Porsche ever produced. Cheers!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, the man, the myth, the legend, John Ficarra.

928 is extremely underrated (I'm an ex 88 Carerra 3.2 driver!) in 1997 On my 25th birthday I was allowed under the company insurance rules to drive any car in my own time, what did I pick? A £4,000 928 S2 and hung on to it for several days. Quite agree as how it absolutely fits just like an E30 BMW does...

I'm having a bum week at work and life is on one of those down slopes right now, but getting to listen to a wacky John Ficarra story about buying/collecting weird niche vehicles makes me so very happy.

I once created a line graph for the 928 back around the year 2000. It was based simply on three categories....engine HP/TQ performance specs, current pricing of the car for each model year, and total cost to own for each year. All three lines on the graph vectored into (and crossed) each other at the 1987 S4.

928 is one of the most perfect and beautiful cars ever!

John Ficarra - there is no substitute....

I'm 61 so the 928 is more in my time than yours as you can't be a day over 45? My neighbor had one, and I loved it. I was never into the 911 look, but the 928 was the bomb for me. Hope you do a restoration vlog on the car for all to see. I think there are a lot of us 928 lovers out here that would love to see a 928 build! 👍✌

Yea John!

Who could ever forget the line in Risky Business where Tom Cruise character said: Porsche there is no substitute. I'm a Porsche fan for before I could even legally drive one but my ultimate Porsche is the 1975 Porsche 911 turbo. 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds by Road & Track magazine instrumented testing and I forget the quarter mile time but in its day it was the fastest production car that wasn't some type of true exotic.

I met someone at a transaxle meet recently who owns three 928's: an early one, a late one, and a daily driver! They all work. Life goals John.

I can totally relate. I saw an ‘82 928 with 46k on the odometer going for $4500 and I snapped it up! I am in total frikkin Heaven!!

There's a guy here in my hometown that has a dark grey with black interior 928 with a manual transmission, headers, exhaust, with I think a Kenne Bell twin screw supercharger but it might be a Whipple (but I'm pretty sure it's a KB) a set of period Forgeline 17s. It has always been his baby that he's had the whole time I've know him for 15-18 years. It's pretty quick, I want to say it's run some low 12s but had an equal amount of money been spent in say a C5, Supra, 4th Gen Camaro, 911, or almost any other platform it would be SO SO much faster but the 928 to him is perfect and over the years he's just slowly refined the setup trying to get it sorted out as best as possible.

I recognize myself in this story. Great story as always John. You never disappoint. Good luck with your build(s).

Its been my obsession since my mom bought me a blue 1978 Matchbox Porsche 928 ( with tan interior ) at London/Heathrow airport just so I would stop crying . Oh the memories .......

I have two of the rarest... call them "unique" early 928's ever made. 85 US , Blk/Blk Manual (Mark Robinson Turbo), and the highest factory spec (custom ordered) 86.5 Red/Blk manual ever made (1 of 1). I'm thinking about selling at some point.

The bug eye headlights might be an acquired taste but I think we can all agree, the 928 has a sexy rear end.

Hi, I'm John Ficarra and I have a 928 problem.

Amazing, hilarious story, thanks! I have always loved the 928 too. It was such an amazing car. Low mileage air cooled 911 cost more than new now... they're absolutely bonkers expensive. You can get MORE car for the fraction of the price with 928. Automatic suits very well to that car... 928 S4/GT/GTS was actually a Mercedes R129 and BMW E31 competitor. A luxurious, fast GT car, not a pure sports car. But unlike BMW and Mercedes (save 850 CSI and SL600) 928 definitely had the sports car performance. Amazing car... a legend.

John's got that flair for telling a good story and his stories are my absolute favorites

I am glad to see the 928 finally getting the respect it deserves. I wish I had bought one when the good ones were still cheap.

I too have always lusted after the 928 because of that beautiful black on black 928S that Gary drove in Weird Science. That was my fav movie as a kid and it’s still a dream car for me. Another great story John. You are the MAN!

* Sees John Ficarra * * Likes video *

The 928 was the car that made me fall in love with Porsche❤️

I’m 59 now. My first experience with a 928 was in 1979 when a family friend took me for a spin in his brand new beautiful brown 928. I was blown away by the speed, pick up torque and handling. Absolutely thrilling. Course, over time they became long in the tooth when there were the newer Porsches, Vetts, Ferraris, Lambos, etc. I loved the 996’ of which I had two, one a turbo, amazing cars and want another, but I could never shake the 928 bug, so I’m shopping right now!

Dammit John, now you got me looking at old Porsches

this is the perfect place to post this. when i was 18 my cousin and i used to go "test drive" cars at dealerships. im 6'10 and looked older than 18 bu t not by much. one day we got the bright idea to go into the Porsche dealer and see if we could convince the dealer to hand over the keys to a 928S4 he looked over the top of his big rim 1980s style glasses and gave me the greatest line ever without saying NO.... "They Aint Horses Kid, They Dont Need Exercise!" LOL - that was nearly 40 years ago... i STILL laugh about it... well played sir, well played ( cut to today and i have 3 of them.... talk about delayed gratification! )

The 928's styling has aged really well I think. It still looks futuristic.

928 is in my opinion the most beautiful car shape ever penned.

928S owner here! Came running when I found out it was John that was doing the talking!!

I thought I was mental with 1 and 1 for parts. My journey started when as a kid I was crossing the road and a 928 almost got me when I severely underestimated how fast it could accelerate .Instantly I wanted one. My one literally cost twice the value of my house in 1986 when new.Bought it for rabbit /golf money in 2000.

I've had mine for the past decade and driven it around the country. It's a bulletproof driving experience. Timeless cool...

More Ficarra! Love all the VINWiki content!! Have a great day everyone!

This dude is relatable and knows what he wants. Kudos for accepting that energy into your life.

I used to have a 1982 928s Weissach edition. It was the first year of the S in the US and was cosmetic changes only. Still had the original 4.5 liter 219hp engine, it was a 5 speed, with all leather interior, and it had the head space eating sun roof. The good points were that the engine was bullet proof, it handled incredibly well, and it had an amazingly stiff chassis. You could not get it to sit on 4 jack stands at the same time unless they were exactly the same height. The forged alloy wheels were incredibly light. The 5 speed transaxles all eat the first and second synchros until they were redesigned in 1987. The automatics were a four speed, but only used 1st gear if you floored it from a standing start (Europeans took forever to figure out automatics). The leather interior shrank in the sun, cracked, and warped the door inner panels and the seats fell apart. All of the secondary mechanisms sucked (climate control, window regulators, switches, ect). It got 13 mpg no matter how you drove it. One of the fastest cars you could buy in the period of the slowest cars they made.

I agree 100% with John on this car, and the ability of a parts car to grow roots and multiply. They simply spread like Bermuda grass.

I have no interest what so ever in this car but the way he tells the story, I can't stop listening. Love a good story teller. It's a dying art.

Around 99 I almost bought a immaculate 92 928S in dark blue with a tan interior with the manual trans as I never learned to drive auto , asking price was $16K , I backed out because I didn't know what parts would run to repair it when needed repairs & I was far from rich ! I still kick myself for not buying it !! Not sure if it was a good decision not to buy it ...

I always wanted a Porsche, and when I got my drivers license in the 90s there was no shortage of beater 928s for $5000 at shady car lots around town. I really wanted one, but my dad said the maintenance would kill me. I never understood such a concept at the time, but never got a 928. As an adult, I did eventually get a Porsche (a 991 Carrera S), but even now I don't think I could afford the maintenance on a 928. One of the greatest money pits ever conceived.

Man has fantastic taste in Porche, Kid you not, just loved them , albeit less than air cooled 911, but love is there for sure. having 4 of them one can understand the pain in keep up and maintenance, but you build the ultimate 928 John, looking forward towards it.

I think the 928 is a great car and I've never driven one, despite working at a BMW dealership in Los Angeles. I don't buy cars the impress people, I buy cars I like. I doubt that I'll own one due to arthritis in my back.

I really admire great story tellers, JF is one of those.

Man I had a 1978 928, a V-8 Porsche. What a car. Mine was red with a tobacco interior. It was the weird orange brown color. Man I can’t believe I sold it. Later I got a 94 928S4 and I liked the 78 more. You and I are the same size and age, I agree that it just fits me.

I since learned that the 928 was never really meant to replace the 911 all by itself back in the late 70s/early 80s. Rather Porsche simply got their front engined family of cars up and running 924, 944, 928 to bring in a new type of customer with more emphasis on driver comforts and luxury in a GT performance car package. At the time Porsche just expected interest in the 911 to wane, and that customer base to age and fade away and they would eventually phase out the ubiquitous rear engined 911. Porsche basically were looking to become more like the big boys like Mercedes and BMW rather than be a specialist sports car maker with the 911 at the centre of the business. But as we all know it didn’t turn out that way, even when the phenomenal Boxster turned up in the 1990s to save Porsches ass, the 911 was still there in yet another excellent derivative form wowing the auto world and slaying all comers with unbelievable performance figures. It will be 60 years old this year, yet the timeless design has barely changed, and makes it look like it’s hardly warmed up yet even after slaughtering most the worlds top sports cars on the race tracks since it’s inception 🙏🏽

The 928 was my Dream car as well since I was 4 😬 I was fortunate to own two of the S4 928 models, one of which was a very rare RHD 1987 S4 Manual with factory fit LSD (1st year of the S4) very similar to Al Holbert’s World Speed record car 👌🏼😎👍🏼

Weird Science hooked me into the 928 also, it's why I have one 😀

Back in the early 2000’s I was finding every 81 to 86 F150 around that was in the last phase of its lifespan. I’d find them cheap and drive it or use it for parts or it would sit so long I’d never get to it. I think I owned around a dozen of them, all but one had the 300-6. I had them stored in multiple places with the storage fees equaling a payment on a decent used car. I was so into them that stupid me decided to sell them instead of hauling in for scrap when scrap was very high at that time. I finally upgraded and bought a white 1993 F150 300-6 with 5 speed manual and close to 200,000 miles for $1200 in August 2005. Then a white 1994 F250 heavy duty with 300-6 and ZF heavy duty 5 speed for $950. Then July 2007 a white 2004 Ranger 2.3 4 cylinder 5 speed manual transmission. Then March of 2011 a white 2009 Ranger 2.3 4 cylinder 5 speed manual transmission. Then June of 2015 a white 2011 Ranger XLT Supercab 2.3 4 cylinder 5 speed manual transmission. So I have owned nothing other than a Ford truck since about 2001 and only bought white Ford trucks since August 2005. I delivered pizza for 20+ years and one local cop out of curiosity asked me how many white Ford trucks I’ve owned.

Every time I drive my 928 I get either thumbs up or people keep asking questions in public. 1986 Porsche 928S 32v 5 speed with ABS.

I bought my first 928GT 5 speed, got it cleaned and fixed up, and now I'm addicted. I have owned many other cars prior to the 928, but I can not explain why and how it has hooked me in so quickly. The gen x hero car has a great future and will have a loyal following for the next several decades. I'm already looking for my next 928!

I really like the early front engined Porsches (924, 944, 928 and 968).

It's always good to hear stories from the master himself!

A man after my own heart. We got one several years ago that had sat for too long - it needs some things. But, it runs and drives, and passed a safety inspection. We LOVE it.

Had three 928‘s ... 2 manual S2’s and 1990 S4. Truly fabulous cars, so yes I absolutely understand your passion

I’m gonna drive it on the trailer! And I did The smugness is palpable

I fell in love with the Risky Business 928. And I LOVED the Weird Science 928 S4... Now I have both. My 78 is serial number 00051 and I think the first one sold in the US. It's a 5 speed WITHOUT the sunroof. SO hard to find. 75,000 original miles. And it has the posh interior. My S4 has GT spoiler, mirrors and steering wheel. Turbo twist wheels. It's got GT heads on the S4 motor. I love these cars.

My beau just bought a 79 black 928 today.....not running but he is going to bed with a smile on his face as....tomorrow he plays!!! :)

As I grew up in the 80’s I Loved that car as a Kid as it had the “Butt”

Great story! The 928 was one of my grail cars back when I was a kid. But by the time I could afford it (as a used car) I didn't think I wanted to tackle trying to get it working and then maintain it. Plus it's not that practical for a single car owner, it was just really cool. The movie I remember it in was Middle Age Crazy!

“I have a fever… and the only remedy… Is more 928s!” -John Ficarra

One of may neighbors here in Vegas has had a driveway full of 928 parts cars for years... one of my hero cars, for sure.

Ficarra is amazing. His way of telling the story of car collector (aka junk hoarding) excess, "but this guy has 4" is pure magic.

Owning 4 928s..... it goes from a passion ..... to an obsession is 5 seconds flat.

First time I saw one I drove around it....and around it....aaaaand around it. Can't imagine what the owner would've thought. Beautiful piece of art.

My dad had a 81' 928 weissach edition when I was growing up. So many great memories riding in that car. Still my favorite Porsche

My '87 928 S4 is like a rare, quirky piece of art to me. The older Euro's are more rare and valuable, but the S4 has been my dream car since I was a child.

I have pics of 14 year old me in a members only jacket in the mid to late 80s at the Porsche dealer in Atlanta posing with 928s and 911s brand new on the lot. I was a Porsche nut as a kid.

I was introduced to that car through the arcade game Spy Hunter.

I'm surprised, I did not expect John based on the title

The 928 is the forgotten Porsche 944 enters chat

I drooled over these in the 1980s. I remember the price new in New Zealand was $178000! The average house was half of that then!

My dad's had one in 'that spec' since the early 80's. Running round in that as a kid back then, it felt really special. It's still in good condition now too.

Can 928's be red? Just curious. Thanks for another great story, John.

Yep risky business - 928 - my favourite car ever

I own a 1983 black on black 5 speed 928S with BBS wheels . It was supercharged with a Stage 1 kit from 928 Motorsport . My only problem was the defective alternator I had to replace it with a new high powered one. The interior looks almost new,. This car gets stares especially with the V8 running and wins awards at auto shows.. It is a solid handbuilt grand tourer that I find easy and inexpensive to maintain

Great story my brother. I’m with you on the sunroof thing. I absolutely hate sunroof cars

Oh John, I have your addiction, I've had 6 928's, not at the same time, I've got 2 atm, a 80 in brown metallic & a 92 GTS4 in yellow, I'll drive ether across country any day of the week with great pleasure & enjoyment, good one John, Rj in Oz

I saw a 928 sat in "Chequered Flag" (Chiswick) showroom back in '82, and was invited to sit in it by the manager. It had been, let's say "customed " , to the new owners specs. Pearlescent metal flake body, Zeibart (?) Conversion exhausts etc. White leather/blue piping, white rugs, 16 speakers from the pedals to your ears etc. The 'plate was 928 POR. Apparently the conversion cost £70,000 (remember this is '82). Months later I saw a Brown (?)/Tan 928 (in Chiswick) with the no. plate 928 POR. As I was going that way, I popped in to Chequered Flag and said "I just saw a brown 928 down the road with 928 POR on it, who'd sell a plate like that"? The manager told me no, the guy who bought the car was such a Porsche enthusiast and was so affronted by it, he had it reconverted back to spec. Aaaaaah if only.........

Great video!! One of my faves now.

Was my favorite car when I was a kid.... Then ever after I never saw when in good condition. Loved this story, so many things to relate to.

John’s stories are ace! Love the 928.

So this guy is the reason I can't find a cheap 928!

My wife wants a 928. White, 1986.5 model year, 5-speed manual. Talk about a unicorn. LOL. Problem is, by the time we get enough money saved up to buy one -- assuming we can find it at all -- the price will have risen to the point where we can't afford it anymore.

The only channel on KZfaq I never skip ads on. Great content, keep it comin!

Totally understand this!! I had 5 Mitsubishi Galant vr-4's and could have had at least 4 more. I, too, wanted just one nice one and that morphed into 5. Great story, love John and his stuff.