Oppo Poll: Which Car Has More Character? 928S Or 745i

"offroadkarter" (04RauderDTR)
11/25/2013 at 22:16 • Filed to: porsche, 928, bmw, 745i

Help me settle an argument with a friend between these two German autos.

This past weekend I was down in southern Maryland again hanging out with a friend. I've written about his grey market import e23 745i a ton of times in the past, and it was featured on NPOCP on the front page. Well for the first time in what feels like an eternity, his 928 was kind of road ready. He had to replace the fuel pump on it though as all the junk in the tank killed the walboro 255lph he put on there. In between fuel pump replacement, and me telling him he should off himself for trying to sell his 59,000mi marauder over his 142,000mi taurus, we struck up an argument over which one of his German cars had more character, and thus, was cooler. I said the 745i, he said the 928.

Lets break it down by car shall we?

First up is the 1985 BMW 745i. This car was the top trim e23, and comes with a 3.4L M106 turbocharged SOHC inline 6. Its backed by a 4spd automatic, I believe the first electronic 4spd BMW has ever used, which offers a sport, economy, and manual shift mode. This car also has buffalo leather seats which are in amazingly good shape, considering that the car sat in the woods for 6 years with a broken front window and a tarp over it.

This car came to America back in 1986 during the grey market era. I believe it was owned by a diplomat or something like that. A car that wasn't even sold in North America? Thats an instant 100 cool points.

Is it in perfect shape? Hell no, the passenger fender is dented to hell, and it has paint issues. But it is rot free, and even on the shot bushings and shocks, drives fantastic. It has a set of 18" wheels with 265/35's all around which came off a newer 6 series.

After all the shit this car has been through (trust me, its been through some shit), this car is still in good shape. It started up and ran on the 6+ year old gas that had been sitting in the tank. I've had this car up to 100 and it feels solid and planted. It ran a 15.7 at Maryland International, which is right on par with the stock times being rated for 15.8's.

I am also such a good friend that I put my sweet ass momo veloce steering wheel in the car. The steering wheel predates the car by 3 years!

Flip forward hood is also worth 100 cool points

Next up, we have what I believe, is the biggest piece of shit I've ever driven to date. Worse than a 97 civic with 165k miles on it, worse than a 94 explorer with the front end falling apart on dry rotted tires. No, this car made me question "am I going to make it 20 minutes back to my destination?".

The 1986.5 Porsche 928s

(I took this putting gas in it Saturday night)

This 928s comes with a 5.0L DOHC V8 making 288hp, backed by a 4spd automatic transmission that doesn't like to use first gear unless you are at a stop or close. It also has really good brakes, factory coil overs all around, and passive rear steering. Its wearing a set of black 993 turbo wheels with 265/35's all around to ditch those cheesy replica rims the car came with.

Now when this car was new, I believe it MSRP'd for like 60 grand. I think this car sat for about 10 years, and it has a really sketchy past. The drivers window was replaced because the car was probably broken into at one point. That door also doesn't line up because someone took the door off, probably to replace the window, and put it back on like crap. It also has an obvious white respray which is a 15ft paint job at best. My friend bought it for 1500 dollars, for a very good reason. It is a colossal piece of shit.

You think I'm kidding? Well, if I remember this all correctly, the first trip the car made, it made it to the end of the driveway before it blew the water pump out. Literally, you can see the garage in the back.

After that was fixed, and ATF was added to the trans, the car smoked horribly. So that started the ever long project of tearing the motor out and rebuilding it.

The car got a whole valve job, new rings, new cam gears, a new timing belt, all new gaskets, repainted part of the intake manifold, and stuck it back in the car.

Now that the car runs, the interior (whats left of it) needs to be replaced. For the longest time, the steering wheel had some kind of mold on it that actually ate at the foam. He used an industrial cleaner meant for cleaning bodily fluid spills (this shit came from a hospital) on the steering wheel and it STILL didn't work! After cleaning the wheel like 35 times it finally feels okay. The gas gauge sender had a bad seal and would leak into the cabin if you filled the tank to high, but thankfully thats fixed when we did the fuel pump. The front windshield is held in with hopes and dreams, you can feel the air coming in up top. You can even move the whole thing if you push on it. The weatherstripping all around is non existent, the rear hatch won't open or shut unless you climb in the back and do it yourself. The radio? Well it kept trying to eject a tape that didn't exist so my friend smashed it with a mag light until it died. All the speakers look shot anyways so I'm probably not missing much with that.

Thank God he's going to swap out the seats for a set of black seats, and dye anything he doesn't have black replacements for.

On the up side, with the 3rd muffler deleted, this car sounds really really awesome. It also moves out pretty damn quick. I had to lower the seat to the floor just so I wouldn't bang my head on the roof. It also smokes so bad if you let it idle to long because it has so much assembly oil stuck in the mufflers.

(Pop up headlights = instant cool, it looks even better with the S4 euro style housings)

It does tend to get some interesting reactions. I showed my brother the car and he thought it was the most hilarious way to spend 1500 dollars, saying it drove like a V8 powered go kart. Being an 80's child himself, I knew he would love driving the quintessential 1980's cocaine dealer sports car. My sister came outside later and said "what the fuck is that!?". Like I said, interesting reactions!

So whats it going to be

The V8 powered death trap

Or the Mafia Sentinel

DISCUSSION (46)

Sn210 > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 22:19

I'm a big bmw fan, but I think I have to go with the 928...

getchapopcorn > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 22:20

Since they're both slushes, bimmer — if they were both manuals bimmer.

Bandit > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 22:21

I vote Porsche

offroadkarter > getchapopcorn
11/25/2013 at 22:21

the 745 was never offered with a manual but I've seen people convert them. The manual 928's aren't nearly as common as the autos, but since he wants to sell this one for a 928 that isn't a pile, I told him to find a manual. I know he won't listen.

getchapopcorn > Sn210
11/25/2013 at 22:22

My answer is usually always "928" but that interior...

Sn210 > getchapopcorn
11/25/2013 at 22:25

He said they're going to change it! Along with those wheels...
Now you've got me second guessing!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 22:30

I say Biemmer, since it isn't even supposed to be in the US!
can the BMW wear us plates, though?

offroadkarter > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
11/25/2013 at 22:31

Well, he made it work by drilling through the middle of the plate to mount it.

offroadkarter > Sn210
11/25/2013 at 22:32

The wheels are already changed, this is what the car came with

Kinja'd!!!

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 22:33

no, I mean since it's a grey market car, is it legal for it to be registered (since it was in the states prior to being 25 years old?)

offroadkarter > PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power
11/25/2013 at 22:34

Oh, absolutely, the car was federalized back in 86. Although when he added it to his insurance he had to read out the vin for them to even find out what it was. Its legally on the road, its not a skyline.

Sn210 > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 22:36

Oh ok, I like the black ones a lot better. Never mind

Agrajag > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 22:36

BMW

Dsscats > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 22:45

Definitely the 745!

JR1 > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 23:03

Porsche 928, in its day it was a super car (kinda). On the other hand the BMW was just a convenient way of getting around in luxury

bpands > offroadkarter
11/25/2013 at 23:21

Porsche automatics were horrible until the 996 911 models.

BMW.

Built BMW Tough > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 00:02

Kinja'd!!!

That looks really good. The intake, that is.*

Doug DeMuro > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 00:09

The BMW. Be cooler if it were a stick though.

Built BMW Tough > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 00:18

The 928s go through clutches like crazy.

offroadkarter > Doug DeMuro
11/26/2013 at 11:03

anything is possible with a hammer and some duct tape

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 12:41

I'm not really a german car fan.

I'll pick the porsche though. they broke constantly but it looks much cooler.

Zipppy, Mazdurp builder, Probeski owner and former ricerboy > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 12:50

I'd say the 928 has more character, it's more unique, and has a distinctive look. The BMW comes close though.

My hovercraft is full of eels > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 13:04

928

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > bpands
11/26/2013 at 13:20

The slushboxes in the 928s were actually made by MB, but if we are talking auto trannies you have to go with the luxury car.

Jagvar > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 13:25

My vote for BMW. I mean, when do you ever see those things?

offroadkarter > Jagvar
11/26/2013 at 13:32

You dont! I have seen 3 E23's in my life. The first was an L7 in the junkyard, the second was the one in this thread, and the last was a 733i manual in CT which was in immaculate shape.

Meatcoma > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 13:40

I vote, you give us another choice.

offroadkarter > Meatcoma
11/26/2013 at 13:54

I don't have any other choices! Do you want me to throw his 2011 M37X into the running?

Meatcoma > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 14:01

I'll vote that.

offroadkarter > Meatcoma
11/26/2013 at 14:02

Congrats, you voted for the toaster oven of automobiles

Meatcoma > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 14:04

I like toast!

ninequattroquattro > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 15:14

Leave the 928's interior alone! That makes the car!!! He wont ever make it good looking, so just let it be itself!

Turbo i6 is tough to beat.

But red leather...

offroadkarter > ninequattroquattro
11/26/2013 at 15:15

that interior is just trashed, the black seats he has are in great shape

offroadkarter > Built BMW Tough
11/26/2013 at 15:16

it'd be even better if he painted the rest to match

ninequattroquattro > offroadkarter
11/26/2013 at 15:28

:-(

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > offroadkarter
11/28/2013 at 21:52

I vote 928. Once you get it sorted, it will be awesome. I would be great car to just eat highways, say travel to Florida or Ohio.

Jeb_Hoge > offroadkarter
12/02/2013 at 15:58

Well it kept trying to eject a tape that didn't exist so my friend smashed it with a mag light until it died.

Your friend...so, does he have some problems with impulse control?

offroadkarter > Jeb_Hoge
12/02/2013 at 16:00

Yeah, why do you think he owns a 928? He bought it because the people who owned it scared him and he was afraid they were gonna pop a cap in his ass if he said no.

Jeb_Hoge > offroadkarter
12/02/2013 at 16:19

That's better logic than a lot of 928 buyers use.

offroadkarter > Jeb_Hoge
12/02/2013 at 16:23

well, his logic now is his 2011 M37X > everything else in the world. He said he drove his marauder for the first time in a couple of weeks just to keep the battery charged and hated how it everythinged. I had to remind him the taurus that he liked so much he's going to hate now since he's comparing two cars developed eons ago, to a new luxury sedan. Its like comparing a watermelon to a fugu fish.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Built BMW Tough
02/18/2014 at 10:01

Was that because the typical 928 owner then couldn't drive a stick worth a damn?? :)

Nowadays the guys who own 928s show their cars lots of love and know how to use that third pedal.

Built BMW Tough > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
02/18/2014 at 11:56

I'm not sure if that's the case, I remember it being mentioned on the rennlist forums. I'd still pick the stick, that's for sure.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Built BMW Tough
02/18/2014 at 12:59

I'd figure by now there'd be aftermarket clutches that hold up much better than the OEM unit(?)

Built BMW Tough > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
02/18/2014 at 13:34

Yeah, whatever. I'd still cut off one of my toes for a 928 GTS

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Built BMW Tough
02/18/2014 at 14:00

Just not on the left foot, right?

Built BMW Tough > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
02/18/2014 at 14:29

As long as it can operate the clutch, I don't care which toe. Preferably one of the middle ones, but lets face it: it's a fucking GTS.