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Southern California really is the Promised Land of cool Junkyard Finds, and sometimes you’ll find a car that was used in a film or TV shoot before getting scrapped. Such appears to be the case with this puzzling camo-and-Boeing-emblems-wrapped 928.
The engine is gone, the interior is stripped, and it has a hole in the hood that suggests that the car once had a goofy intake setup.
Just 125,180 miles on the clock.
Perhaps this car participated in the Silver State Classic Challenge. Or maybe it just has the sticker.
OK, bonus points for anyone who can unearth some history of this car on the internetz (but only if you’re doing your research on The Man’s clock).
40 Comments on “Junkyard Find: 1985 Porsche 928, Weird Movie Car Edition...”
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I believe that looks alot like the Porsche 928 for that bad 1987 movie “Lenoard Part 6”. Bill Cosby was in the movie and if I recalled used the 928 as some sort of a tank. The car had a wierd camo paint job just like this.
Close but no cigar. The ‘Leonard’ car was desert camo, had a turrent on the roof, but no intake system on the hood:
http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_309878-Porsche-928-1981.html
Also, no Air Force style markings on the fenders.
http://www.imcdb.org has six pages of Porsche 928’s in the movies. None of them match this car. Makes me wonder if it just wasn’t some bad taste hot rod.
Murilee, behold: The Boeing helicopter engine-powered Porsche 928: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCvtEKUFSV0
The engine was a T-50 pulled from a QH50 helicopter from the Vietnam Era, and the car started off red before being wrapped.
It was on eBay at one point some four years ago: http://www.pedaltothemetal.com/news_story/ebay_1982_porsche_928_boeing_t_50.html
Looks like project didn’t pan out the way Big Mike wanted!
I looked through his channel to see what might have happened: the video uploaded after this one was of Big Mike discussing his trip to the hospital after a brutal weightlifting accident.
My guess? He sold the 928 to someone to pay his bills, and that individual couldn’t do anything with it; he may have also just sold the engine on eBay or Craigslist, then pitched the 928 for scrap.
I concur. This is from Dec 9th.
http://distilleryimage1.s3.amazonaws.com/a8033576611211e3a84012a4aeb4a794_8.jpg
Wow! I hope that engine found a good home somewhere.
I also found some comments from Big Mike about his Toyota that was snapped as part of a feature in Speedhunters back in 2012 where he does talk a bit more about what he had planned for the 928 (comments come near the bottom of the post). He’s also a Cars and Coffee attendee (also mentioned in the comments), so we have that, as well:
http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/08/nisei-spotlights/
Looks like this might have been a previously turbine powered car judging by that hole in the hood.
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/05/14/ebay-find-of-the-day-porsche-928-t-as-in-turbine/
How did I Not know about the Silver State Classic. Signing up and running my 2013 Regal GS.
Turbine-powered, homemade. A guy named Mike Muniz (BIGMIKESOCAL on Youtube) was building this about four years ago.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6wdxlIYizk
The first video is before it was wrapped, but has a decent run through if you don’t mind the TOP GUN music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCvtEKUFSV0
The second is an update after it was wrapped.
This is sad. I know this car never expected to be born an upper class, then have it’s heart yanked, get stripped, tatted, faded, and set outside to be plucked by scavengers until finally crushed.
You’ve just described a someone I went to high school with minus the crushing.
Post of the day!
I’m guessing you’re not in the US? I got a message that the first video was blocked in the US by Sony. Probably because of the Top Gun music.
I’m in Virginia. Still have no problem with the video.
Odd.
I generally try not to look at the Junkyard series, they usually depress me. But I had a real WTF? moment looking this one.
Now that we know more about the backstory to this sad car, I’m having a double WTF? moment… Who thought that stuffing a helo motor in a 928 was a good idea? (Yes, obviously, Big Mike did…)
What a shame. A small block Chevy in that thing and it would be a decent driver for someone.
I reached out to Big Mike through YouTube to see if he’d be willing to tell his tale in the comments. Cross your fingers.
This makes me very sad.
Save the phone dials!
Every since I saw the movie weird science, I used to want a 928, I also wanted a computer and wore my sisters bra on my head thinking it was funny.
You sound WAY too impressionable.
Sounds normal to me.
Add in the want to perform lewd activities during a desolate late night ride on the Red Line, and keeping my car away from Lake Michigan.
Now THAT was a damn good movie. And normally I can’t stand Tom Cruise. Rebecca DeMornay, on the other hand…
Princeton can use a guy like Joel.
Maybe I’m missing something, but the Heli-car had 2 holes in the hood – while this example only has one. Since I cannot imagine 2 cars having this extremely distinctive paint scheme, is this the same car, with a different hood?
I’m thinking airplane geek. The type that has model airplanes hanging by strings above his bed.
Also still a virgin.
Oboy ~
Waiting for Crab’s deel , good back ground story in :
3
2
1……
-Nate
Most definitely
I’m waiting for Big Mike’s story.
Vehicle’s an 82 not an 85.
85 MPH speedometer for the win.
Malaise era speedo – LOL
I hope the Z32 next to it gets recognized.
Me too.
I’m waiting for the Fiero Murilee said he would cover.
I’m really hoping that isn’t a Twin Turbo 300ZX….. I’d be mortified if it was….. still rare to see a Z32 in a junkyard, most be thrashed to high heaven. I’m hoping Murilee has more info as well and whether this one is just a VG30DE and not a VG30DETT….
It isn’t a TT. TTs had vents in the front airdam, just below the cornering lamps. This is a NA Z32.
Why does the paint color sticker on the inner fender say (in German) “Pacific Blue Metallic” on what appears to be a factory red car?
Believe it or not, at one time, there were actually ‘two’ turbine-powered 928s. As you might surmise, it seems the same guy had a hand in developing both of them.
It doesn’t look like there’s too much of a market for a turbine-powered Porsche 928 that shoots flames out the hood, though. The one that ended up in the boneyard had, at one time, sold on eBay for around $7500 (before it got the military-style graphics).
This one looks like it’s nicer. Maybe it was a second effort.
http://jalopnik.com/499962421
I guess if you really want to experience what it must have been like to be one of the lucky 50 people who got to drive a Chrysler Turbine Car for a couple months in 1963…
The 928 is such an underrated car because the 911 is essentially a gold standard of sports cars. A mid-90’s 928 was still faster than a 911 until the early 2000s and after a quick search they’re fairly affordable though at this point I imagine 10-20K in repairs is almost guaranteed if the car hasn’t been refreshed in that period. Still, they look good, seem to fit in a decent size group and while this car is well past spent the wrap isn’t horrendous, it’s a bit kitschy but for something that is largely unloved and will never command the top dollar like 356/911s do why not do something you love with it?
It’s been 15 years since Porsche made one of these things and 35 years since they started. One thing will never change – the 928 seems to be the ultimate love it or hate it car. I have one and while the locals in the Porsche Club were always friendly enough there was no real interest in the 928 among most members. And PCA-ers generally look on the 928 as a dead end, based on articles etc in Panorama.
I will say that while mine is more of a pain than I ever could have imagined, it’s a real treat when running well, which it is now. The maintenance never ends, the parts are incredibly expensive (and increasingly hard to even find) and service can be spotty when you need a pro. DIY is a challenge for me, as I really have to know when to stop trying to fix the thing, before I ruin it.
I think whoever did this may not have been 100% in love with the 928, maybe not even 0%!