Yellow 1983 Porsche 928 Is a Junkyard Gem in Desperate Need of Attention

While there's no shortage of 911s and 356s on the classic car market, they rarely pop up in junkyards. Sure, some are still locked away in barns and backyards, but these cars are rarely dropped off to be crushed.

I'm pretty sure I've seen a couple of 914s waiting to be dismantled, but hey, these are nowhere near as valuable as the 911s due to the nameplate's association with Volkswagen. But I'm actually here to talk about a derelict 928 that was recently discovered in Oklahoma.

Granted, it's not exactly a junkyard vehicle. It's part of a Copart auction that includes automobiles with mechanical issues and significant damage, but it's still an unlikely position for a Porsche. Especially since it's the only classic in a sea of relatively modern rigs.

But while it's not your average rusty junkyard find, this 928 was involved in an accident that severely damaged its side panels. There's no info on what happened, but not one side panel is still intact. It's as if it was hit with a forklift and then smashed into other cars.

I also think this 928 wasn't running when it was damaged. Perhaps it was parked for a few years due to mechanical issues and hit while being moved to a new location? I guess we'll never know for sure, but this grand tourer is otherwise very complete and still has the original V8 engine under the hood.

The latter is probably not running, but the engine bay looks clean and complete. This lump should fire up with an oil change and some maintenance.

The 1983 model designation suggests this 928 is an S model. 1983 was the first year for the US-spec 928S with the 4.7-liter V8, which replaced the original 4.5-liter unit. It was also the first year for this car's four-speed automatic transmission.

The mill was factory-rated at 234 horsepower for North America, while the European version came with 300 PS (296 horses) on tap. It's one of only 3,998 examples built that year and one of only 2,086 shipped to the United States. That's a relatively low number.

The car is obviously for sale. Our host says it's "cheap," but he doesn't provide an actual figure. Examples in running condition can cost anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 depending on originality, specs, and mileage. Needless to say, this one's definitely worth saving.

Porsche introduced the 928 in 1977. It was the company's first entirely in-house design and the first production model with a V8 engine. A notable departure from the 911 due to its front-engined layout, the 928 was initially supposed to replace Porsche's iconic sports car. The two models were eventually sold side by side.

The 928 enjoyed a long production run until it was discontinued in 1995 without a direct replacement. Porsche sold 61,056 units over 18 model years.