Which Dead V8 Would You Bring Back To Life? 1976 AMC Matador vs 1981 Porsche 928

“She’s just back here,” the old man says, gesturing with a flashlight. “Mind those blackberry vines, the thorns’ll get ya.” He leads you behind the house to a run-down garage, and fumbles with a padlock on the door. “Fella came to look at’er about a year ago, and passed on ‘er. You’re the first one since then.” He heaves the door open with a grunt and shines his flashlight inside. A smell wafts out of the garage, a heady mix of transmission fluid, mouse droppings, and time. The flashlight beam plays across a headlight, staring blankly out at you, and a glint of dust-caked chrome. “She ran good when I parked ‘er in here,” he says. “Shouldn’t take much to get’er goin’ again.”

We’ll continue that tale of terror in a minute, but first let’s check out yesterday’s results. It was Camaro versus Mustang, the sad version. The green Mustang II had plenty of support in the comments, but it didn’t translate to votes, and the Camaro ended up winning by more than two to one. The one thing everyone could agree on, though, is that both cars were underpowered, and overpriced.

If the prices were equal, and, you know, sane, I’d be all-in on the Camaro. I don’t have much interest in a Z28 or an IROC or anything, but an LT or Berlinetta? Now we’re talking. But that four grand price difference could be well-spent on the Mustang. A lot of you wanted to do engine swaps on both cars, and I suport that, but I think a modern four-cylidner and stickshift is the way to go in either case. Something like a Duratec out of a late Ranger for the Mustang, or an Ecotec from a wrecked Saturn Sky ot Pontiac Solstice for the Camaro. Still more powerful than stock, about double the gas mileage, and it would be fun to see the reactions when you popped the hood.

Lots of things can kill cars. Collisions, rust, inept drivers, natural disasters, and many other threats can turn your pride and joy to a useless pile of scrap metal. But one of the worst things you can do to a car is… nothing. Let it sit. Park it somewhere and ignore it. Do that long enough, and you’ll come back to a vehicle that might still look all right, if it was kept from the elements, but won’t run worth a damn, if it runs at all, and is certainly no longer safe to drive. How long is too long for a car to sit? It’s hard to say, but it’s somewhere between six months and however long these two have been out of commission. Could you wake one of them up? Probably, with enough time, patience, and money. Would you want to, or are some things better left undisturbed? Let’s take a look and see.

1976 AMC Matador – $3,000

Engine/drivetrain: 304 cubic inch OHV V8, three-speed automatic, RWD

Location: Clarklake, MI

Odometer reading: 80,000 miles

Operational status: “I got it started last year”

It’s not uncommon for the two-door coupe version of a car to be more stylish than the four-door sedan, but one of the greatest examples of this is the AMC Matador. The Matador coupe is a swoopy fastback that looks like nothing else on the road. The sedan could be confused for a Dodge from the same era – until you get to the front. There’s a reason the ad doesn’t show the front of this car; let’s just say it’s not a selling point. It’s a unique look, though; I’ll give it that. (If you’ve never seen the front end of a second-generation Matador sedan, look it up, and then come back. It’s… something.)

AMC really only had two engines back in the ’70s: an inline six and a V8, and it sold them in various displacements. This Matador has the smallest V8, 304 cubic inches, along with an automatic transmission, which I think came from Chrysler in these days. The seller says it was started a year ago, but I get the feeling it was sitting for a long time before that. Plan on spending some good quality time going through everything before hitting the road, even if by some miracle it fires right up.

It does appear to be in pretty good shape, especially for a car sitting in a lot with a bunch of other derelicts. The interior in particular is nice. Dirty, but nice. It’s a pretty basic model, with a plain old vinyl bench seat, but it is equipped with air conditioning. That’s one more thing you’ll have to fix once you get it running, I’m sure.

It’s remarkably rust-free, especially for a Michigan car, but I guess you can’t really tell what condition it’s in unless you wash all the crud off. It does look straight, though, and very original.

1981 Porsche 928 – $2,500

Engine/drivetrain: 4.5-liter OHC V8, three-speed automatic, RWD

Location: Eaton Rapids, MI

Odometer reading: 94,000 miles

Operational status: Been sitting since 2007

Classic Porsche prices, in case you haven’t noticed, have gone completely insane. But that seems to only apply to the air-cooled models; water-cooled Porsches like this 928 can still be found for reasonable prices. The only catch is, they won’t be in reasonable condition. This early 928 has been sidelined for nineteen years, but the seller isn’t clear on why. They insist it ran when it was parked, but “ran” just means you turned the key and the engine did something. Being able to be driven is a whole different thing.

The 928 was Porsche’s first V8 model. This early version displaces 4.5 liters and makes 228 horsepower, a really impressive number for 1981. And that’s the choked-down American version. European cars made even more power. Like the four-cylinder 924, the 928 has a rear-mounted transaxle, in this case a Mercedes-built three-speed automatic. Yeah, I know, but the 928 was more of a grand tourer than a sports car, and automatics were pretty common. The seller says it’s all there; it just hasn’t run in a long time.

It’s less of a mess inside than it could be. The leather seats look OK, and the dash just looks partially disassembled. Of course, there’s no telling what’s under that dash cover. It’d take some work, but I think this could be a respectable car inside again. The question is, is it worth the trouble?

It needs a paint job badly; the 928 doesn’t appear to be the sort of car that can pull off patina. It just looks sad. With luck, though, all those years stuck in a garage saved it from getting rusty. One thing that is annoying is that it has three of the gold BBS-style wheels, and one stock 928 wheel. Is the fourth gold wheel included, and just not pictured? Or will you have to find a set of matching wheels for it somewhere?

I realize that while some of you will take one look at these two and run for the hills, others will see them and think, “Challenge accepted.” Still, even if you’re actively looking for a project, these two are daunting. One’s a plain vanilla sedan from a long-dead brand, and the other is less-respected model from a premium European brand. Parts are going to be a pain either way. You’ll have to lean on owner’s clubs and forums for help, and let’s face it, no matter what kind of car you’re talking about, some of those people are insufferable. The question is, which one are you more willing to be scared by?