I have finally got this car on teh r0ad so its time for a thread about it.
Most of you know the story anyway - I bought this car unseen from ebay a couple of months ago after recognising it from a 2002 C+SC magazine feature.
I figured it was worth a 'gamble' as I saw from the DVLA site that it was still with the same guy who had it in the article:
Anyway I was the only bidder and I won it for £300. Then I got it shifted to JonCedric's workshop for evaluation, when it arrived this is what it looked like:
Looked pretty miserable. However Jon got it fired up and seemed to be quite enthusiastic about it himself which cheered me up. a pre-MOT inspection found little to grumble about except for a couple of baldy tyres and worn-out brake discs so he tackled these along with various other little niggles like a bust coolant pipe, bent front valance etc. Also he gave it a going over with the polishing mop and took it for a razz to free stuff off, as it had clearly been stood for a while. Basically jon recomissioned it. Now it looked like this:
Much better.
The car then sat at Jon's place while I moved back to UK and sorted a job out. Frustratingly the car was taxed and MOT'd but I did not want to insure it until I had a job, so no driving. Last week I got sorted out with some work so I insured it (£270 TPF+T) and got the train to shrewsbury to pick it up.
Whats it like? Well, apart from Audi UK it has had one owner all its life until i intervened. Its clear that the owner did not skimp on maintenance and the car fundamentally seems to be in very fine fettle. The engine has had a diet of 'posh' 97/98 unleaded and the correct VAG-sourced oil for all of its 115,000 miles (all backed up by a full maintenance history) and it sounds unbelievably good, I have had a few of these big audis and none have sounded as well as this one. The engine has a deep, interesting burble from the exhaust, slightly dulled by the turbo under hard acceleration, and there is no sign of any tappet noise. looking in the oil cap, the cam lobes look like brand spankers. Great stuff. The body is not amazing, I thought these cars were galvanised but there is some rot on one rear arch, sufficiently serious to warrant some welding work, this will have to wait though. It has been resprayed in the past and there is some micro-blistering here and there but the paint still has a good shine to it and is a good match. Sadly the orignal dealer plates (as seen in the ebay ad) have gone, to be replaced with some ghey motor factors ones.
Interior wise, again not amazing but fundamentally good. The half-leather seats are in v good condition and are extremely comfortable. the headlining however is cattled and there are plenty of squeaks and loose trim issues to work through.
Taken this morning:
So far I have fixed the non-functioning temp gauge (surprising how stressful driving can be without one of those) and the gearchange, which has got a knackered balljoint in the linkage, but at £60 for a new one i've resorted to a JB-Weld solution till I can find a s/h replacement. with these two items sorted there is nothing really to dull the driving experience and I can say that it drives beautifully. It feels very heavy, yet is quick and not really unwieldy, must be down to the 4wd i guess. Its a very pleasant experience. It overtakes very well, in 4th the pull at 60-70 mph is most impressive. The front shocks are possibly a little tired, fortunately I have just scored a brand new pair of genuine VAG ones off the bay for £20!!! I think a few new bushes in the suspension wouldn't go amiss either. Also I don't know when the timing belt was last done so thats another job on teh L1st.
I really like the fact that it is a 200 not a 100, I know that Audi sold a 100 turbo quattro which must have been exactly the same car save for the headlights and tail lights! But the 200 means that someone paid several thousand extra just for the badge and the lights when it was new, and I like that kind of absurd thinking when it comes to cars. The interior is tech-tastic with a climate control unit and a 1980's diagnostic check thing on the instrument panel (which insists that there is a brake issue but I can't find one). Also it has the 'quattro' symbol in the heated rear window element and again on the rear quarterlights which is cool.
Starting next week I will be expecting to do 500 miles a week in this car so I hope it is going to be reliable. I haven't built up the karma with it yet but am optimistic.
I'll just bosh in a big thanks to JonC for tackling it whilst I was still in france and not being fazed by the prospect of MOT'in a shonky old audi bought blind off the bay.
Most of you know the story anyway - I bought this car unseen from ebay a couple of months ago after recognising it from a 2002 C+SC magazine feature.
I figured it was worth a 'gamble' as I saw from the DVLA site that it was still with the same guy who had it in the article:
Anyway I was the only bidder and I won it for £300. Then I got it shifted to JonCedric's workshop for evaluation, when it arrived this is what it looked like:
Looked pretty miserable. However Jon got it fired up and seemed to be quite enthusiastic about it himself which cheered me up. a pre-MOT inspection found little to grumble about except for a couple of baldy tyres and worn-out brake discs so he tackled these along with various other little niggles like a bust coolant pipe, bent front valance etc. Also he gave it a going over with the polishing mop and took it for a razz to free stuff off, as it had clearly been stood for a while. Basically jon recomissioned it. Now it looked like this:
Much better.
The car then sat at Jon's place while I moved back to UK and sorted a job out. Frustratingly the car was taxed and MOT'd but I did not want to insure it until I had a job, so no driving. Last week I got sorted out with some work so I insured it (£270 TPF+T) and got the train to shrewsbury to pick it up.
Whats it like? Well, apart from Audi UK it has had one owner all its life until i intervened. Its clear that the owner did not skimp on maintenance and the car fundamentally seems to be in very fine fettle. The engine has had a diet of 'posh' 97/98 unleaded and the correct VAG-sourced oil for all of its 115,000 miles (all backed up by a full maintenance history) and it sounds unbelievably good, I have had a few of these big audis and none have sounded as well as this one. The engine has a deep, interesting burble from the exhaust, slightly dulled by the turbo under hard acceleration, and there is no sign of any tappet noise. looking in the oil cap, the cam lobes look like brand spankers. Great stuff. The body is not amazing, I thought these cars were galvanised but there is some rot on one rear arch, sufficiently serious to warrant some welding work, this will have to wait though. It has been resprayed in the past and there is some micro-blistering here and there but the paint still has a good shine to it and is a good match. Sadly the orignal dealer plates (as seen in the ebay ad) have gone, to be replaced with some ghey motor factors ones.
Interior wise, again not amazing but fundamentally good. The half-leather seats are in v good condition and are extremely comfortable. the headlining however is cattled and there are plenty of squeaks and loose trim issues to work through.
Taken this morning:
So far I have fixed the non-functioning temp gauge (surprising how stressful driving can be without one of those) and the gearchange, which has got a knackered balljoint in the linkage, but at £60 for a new one i've resorted to a JB-Weld solution till I can find a s/h replacement. with these two items sorted there is nothing really to dull the driving experience and I can say that it drives beautifully. It feels very heavy, yet is quick and not really unwieldy, must be down to the 4wd i guess. Its a very pleasant experience. It overtakes very well, in 4th the pull at 60-70 mph is most impressive. The front shocks are possibly a little tired, fortunately I have just scored a brand new pair of genuine VAG ones off the bay for £20!!! I think a few new bushes in the suspension wouldn't go amiss either. Also I don't know when the timing belt was last done so thats another job on teh L1st.
I really like the fact that it is a 200 not a 100, I know that Audi sold a 100 turbo quattro which must have been exactly the same car save for the headlights and tail lights! But the 200 means that someone paid several thousand extra just for the badge and the lights when it was new, and I like that kind of absurd thinking when it comes to cars. The interior is tech-tastic with a climate control unit and a 1980's diagnostic check thing on the instrument panel (which insists that there is a brake issue but I can't find one). Also it has the 'quattro' symbol in the heated rear window element and again on the rear quarterlights which is cool.
Starting next week I will be expecting to do 500 miles a week in this car so I hope it is going to be reliable. I haven't built up the karma with it yet but am optimistic.
I'll just bosh in a big thanks to JonC for tackling it whilst I was still in france and not being fazed by the prospect of MOT'in a shonky old audi bought blind off the bay.
great work Mr B, And JonC. 
faded red always looks worse than it is.
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