A4 Avant Project

Newbie Joined: Mar 24, 2010 Posts: 18

Just bought my first Audi project so thought i'd start a build thread on here. The base car is an 96' A4 Avant 1.8T with 144k on the clock which i have owned for about 3 weeks now, loads of history and invoices and 2 owners from new. The bodywork needs a lot of attention as the previous owner neglected it and there is a couple of areas where birds mess has eaten its way through the paint on the roof and bonnet.

Here's a couple of pics from the day when i got the old girl:

And after a quick wash and polish:

After parking on the drive overnight i found the rear drivers footwell absolutely soaked. Pulled out all the interior and carpet (what a PITA that was) and dried out the floor pans. Carpet has gone in the bin as after two weeks it hadn't dried out and was absolutely stinking.

Had a productive weekend last week and managed to clear the bulkhead drains which were full of compost, changed the dump valve for a forge re-circ valve, replaced the foam seal under the ECU box as it was damaged from wires getting trapped underneath, changed the coolant temp sensor and removed the retro Nokia handsfree install and wiring.

Plans are: A6 Alloys, coilovers, black grille surround and quad ring badge, get the bonnet, roof and rear bumper repainted, facelift headlights and fogs and de-badge and de-wiper the rear end.

Nick

Site Moderator Joined: Aug 11, 2008 Posts: 1652

think everyone at some point in audi ownership has blocked drains! admittedly maybe on older models rather than some of the newer ones.

didn't realise it was a 'T' subtly had that removed, either that or its fallen off lol Wink

Newbie Joined: Mar 24, 2010 Posts: 18

The 'T' was removed as it would have fallen off any way. Rest of the badges apart from the quad ring will be removed this weekend.

I looked through the invoices from the previous owner last night and it had been in to the garage to have the water leaked sourced and rectified. A charge of £195 iirc and a list of things cleaned. Drain plugs that size don't block up between xmas and now the way they were.

Newbie Joined: Mar 24, 2010 Posts: 18

Hi Guys, not been on here in a while and have had a few problems since my last update. Firstly i got the dreaded oil pressure warning light come on one day on way home from work, had to drop the sump out which was a nightmare, and found the oil pick up strainer completely blocked with sump gasket sealant and dirt. Cleaned it all out and cleaned out the sump and all is well.

Then i had a problem with the auxiliary fan not shutting off and running constantly until it drained the battery, traced this problem back to a faulty relay and all is now fine.

Anyway not had chance to get pics but have recently fitted facelift headlights which have improved the front end a lot, painted the chrome grill surround and quad ring badge satin black, finished removing the badges from the bootlid and have removed the rear wiper.

In the process of looking for some lowering springs to give it a subtle drop and waiting for a mate to dig out an old set of A4 alloys he has in his workshop.

Site Moderator Joined: Aug 11, 2008 Posts: 1652

no point telling us without showing us the pics lol!!! hurry up eh;)

Newbie Joined: Mar 24, 2010 Posts: 18

I will sort some out this evening. Haven't had much time over last few weeks Laughing

Newbie Joined: Mar 24, 2010 Posts: 18

Hi Guys, once again haven't been on here in a while and have made some changes to the Avant which has been difficult getting some time to work on it as since i was last on here have bought my first house so have been getting used to paying mortgage and bills .

First off i purchased some Merc C Class alloys complete with decent tyres from ebay for a total of £100 delivered. Still need to give them a coat of paint as they are in desperate need of a refurb.

Then it was MOT time which in sailed through with no advisories which i was pretty chuffed with.

After the MOT i purchased some coilovers off of ebay and fitted them which have made it look and handle so much better and then last weekend i painted the mirror covers Rover Arrum White.

Time for some pics which i know monkeyboy always likes Very Happy

IMG]http://i981.photobucket.com/albums/ae293/nickh89GTi/Photo002.jpg[/IMG]

As always comments welcome whether its good or bad Wink

Next on the list is to paint the wheels and roof the same colour as the mirrors (may be a bad move but it could work) and fiddle with the coilovers as the passenger side sits slightly higher than the drivers side.