Audi 80 Saved from the scrapheap...
Discussion
Hi Folks,
Been a lurker for a long while, but have something post about now.
This has just come down through the extended family. One owner since new with a FASH believe it or not. It originally belonged to my step father who bought it for £20k new back in 1994. It's done 82k miles in all that time and only 10k in the last 10 years. He's since stopped driving and gone to a home poor fellow, and the Audi was forgotten about until recently when it was found again on his daughters driveway (SORN'd fortunately!). Hadn't been run in over a year - non car people in the family said it had 'electric problems' and hence it had been left unused. They knew we liked old cars and asked if we'd be interested, otherwise it was going to be sold for scrap.
A quick poke around indicated a car with mould, damp and paintwork that was hosting the local flora more than it was covering the car. A nice collection of spider nests and condensation hanging from the headlining. Nice. Brakes were seized on (handbrake left on - doh!). No MOT of course... but all the paperwork was there.
My son and I (he's a trainee mechanic) thought we'd take a punt on it and grabbed a trailer to go and pick it up.
Brake discs were obviously toast, battery dead (not even a flicker). Oil was still golden though. We managed to loosen the brakes eventually and pulled it up on to the trailer and towed it home.
Disconnected the battery and left it on charge overnight. The next morning was gloomy outside, and the dashboard lights were also gloomy. Battery clearly dead, which was a shame as the receipt showed it was only two years old.
A quick look through the service history indicated it was stamped up to date at an Audi dealer until 2016 with about £500 being spent every year on servicing. So far so good... but would it run?
Under the bonnet was a decidedly oldskool looking engine, inline four pot - alas visions of a nice burbly 5 cylinder were dashed. According to the V5 it was a mere 1.6, so I had visions of a rather breathless carb fed base model, but it turned out to be fuel injected, sporting (!) a half reasonable 100 bhp when it was new.
Digging around, the filters seemed brand new, as did many other service items, including the brakes pads (though the discs were rusted to buggery). Everything was stamped Audi or OEM. MIleage checked out as 82k.
Turns out it was an 'SE' model which built on top of the base spec with 15" alloy wheels, sports front seats, front electric windows, leather sports steering wheel and auxiliary oil temp, pressure and battery voltage gauges along with a very 80s style spoiler on the back.
We swapped the battery out of my son's Mk2 Golf and switched on the ignition. Lights came on. ABS light flickered on... then off. We disconnected the dizzy and gave it a crank.
There was oil pressure. According to the gauge in the car... 4 bars of it. Seemed smooth enough to try firing it up. Dizzy back on and...
There it sat, purring away as if it had only been left the day before. Now 5 bars on the oil pressure gauge, electrics charging. All seemed good.
Then we tried the electrics.
Wipers - nothing.
Head lamps - nothing.
Electric windows - nothing.
Blower fan - nothing.
OE Sony headunit - static out of one speaker on the radio, but it did play a cassette too.
Electrical problems indeed. Fuse box was found and located, everything absolutely fine and dandy. Earth straps found and checked, absolutely fine. Head scratching and cup of tea consumed.
Interior illumination was working at least!
Switched the engine off and restarted it. Lo and behold the electrics came to life. Wipers, windows, headlamps. Bemused looks all round. Turned out to be the ignition barrel is sticky and isn't turning back to the 'ignition on' detent when you start the car - so all the main electrics are interrupted. A quick clean had that sorted. Electric problems indeed!
Brakes were swapped out (good having a son as a mechanic!) and the car given a good clean inside and out. Came up like a champ.
Everything else seems in good condition. It's off for an MOT today, cost thus far? £90 for brakes discs and £60 for a battery.
Plans are to push it into service as a daily and see how it goes for now.
More updates to follow.
Cheers,
Drew.
Been a lurker for a long while, but have something post about now.
This has just come down through the extended family. One owner since new with a FASH believe it or not. It originally belonged to my step father who bought it for £20k new back in 1994. It's done 82k miles in all that time and only 10k in the last 10 years. He's since stopped driving and gone to a home poor fellow, and the Audi was forgotten about until recently when it was found again on his daughters driveway (SORN'd fortunately!). Hadn't been run in over a year - non car people in the family said it had 'electric problems' and hence it had been left unused. They knew we liked old cars and asked if we'd be interested, otherwise it was going to be sold for scrap.
A quick poke around indicated a car with mould, damp and paintwork that was hosting the local flora more than it was covering the car. A nice collection of spider nests and condensation hanging from the headlining. Nice. Brakes were seized on (handbrake left on - doh!). No MOT of course... but all the paperwork was there.
My son and I (he's a trainee mechanic) thought we'd take a punt on it and grabbed a trailer to go and pick it up.
Brake discs were obviously toast, battery dead (not even a flicker). Oil was still golden though. We managed to loosen the brakes eventually and pulled it up on to the trailer and towed it home.
Disconnected the battery and left it on charge overnight. The next morning was gloomy outside, and the dashboard lights were also gloomy. Battery clearly dead, which was a shame as the receipt showed it was only two years old.
A quick look through the service history indicated it was stamped up to date at an Audi dealer until 2016 with about £500 being spent every year on servicing. So far so good... but would it run?
Under the bonnet was a decidedly oldskool looking engine, inline four pot - alas visions of a nice burbly 5 cylinder were dashed. According to the V5 it was a mere 1.6, so I had visions of a rather breathless carb fed base model, but it turned out to be fuel injected, sporting (!) a half reasonable 100 bhp when it was new.
Digging around, the filters seemed brand new, as did many other service items, including the brakes pads (though the discs were rusted to buggery). Everything was stamped Audi or OEM. MIleage checked out as 82k.
Turns out it was an 'SE' model which built on top of the base spec with 15" alloy wheels, sports front seats, front electric windows, leather sports steering wheel and auxiliary oil temp, pressure and battery voltage gauges along with a very 80s style spoiler on the back.
We swapped the battery out of my son's Mk2 Golf and switched on the ignition. Lights came on. ABS light flickered on... then off. We disconnected the dizzy and gave it a crank.
There was oil pressure. According to the gauge in the car... 4 bars of it. Seemed smooth enough to try firing it up. Dizzy back on and...
There it sat, purring away as if it had only been left the day before. Now 5 bars on the oil pressure gauge, electrics charging. All seemed good.
Then we tried the electrics.
Wipers - nothing.
Head lamps - nothing.
Electric windows - nothing.
Blower fan - nothing.
OE Sony headunit - static out of one speaker on the radio, but it did play a cassette too.
Electrical problems indeed. Fuse box was found and located, everything absolutely fine and dandy. Earth straps found and checked, absolutely fine. Head scratching and cup of tea consumed.
Interior illumination was working at least!
Switched the engine off and restarted it. Lo and behold the electrics came to life. Wipers, windows, headlamps. Bemused looks all round. Turned out to be the ignition barrel is sticky and isn't turning back to the 'ignition on' detent when you start the car - so all the main electrics are interrupted. A quick clean had that sorted. Electric problems indeed!
Brakes were swapped out (good having a son as a mechanic!) and the car given a good clean inside and out. Came up like a champ.
Everything else seems in good condition. It's off for an MOT today, cost thus far? £90 for brakes discs and £60 for a battery.
Plans are to push it into service as a daily and see how it goes for now.
More updates to follow.
Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Wednesday 30th January 09:31
Edited by drewwa on Wednesday 30th January 09:31
Edited by drewwa on Wednesday 30th January 09:33
And to think that was going to be sold for scrap - well done for saving it
That shape was good when it was current and its only got better with age - sad that the days of pure, simple and elegant design seems to have disappeared, replaced with fake vents, fake exhausts and as many creases as its possible to throw at a panel
That shape was good when it was current and its only got better with age - sad that the days of pure, simple and elegant design seems to have disappeared, replaced with fake vents, fake exhausts and as many creases as its possible to throw at a panel
Thanks folks!
Haven't actually driven it yet - just moved it back and forth on the driveway so far. First impressions are that it has an incredibly solid feel, as if it's been carved from a single lump of metal. I keep opening and closing the doors to listen to the 'whump' as they close. Nothing like the tinny noise on modern cars.
Discovered it has a few other oddities - like central locking for the split-fold rear seats. I thought they were jammed for a while and then realised that you had to unlock the boot to unlock the seats.
It also seemed to be sans-aerial, but a poke about revealed the aerial cable was there but had worked loose. Plugged it back in and the radio burst into life (still only on one speaker). On the outside though... no aerial to be seen. According to a google search the aerial is actually the top two elements in the heated rear windows. Very clever.
Rubber mats in the car are also marked 'Audi' so appear to be the originals. Spec sticker in the boot is still present and correct too.
Tyres will need replacing at some point. Pumped them all up to 30psi (according to the sticker in the filler cap), the best was at 12psi!
One of the calipers is sticking a little bit, so that will need a tweak or replace. Other than that we'll see what the MOT shows up. More pics later on.
Cheers,
Drew.
ps. Tyres are about 6-8 years old with about 3mm tread left. Bridgestones on the rear axles and Avons on the front.
Haven't actually driven it yet - just moved it back and forth on the driveway so far. First impressions are that it has an incredibly solid feel, as if it's been carved from a single lump of metal. I keep opening and closing the doors to listen to the 'whump' as they close. Nothing like the tinny noise on modern cars.
Discovered it has a few other oddities - like central locking for the split-fold rear seats. I thought they were jammed for a while and then realised that you had to unlock the boot to unlock the seats.
It also seemed to be sans-aerial, but a poke about revealed the aerial cable was there but had worked loose. Plugged it back in and the radio burst into life (still only on one speaker). On the outside though... no aerial to be seen. According to a google search the aerial is actually the top two elements in the heated rear windows. Very clever.
Rubber mats in the car are also marked 'Audi' so appear to be the originals. Spec sticker in the boot is still present and correct too.
Tyres will need replacing at some point. Pumped them all up to 30psi (according to the sticker in the filler cap), the best was at 12psi!
One of the calipers is sticking a little bit, so that will need a tweak or replace. Other than that we'll see what the MOT shows up. More pics later on.
Cheers,
Drew.
ps. Tyres are about 6-8 years old with about 3mm tread left. Bridgestones on the rear axles and Avons on the front.
Edited by drewwa on Wednesday 30th January 10:19
Absolutely love these, if I had the space I’d fit the S2 body kit.
Check s2forum for cheap upgrades if people are selling bits as they upgrade!
The ignition barrels were known to fail on these, supposedly caused by heavy bunches of keys hanging off them. My old S2 Avant had the exact same problem as yours too.
A lot of people claim these were the last of the properly made Audiks, and they’re right! The over engineering on them is crazy. Some of the stuff you find when taking them apart drives you mad, such as screwed in threaded bars that would normally jus the pushed in on other cars. The door handles on the door cards is a good example, they’re a nightmare to put back on, but done right there is never a single rattle from the interior. I swapped the whole lot on my S2 for a colour change and it was interesting to say the least! Again, not a single rattle when finished. Definitely check S2forum for a huge wealth of knowledge regarding the B4 chassis, it will become your bible when doing stuff
Check s2forum for cheap upgrades if people are selling bits as they upgrade!
The ignition barrels were known to fail on these, supposedly caused by heavy bunches of keys hanging off them. My old S2 Avant had the exact same problem as yours too.
A lot of people claim these were the last of the properly made Audiks, and they’re right! The over engineering on them is crazy. Some of the stuff you find when taking them apart drives you mad, such as screwed in threaded bars that would normally jus the pushed in on other cars. The door handles on the door cards is a good example, they’re a nightmare to put back on, but done right there is never a single rattle from the interior. I swapped the whole lot on my S2 for a colour change and it was interesting to say the least! Again, not a single rattle when finished. Definitely check S2forum for a huge wealth of knowledge regarding the B4 chassis, it will become your bible when doing stuff
Edited by C350 on Wednesday 30th January 10:31
A few pics of the as found condition - it was actually worse than this, but a lot of the leaves and muck blew off on the tow home!
The numberplates are also original dealer fit and in reasonable condition. The garage is still there according to google - but solely VW now. Might take it back there for a pic at some point!
Natty 80s style spoiler...
Crud in every orifice...
There was some nice paint here once...
Interior sopping wet and stank like an old dog (that had died) but is getting better each time the sun comes out. Seems to have survived mould and damp very well, though the interior panels are sagging a bit - hopefully they'll tighten up as they dry out.
I'll get some pics underneath later today as it's booked in for an MOT at 3pm. Initial look shows all the brake pipes are not corroded and the underneath looks ok from a driveway inspection.
Rear right wheel arch has some sort of dodgy repair on it (looks like a hamfisted minor respray at home to me) other than that no obvious rust. Lacquer is scratched all over the place, but nothing a good machine polish won't fix. Bumpers have a few scrapes, and the silver grille has a crack, other than that it looks pretty solid.
Cheers,
Drew.
The numberplates are also original dealer fit and in reasonable condition. The garage is still there according to google - but solely VW now. Might take it back there for a pic at some point!
Natty 80s style spoiler...
Crud in every orifice...
There was some nice paint here once...
Interior sopping wet and stank like an old dog (that had died) but is getting better each time the sun comes out. Seems to have survived mould and damp very well, though the interior panels are sagging a bit - hopefully they'll tighten up as they dry out.
I'll get some pics underneath later today as it's booked in for an MOT at 3pm. Initial look shows all the brake pipes are not corroded and the underneath looks ok from a driveway inspection.
Rear right wheel arch has some sort of dodgy repair on it (looks like a hamfisted minor respray at home to me) other than that no obvious rust. Lacquer is scratched all over the place, but nothing a good machine polish won't fix. Bumpers have a few scrapes, and the silver grille has a crack, other than that it looks pretty solid.
Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Wednesday 30th January 10:33
I had two of these back to back, one was a single point 2.0 with a mighty 90bhp and then the multipoint 2.0 with 120bhp
The first one never missed a beat, the second one broke down 20+ times and no garage could ever fix it, I just bought a lemon though
Great cars!!! A real propper tank, really comfy
As you have found they have some oddities, one the oil pressure light came on mine. I stopped and checked , all was OK and engine running well. It turned out there was a 2p jammed in the cigarette lighter, which blew the fuse for it and when the fuse for the cigarette lighter went the oil pressure light came on!! Not sure if mine had a "altered" wiring loom!!!
The heater on my first one never worked, stupidly being a tight broke student I just left it and frooze all winter. When I finally sold it the new buyer told me it was down to the thermostat being the wrong part and cost him £20 to fix!! I felt so stupid!
The first one never missed a beat, the second one broke down 20+ times and no garage could ever fix it, I just bought a lemon though
Great cars!!! A real propper tank, really comfy
As you have found they have some oddities, one the oil pressure light came on mine. I stopped and checked , all was OK and engine running well. It turned out there was a 2p jammed in the cigarette lighter, which blew the fuse for it and when the fuse for the cigarette lighter went the oil pressure light came on!! Not sure if mine had a "altered" wiring loom!!!
The heater on my first one never worked, stupidly being a tight broke student I just left it and frooze all winter. When I finally sold it the new buyer told me it was down to the thermostat being the wrong part and cost him £20 to fix!! I felt so stupid!
Hi Folks - many thanks for the suggestions on keeping the old car running. Much appreciated! I will check them out.
So MOT.
Technically it failed, but only on one item, so it's staying put for the moment and will shortly get a shiny new ticket. Nearside front caliper has seized - could feel it on the test drive quite clearly so already knew something was amiss.Will try to free it up, worse case a new caliper will be required.
Advisories - one. Rear nearside brake pad missing a retainer, but that's an easy one to sort.
CO = 0.06%
HC = 22 ppm
Test drive was interesting. Due to the caliper the performance was down, but even then it was reasonably perky, though certainly not rapid. No clunks or bangs from any suspension parts and the car is whisper quiet when you're driving along... quite spooky really. I don't think the engine has ever been above 3,000 rpm before, it felt tight and unwilling to rev. 70mph = 3,500 rpm in 5th, which was a bit surprising. My son's Mk2 has the 4+E box which is much higher geared.
Thermostat is also knackered, the temp gauge never got above 70 on the water and the oil temp gauge barely registered. Oil pressure at idle was an indicated 1.5 bar, and was always up to 4.5-5 whilst driving, which feels a bit high, but might be down to the car running cold.
Underneath inspection revealed no nasties. Surface rust on exposed suspension parts but all sills intact and the original protection is still there under a layer of dirt. The front lower engine tray has disappeared somewhere in the last 25 years.
Other than that, everything works. Car tracks straight, steering is light and fluffy.
Pics for reference! Caliper fix is next up!
Cheers,
Drew.
So MOT.
Technically it failed, but only on one item, so it's staying put for the moment and will shortly get a shiny new ticket. Nearside front caliper has seized - could feel it on the test drive quite clearly so already knew something was amiss.Will try to free it up, worse case a new caliper will be required.
Advisories - one. Rear nearside brake pad missing a retainer, but that's an easy one to sort.
CO = 0.06%
HC = 22 ppm
Test drive was interesting. Due to the caliper the performance was down, but even then it was reasonably perky, though certainly not rapid. No clunks or bangs from any suspension parts and the car is whisper quiet when you're driving along... quite spooky really. I don't think the engine has ever been above 3,000 rpm before, it felt tight and unwilling to rev. 70mph = 3,500 rpm in 5th, which was a bit surprising. My son's Mk2 has the 4+E box which is much higher geared.
Thermostat is also knackered, the temp gauge never got above 70 on the water and the oil temp gauge barely registered. Oil pressure at idle was an indicated 1.5 bar, and was always up to 4.5-5 whilst driving, which feels a bit high, but might be down to the car running cold.
Underneath inspection revealed no nasties. Surface rust on exposed suspension parts but all sills intact and the original protection is still there under a layer of dirt. The front lower engine tray has disappeared somewhere in the last 25 years.
Other than that, everything works. Car tracks straight, steering is light and fluffy.
Pics for reference! Caliper fix is next up!
Cheers,
Drew.
Edited by drewwa on Wednesday 30th January 16:34
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