The Project Pad

This post may be a little pre-mature...
A couple of weeks ago I picked up a '91 200 20v Avant in Bellingham, Wa. It's my first Audi (previously owned an '81 honda civic wagon, then an E23 735i, then a VR6 wagon) I'd been looking for one for a while so I was pretty stoked, but there's lots of work ahead. It looked like it hadn't been washed in ages so took care of the paint with a long day of washing/clay barring/polishing/waxing and it cleaned up nicely. Bushing in the shifter linkage was completely blown so replaced that. Leaky valve cover gasket, ordered a new one and ordered a boost gauge, ordered transmission mounts. It's chipped by intended acceleration, runs and drives great, interior is in good condition, and it only has 123k miles. Here's what I plan on doing in the near future

exhaust
wheels (probably buying my roommates S4 wheels)
suspension
wastegate spring
brake accumulator
euro spec clear corners (anybody selling a set? I found a guy whos selling the left one only)
V8 tail lights & front bumper
power steering pump
fix the dent on the drivers side rear panel
take care of minor rust spots
cv axles
stock stereo is fuggy so either fix that or get an aftermarket head unit that's period appropriate
a/c compressor

here's a couple pics... just realized I have no interior shots or shots of how intensely dirty it was when I bought it ... but can continue to post pics

Welcome, The car looks great, props for finding a low mileage Avant. Dose it still have the UFOs up front?

Thanks! Yea it does haven't made the decision whether to swap those out or not just yet. It seems like its pretty 50/50 with people liking them/having warping problems. But I'm sure eventually I will want to upgrade anyway

I forgot to mention it also has an 034 diverter valve and some 034 boost hoses. Speedo stopped working right after I bought it so that was fixed too along with replacing some instrument cluster bulbs while it was apart. Changed out all the fluids too, much needed. I live with a '91 200 20v sedan owner and an imola yellow B5 S4 owner who previously owned a Tornado Red URS4 (sold to his brother who lives in town) and before that an E36 M3 and an Audi 90, so thats handy

Welcome to another t44 owner! How did you find us? I'm looking forward to seeing progress on this.

Thanks! A lot of internet searches for 20v 200 projects and advice from other Audi owners. I'm really looking forward to seeing progress too. It's going slow for me between work/school/actually being able to afford parts etc., but I'll get there. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to find the euro clear corners?

Found a left one in New Hampshire but I think I should wait to find a set. Some on german ebay too but so far nobody that wants to ship to the US

I also can't seem to find a nice head unit thats not super gaudy/one that will look appropriate. I like the one this guy has
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrBUkWNUbTc

If you cant find some used ones I would see if 2Bennett has the euro corners, if not you can get them from Custom Auto Craft. I remember seeing some older looking head units on eBay (I think Pyle was the brand) but they were pretty basic units.

Welcome! Glad to see another T44 brother in the mix. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

Midnight wrote:If you cant find some used ones I would see if 2Bennett has the euro corners, if not you can get them from Custom Auto Craft. I remember seeing some older looking head units on eBay (I think Pyle was the brand) but they were pretty basic units.

CAC is closed now

Aktapod wrote:CAC is closed now

Where are we gonna get all our cool lights from then?

Yea I found them on CAC when I first bought the car and emailed them to find out how to order them but never heard back... then heard they were closed :(
Thanks for the advice! I didn't see them on the 2Bennett site but I emailed them and asked so fingers crossed. I'm losing sleep over those bare corners

2B is expenssssssssive

Keep an eye out on S2F and some of the other Euro forums... as well as marketplaas and ebay of various euro regions.

They're out there for sure.

Thanks! will do. Correction... looks like 2Bennett does have them but the price isn't listed so maybe they'll e-mail me with that info. I think I have a pretty good idea though because they have clear corners for the '92-'94 100s and S4s listed for $249 a piece. yeeesh. Ebay.de has a used set of the euro headlights w/ clear corners for $255 so that might be worth it. considering taking this whole headlight situation a different route though too... us lights with clear corners... v8 hood/front bumper/lights decisions decisions

There are some garage clean out type listings on Audi fans, might be worth it so see if any of them have the clear corners.

Your signature says alpine white... I didn't know that was an audi color. Are you sure it isn't pearl?

Also, you might want to check that the distributor rotor is the correct one.

loxxrider wrote:Your signature says alpine white... I didn't know that was an audi color. Are you sure it isn't pearl?

Also, you might want to check that the distributor rotor is the correct one.

Yea I'm sure. Its confusing because BMW also has an alpine white. Mines not pearl although I sometimes wish it was. I can't find the paint code on the car anywhere and I checked all the usual places. Advice? As far as I could find online in '91 there was pearl white and alpine white. These links show the difference pretty well I think;

http://www.spannerhead.com/wp-content/u ... _200_1.jpg

http://germancarsforsaleblog.com/wp-con ... WC2001.jpg

Good idea... I will for sure check out the distributor rotor although thankfully I haven't had any symptoms and the PO said it was replaced 30k ago and that he knows he got the right width. Sounds like its common for people to put in the one for the 20v instead?


also thanks for the tip I'll check out those listings on audi fans

Welcome! You've found the right place but it sounds as though you're already very knowledgable! You've got just a baby with 12x,xxx miles!

Thanks! So happy to have found it. I'm anticipating a lot of love/frustration in my near future. Your 200 is a babe by the way

I've found far less frustration with these cars over my previous B5 S4 by a long shot. There still is some but the love greatly outweighs the slight frustration . Thank you by the way. I assume you're referring to the sedan right? The avant isn't nearly as pretty. Lol

You're on IG right?

Well good I hope it goes as well for me. Rear windows quit rolling down this morning (the left didn't work in the first place but now the right quit on me)... Here come the little things. Ha yea I was thinking of the sedan, but credit to the avant too anyway. And yea I'm on IG, I've seen you on there.

Welcome! When you gonna put a big turbo and VEMS in? lol

haha right? like... as soon as I sell all my worldly possessions or whenever I recoop from getting everything else on the list taken care of .. whichever comes first.

CBerg wrote:

loxxrider wrote:Your signature says alpine white... I didn't know that was an audi color. Are you sure it isn't pearl?

I can't find the paint code on the car anywhere and I checked all the usual places. Advice? As far as I could find online in '91 there was pearl white and alpine white.

Alpine White is in fact an audi color paint code 90E. Somewhat rare too. Check the right rear storage compartment for the build sticker the paint code will be on it if it's still there. If the car came with the factory service manual red in color there may be a copy of the build sticker in it too.

yodasfro wrote:

alpine White is in fact an audi color paint code 90E. Somewhat rare too. Check the right rear storage compartment for the build sticker the paint code will be on it if it's still there. If the car came with the factory service manual red in color there may be a copy of the build sticker in it too.

You're a genius. Found nothing in the right rear storage compartment but toothpaste and toilet paper. However, I did find the red audi maintenance manual which does have the stickers. Alpine White after all.

Thanks!